Winning Wednesday - Readers Choice

I'm dubbing today Winning Wednesday for two reasons:

1. Personally, my husband and I have won two great prizes within the last week. First, my husband was the correct caller on a local radio station and won (2) 11-day passes to the Muskegon Summer Celebration, a huge annual event with lots of fun stuff, including great bands. performing on stage. Last Friday night, he had the privilege of seeing Loverboy and Joan Jett. Last night, he took my daughter to see Kellie Pickler, and tomorrow night, he'll take my son to see Billy Squire. This coming Friday, he and I will go to see Heart. Can't wait for that! TOLD YOU there are some great bands! Classic bands of the 80's totally rock.

The passes he won are worth around $200. Not bad!

Then, yesterday, I received a certified letter in the mail informing me that I am the grand prize winner of a contest I entered that was sponsored by Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa and Pepsi. I won a 2-night, 3-day ski package for six people to stay in a 3-bedroom condo at Crystal Mountain. Sweet, right? Well, it would be...if any of us happened to ski. Not sure if this 40-ish body could handle all of those wipeouts.

I have emailed the resort to see if there is a possibility I can exchange the ski package for something a little less...extreme. Like Golf. I don't golf either, but I'm willing to learn. My arms might get sore, but at least it's likely I won't end up in a body cast.

So anyway...that's reason #1 I'm dubbing today Winning Wednesday. On to #2...

2. The FaithWriters Best of the Best winners were announced today. If you'd like to find out who won, visit my Examiner.com page. Hey, I earn a whole penny every time someone reads an article on my Examiner site. I'm not above begging for clicks. There are links provided to the top three entries, so you can read them and congratulate the winners.

Anyway, because of all the winning going on this week, I would like to give something to you! Because I want to share the love! Of winning, that is.

What can you win? Well in honor of the FaithWriters Writing Challenge Best of the Best winner (and because the Challenge starts up again tomorrow), you have the opportunity to win a FaithWriters anthology of your choice!

So here's how it's going to work. Check out the following FaithWriters anthologies and leave a comment letting me know which one you'd like to win and why. Don't be shy about the reason you want to win. If it's because you happen to have an entry published in one of them, that's a great reason!

I will randomly select a comment from all the entries and next Wednesday, I will announce the winner.

Here's the list. Have fun!

Abundance of Life (May, 2007)

Hidden in the Hymns (December, 2007)

A Year of Celebration (September, 2005)

Journey of Faith (January, 2006)

In the Beginning (July, 2005)

Come Away with Me (May, 2006)

Eternally Blessed (March, 2005)

Inspiration at your Fingertips (November, 2006)

Learning for Life (December, 2004)

In or Out of the Box?

So as writers, we hear a lot about writing "outside of the box." But let's face it: sometimes, staying inside of the box works. Not to mention feels a lot safer. After all, if we've lived inside of the box a long time, stepping out can be a little, um, intimidating. Stressful. Scary!

There are some things in storytelling that will always be "in the box." For example, the formula for romance stories. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl have conflict. Boy and girl end up happy.

OK, so the formula may always be "boring" so to speak, but that doesn't mean your story needs to be. It's your job as the author to come up with ways to make the plot fresh and exciting and keep your reader turning those pages. Who wants to read a story they've read a hundred times before? Readers loved to be surprised, emotionally and mentally challenged, shocked even. So while the formula is in the box, what happens in your novel should be out of the box.

Clear as mud?

Jan Ackerson, a regular FaithWriters Challenge winner, says she comes up with her Weekly Challenge ideas this way. She says, "When I see the topic for the week, I write down everything I can possibly think of that relates to that topic. Then, I throw it away because those ideas are ones everyone has probably thought of." Her goal is to think of something original. Fresh. Out of the box.

Take your thinking to another level. Think about the word or topic from all angles. Say the topic of the week is BLIZZARD. Here's a "box" breakdown:

IN the box: A couple is stranded inside of a cabin during a blizzard.

A little better but still IN the box: A month long blizzard wipes out the entire population except for two people who are now forced to survive.

OUT of the box: A girl goes to the local Dairy Queen because she craves an enormous BLIZZARD ice cream cup.

THAT'S thinking outside of the box.

Here's another example. Say the topic is MEMORY.

IN the Box: A story about computer memory.
IN the Box: A man loses his memory.
IN the Box: A woman reflects on her childhood.

OUT of the Box: Story about a memory foam mattress

Sometimes in the box does work. But your story needs to be excellent in order to pull it off. Otherwise, it just comes across as hum-drum and same-old.

This week, I challenge you to step out of the box. If nothing else, you will learn to use your creativity in a new way. And you may just end up writing something brilliant.

