START Write-a-Thon April 8, 2010

This was supposed to post automatically, but maybe it was on East Coast time. Sorry. It's 4:22 now so . . .

Rev up your engines, it's time to get this party started!

Here's a repeat of the rules-and-or-processes for tonight's write-a-thon:


1-Enter your starting time and starting word count in the comment section of this blog. Contest is open from 4:00 pm, April 8 to 12:15 am, April 9.

3-Write for four hours--set a timer if you need to! (You can take breaks, but track your time!)

4-When finished, come back to this blog and put your end time, end word count, and total words written in those 4 hours in the comment trail.

5-All "end time" posts must be posted by 12:15, Mountain Daylight Time (we're giving you 15 minutes to tally your numbers). To calculate your times based on where you live, go HERE and educate yourself about time zones.

6-Please be honest. You are your own time/word keeper and we are trusting that none of our dearly beloved readers would sell their integrity for $50 or 50 pages :-) You must post a start comment AND an end comment to be eligible to win and have your words counted toward the total.

7-The winner--whoever has the most words written in their four hours--will be posted Tomorrow, Friday, April 9th here on the PEG blog. The winner will receive their choice of a $50 gift card to Amazon.com or 50 pages of a content edit from one of the Precision Editing Group editors.

**Bonus prize: If all participants combined word counts meet or exceed 100,000 words an additional prize drawing will be held for a hand crafted journal from Pendragon's Bookbinding.

Ready, set, go...

Write-a-Thon **NEWS** and Tips

by Annette Lyon

Are you ready for Thursday evening?

You know what I'm talking about, right? The big Precision Editing Group Write-a-Thon!

You know the basics:

• Write for FOUR hours between 4:00 pm and midnight, Thursday, April 8, MDT.
• Enter your start time and beginning word count (if applicable) on the post that will be up then, titled, "The Write-a-Thon Starts Now!"
• Track your 4-hour block (set a timer if you need to so you don't go over).
• Come back and post your finishing time and your total words written during the 4 hours.

PRIZES: So here's the fun part!

• The person who writes the MOST words will receive a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com OR a 50-page content edit from Precision Editing Group.
• One participant (selected at random) will receive a $30 gift certificate to Amazon.com

PRIZE UPDATE!

To encourage as many people as possible to participate, we've added a third prize, courtesy Pendragon's Bookbinding, who hand-sew blank journals. (Check out their website HERE. Their work really is a nearly lost art.)

One participant, again chosen at random, will win BOTH a copy of my There, They're Their: A No-Tears Guide to Grammar from the Word Nerd AND a hand-bound blank journal from Pendragon's Bookbinding . . . IF . . .

Yes, there's a catch: The journal (a writer's best friend, no?) and my grammar guide will be awarded ONLY if all participants' word counts written during the 4-hour marathon add up to more than 100,000 words.

That means in order for anyone to win a third prize, we need lots of participants!

So spread the word far and wide on your blog, via Twitter, and Facebook! Let's get as many people doing this as we can so someone can win prize #3!

Write-a-Thon TIPS:

I've done a few all-day writing marathons (8-10 hours each), and here are a few things I've learned that can make the time more productive than if you sit down and plunk your fingers on the keyboard cold:

• Think ahead, very specifically, to what you'll be writing. Consider going so far as writing a list of scenes you know are coming. A few key words or a sentence that will trigger your memory is plenty.
• Make your scene list 50% longer than you think it needs to be. This helps in two ways: not only will you have plenty to work with and not run out of material at 3.5 hours, but if you end up stuck on one scene, you can easily abandon it and jump to another one--without losing valuable time trying to work through a block.
• Have snacks and water nearby. You may think you won't need them, but four hours can (actually, WILL) result in brain fry and low blood sugar. Small snacks like cut-up apples, a little container of raisins, something with protein like nuts, or (because who are we kidding) some chocolate can help you keep writing . . . and prevent you from getting up to check the pantry.
• Plan on tiny breaks, then take them, but make them brief. Yes, technically you may lose 5 minutes here and there if you get up to walk around. But I've found that simply pacing the house for a few minutes is enough to get the juices flowing again. It helps your muscles AND your brain unkink, making you more productive when you sit back down (and more than making up for lost minutes).
• Do NOT use breaks for replenishing snacks. Mini breaks are meant to get your brain and body back into gear. If you spend them staring into the fridge, you'll not only get sidetracked, but your brain won't be taking the pit stop it needs (instead, it'll be contemplating salami versus bologna, Monterey jack versus cheddar).
• Write with a buddy. As long as the two of your are both committed to writing and not chatting, a buddy can keep you on track. Hearing another person's keyboard clicking away can be just enough to keep your fingers going (much like having a buddy in a race can keep you taking the next step and the next).

I can't wait to get started on my write-a-thon, and I hope we have lots of participants.

Good luck, everyone! Let's crack 100,000 together!

Write-a-Thon Contest!

