Tips for Writers/Contest

In the past two weeks, I’ve conducted three writing workshops. In each class I’ve asked participants to offer feedback on some of the best tips for writing children’s books. Here are the top four:

1. Create a strong ending that reflects the beginning. The resolution should reflect the character’s problem or goal that was stated at the beginning of the story.

2. Show, Don’t Tell. SHOW the character in action rather than telling what the character did after the action was complete. Instead of TELLing that Timmy rode his bicycle down the road, SHOW the scene by describing how he pumped the pedals.

3. Treat your character badly and then threat the character worse. Place obstacles in your character’s journey to raise the tension of the story. High tension builds high interest for readers.

4. Just get the story written. Don’t be too concerned about the use of voice and grammatical correctness at this stage. Good writing comes from rewriting. Future drafts of the manuscripts can spit shine it.

Contest for adult writers:
Family Circle. Limit 2,500 words of short fiction.
Must be unpublished and never have won a prize. Limit two entries per person.
Must be 21 or older and a legal resident of the US. Grand prize may be published in Family Circle.
One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive a prize package including $750, a gift certificate to one (1) mediabistro.com course of his or her choice, one (1) year mediabistro.com AvantGuild membership valued at $55, and a one (1) year mediabistro.com How-to Video membership valued at $99.
One (1) Second Place winner will receive $250, a one (1) year mediabistro.com AvantGuild membership, and a one (1) year mediabistro.com How-to Video membership.
One (1) Third Place winner will receive $250 and a one (1) year mediabistro.com AvantGuild membership.
Deadline: Deadline September 7, 2012.
Details at http://www.familycircle.com/family-fun/fiction/fiction-contest-rules-2012/

Check out more contests on my blog: http://nancykellyallen.blogspot.com/