To challenge your "out-of-the-box" writing ability, enter this week's FaithWriters Challenge.

FaithWriters Writing Challenge

OK, so I actually got in a Challenge Entry this week. Woot!

Last quarter, the theme was geographical locations - You know, like Asia, Africa, India, Australia...hey, anyone who knows me is aware that the only topic from last quarter that I would have been qualified to enter was The United States. And even that would have been iffy. Geography is definitely not my thing.

Besides that, I was uber-busy. Yeah, that's it.

So, after taking more than a quarter off, which adds up to over three months, I took a look at the topic last week and immediately got an idea. I wrote and entered it in under an hour. I really like it, too, which means there goes my chance of placing in the top ten. That's usually how it goes anyway. :-)

But that's ok! It felt good to hit that submit button.

So for those of you who aren't familiar with the FaithWriters Weekly Writing Challenge, it is the most popular feature of FaithWriters. It is completely free to enter and does wonders in honing your writing skills by allowing you to experiment with different styles and genres. It also disciplines you to write to a topic, a deadline, and a word-count (150-750). Getting feedback from other members is just the icing on the chocolate brownie.

The top ten winners each week go on to be published in the FaithWriters quarterly anthologies. So far, there have been 11 books published. Due to some changes we're making with the publication of these antholigies, we're a few books behind but hope to get caught up in the next year or two. Check out previously published books here: CHALLENGE BOOKS

Oh...and you can even win cash! All forty #1 entries from the year (July to July) are judged for the title of Best of the Best (or BoB, as we like to call it). The top three winners receive a nice cash prize. How cool is that? Despite placing over 40 times in the top ten, including a few #1's, I have never won this coveted title. But I'm determined to win it one of these days! I have had the privilege of interviewing the winners, though, which was fun. Here's a link to those if you'd like to take a peek: BEST OF THE BEST WINNERS


Anyway, here's how The Weekly Writing Challenge works (taken from the FaithWriters site):

HOW IT WORKS

1. You may not use a previously written, published, or copyrighted work in the writing challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to write on the topic chosen and not to use a previously written piece.

2. Members, SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY to this week's challenge by clicking the orange SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY button. The challenge is to write an article about the topic for the week and your entry MUST be between 150 to 750 words MAX. You can now choose a level of entry. Level 1 – Beginner, Level 2 – Intermediate, Level 3 – Advanced, and Level 4 - Masters. Please choose the most appropriate level for your writing ability. REMEMBER, you will not see your entry displayed until the challenge week is up. Then your entry will be displayed along with all other entries where they can be read and commented on for one week. YOU CAN SUBMIT ONE ENTRY PER WEEK.

3. READ entries from the previous week. You can also leave comments and critiques on the entries of all members.

4. Once the submission week has ended, a new topic will be added and the previous week's entries will be displayed to read and make comments.

5. Each week, a new topic will be added for submission, the previous week's entries will be displayed for READING and COMMENTS, and the entries that were being read and commented on for the week will be tallied and 5 winners from each level will be chosen by our rotating panel of judges. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 2 Highly commended entries will be chosen. There are now 15 winners EACH WEEK!

6. A rotating panel of judges will be looking for their top 10 entries each week. These entries will be considered the EDITOR'S CHOICE and will be used in our quarterly book. EDITOR'S CHOICE winners will also be eligible for the yearly "BEST OF THE BEST" Grand Prize Winners! These winners will be chosen by our panel of judges from all of the EDITOR'S CHOICE winners throughout the year. First place will win $300.00, Second place will win $100.00, and Third place will win $75.00. Winners will be announced July 1st of each year.

7. Members can also leave comments on each article. Click the link "LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE" to leave your feedback to the author of any article.

8. READ PREVIOUS writing challenges in the challenge archives.

I highly encourage you to check it out. As Mikey used to say (for those of us old enough to remember)...Try it, you'll like it!

Or, in this case, you'll get ADDICTED to it! But this is one addiction that is allowed.

Ready to enter? Click here: THE CHALLENGE

Placed 4th in the Challenge this Week!

After a several week hiatus from the FaithWriters Weekly Writing Challenge, last week I had a little extra time and an idea for the topic, so I went ahead and submitted an entry. I just found out this morning that my entry placed 4th, overall, and 2nd in the Masters level.

Hey, I'll take it!

My writing has become a bit mundane lately. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE staying home to freelance full-time and any kind of writing is fun to me, but it felt great to get back to more creative writing - in other words, fiction. Writing content articles and newsletters pays the bills, keeps me busy and is very challenging. But there's nothing quite like creating a story from nothing, you know? It was a nice reprieve from the norm and allowed me to get back to my first love - at least for a time.

