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Teen Writing Contest: $1000 for 1000 Words

1/5/2016

Writing Contest for Students

Happy New Year! Teen Tuesday is back this week, but the featured contest deadline is coming up fast. Can you write a story of exactly 1000 words over the next few weeks? If so, check the contest details below.

What: 1000-word story contest with $1000 prize. Your short fiction must be *exactly* 1000 words.

Who: Students in grades 6-12

When: Now through February 1, 2016

Prizes: According to the website, "two $1,000 scholarship prizes will be awarded, one for grades 6-8 and one for grades 9-12. Seven $100 cash prizes will also be awarded for winning entries, one per grade level. Stories selected for publication into Bluefire, but not selected as a grade-level or scholarship winner, will receive a $50 cash prize.... The author retains all copyrights to the submitted work."

Details: Visit the Bluefire contest page for complete information.

Teachers: Visit the educators' page join the teacher mailing list, see excerpts from past contests, and get a copy of their creative writing curriculum.

Self-Editing Tips for Writers

12/4/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Need help revising your manuscript? Here are some tips from a revision workshop I gave at SCBWI NJ last year.

Having critique partners is an invaluable part of the novel writing process. To get the most mileage out of a critique, you should fix the more obvious problems yourself before passing the manuscript to other readers. Here are some questions to consider.

Is the age of your main character appropriate for your genre? Does the voice match the age?

Is the length of your story typical? There are always exceptions to the rule but it’s good to know where your story falls on the spectrum. Jennifer Laughran has an excellent blog post about children’s book category lengths and example titles.

Are you starting the story at the best point? Is it interesting and compelling to make readers want to continue?

Is your main character solving problems too easily? Are the stakes high enough?

Do you know enough about your characters and their motivation? Is backstory handled appropriately? (For example, you don’t want to dump a large amount of backstory in chapter one.)

After you make any “big picture” changes, you can focus on the finer wording details.

Have you eliminated filler words such as really, just, very, well? (You can use this list of words to avoid here.)

Do you overuse any body part references? (Try searching for stomach, hands, heart.)

Have you written in the active voice? Example: It was a rainy afternoon (passive) versus The rain pounded the roof (active). Find clues you are using passive voice by searching for to be, are, is, was, has, had, etc.

For more self-editing information online, check out Common Manuscript Mistakes and the Writers Who Make Them and Six Easy Tips for Self-Editing Your Fiction.

For more extensive editing advice, I have some recommended books. Share your own favorite books in the comments.

Quick Productivity Tips for Creative People

11/27/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Productivity is an interesting concept, especially for creative people, because our “work” for each day isn’t always clearly defined. Without specific deadlines, we can sit around waiting for the muse instead of plowing ahead. Consistent progress can sometimes be a struggle.

Here are a few thoughts on staying motivated, after you've recovered from Thanksgiving:

1. If you don’t have an external deadline, create one. For example, pick a date to exchange manuscripts with a critique partner or promise to have the story ready for beta readers by a certain time. Making a commitment that involves other people can work wonders for motivation.

2. Create a chain, as Jerry Seinfeld once advised a new comedian. Using a calendar, make a large X each day you complete a certain task. Soon the line of Xs becomes self-perpetuating because you don’t want to break the streak. (FYI -- gold stars work, too!) James Clear says on Entrepreneur.com, “The Seinfeld Strategy works because it helps to take the focus off of each individual performance and puts the emphasis on the process instead. It's not about how you feel, how inspired you are, or how brilliant your work is that day. Instead, it's just about ‘not breaking the chain.’” If you are looking for online support, the Monthly Twitter Writing Challenge encourages participant to write or revise daily for the month and document it on the group spreadsheet, mixing the “Seinfeld Strategy” with public commitment--a winning combination! The same can be said for NaNoWriMo.

3. Make a plan that divides “writing a novel” (a huge, scary project) into manageable pieces. Set goals to write the first chapter, decide character names, write the second chapter, research the setting, etc. If you want to finish a novel in a certain time period, approximately how many words do you need to write a month? Make a schedule. It can always be adjusted, of course, but, as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

I usually blog with a "five" theme on Friday, but the holiday weekend merits a shorter post. If you want to read more of my thoughts about this topic, you can read a collection of my productivity posts from A to Z. If you have any favorite tips or resources, please share!

Teen Writing Communities

11/17/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

For this week's Teen Tuesday, here are five online communities for teen writers. These can be a place to virtually meet other authors, learn about the craft, and share pieces of your work.

