Month: June 2017

Poetry Contest from Writer’s Digest

I realize that this blog seems to be geared more towards fiction writers than poets and non-fiction writers, so I decided to talk about a writing contest specifically for poets. This contest is the Poetry Awards by Writer’s Digest. If you’ve a poetic mind and an active pen, please read on!

This contest is not much different from the other Writer’s Digest competitions I’ve discussed; this time it’s just for poetry.

Here are the basics:

  • Poems can be of any form but must be 32 lines or less
  • Early bird deadline is October 2, 2017
  • Normal deadline is November 6, 2017
  • Early bird entry fee is $15 for the first entry and $10 for subsequent entries; normal deadline entry fee is $20 for the first entry and $15 for subsequent entries
  • Prizes are given for first through twenty-fifth place winners
  • First place gets $1,000 in cash, a 20-minute consultation with Poet’s Market editor Robert Brewer, a copy of the 2018 Poet’s Market, and their poem published in the July/August 2018 edition of Writer’s Digest

For more information, follow this link.

If you’ve any unpublished poetry you’d like to share, I highly recommend trying this contest. Good luck to all who enter!

Know of any contests in fiction, poetry, or non-fiction with upcoming deadlines? Share the love and post them in the comments below, or email me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com so I can share it in a post on this blog.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Disney’s Grown Up: Introductions

Today I’m introducing (yet another) new series of posts to this blog, “Disney’s Grown Up”. This series is a bit different from my other posts. It leans heavily on the “distractions” aspect of this blog and will consist of all my random thoughts about Disney movies, Disneyland, pretty much everything Disney. I’m a born-and-raised Californian who’s loved Disney her entire life and has a mind for creative writing and literary criticism, so these posts will be both passionate and a bit crazy.

My mom and I are proof that you’re never too old for some fun.

I call this series “Disney’s Grown Up” because the topics discussed won’t be your typical childhood Disney conversations. (It’s also named for one of my poems I shared back in May, “Wendy Darling’s Grown Up”.) This series will be for the intelligent, hardcore Disney fanatics.

From tips for exploring the parks to in-depth analyses of the latest movies, you’ll get a taste of the entire fandom from an adult’s perspective. Of course, I’m still going to be making “Let It Go” and “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman” jokes every now and then. It’s pretty much required. Nevertheless, the whole experience will be both fun and intellectually-stimulating.

Some of the topics you can look forward to are Emma Watson’s Beauty and the Beast and the French Revolution, Frozen from the perspective of someone with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and some of the lesser-known (and perhaps darker) history and rumors surrounding Walt Disney. Best of all, in late October/early November I’ll report to you the wonders that await at Disneyland during Halloween and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

I encourage all my fellow fanatics to send me their ideas for posts and their thoughts on the topics I discuss, both in the comments here and by email to thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com.

And if you’re looking to go to the Disneyland Resort but aren’t sure how to best enjoy the park, look up me up on Fiverr and I can help you navigate the wonderful (albeit stressful) experience.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Friday Fun-Day Writing Prompt: All Summer in a Day

Happy Friday, everyone! This week started out pretty stressful for me but now I can kick back and relax for a little while (until boredom seeps in and I go through the “I want to do something but I’m too tired” struggle). With the summer solstice just around the corner–and my birthday!–I’ve decided to base today’s writing prompt on Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day”.

This classic piece by the ingenious Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite science fiction short stories. It’s good, old-school science fiction which we’d now see as an amusing–albeit a bit depressing–fantasy, considering what we’ve learned about our galaxy. I won’t tell you much since I don’t want to give anything away but I’ll focus on the element of the story which is important to this prompt.

Image retrieved from NASA

“All Summer in a Day” takes place in a colony on Venus (like I said, more fantasy than science fiction nowadays considering what we know about Venus). In this story, Venus is bombarded by constant rainstorms and the sun only shows for one hour once every seven years. You can read the story in its entirety here.

Today’s prompt is based on this concept. As usual, the prompt is pretty straightforward:

Imagine that, as in “All Summer in Day”, you only got to see the sun for one hour once every seven years. What would you do? How would your disposition change? Would you be scared of the sun, even understand what it is? What would you do if someone deprived you of that hour of sun?

The reason for the sun’s cycle can be due to the planet you’re on, a curse put on you or your society or the world, some new form of incarceration, etc. Be as creative as you want. The important thing is to focus on how it would affect you as a human.

