Tag Archives: Writing

Writing Contest: My First Entry

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I actually read the fine print—the official rules & participation agreement— of the Flash Fiction Challenge 2019. And as I read it, nothing in the rules prevents me from sharing my story on my own blog. As the rules state, I still own the copyright.

I also learned by reading the fine print that I won’t find out how I did until midnight September 11. (The second challenge of Round 1 starts September 13).

The waiting is the worst part.

And I said I might share my story once Challenge 1 of the first round is closed. It closed last night at midnight EDT. So at least temporarily (I’m not sure how long I’ll leave this post up), I’ve decided to share my first entry to the NYCMidnight’s Flash Fiction Challenge 2019.

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Where I Enter a Short Story Writing Challenge

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A couple months ago, I saw an advertisement for a writing contest by NYCMidnight—The Flash Fiction Challenge. It cost a little money to enter, but winners receive prizes (first place receives $5,000!).

Like the impulse buyer I am, I immediately signed up. Who can resist a writing challenge? But I promptly had buyers remorse. I’ll never win. What was I thinking? And then I proceeded to forget about all it.

Until two days ago.

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The Magic of Letter Writing & a Challenge

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Along with my great affinity for obsession with pens and all accessories that go with pens (including inks, paper, journals, wax seals), I love to write.

No big secret there. I’ve talked often about writing (NaNoWriMo anyone?). I journal (occasionally). Hey, I have to justify buying new journals somehow. And of course, I write blog posts. (Or at least I do when I’m not being a big slacker).

But there’s something magical about writing an old-fashioned, handwritten letter.

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Playing The Glad Game

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Recently, I have been mega-stressed, frustrated, and generally down. Being furloughed and not getting paid for 4 weeks because of the shutdown tops the list of reasons why.

Then as I’ve found, misery breeds more misery. Once you get on the misery merry-go-round, sometimes it’s hard to get off. When one major thing goes cattywampus for me, I then tend to find more and more things to get upset about. It doesn’t help that every time I turn on the television/read the news/scan social media, the messages all seem to be negative.

Miserableness, mega-stress, negativity are all bad for you. Bad for your physical health. Bad for your mental health. Bad for your emotional health. All of which cycles back into more stress, more misery, more negativity. It can be a vicious cycle.

Enter the Glad Game.

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Tis The Season

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It’s that time of year again! No, I’m not referring to PSL season (or really, pumpkin spice anything and everything season. It’s actually gotten a bit out of control IMO). And no, I’m not referring to the pre-pre-Christmas nonsense (why am I already seeing Christmas things in the stores?).

Tis the NaNoWriMo Prep Season! It’s the season to get ready to write like mad!

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I Should Be . . .

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Ever have days where you “should be” doing something? And probably something “productive”? But instead, you engage in, well, nothing.

Then you read these articles about what successful people, like Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Bill Gates, do before 7am. And you feel like a complete failure because you struggled just to get up and put pants on today. (And when you realize it’s Saturday, you grab the yoga pants instead.)

Ever feel like this?

That was my day yesterday. Continue reading →

Blogging Basics

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A friend asked: Could you share some tips for those of us wanting to get into blogging? 

Absolutely! And here’s a fun fact: did you know that blog is a truncation of “web log?” A log on the web.

To start, I will say that the interwebs are full of information and advice on getting into blogging. Personally I found some of it helpful, some of it not so much. Some of it I agree with, some I don’t. This is my personal considerations, suggestions, and tips for starting up your own blog. (And if you blog, feel free to comment below with your tips and suggestions.) Just remember, there’s no one right way to blog. Continue reading →

Post-November Updates

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Wow. Has this year flown by or what?! Here we are already a week into December and since I was writing furiously last month, I’ve been lax on posting. So let’s catch up on what’s been happening. Continue reading →