I write stuff for kids...and muse on writing, children's books, and the publishing industry in general

Friday, March 18, 2011

Write Hope for Japan, Second Crusader Challenge, Crusader Notice-Board

Happy Friday everyone! Today's the start of the Second Crusader Challenge, woot (and wait 'til you see the awesome prizes)! But before I get into that, have you followed our Write Hope blog yet? We'll be auctioning off books, swag, and critiques and donating the money raised to the relief fund of our chosen charity, Save the Children, to help with the Japan Disaster. Auctions will start Monday, so spread the word if you can, and make sure you come and bid. Not convinced yet? Here's five reasons why you need to take part in the auction:
  1. 30 minute Skype chat (on any subject whatsoever - your choice!) with Meredith Barnes of FinePrint Literary Management!!!
  2. 50 page critique (in a genre she's looking for as per her blog) plus a 20 minute phone call to answer any questions the winner may have about the critique - with Kathleen Ortiz of Lowenstein Associates, Inc, woot!!!
  3. critique of a full manuscript, YA or fantasy (and any fantasy subgenres), up to 100,000 words from author Jodi Meadows
  4. First chapter critique by Tessa Gratton (increasing to additional chapters) plus a signed copy of Blood Magic
  5. critique of your first twenty pages by author Carrie Harris
And there's much, much more!!! So pop over to Write Hope, follow along, then come right back to see what the Second Crusader Challenge is all about below :)

Nozomi

Crusader Notice-Board

Check out these great blogfests, contests, and other announcements:
  • Crystal Collier is holding a most unusual contest on her blog until March 22. Give her ideas for her music video, and the winner will receive: (if their idea is used) their name in the credits, plus a free download of the current soundtrack for Immortal the Musical (which isn't out yet), plus one free book from Amazon (up to $20 value)
  • Margo Benson is holding a 200 followers giveaway, with some awesome books as prizes - better hurry, not much longer until she reaches 200 and the prize is drawn
  • Sarah Ketley (The precocious scribe) is having a competition to celebrate reaching 200 Followers. Prize is currently a $10 Amazon Kindle Voucher. Entries will close the weekend after she gets to 200 followers
  • Tony Benson is also having a 200 followers giveaway, with 2 books as the prize. Check out the details here
  • Kelsey Sutton is giving away an ARC of The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong on March 26. Check it out here
  • Chenoa Fawn is running a collaborative story based on the surrealist game Cadavre Exquis. Visit her blog until March 31
  • Adriana Kraft is giving away a $10 gift certificate to All Romance E-Books. To enter, leave a comment on any blog post in March
  • LB Diamond (and Tessa Conte) are holding their The Nature of Magic blogfest on March 26
  • Alison Miller is inviting all writers to join the Write Brained Network, a writing group which is free to writers at any stage of development. Check out her invitation here. The group is also hosting its first conference this year in Harrisonburg, Virginia
Cruasders, if you have a blogfest, a contest, or a something-or-other you want me to let people know about, drop me an email and I'll run it in the following Friday's post. Please include all the relevant details in your email, including links, name, and when it runs/ends, so I don't have to chase them down.

Second Crusader Challenge

Before I tell you what the Challenge is about *grins* does anyone want to help me with judging the Challenge? Shoot me an email if you do: rachael[dot]harrie[at]gmail[dot]com. I'd really appreciate it :)

The Challenge:

Write a flash fiction story (in any format) in 100 words or less, excluding the title. Begin the story with the words, “The goldfish bowl teetered” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional, and not part of the judging criteria), see if you can write the story in your own genre (eg if you’re a horror writer, write a horror story; a romance writer, a romance story, etc).

Once you’ve posted your Challenge post on your blog, 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 Second Crusader Challenge will close next Friday, March 25th (at 11.59pm EST), so make sure you get your post in the linky link before then! 

And the prizes:
  • C.A. Marshall, freelance editor, YA writer, and literary agent intern will be contributing a $35 gift certificate. That $35 can be used towards a ten page critique, a four-page synopsis critique, a submission package prize (a look at the writer's query and first ten pages), or used towards a full edit. Thanks heaps Cassandra. Awesome prize, yes!!!
  • An interview for the runner-up (or the winner if they'd prefer) on Rach Writes...
  • A Crusader winner's badge
  • And I may throw in a little something extra as well :)
Here's Cassandra's bio: C.A. Marshall is a freelance editor, lit agent intern, YA writer, and loves to play with her dog Mollie. She dreams of one day owning a small house near the water, preferably in England, with a shelf full of books she has written and has helped others to write. She can be found in Emmett, MI and at camarshall.com for writing, editorcassandra.com for editing, and on twitter @CA_Marshall. 
Everyone is very welcome to take part, though only Crusaders will be eligible for the prizes. Entries over 100 words will not be considered. Entries will be judged on various criteria, including originality, word count, and entertainment value.
Have fun! Can’t wait to see what you come up with (and sorry for the goldfish bowl thingy, tee hee).




Please make sure you include the direct link to that post, not just the link to your blog (I can't edit your entries on the Linky Link!)