Teen writing communities YvonneVentresca.com

Figment is a "community to share writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors.” You can join an online group (or create your own) based around a topic you love. Produced by Random House, the Figment website also includes chats with authors, discussion forums, quizzes and writing contests.

Go Teen Writers "exists to provide encouragement, instruction, and community for teen writers.” Run by Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson, it also features a private facebook page and resources about writing, such as How to Write a Novel. Jill says, “We provide a consistent environment where teens can learn and ask questions. We post consistently, hold a variety of contests, and have guest bloggers who are professional authors, editors, or literary agents. We also provide a community for teens to meet other writers and form support and critique groups.” For more info and advice, read my interview with Stephanie and Jill.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, NaNoWriMo has a modified program for "young" writers (classified as 17 and younger.) Even if you're not participating, the website includes free access to downloadable workbooks (elementary, middle, or high school), pep talks for motivation and encouragement, and other resources.

Teen Ink features poetry (including song lyrics, sonnets and haikus), fiction, book reviews (including a review of Pandemic), hot topics in nonfiction, and art/photos from students ages 13-19. The site also provides two forums for teens--a regular one for chatting and a writers' workshop for sharing creative work.

When I'm not writing, I like to read. What have you read lately that you absolutely loved?

NaNoWriMo Resources for Young Writers

10/27/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

My blog is turning two!

To celebrate two years of blogging this month, I recently put together a new Resources for Teen Writers page. It includes:

Interviews with editors who publish teen writers
Links to places where young writers can submit work
Advice from other authors
Teen writing communities and more!

Take a look and let me know what you think.

NaNoWriMo has a modified program for "young" writers (classified as 17 and younger.) Because of school and other commitments, you can sign up to complete a word count of your choice. You set the goal to something that will be manageable--whatever length you want! The website includes free access to downloadable workbooks (elementary, middle, or high school), pep talks for motivation and encouragement, and an online community of other writers. (I blogged about my own decision to try NaNoWriMo here.) You "win" by meeting your word count goal by the the end of the month. Any progress toward a creative goal is winning! As Napoleon Hill said:

What goals do you have for November and beyond?

Interview with Soundings Review YA Editor

9/4/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

YvonneVentresca.com Soundings Review magazine cover

This week's blog post is a combination of Teen Tuesday and my usual Friday Five. I'm pleased to share an interview with Martha Schoemaker, the Children's and Young Adult Editor of Soundings Review. Published by the Northwestern Institute of Literary Arts, Soundings Review magazine is a paying market ($25 per prose piece); submissions require a $3 fee through Submittable. The current reading period (fall) runs from September 1 to December 1.

What makes Soundings Review different from other magazines?

Soundings Review is a magazine of creative writing. In addition to publishing poetry, fiction, and non-fiction for adults, we also publish writing for children and young adults. While we recognize that children probably don’t read our magazine, we hope to serve as a showcase for the best writing we can find for ages eight through eighteen. We’re also open to submissions for younger readers, but we rarely get them.

Just to confirm--you accept submissions from teens and adults?

Yes. The age of the author isn’t a consideration. In fact, most of the editors at Soundings Review read the submission before we read the cover letter, and we usually have no idea of the age of our authors. We prefer to judge the work on its own merits before we look at a writer’s publication history and credentials.

What specific advice would you give to teen writers who would like to be published in Soundings Review?

Before you submit, ask yourself if it’s the best work you can do. If the answer is yes, send it to us accompanied by a simple cover letter that includes the title and description of the piece you are submitting along with a short bio of yourself. You can find many examples online. If you have a publication history, please include it, but it can be quite rewarding to publish debut authors if the work is excellent. It’s all about the quality of the work and the personal taste of the editors. The submission guidelines are available here.

What is the most common mistake or flaw that you see in submissions?

Several issues will take the work out of consideration for Soundings Review.

1) The piece is written for teens but from an adult perspective. I recently rejected a fine piece of writing that was about a teenager but written from the point of view of an adult. That is not young adult writing.

2) The quality simply isn’t there. Take the time to hone your craft. Proofread more than once, and get someone else to take a look at it. It can be difficult to edit your own work.

3) Illustrations. It costs lots of money to include illustrations, especially in color. Our budget usually won’t cover that.

4) The author talks down to children by being overly cute or clever, especially with picture books. In my opinion, picture books and books for the very young are the most difficult genres to write. Don’t even try it until you’ve read at least 200 quality picture books. Go to your local bookstore or talk to a librarian to get ideas.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Read widely in your chosen genre or genres. I’ve gotten a few middle grade and young adult submissions from people who don’t seem to have read much in those genres. Ask yourself what you loved to read as a child. Reread some of those books and stories, and find new ones you can love just as much.

