Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog
This February there are more than four dozen writing contests calling for every genre and form, from poetry, to creative nonfiction, to completed novels.
Prizes range from $100,000 to publication.
None charge entry fees.
Some of these contests have age and geographical restrictions, so read the instructions carefully.
Last week, I spoke about how my writing habit had been crushed and re-shaped by the pandemic. And as part of the re-adjustment, I’ve been thinking of different ways to make a writing habit. The thing is, every day is unpredictable at the moment. And so the typical habit-making behaviour of picking a set time each day to write isn’t working. In fact, I’m often finding that my other commitments (work, uni, health) mean that my timings change day to day. So I’m trying the methods below instead, and it seems to be working! Have a peek;
Weekly goals, instead of daily
I used to focus on daily goals. Set word counts or time goals. The issue with daily targets, is if you don’t reach it one day, it sets you on a downer for the rest of the week. So it’s well worth considering setting weekly targets instead. This…
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The pages were instantly recognizable due to black typeface and hand-painted red paragraph marks. Image: University of Reading/The Independent
Pages from one of the first books ever printed in England were recently found by librarians at the University of Reading. The pages, which were hidden away for decades in the pages of a different text, were meant to tell priests how to plan feasts.
According to Atlas Obscura and The Independent, the librarians found two pages from a priest’s handbook called Sarum Ordinal or Sarum Pye, which had been pasted inside of another book to reinforce its spine. A librarian working to restore that book noticed and pulled out the pages from the priest’s handbook; they date to between 1476 and 1477.
The librarian said she instantly noticed the “trademark blackletter typeface,” the layout, and red paragraph marks, which were typically added by hand after printing and…
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Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog
The worst thing that can happen to a writer is becoming “blocked” in their writings. If you do a search on “overcoming writer’s block” on the internet, you’ll find almost five million results.
What about writer’s burnout? I did a search and found over thirty-nine million results. That’s extraordinary. In my author circles, being blocked seems to supersede burnout. It looks like I may be wrong according to the web or maybe nobody wants to talk about “burnout” because that would mean you’ve failed or are a quitter.
Thinking of the difference between blocked and burnout has led me to do additional research.
From Book 1: For as long as he can remember, Nate’s dreamed of being an MMA fighter. Nothing is going to stand in his way and no one is going to distract him. Everything is going according to plan when Natalie comes along. Even though he wasn’t looking for love, Nate can’t help falling fast and hard. Smart, sweet and supportive, she seems too good to be true, but it’s actually the other way around. Nate isn’t good enough for her, and he’s keeping a secret that will change everything between them. One day, she’ll see the truth inside of him. Until then, Nate’s determined to keep Natalie in his life for as long as he can.
From Book 2: When his best friend decided to join the Army after high school graduation, there was no question Joel would join too. Best friends since kindergarten…
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Nineteen-year-old Allie Walker’s life has been hell. She would do anything to escape. The painful experiences of the drugs, the beatings, white trash talk of the small town—anywhere else would be better.
Desperate to escape, she hitches a ride with a total stranger to leave her haunting memories behind. She can’t change the past, but maybe she can alter her future, even find the lost brother she hadn’t known existed.
As she accepts the ride, something heightens her senses. Was it his eyes? The air of innocence? With nothing more than her instincts screaming at her, Allie will do whatever it takes to survive.
Chef Rose
A shockingly exciting thriller
“Perfect Bait” is a horror-filled, exciting suspense thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat even after you finish the last page. The main character Allie is a survivor that will win…
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#Fantasy #Magic #Dragons #Series #EpicAdventure #YoungAdult #NewAdult
King Ziradon… Supreme Dragon of Eriden. He is overthrown; imprisoned in a stone fortress to watch as his kingdom is plundered by his once trusted adviser, Gwirwen.
Princess Kaliwyn… Dragoness and heir to the throne of Eriden. She is cursed to human form, stripped of her memory and cast out of the magical kingdom. But her dragon heart is strong, and it is her destiny to return and set right the grievances her people have suffered.
And so, the Dragon of Eriden begins…
Amicia Spicer led a simple life, until she discovered it had all been a lie…
On her deathbed, Arely Spicer confessed to her only daughter that she had been found by, not born to her mother and father. Sad news to be certain, the idea of having a family of flesh and blood waiting to be reunited sent the young…
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#contemporary, #romance, #interracial, #multicultural,#indieauthor,
#indiepromo, #authorpromo
She wasn’t looking for Mr. Right, but Embree Walters may have met the man that was meant for her… Embree was born into money. She is the daughter of a successful actor and an heiress mother. She needs nothing but her career, which she loves, though it upsets her parents to the point of never mentioning her name in public to protect her. At a party, thrown to entice her father to portray a part in a much-anticipated movie, she meets producer Matthias Royce; a man who knows what he wants and how to get it; and that is currently Embree. Embree and Matthias agree to a one-night stand. The morning after, Embree disappears, and when Matthias runs into her weeks later, he makes it clear one night was not enough for him. Embree disagrees, but a determined Matthias is willing to do whatever…
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#ASMSG, #iartg, #bookboost, #bynr
A hands-on primer for aspiring authors and anyone in the publishing industry. A self-help book that will Bring the Zing to your book promotion and advertising by learning how to promote yourself.
Rainbow is proud of his beautiful wings and ability to fly, but hes showing off just a little too much. He thinks its payback time for Lightning, the butterfly who used to taunt him. But is this kind of revenge really the right thing to do? Follow Rainbow as he learns a hard lesson on pride.
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