Here's the link to my 4th place entry, if you'd like to check it out: Letting Go and Letting God.

Thanks for letting me share. Now, it's back to work I go!

Faith Not Forgotten...Placed First this Week!

So after taking a break from the FaithWriters Writing Challenge to work on other things (namely, that NOVEL I still haven't finished-ugh) I got an idea for last week's topic - At the Pulpit - and decided to enter.

Well, results were posted yesterday and my entry took FIRST! WOO-HOO!

That means I now have three entries in the running for the end of the year's Best of the Best contest, in which all of the first place winners for the year are judged and the top three receive a nice cash prize! The first year I started entering The Challenge, I had one in the running. Last year, I had two. Now I have three! And with several more weeks to go in the year (the year being July 1st through June 30th), who knows? It could be even more!

Anyway, in lieu of this weekend's Blast from the Past, I will go ahead and post my winning entry this week. Oh...and I just have to say, the best part of this whole thing is that I received personal emails from several people telling me how much this entry touched them. And that's really what it's all about. That alone has meant more to me than you can imagine and made entering last week so worth it.

Here it is:

Faith Not Forgotten

For probably the millionth time, Linda watched her father preach. He had always been a dynamic speaker, who could invoke the kind of emotion that had you holding your sides from laughter one minute and bawling like a baby the next.

Kind of like what Linda was doing now.

She swiped at a tear as the memories bombarded her mind...

Five years old... Watching Daddy behind the big wooden “Bible stand,” as she called it. Eyes fixed on his face as she listened to his animated stories about Noah and Jonah and Abraham. And Jesus, of course. And when her daddy's eye caught hers in the middle of a sermon, his face broke into a great big smile and he gave her a knowing wink. While she didn’t understand everything he said back then, what she did understand was that her daddy loved her.

Twelve years old...Arms folded across her chest, huge scowl plastered on her face, looking everywhere but at him. She hated that her dad was the pastor. Hated being called "P.K." Despised being known as, “goody-two-shoes.” She did a pretty good job of tuning him out every Sunday. Church became a time for dreaming up ways to coerce her dad into changing professions.

Linda shook her head and smiled through her tears. Man, she had been a brat. She'd deserved a lot more than the scoldings (and the razor-blade elbow pokes) she got from her mother.

Seventeen years old...Sitting in the back row, giggling with her girlfriends as they passed notes back and forth about the boys they liked and the parties they wanted to attend. Ignoring the looks from other members of the congregation. She could care less what people said about her or whether she was embarrassing her father. He’d get over it.

Twenty-five...scribbling furiously in her notebook, trying to capture every word of wisdom her father poured forth. He always had fresh and thought-provoking ways of looking at God’s Word. She never walked away from his sermons without some new insight into scripture. And she always left the santuary excited about putting her faith into practice.

Now, Linda leaned back and just listened. She’d sat through this particular message several times but somehow it managed to encourage her more and more every time she heard it.

“Always remember...God never forgets. You think what you’ve done has gone unnoticed but there is someone who is watching. God sees the work you have done and will reward you.” Her father’s voice was gentle, yet firm.

Linda closed her eyes, relishing the moment. She breathed a prayer that he would stay calm until the end but, as she feared, his tone soon transformed into loud and belligerent. By the time Linda opened her eyes, her father was looking around, eyes wild and frantic.

“Where is my water? Who forgot to bring my water?” He bellowed.

It was time.

Linda stepped out to motion for help. She caught Ann Marie’s eye and together they hurried to the front of the room and up the stairs to the podium.

Linda touched her father’s arm. “Dad? Let’s go back to your room, okay? Jeopardy will be starting soon.” She said it softly, tenderly, so as not to upset him more.

“Someone stole my water." He yanked his arm away. “And I haven’t finished the message. I have to finish so I don’t forget it. Hebrews 6:10. Hebrews 6:10.” He mumbled the verse over and over again as Linda and the nurse led him slowly down the stairs and out of the manor’s small community room.

Linda blinked back more tears and patted his back. “It was a wonderful sermon, Dad. You did great.”

Once in his room, she settled him into his favorite chair and turned on the television. She sat down on the couch and offered up a prayer of thanks for her father. His memory was fading but it seemed he would never forget his faith.

More importantly, just as her father had taught so many times, God would always remember the important work her dad had done over the years.

The truth was, her father had touched many people from behind that pulpit and had left a firm imprint of the love of Christ on thousands of hearts.

She smiled at her dad through her tears as her heart swelled. At that moment, Linda felt that the biggest imprint of all was left on hers.