86 comments:

Trisha said...

This sounds like heaps of fun! Will have to start working on my story :D

Anonymous said...

Awesome. What a wonderful auction and contest. Excellent! :O)

Misha Gerrick said...

Flash fic isn't really something that I write, but I will help you judge if you like. (See e-mail.)

;-)

Zan Marie said...

100 words! I haven't written that short unless it was a poem in forever. ; ) I'll have to think about this...

Stina said...

I don't like short stories, so I know I'll hate flash fiction. I'm definitely a novel kind of girl.

Thanks for the links. I'm especially checking out the auction one. :)

Anonymous said...

LOL, this challenge sounds like fun!

Great job with Write Hope--so awesome!!!!!

Summer Ross said...

Wonderful! I'll see what I can come up with-

obi said...

sounds like a lot of fun and for a great cause.

Vicki Tremper said...

I added a Write Hope link on my blog's sidebar. I hope that helps spread the word. I look forward to the auction on Monday!

Hmm, a linky link. I guess I missed that last time. shucks.

Michelle Merrill said...

Man, you're so original Rach. You've got the best ideas! I'm excited for the Write Hope auction...and I think I'm excited for the challenge. It is certainly going to be one! 100 words? This should be fun.

Carol Riggs said...

What a fun challenge! I might give this one a try--I really LIKE that it's limited to 100 words. It has to be way tight that way. Altho I'm a novel writer so I usually have a little more leeway. :) Wow, 2 people have already written and posted? Speedy!

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

What a noble charity. It's heartwarming to see so many people coming together to make a difference in Japan. I've seen the crusaders badge all over the place. Looks like you're reaching out far and wide! Very cool!

Maggie said...

I hope I did it right this time. : )

Sarah Allen said...

Looks exciting!

Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)

Unknown said...

If judging is happening during the week of Mon 28 March to Fri 1 Apr then I'm afraid that's the week I have end of term exams (ie. a LOT of marking!). So I guess I'm excusing myself from judging...

But I like the challenge :-) And great to make it 100 words, seeing as there are so many crusaders!

Unknown said...

Awesome Challenge!! I found Write Hope earlier today, through Twitter. I thought it was a great blog and followed. Thanks for putting the word out!

Margo Benson said...

Oh my, I'm going to dream of a little fishy tonight!

Thank you for the shout out on my 200 follower giveaway - much appreciated x

Anonymous said...

Sounds like fun, I'm up the challenge! Hehe, the crusade is too much fun. :)

Sarah Ketley said...

ummmmmmmm just gone to post and i can't post it:-(

linky tool expired?

Have i been cast out from the competition before i post my little story...*grin* can't be that bad surely.

lol

let me know if i am being stupid

thanks
sarah

Rachael Harrie said...

Guys, there was an (unexpected) problem with the Linky Link, so I've had to start a new one! So sorry, but you'll need to re-enter your posts.

Hugs,

Rach

Maggie said...

Okay. : ) (((Crossing fingers)))

Jules said...

Just dropping by to say "Hey!" I was absent yesterday observing my day of silence. :)
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

CherylAnne Ham said...

What a tough challenge. I must say that I enjoyed trying something new (I've never written any sort of short story before). Thanks, Rach! :)

Coreene Callahan said...

Wow! This sounds like a ton of fun. he goldfish bowl tettered, huh? Hmm...

Anonymous said...

Relinked!

Heather said...

There are so many wonderful things in that post that I'm not sure where to start clicking! Thank you for stopping by my blog and following. I love what you have going here and look forward to getting to know you better!

Angela Scott said...

I like a good challenge. I'm in.

Maggie said...

LOL. I do believe I've got it this time. Thanks, for letting me know.

Kerri Cuev said...

Flashtastic! This is going to be fun! My mind is whirling with crazy stories already lol.

Cally Jackson said...

Great challenge, Rach! Looking forward to seeing all the entries! (& coming up with one of my own, of course!)

Callie Leuck said...

I'm not a crusader but I participated for fun. I'd love to see more of these -- from anybody! It's a great creative exercise :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for letting me about the link issues! I submitted my link again! J.E.

L.A. Colvin said...

I like this one. Maybe flash fiction is the way for me to go. I might actually finish something!! lol :)

erica m. chapman said...

Ooo great info in this post!! LOVE your blog ;o)

Adina West said...

Okay, this should be possible. I mean, only 100 words, right? But I suppose it has to actually tell a story which might be harder.

LOL

Adina West said...

Okay, my link is above - and this was really hard!

Holly Vance said...

Can I be a Crusader now? :) My entry might be the shortest thing I've written in my life.

Alison Pearce Stevens said...

I posted about Write Hope on Friday, and I'll definitely be checking out the auction; such a fabulous idea.

And the challenge is fun! I just wrote my post, but it won't go live until Wednesday. I'll be back to linky it up. :)

Have a great week!

Deniz Bevan said...

Loved this! How did you know I was trying to figure out a way to bring an animal into the story?

Michelle Merrill said...

It told me to leave a comment after I added my name to the linky...so even though I commented before, here's my updated comment :) What a great challenge!

