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Writing Sparks Newsletter

March 14, 2008


Greeting



My warmest greetings to you all.

Happy writing!

Monica


Creativity
Booster


What Color Is Your Career Path?

CareerPath.com is offering a career test that may give new meaning to the phrase “What Color is Your Parachute?” The test can determine, based on a few color choices, some careers that might be perfect for your personality type. According to an interview with Inc.com, the test's creator, Dewey Sadka says “color preferences can reveal personality traits better than questionnaires, which invite test-takers to guess they way they ‘should’ answer.” So if you’re thinking about what jobs may be out there, you might want to give this test a try. www.careerpath.com


This Week's
Assignment


The Ten Things That Must Happen

If you’re feeling stuck in your writing process, create a “Ten Things That Must Happen” outline. This can be a helpful tool for understanding your piece and getting it beyond your inner critic.

Jot down the ten most important events that should occur in piece. What needs to happen and to which characters? The list can be as brief or detailed as you like. And, if it gets in your way, don’t worry about the chronology of these events.

Once you have your list, consider what it shows you about your story? Does the story, as outlined, do everything you wanted it to or thought it should? What scenes can you see best? Where can you start writing? Once you have a clearer plan of where your story will go next, you can get back to the act of writing.


Writing
Prompt



Build Character


Without using any "musical" words, write a poem or short story that describes a character dancing.


Meet
Our Authors


Publishing My First Book: Lori Foster

Lori FosterI see a lot of new authors, or unpublished authors, who have misconceptions about the biz. I know I had them! If you don’t understand the difficulties going in, you’ll be taken by surprise, and maybe even discouraged.

My journey was a little different because I didn’t even know that I wanted to write stories until I started reading romance. Before that, I hadn't read much of anything. Cereal boxes, occasional make-up advice in a . . .

More Lori Foster

Read more Publishing My First Book essays now.



Meet the Author: Tony Townsley

Tony TownsleyMy journey into writing my first book, Three Cups began about 5 years ago. I was on my way to work early one morning when I heard a guest on Catholic Radio talking about an invention that allowed him to give back to the community in a very meaningful way.

I was inspired by his talk and began to think about what I could do to make a difference in the community. After some serious reflection, I decided to pursue something . . .

More Tony Townsley

Read more Meet The Author essays now.


What's New in
Our Bookstore


Dereliction of Duty, Jon Renaud
Dereliction of Duty, Jon Renaud After a failed assassination attempt on the U.S. Secretary of Defense, by a radical Islamic Cleric in Baghdad, U.S. Senators demand revenge. But when things go wrong, they demand deniability at all cost. CID Special Agent Thomas Fox is torn; forced to decide between protecting the members of his former team, or save his own career.

Read an excerpt from Dereliction of Duty now.


Open House, Fran Silver
Open House, Fran Silver Attractive female Realtors sit at Sunday open-houses, excited and hopeful of prospective buyers stopping-by. Unsuspecting, the lurking danger of their stalker, planning his first vengeful kill. The nightmare in serene-small town Mendelson and surrounding communities is about to

Read an excerpt from Open House now.


Witness at Hawks Nest, Dwight Harshbarger
Witness at Hawks Nest, Dwight Harshbarger 1930 Union Carbide's construction of Hawks Nest (WV) hydroelectric tunnel. Hundreds of workers soon die from acute silicosis and are secretly buried in a cornfield. Employee Orville Orr discovers the deaths didn't have to happen and takes

Read an excerpt from Witness at Hawks Nest now.


The Zambinos of Blue Hill: The Proving, Will Azeperak
The Zambinos of Blue Hill: The Proving, Will Azeperak The Zambinos live in Blue Hill, Maine in 2063. Three brothers build a spacecraft and upon entering Earth orbit they are quickly taken away by a mysterious ship. There they will perform their

Read an excerpt from The Zambinos of Blue Hill: The Proving now.


A New Earth And A New Universe, Rodney Bartlett
A New Earth And A New Universe, Rodney Bartlett This book's based on scientific facts and theories which, woven into a philosophy using Einstein's quote that "Imagination is more important than knowledge", shows how science and religion will be united - and how every aspect of the world can be radically transformed forever.This book's based on scientific facts and theories which, woven into a

Read an excerpt from A New Earth And A New Universe now.


