Writing Challenge #4 (Results)

The winner from the last writing challenge, plus . . .  

As a way to say thank you for your participation, I would like to choose an entry myself and offer the winner a $10 Amazon Gift Card. My chosen entry is . . . 

Neha's Shadow by Ruth

*Ruth - please email me (rhonda.ritenour@gmail.com) and we can work out the details of your gift card! Thank you!!

Below is the response regarding the chosen entry from our guest judge, Marcy G. Dyer!! Click HERE and go to the comment section to read the entry for this writing challenge.

As always, please stay tuned to Ritty's Writing Challenges for the next photo challenge!

From Marcy:

I must say choosing a winner a was difficult because there were so many great entries! I would like to challenge the entrants to flesh out the stories and finish them. They all sound very intriguing, and since the story is easier to write than the blurb, you have a half the battle done.

While all of the blurbs were good, Mixed Blessings stood out. Christina gave us a glimpse of both Virginia and Noah and why, despite the mutual attraction, they cannot be together. It was succinct and drew me in making me want to read the story.

We were asked to give some tips for improving, so here are a couple. Double-check words if you aren’t sure if they should be capitalized. For example, cholera isn’t capitalized according to the Chicago Manual of Style. I would also suggest increasing the tension regarding the cholera outbreak.

To all of the entrants – keep writing. Whether or not you’re chosen as a winner of the challenge, you all have the potential to craft intriguing, compelling stories and I would hate for any of you to become discouraged with your writing. None of the entries were bad, and choosing a winner proved to be a daunting task. The more you write and participate in critique groups, the more your writing will improve.

Christina, if you’ll contact me via my website http://www.marcydyer.com or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marcydyer then I’ll send you a copy of Book One in the Desert Winds Series – Down & Out.

I can be found at the following sites:

http://www.marcydyer.com

http://www.facebook.com/marcydyer

https://plus.google.com/116097132605033617528/posts

https://twitter.com/marcydyer

Marcy G. Dyer is a Registered Nurse and suspense author. Like so many other writers, she began writing at a very young age, but never took herself seriously as a "real" writer until about ten years ago when she began taking courses and learning the craft of writing. She currently has two novels from the Desert Winds Series available: Down & Out and Out for Blood. In addition to writing, Marcy is a freelance editor. She does editing for individuals, Desert Breeze Publishing, and Prism Book Group.

Marcy is an alumnus of the Christian Writer's Guild and long-time member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She hosts a small critique group for ACFW and is involved in two other critique groups. For anyone seriously interested in becoming an author, she recommends a strong, diverse critique group to help authors hone crafts.

In addition to maintaining her website,http://www.marcydyer.com, Marcy hosts a blog to help those with autoimmune diseases. While many autoimmune diseases aren't visible, they still cause chronic pain and disability. If you would like more information, please visit http://ragimp.blogspot.com

As followers of Jesus Christ, Marcy and her family are active members of Crossroads Fellowship in Odessa, Texas. Sermons are carried live via the web at our online campus - http://crossroadsodessa.tv/ at the following times on Sundays - 9:30 & 11:00 and 5:00 & 7:00 central time.

Writing Challenge #4: Vintage Photo

Photo Challenge
BLURB

Entries must be presented in the form of a "blurb", which you would typically find on the inside or back jacket cover of a book. Imagine the photo above is the cover photo for the front of your book. Ask yourself: What story is begging to be told through this picture? How would you summarize it to best catch the readers attention?

Need help? Read past (Blurb) Writing Challenge entries:

CLICK HERE (see comment area)

Rules: 

• Think! Any entries/comments deemed inappropriate by the author of this blog will be deleted. Please use common sense and courtesy for other readers before posting.

• Remember! Grammar, spelling and punctuation count.  
• Suggestion: Ask a friend to edit your "blurb" before submitting it as your final entry. 

• Winners! The top two winners will be announced the day after the contest ends. This will be part of a special blog post, in which their winning entry will be highlighted.

• Surprise! There will be a panel of judges (consisting of published authors), evaluating and deciding upon the top two winning entries. The judges will also be preparing a surprise gift for those in the top two & sharing words of advice during the special blog post.   

• Share! Feel free to share a link to your blog, especially if you have expanded the "blurb" into a full story. 

• Deadline!! ALL ENTRIES must be submitted in the comment area OR by "linking up" at the bottom of this post by MIDNIGHT (EST) ~ Sunday, September 1st, 2013 in order to be considered by the judges.  
• *You're more than welcome to share an entry you come up with at a later time in the comment area, but any posted after the deadline will not be considered as a part of this contest.
  

Make sure to share this writing opportunity with all your writing friends! 

 

Now, let's have some fun! 