Jot down whatever comes into your head as you contemplate this scenario. Spend about five minutes on this. When you’re done, turn your notes into a short story or poem. (Try to not come too close to Bradbury’s story!) You can make it science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, whatever you feel fits your notes.

I know that this idea may seem like a stretch of the imagination but that’s the point. This exercise will make you think about yourself and your relationship with your surroundings in new ways. You may also walk away with a new appreciation for the simpler things in life (although I personally still hate the sun when it’s 100+ degrees outside).

Have a fun and productive writing weekend!

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Revisiting My Old Work II: Peahen

Take heart, fellow writers; the weekend is nearly here. Only today and Friday to go. Considering everything I’ve done this week, I’ve decided to post some more lighthearted material and offer up some of my old work again. This one is called “Peahen”. Like the first one, this poem is from my undergrad poetry portfolio. It grew from an attempt at a prose poem and I’m not sure if it’s any good. On top of that, it morphed into an expression of anxiety, judgment, and dating, so it hits a raw nerve for me. I’ll let you decide its quality.

Without further ado, I present “Peahen”:

 

Peahen

A million violet eyes encircled me

Their feathers spread in full display, unfurled like ball gowns gliding across a flawless wood floor. There were necks of lapis lazuli and scaly emerald. One had ghostly feathers, another the ashy feathers of a duster. They strut with bobbing necks. Their onyx orbs bore down on me— pure, deep oblivion. The eyes closed in tighter, and tighter; peach and golden beaks, cactus-needle claws ripped through vulnerable flesh. Rusty blood oozed through open wounds, their jeweled fans swept air from my lungs.

They screeched horrible love songs, pleading

 

Peahen and peacock

Image retrieved from Flickr

Thank you for amusing me. I hope that you all find a little encouragement in the fact that everyone has work that they’re not so proud of, and I’ll make certain to continue to remind you of that for as long as there are writers who are discouraged by their harsh self-criticism.

If you have any old work that you’d like to share, be sure to post it in the comments below. You never know what might pull another writer out of the depths of despair or inspire the next bestseller.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Stephanie’s Master’s Degree Adventures: Program Closing to New Students

This is the exact message on the program’s web page. I don’t know, based on this message, if it’s a temporary or permanent closure; all I know is that they are not taking in new students for the 2017/2018 year.

Here’s a link to the program’s web page. Make of it what you will and let me know if you find something I missed.

A couple weeks ago, maybe a month, I learned that the Master’s program I am enrolled in will be closing to new students. I was shocked to learn this but, with everything I have been doing, that news sort of fell to the wayside. Yesterday another student in my program posted the news on Facebook, and so I was reminded of this sad development. I really don’t know if it’s a temporary or permanent matter. Why would the University of Edinburgh close its Master’s in Creative Writing by online distance learning to new students? The on-campus program is continuing, why is my year the last for this great program?

The other students in my year have been batting around the possibilities. Is the university not making enough money from the program? Are they short-staffed? Does it have to do with the current program supervisor taking an early retirement? I also wonder if it has anything to do with the global political environment following Brexit and the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

In truth, we just don’t know. All we know is that we’re glad that we didn’t defer our acceptance like some of us had considered doing and that we all better progress to the next year. We also know that, to us, it just doesn’t make any sense.

All of us in the program have benefited greatly from it. We all love the program and the people we’ve met through it. I know I wouldn’t have gotten past my depression enough to start this blog, my Fiverr gigs, or anything else if I hadn’t gotten into this program. It’s a terrible shame that others won’t be able to benefit from it after my class.

Hopefully they’ll come to their senses and restart the program in 2018/2019 or later. Maybe they just need enough of a rumble from alumni, current students, and perspective students to realize they’ve made a mistake. Maybe a successful alumnae or supporter of the university, creative writing, and online learning students needs to pull some fiscal and public sway. We’ll see what happens and pray that they reverse the decision.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to update my readers on the lessons I learn from this program. I know that there will be plenty. It’s more important now than ever that I share these lessons, given that potential students cannot (for the time being or forever) access this program.

Do you know of any programs that can fill the void left by this one? Any for potential students and writers who, due to personal circumstances, need online learning programs? Any alternatives to such programs overall? Please leave your suggestions in the comments below or email them to me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and I will share your advice in a future blog post.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011