The Dog Men, Patricia Crandall
The Dog Men, Patricia Crandall Ten-year-old Wyatt and eleven-year-old Hannah uncover the dark world of illegal dog fights when they trespass at a Vermont farm and peep through a barn window. And when crotchety old Lester Cranshaw's dog, Paddy, turns up missing, there is no holding him back from investigating the situation and the kids join in. In the dead of night, after the

Read an excerpt from The Dog Men now.


Enduring Prophesy, Joe Vojt
Enduring Prophesy, Joe Vojt Around 1880, two diverse culture groups divided and would slide past each other. The Triskalon people cherished the night as day while the unaffected earth society lived their normal daylight. Everyone forgot about the holocaust as the landscape reclaimed its normal

Read an excerpt from Enduring Prophesy now.


Accidental Heroes, Accidental Villians, Ed Chung
Accidental Heroes, Accidental Villians, Ed Chung Accidental Heroes, Accidental Villains traces five generations of a Chinese family, from the mid-1800s to the present, and portrays the family\'s struggles with racism, riots, revolutions, world wars, and

Read an excerpt from Accidental Heroes, Accidental Villians now.


ITP: Future Hope, David Gelber
ITP: Future Hope, David Gelber ITP:Future Hope is a novel that speculates on the future of man, where science and technology dominate and God has been forgotten. It follows the events around the first Interdimensional Transport Protocol (ITP) mission and the mishaps that occur.

Read an excerpt from ITP: Future Hope now.


Samuel Owens: The Pig Boy, Edward Duranty
Samuel Owens: The Pig Boy, Edward Duranty Samuel Owens had the misfortune of being born with the facial semblance of a pig. He was gawked at, made fun of and tormented. Faced with aggression he would always turn the other

Read an excerpt from Samuel Owens: The Pig Boy now.



OnceWritten.com
Writing Contest
Deadlines


OnceWritten.com Annual Poetry Contest
Award: $500 & publication
Fee: $15
Deadline: March 31, 2010

http://www.oncewritten.com/Contests/PoetryContest.php

OnceWritten.com Spring Fiction Contest
Award: $1,000 & publication
Fee: $20
Deadline: April 30, 2010

http://www.oncewritten.com/Contests/FictionContest.php

To view past winners of OnceWritten.com writing contests, visit our Literary Lounge now.


More
Writing Contests


March 20, 2010

    2010 Independent Publisher Book Awards


March 31, 2010

    Gemini Short Story Contest

    Meridian Writing Competiton

    OnceWritten.com Annual Poetry Contest

    Village Spring 2010 Contest


April 2, 2010

    The Diana Raffle One Act Play Cometition


April 13, 2010

    Treasure Box Tales


April 15, 2010

    EVENT Non-Fiction Contest


April 30, 2010

    Odes To Olympians

    OnceWritten.com Spring Fiction Contest


May 1, 2010

    Leapfrog Fiction Contest

    Leapfrog Fiction Contest


May 3, 2010

    Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards


May 14, 2010

    Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition


May 15, 2010

    2010 SouthWest Writers Writing Contest

 
OnceWritten.com keeps a comprehensive list of contests that pay a grand prize of $500 or more. See an updated list at www.oncewritten.com/WritingContests.php.


We're Talking
About...


The Writers Network...


Join the OnceWritten.com Social Network...

www.oncewritten.ning.com


Enter to Win
Free Books


Enter to Win Free Books

We have some great books for this month's giveaway contest. Remember that you may enter as many giveaway contests as you like, but in order to win, you must enter each contest separately.

OnceWritten.com Book GiveAways, Win Free Books OnceWritten.com Book GiveAways, Win Free Books OnceWritten.com Book GiveAways, Win Free Books OnceWritten.com Book GiveAways, Win Free Books OnceWritten.com Book GiveAways, Win Free Books OnceWritten.com Book GiveAways, Win Free Books
Witness at Hawks Nest Invisible Boy Samuel Owens: The Pig Boy Noelle's Ark

www.oncewritten.com/Win-Free-Books.php



Want to See Your Book Listed Here?

OnceWritten.com Featured Author package includes a listing in our book giveaway contests, which generates more than 1,000 page views per month.

Learn how to Advertise your Book at OnceWritten.com.



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