Writing Challenge #3 (Results)

 
Below is the response regarding the chosen entry from our guest judge, Suzanne Hartmann. Click HERE and go to the comment section to read the entry for this writing challenge.

Stay tuned to Ritty's Writing Challenges for the next photo challenge!



 From Suzanne:

Please don’t feel like this win counts for nothing because you were the only entry, Christina. A synopsis requires four things, and you’ve hit them all very well. 

 

1) It is written in the present tense. 

2) You included only the highlight and basic facts, including introducing the protagonists and the setting. 

3) You included the protagonist’s goals, motivation, and conflict (GMC). 

4) You told the ending. 

 

You did all of this in an engaging manner that drew me into the story and made me empathize with the protagonist. I especially like the way you focused on the conflicts, since conflict and tension is what drives a story forward. You give enough details but don’t try to mention everything. You also paid attention to grammar and punctuation, which makes your submission clean and easy to read without distractions. It describes a book I would love to read. Well done. Even without competition, Christina, you’ve written a winner in my book. If you haven’t already written this story, you ought to! 

Special Note: Suzanne has actually written an article on her blog 

about writing a synopsis!

CLICK HERE to read!

Christina, for your prize, Suzanne is providing with you a choice . . . 

Choice #1: A copy of her book, Peril. 

Choice #2: A 10 page evaluation of your WIP. 

Contact Suzanne (see below) with your choice! 

Thank you Suzanne for being a wonderful judge and providing such great options for the prize! 

To learn more about Suzanne Hartman - click here

 

AUTHOR OF WRITE THIS WAY: Take Your Writing to a New Level

AUTHOR OF PERIL: A Fast Track Thriller (Available at on-line bookstores in print or Kindle formats)

BOOK TRAILER for PERIL

Consulting Editor with Port Yonder Press 

 

Connect with Suzanne: FACEBOOK ~ TWITTER  

Writing Challenge #3: Young Girl - Antique Photo

Photo (Inspiration) Challenge

Based on the photo above, participants can submit a SHORT synopsis (in the comment area below) of what story they believe is hidden behind the eyes of the young lady featured in the antique photo (above). Entries (for this particular writing challenge) must be presented in the form of a SYNOPSIS.

Helpful tips for writing your synopsis:

Synopsis: “A brief summary of the major points of a written work, either as prose or as a table; an abridgment or condensation of a work. It is the Summary of a story told in present tense. A brief outline or general view, as of a subject or written work; an abstract or a summary." (x)

Writers use synopsis to sell their work. They’re in present tense, and they sum up the story/idea interestingly and succinctly. A synopsis is a type of summary.  Read more here: http://writeworld.tumblr.com/post/42841871845/this-is-a-towel-summaries-synopses-and-blurbs

There are a lot more helpful descriptions via the link above (I found it helpful to read the differences between a blurb, synopsis, and summary), as well as links to other articles going into more detail on how to write a synopsis.  

Here is a link to one of the articles that I found very helpful: http://janefriedman.com/2011/10/25/novel-synopsis/.

"The synopsis conveys the narrative arc of your  novel; it shows what happens and who changes, from beginning to end. The synopsis ensures character actions and motivations are realistic and make sense. A synopsis will reveal any big problems in your story . . .  A synopsis will reveal plot flaws, serious gaps in character motivation, or a lack of structure. A synopsis also can reveal how fresh your story is; if there’s nothing surprising or unique, your manuscript may not get read." ~ Jane Friedman

Judges will be chosen and given the task of deciding their top choice for the winning entry based on how well the entries fits the description of a synopsis and follow the rules below:

 Rules: 

*LENGTH: The entry can not exceed 500 words to be considered by the judges.*  

• Think! Any entries/comments deemed inappropriate by the author of this blog will be deleted. Please use common sense and courtesy for other readers before posting.

• Remember! Grammar, spelling and punctuation count.  
• Suggestion: Ask a friend to edit your entry before submitting it as your final entry. 

• Winners! The top two winners will be announced after the contest ends. This will be part of a special blog post, in which their winning entry will be highlighted.

• Surprise! There will be a panel of judges (consisting of published authors), evaluating and deciding upon the top two winning entries. The judges will also be preparing a surprise gift for those in the top two & sharing words of advice during the special blog post.   

• Share! Feel free to share a link to your blog, especially if you have expanded the synopsis into a full story. 

• Deadline!! ALL ENTRIES must be submitted in the comment area OR by "linking up" at the bottom of this post by Saturday, August 17, 2013 ~ MIDNIGHT ~ EST in order to be considered by the judges.  
• *You're more than welcome to share an entry you come up with at a later time in the comment area, but any posted after the deadline will not be considered as a part of this contest.
  

Make sure to share this writing opportunity with all your writing friends! 

 

Now, let's have some fun!