Manic Monday, hosted by RicoChey!

[ricochey]

Happy Monday, Flames! We have some fun stuff goin’ on.

The second topic of April is up — are you ready for Act II? Be on the lookout for the reading list and voting poll from Act I!

APAD is still afoot! Contribute to our effort to collect A Poem a Day during the whole month of April.

I carry my flash drive with me wherever I go. I’m like one of those kids who carries their bank cards in the same dangling lanyard as their bus pass. I can’t help but have it with me at all times. I have had actually paranoid delusions about my house burning to the ground with my flash drive inside. I worry about the animals too, of course, but my flash drive is definitely up there! I’ve been working harder than I’ve ever had to against writer’s block, just to get through ONE of the books in a series I dream of completing. In an effort to change the game a little, I used my junk paper pile to print off everything I have so far. I combined the pages into a binder and separated them by section/topic. The idea is that my natural inclination to edit hardcore with a red pen on physical paper will kick in and put my creativity into overdrive. I got so into the idea, I even made a hard copy binder for a second project of mine, and for a joint project my boyfriend would like to pursue.

Just seeing my book (or what I have so far) in print like that… it was a great feeling. It really helped me envision what it will be like to have a real, finished manuscript. I’ve already taken a red pen to some parts, changed up a few big chunks of the story, and whisked up some new ideas and plans. Something about taking a red pen to actual paper just felt more like I was taking something apart and putting it back together the way it needed to be. Editing from the computer is definitely quicker, but I think I missed the idea of having “drafts” — instead of mistakes going away, you get to keep copies of where your work started, so that you can truly compare it to h0w far it’s come. I am hopeful this means I’ve found the trick for jump-starting my brain… or whatever organ it is that writes books.

By what method do you inject a dose of adrenaline into your drive to complete a project? Also, do you edit more effectively by computer, or by pen and paper?

April | Week One, Act I | Reading List and Voting Poll

[eadard00dlesandcheese]

Happy April, Flamefolk!

RicoChey is hosting our themes for the month of April and has challenged us to write a four part play or story over the course of the month. For Week One, Act I she has 'roused us with a quote from Hamlet -
"We know what we are, but know not what we may be." These words were spoken by Ophelia in her grief-wrought ramblings - when everyone thought her mad - and yet the phrase seems so very wise.



Did our writers find it to be wisdom, folly, or something altogether ethereal? Now is your time to decide.

Your reading list:

Title: Growth
Author: ayumidah
Word count: 552
Warnings: none

Title: I know who I am...
Author: bluegerl
Word count: 790 appr.
Warnings: nil.

Title: Know Me
Author: Kathy/darlinleo
Word Count: 152
Warnings: none
Genre: Cento Poetry

Title: Willa the Wisp Act 1
Author: skyllairae
Word Count: 707
Warnings: none
Genre: supernatural/adventure

Title: A Stranger Comes To Call
Author: jlly_Tami
Word Count: ~1,500
Warnings: none so far
Genre: science fiction

JFF

Title: I am King tonight.
Author: bluegerl
Word count: 340
Warnings: not really

The polls close by 11:45pm on Wednesday (EDT).
With this competition the goal is to write a four part story, so we will suspend weekly eliminations and choose the best, complete work that meets the three acts and an epilogue criteria at the end of the month. There will be a poll each week to provide feedback for the writer on how well received their story was, but the votes that choose a winner will not happen until May 1st.

Additionally, we'd like to tighten things up around the competition. Typically when we click our vote it is after deciding which story(ies) we enjoyed the most. This month when you are voting, also consider how well the writer has met the criteria given or worked in the weekly prompt. Though we want everyone to be creatively inspired, we also hope to improve our skills as writers by practicing with different forms and writing outside of our comfort zones.

The contest is now closed to new competitors, but we encourage any latecomers to submit as JFF if their inner bard is provoked by a prompt.

Be sure to spread some comment love, let your fellow writers know they are appreciated. If it's an off-site blog and you have trouble with commenting, feel free to share your comments here and we'll pass them along. In fact, I encourage you to share some [constructive] public thoughts below with the community. Let's talk about what we read, together.

We love it when our Embers write, but we also need the community to come together and read what's being submitted. Even if you didn't have time to write this week, please take a few minutes to read and encourage your friends to read as well. Share our fire!

VOTING POLLS