Is your goal to sell your writing? There’s nothing wrong with that! Study the market, but write what you love. Your passion will show in your writing.

Good writers become better writers by reading craft books, by taking workshops and classes and working with other writers, and by writing as much as possible.

Write well!

Thank you, Martha, for your advice about writing and Soundings Review.
Writing friends--how do you find new markets to submit your work to?

Mind the Creative Gap

7/31/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Do you write YA, middle grade, chapter books or picture books? Check out KidLit Summer School, a free online program for writers. If you'd like a peek into my plotting process, check out my summer school guest post to see my messy notebook and my much neater plot chart.

This quote by Ira Glass is one of my favorites because it applies to many situations: definitely our creative lives, but also learning other new things. The gap is the difference between reading an awe-inspiring book and then reading your own crappy first draft. It's also the difference between learning a new kata in the martial arts, then watching someone stellar perform the same moves. Do you have gaps that you're mindful of?

A special thank you to Charlotte, the Swedish gardener and biologist behind "My Green Nook," for nominating my blog for the Versatile Blogger Award. I'm honored! You can check out Charlotte's blog here.

Have a versatile and creative weekend!

What Are You Afraid Of?

7/14/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

A quick note about future blog posts: starting next week, I’ll be blogging once a week for the rest of the summer. I’ll combine Teen Tuesday with the regular Friday post throughout July and August. See you on Fridays!

Fear and phobias

Someone asked me recently how similar my debut novel, Pandemic, is to my current work-in-progress. The stories are different in terms of plot and subject matter, but one concept that they have in common is the idea of fear. Each main character struggles with something that she is afraid of.

That conversation led me to think more about fears and phobias. Here are a few common ones, plus some that were new to me:

Acrophobia: fear of heights
Ergophobia: fear of work
Lutraphobia: fear of otters
Lygophobia: fear of darkness
Ornithophobia: fear of birds
Phasmophobia: fear of ghosts
Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple
Scolionophobia: fear of school
Scriptophobia: fear of writing in public
Selachophobia: fear of sharks

What are you afraid of? I have an illogical fear of bees, apiphobia.
Share your fears below. (Unless you have blog-comment-phobia!)

And in case you suffer from atychiphobia, the fear of failure, I'll end with this inspirational video:

Teen Tuesday: Reporters for Scholastic

7/7/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Are you an aspiring journalist between 10 and 14 years old with some time to write a news story and an essay this summer? Consider applying to join the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps for 2015-2016. The deadline is September 25th.

According to the website, "Members of the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps cover news stories for scholastic.com/news and select Scholastic classroom magazines. The program is open to all students ages 10-14 with a desire to be a journalist. The selection of Kid Reporters is based on writing ability, interviewing skills, and attention to detail."

You can find complete details here. Happy Summer Reporting!

Thanks to fellow YA author Christine Kohler for letting me know about this opportunity.

Teen Tuesday: Contest for High School Writers and Artists with Cash Prizes

6/30/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

The deadline for the Bold New Worlds Short Story contest is November 1st. (Submissions open on August 1st.) Visit their website for complete contest details, but in general, stories should be 1000 words (or less) and science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, steampunk, or other types of speculative fiction. Entrants must be high school students in the US.

Bold New Worlds is also holding a logo design contest with a deadline of August 1st. Both contests offer cash prizes.

Special thanks to blog visitor Liz A. for letting me know about this contest.

<<Previous

Forward>>

Teen Writing Contest: $1000 for 1000 Words

Writing Contest for Students

Self-Editing Tips for Writers

Quick Productivity Tips for Creative People

Teen Writing Communities

NaNoWriMo Resources for Young Writers

Interview with Soundings Review YA Editor

What makes Soundings Review different from other magazines?

Just to confirm--you accept submissions from teens and adults?

What specific advice would you give to teen writers who would like to be published in Soundings Review?

What is the most common mistake or flaw that you see in submissions?

Anything else you'd like to add?

Mind the Creative Gap

What Are You Afraid Of?

Fear and phobias

Teen Tuesday: Reporters for Scholastic

Teen Tuesday: Contest for High School Writers and Artists with Cash Prizes

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Writing Contest for Students

What makes Soundings Review different from other magazines?

Just to confirm--you accept submissions from teens and adults?

What specific advice would you give to teen writers who would like to be published in Soundings Review?

What is the most common mistake or flaw that you see in submissions?

Anything else you'd like to add?

Fear and phobias

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