Day Two - Writing Contest

 

    Welcome!


    Today is Day Two of this blog, an ongoing writing excercise for my own development (see Day One). I've been using several different resources to help my out, various websites, articles, books, etc. that have advice on developing your writing into a career. A lot of the information is a "best practices" soup that more or less says the same thing: there are many paths to the same destination. Or another, easier way of saying, "writers need to write". 

    For Day Two, I'd like to highlight the website www.reedsy.com a website dedicated to book editors and writing. They have a ton of fantastic resources that include articles, videos, live streamed interviews, and writing contests. I've enjoyed some of the live streams since it helps writers hear from other people in the industry, how they got their start, and how the different moving parts come together (writing, while initially a sole endeavor, needs a fair amount of colloboration). They also have short story writing contests, something I'd encourage newer writers to go for. The writing prompt this time is on the subject of "fate", a well worn topic that's looking for fresh voices. Check it out! I know I'll be submitting a story before May 12th (the due date).

    Yesterday I met with a counselor of mine, someone that I would be comfortable with labeling as a "life coach". They let me borrow a book they had on their shelf called "PostSecret". I hadn't heard of it even though it's been around since the 2000's, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been any less impactful. The author created postcards and distributed them to various locations, allowing for anyone who found them to anonymously write their secrets and mail them in to  the author. The book itself is a mix of laughs and heartache, human moments and insight into issues that aren't exclusive to any one person, but feel entirely individual in that moment. A great concept for a book that seems to have real world affects. Great stuff.

    For now, I'm off to write that short story on fate. I used my phone to voice record some ideas I had yesterday, lines that I repeated and said in various ways, playing with the wording, and probably sounding all sorts of silly. Don't knock the process, writers are an usual sort, and I'm no different. Wish me luck!


                    -Denis Baldwin

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day Six - And so it goes...

      Aloha!     Last post I talked about AI tools and how I'm of the belief that now that the tools are here, they aren't going away any time soon (or ever for that matter). Reedsy did a more in depth newsletter regarding AI and how it's still in its infancy stage and that it needs a fair amount of hand holding in order to get anything of value out of the application. I actually find this beneficial. What better way to know your own material than having to describe it in different ways, trying to produce varying yet similar results. It's a fun game if you think of it as such. If you care to read Reedsy's article, click below! Reedsy Article - AI and Writing     On my end I've been researching different recommendations and templates regarding query letters to pitch my novel to agents ( and researching agents). I really need to sit down and dedicate a few hours to this practice and just get the ball rolling. I have small issues regarding "is the materia...
Read more

Day Eight - Delays and Excuses

      Greetings!     If you've been following my blog (you haven't) then you will have noticed that it's been several days since I've posted consistently. That's because I've been busy and such, but also because I set an arbitrary schedule when I first started this directionless blog. I think I'll shift over to a weekly format, mostly because I will feel less guilty that way and maintain that I haven't fully given up on this blog.     This week I'm excited to share that I'm entering the Reedsy writing contest for a second time. The topic this time is based on the grapevine, telephone, rumors, and the like. I'm going for the rumor aspect. I thought that today's blog could be on my writing process, thought process, and the creative side of things.      Let's start from the beginning: The Title. I'll be honest, I'm 50/50 with titles. There are some things I've written and the title has come as naturally as the dialogue or the...
Read more