First Crusader Challenge

The time has come for the First Crusader Challenge, woot!!! It’s a bit of a getting-to-know-you exercise with a little bit of a twist (you didn’t think it would be easy did you? *grins*).

Here it is:

The Challenge 

In 300 words or less, tell us:

· one secret

· one lie

· one interesting quirk

· one annoying habit

· one of your best character traits, and

· one of your favourite things in the whole world.

The post can be in any format, including poetry (for those poets among us), but must include the random words, “bloviate,” “fuliguline,” “rabbit,” and “blade” (tee hee).

Finish your post with something along the lines of, “I may have revealed something about me that isn’t strictly true, can you guess what it is?” (this last bit isn’t included in the word count). And don’t forget to tell us the answer in your next post!

Once you’ve posted your Challenge post, pop back here and link directly to it in the linky tool below (make sure you include the direct link to that post, not just the link to your blog). 

Entries in the First Crusader Challenge will close next Friday, February 25th (at 11.59pm EST), so make sure you get your post in the linky link before then!

After that, the judging will begin...

Judging and prizes (did somebody say “prizes”? Of course there are prizes!)

I’ve put together a posse of fabulous Crusaders, who’ll be meandering amongst your Challenge posts and doing a spot of judging.

Extra points will be awarded for:

- inability of the judges to tell which is your lie

- how entertaining the post is, and

- seamless and original use of the random words

Please note that all my followers are very welcome to take part in my First Crusader Challenge, but only Crusaders who are following all the other Crusaders by February 25 (on blogs not necessarily Twitter) will be eligible for the prizes. Crusaders, it’s fine to post your Challenge entry before you’ve finished following everyone, but get on to that follow button as soon as you can so you're finished before February 25 :)

“And what are those prizes?” you may ask.

...DRUMROLL...

“Well, hold on a sec and I’ll tell you.” *grins*

The winner of the Challenge will receive their very own Crusader Challenge Winner badge, designed by the lovely Rachel Morgan (thanks Rachel!), whom many of you will have met by now through the Crusade.

The badge comes in your choice of colors (but seriously, how can you not want purple?), all the better for some serious blog beautification :)

The winner will ALSO have the choice of:

(1) an interview on Rach Writes... (did anybody say “platform-building”?)

OR

(2) a critique from the fabulous Lynnette Labelle, copyeditor and proofreader, and one of our very own Crusaders, woot!!! (more details below)

The runner-up will receive the other prize :)

Tell us more about the critique

Okey doke. The recipient of the critique can choose between a critique of their first 500 words OR a critique of their query letter. Plus, they can revise and resubmit to Lynnette. Here’s her bio from her website:

“Lynnette Labelle is a certified copyeditor and proofreader with over ten years of experience, and is the editor of RWA Online’s newsletter LoveBytes. She spent many years teaching kindergarten to grade eight, but especially enjoyed instructing the junior high students how to write short stories and poems.

After studying writing for children and teens through The Institute of Children’s Literature, taking Advanced Creative Writing in university, participating in dozens of writing workshops, and reading far too many “how to write” books to count, Lynnette has a great understanding of the craft of writing. She knows the typical mistakes beginner writers and some published authors make that keep them from either getting published or moving further up the publishing ladder. Her background in writing, teaching, copyediting, and proofreading makes her an excellent choice as a mentor. Her assistance and services have helped writers on their journey to publication.”

Worth playing for, yes?

So, all that remains is to enjoy. Leave me a comment to let me know you're playing. Have fun writing your post, then pop round to the other entrants, check out their posts, follow and comment, and see who you can catch out in a lie!!! I can't wait to see what trickery you all come up with :)

And don't forget to pop back here and add your name and post link to the linky tool below before 11.59 pm next Friday!

IMPORTANT: DON'T PUT YOUR NAME IN THE LINKY UNTIL YOU'VE WRITTEN YOUR POST - THEN LINK DIRECT TO THAT POST PLEASE