On Thursday, April 8, 2010 Precision Editing Group will be sponsoring a Write-a-Thon and we're inviting writers to show us how many words you can write in 4 hours! The contest will open at 4:00 Mountain Daylight Time and end at midnight (You choose the best 4 hours during that period of time). There will be two winners. The person who writes the most words will receive their choice of a $50 Amazon.com gift card OR a 50 page content edit by one of the Precision Editing Group Editors. An additional winner will be chosen from everyone who participated in the write-a-thon. This winner will receive a $30 gift card to Amazon.com and be chosen through www.random.org.

Here's how it will work:

1-The Write-a-thon will officially begin at 4:00 Mountain Daylight Time.

2-The blog titled "Write-a-Thon Starts Now!" will post at 4:00 MDT--you need to enter your starting time and starting word count in the comment section of the blog when you begin.

3-Write for four hours--set a timer if you need to!

4-When finished, come back to the PEG blog and put your end time, end word count, and total words written in those 4 hours as another comment on the blog.

5-All "end time" posts must be posted by 12:15, Mountain Daylight Time (we're giving you 15 minutes to tally your numbers). To calculate your times based on where you live, go HERE and educate yourself about time zones.

6-Please be honest about your word count and use your time to write REAL words. You are your own time/word keeper and we are trusting that none of our dearly beloved readers would sell their integrity for $50 or 50 pages :-) You must have posted a start comment AND an end comment to be eligible to win either of the prizes.

7-The winner will be posted on Friday, April 9th here on the PEG blog.

We'll also be adding up everyone's words, think we can hit 100,000 words in one night?

Feel free to spread the word to other writers (Facebook, Twitter, personal blogs), wherever they may live--send them here to read up on the specifics. This contest is open to anyone, anywhere. While the prizes are a perk, the true challenge is to see how much you can do in a four hour period of time dedicated to writing. Buy hot dogs for the kids, turn off the phone, TIVO Letterman, and let your fingers go.

*Please ask any questions here, we'll answer them throughout the week.

Recent Release by Annette & Update Your Status!

Updated 3/26/10

Dear Readers,

As a reminder, if any of our "followers" have a book published, we'd be happy to post the good news here! One thing that is unique about Precision Editing Group is that all of our editors are published writers. So we really understand the challenges of writing, editing, and publishing.

Congrats to Annette Lyon (PEG Editor) who has a new book out: Band of Sisters

Daron Fraley, one of our readers, just had a new book released: The Thorn. (Thanks for letting us know!) Congrats, Daron!

So what is everyone working on this month? Writing? Editing? Submitting?

Songs About Writer's/Writing

By Josi S. Kilpack

Thanks for all the great suggestions on movies about writers last week, I was reminded of some I'd forgotten and made aware of other's I had never heard of. It got me thinking about another topic--songs about writers/writing. Here's what I came up with, please add others you know:

Unwritten by Natasha Beddingfield
Paperback Writer by The Beatles
Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen
Everyday I Write the Book by Elvis Costello
Shadow Stabbing by Cake
Lady Writer by Dire Straits
She's not Just a Pretty Face by Shania Twain (okay, that one's a stretch, but she does say Romance Novelist in it :-) 

Monday Mania--First Page

One of our readers submitted a first page for critique. A first page of a manuscript must hook an agent or editor. Feel free to make comments, but please keep them constructive.

Critique Archive 0037:

Maren sat on the bathroom floor often.

She liked to feel the cold floor through the fabric of her clothes and hear the quiet echo of closed in noises bouncing off the hard tile walls. Sometimes she even liked to turn the shower on, to hide the sound of her crying.

But today isn't a day of turning on the shower; She doesn't want the sound to go down the drain with the wasted water.

All she wants is to be alone. Just Maren and the razor.

The small sharp piece of metal gleamed invitingly on the white tile as she stared at the back of the shut door. The wood's grain patterns she'd memorized seemed a dull place to being focusing on and she felt tears come as she realizing what she was about to do.

Then she criticized herself for being a coward picked the small blade up, grasping it firmly between her forefingers and thumb and immediately brought it down and across the thin layers of skin stretched over her left wrist.

The flesh opened and spewed up life, blood, and she hissed, dropping the blade to the ground.

The gash burned harsh and hard like a fire consuming her nerves, making her writhe in pain.
“Ah. Ah. Ah.” she panted, her eyes wide. But slowly the burning faded out and she felt herself relax.

She knew it was coming, the release, and she welcomed the growing wooziness as she felt herself become weaker and weaker.

She took one last look through droopy eyes at the enlarging scarlet puddle covering the stark white tile.

“Mine...” She mumbled, watching her blood spreading outward until she could no longer hold onto consciousness and she slumped down, sprawled over the wet floor.

Movies About Writers

By Josi S. Kilpack

I was pondering this week on the many movies where the plot revolves around writers and was surprised at just how many I could come up with, and yet I know there are some I've missed. So, I'm going to present my list, and I'd love for you to fill in the ones I missed.



Stranger than Fiction


The Secret Window


Misery


Romancing the Stone


Jewel of the Nile


Martian Child

Finding Neverland


Capote


Finding Forrester


The Shining



So, what did I miss?