Vicki Tremper said...

Okay, my first attempt at writing flash fiction. But it's so worth it!

Anne-Mhairi Simpson said...

YAY!! This was fun - I'm loving these challenges!

Cally Jackson said...

I had fun with this one too. My challenge is posted - and it's just a little risque. Eek! :-)

Cindy said...

My challenge is posted. I also added a question for my fellow bloggers to figure out.

Sierra Gardner said...

Such a great challenge - it was painful to cut it down to 100 words =)

Tony Benson said...

Rach, many thanks for mentioning my 200 follower gieveaway.
Cheers
Tony

Cherie Reich said...

Love the idea for this challenge. It was a lot of fun to write.

Donea Lee said...

Wow, Rach! Such great prizes and auction items up for grabs!! So very generous, thank you. I'll work up my story and link soon - and I'll definitely be lurking around the Write Hope blog, too. Have a great day!

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

My link is up!

Golden Eagle said...

This sounds like a great challenge! I'll have to start working on my entry to get it in on Friday!

Ben Langhinrichs said...

I like flash fiction, but it was an interesting challenge to make a children's fantasy flash fic. I'd love to hear anybody's thoughts on Norman Needs a Nudge.

Margo Benson said...

It took me a while to produce a story in genre....but I did!

Trisha said...

YAY!! I finally finished and added my link - this time I didn't add an incorrect link first, which I think is pretty cool of me :D

And I guess you could say it's in my genre, as it could be called 'contemporary' of some sort.

Rebecca Dupree said...

I left a story. I'm not part of the group, but I <3 goldfish!

Amanda Milner said...

This was fun, even though I find writing short anything incredibly painful! Lol! Thank for the challenging challenges Rach! ;)hehe

Anonymous said...

So many great stories out there already. :)
I've just added mine to the bunch!!!

Denise Covey said...

Mine's posted. Great fun. Love flash fiction.

Denise<3

Rachael Harrie said...

Ooh, I'm loving everyone's entries so far! I knew I'd get heaps of different takes on my four beginning words, but I'm amazed at the creativity out there *grins*

Hugs,

Rach

Crystal Collier said...

A little late to the party, but late is better than never. Yay for being # 50! =)

dolorah said...

Mine's up. I usually post excerpts in the horror or fantasy genre's, but I stuck to my women's fiction genre. It is a new writing, even though it uses familiar characters from my trilogy.

Thanks Rachael.

........dhole

KM Nalle said...

This was really hard! I've read so many great entries so far.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Glad you liked it Rach!

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Okay, I posted my entry. Oh and Rach, I gave you an award too. It's one you don't have despite having like a hundred.

Donea Lee said...

Mine's now up - thanks!

Mary Mary said...

I've posted and entered! I didn't think I'd be able to get in on this one, but I did.

Golden Eagle said...

My link is up! :)

Rusty Carl said...

Look at me! I wasn't too late this time.

Sylvia said...

this challenge was SO much fun! :) Love to read through all the entries! Hope I will make it all the way through the list! :)

Anonymous said...

Oops my entry that links to the post is 67, thanks Rach! So much fun to do, can't wait to read the others.

Unknown said...

I hope I did it right! :D

Hart Johnson said...

Ha! Totally missed the detail I needed to sign up, but I guess I'm on time... and finally following everyone with a follow button, so I feel 'allowed'... Drabbles are fun.

Susan Kane said...

100 words?! I think I'll see what I can do...Thanks for hosting another fest!

J E Fritz said...

Okay, I'll do it. A hundred words, though...Let's just say brevity is not my strong suit.

Dominic de Mattos said...

A goldfish ... in science fiction?

Hmmmm .... ok

I love a challenge - especially yours!

:Dom

Susanna Leonard Hill said...

A goldfish in children's - not too much of a stretch... I hope! I'll probably be the last entry - nothing like squeezing in under the wire!

Christine said...

DONE! Finally. I wrote mine in YA paranormal. Fun stuff.

Carrie said...

That was fun! Thanks, Rach!

Alison Miller said...

Great challenge Rach - I am going to do a follow-up post on the contest itself. I'm not normally a short story writer because I'm way too wordy and fly off on tangents. This was a great exercise in making every word count.

Thanks.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I really liked this challenge. All posted!! Thanks.

Enjoy your weekend.

Bess Weatherby said...

So fun! Can't wait to read everyone's!

Margo Kelly said...

Uh... I may have done the linky thing wrong. Sorry. Here's the link:

http://margokelly.blogspot.com/2011/03/crusader-challenge-2-micro-flash.html

Anonymous said...

I've posted my submission for the challenge. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Finally got mine done - yikes. Now have to catch up on reading them all!

J.L. Campbell said...

I almost didn't make it in because I forgot that I needed to get the story written. Great exercise which tells me I can still come up with something if I think about it for a little bit. I enjoyed writing my story.

Anonymous said...

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Giovanni Carlo said...

I don't like goldfish to be place in the goldfish bowl without even have proper aeration and filtration system
how to breed goldfish

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