Story Sensei

This is my fifth year coordinating the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest for unpublished writers! We just went live yesterday! Deadline is 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on March 31st, so get your manuscripts polished so you can enter! Actually, enter by March 15th in case your entry gets lost in cyberspace, so we have time to find it. You must be an ACFW member to enter the contest, but you can join when you submit your entry fee! If you're thinking seriously about being published in Christian fiction, ACFW is a fantastic organization! Here's the website: ACFW Genesis contest

Hey guys, Sorry I've been MIA for a few weeks. I've been fighting off some kind of sicky that's left me really tired and headachey (and NO, I'm not pregnant! :) Anyway, I'll kick off the week with this great "cheat sheet" by Janet Dean that basically summarizes all the major fiction writing terms that a writer might encounter from a contest judge. These are terms thrown around pretty often in the writing community because they refer to common principles which, if mastered, help a writer improve. Author-Speak Cheat Sheet Upon occasion, I play golf. Perhaps I should say golf plays me. Either way, there’s a language to this game. Terms that make me grunt, “Huh?” Like: “Pick the ball clean.” “Get down on the ball.” “Play your drives off your left heel.” I can’t blame my game on these baffling words of advice, but they’re not helpful if I can’t decipher their meaning. Writing has its own language too. I call it author speak. Click here to read the rest of the a...

The Knight Agency is holding a Book in a Nutshell Contest Submit three compelling sentences (150 words max) about your completed, unpublished manuscript to submissions@... Write BOOK IN A NUTSHELL in the subject line or it will not be deemed eligible. One submission per project, please. Twenty of the best submissions will be chosen and requested by various agents who will then give feedback on your work...and it may even lead to possible representation. Hurry, the deadline is April 20, 2009. Winners will be notified by May 1, 2009. For more info, go to http://tinyurl.com/cnfe9d

My friend Danica blogged about some Common Contest Problems , and her post might be a helpful checklist for anyone trying to strengthen those first 50 pages of their manuscript: I'm doing my civic duty and judging some contest entries today. I had really high hopes for this one. In years past, I've read such good entries that I wanted to write the contest people, begging to read the rest of the manuscript. This year, not so much. As I read each entry, I realized that they all had the same problems in common. So I thought, for the writers who read my blog, I'd share the commonalities. Click here to read the rest of the post.

Zondervan and Mount Hermon Writer's Conference Sponsor Competition for Aspiring Fiction Authors Winner Receives $10,000 Publishing Contract GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Sept. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- Unpublished Christian fiction writers, get your manuscripts ready. Zondervan, a world leader in Christian communications, today announced All About the Story, a writing competition for first-time novelists. The winner will receive a $10,000 publishing contract with Zondervan, and all finalists will have their works recognized during the Christian Book EXPO in Dallas in March 2009. Sponsored by Zondervan and Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, All About the Story is open to any unpublished writer who has attended a past Mount Hermon Writer's conference or who is registered for the 2009 conference . In addition to the opportunity for their work to be published by Zondervan, the winning author will also receive valuable feedback from editors and experienced judges, including bestsell...

Mary Connealy and I did a tag-team set of blog posts over at the Seekerville blog about book reviews being like contest judging: It never ends Okay Students, Let's REVIEW This isn't a pep talk, just to warn you. It's more like a reality check. We're not complaining about reviews, but we are trying to get writers to understand that it's not all 5-star fun and games once you're published, and that your weirdo contest judge comments might actually be useful one day when your book is on a bookstore shelf.

Happy New Year! I was racking my brain to figure out something pithy and witty to say for my post, but my friend Tina Russo solved the problem with THREE writing contests: The 2008 Challenge Even if you’re only thinking about writing a novel, here’s your incentive to start!

I just got back from vacation so I'm gearing up for more posts. In the meantime, here's a post on cliche characters and contests at the Seekerville blog .

Touchstone Books and Media Predict have a contest for writers! Touchstone Books, an imprint of publishing company Simon & Schuster, Inc., is teaming up with Media Predict. Through our Project Publish contest, Touchstone Books will select a book proposal from our site for future publication. Via Project Publish, Touchstone Books will be the first major publisher to put our market-based method for evaluating media content to the test. In October, a team of editors, including Touchstone publisher Mark Gompertz, will evaluate the 50 top scoring book proposals on Media Predict. They’ll select five book proposals as Project Publish finalists, and eventually one grand prize winner. Visit their website at Project Publish .

ATTENTION: UNPUBLISHED MYSTERY/SUSPENSE & ROMANTIC SUSPENSE AUTHORS The Kiss of Death Chapter's 2007 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense is rapidly approaching, and although the body count is adding up, there's still room for yours! Look what New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan has to say about the Daphne … "In 2003, I finaled in the Single Title Daphne and came in second. While I didn't sell that book, the editor and agent comments were invaluable in helping me figure out my writing strengths and weaknesses. As a result, the next year I found an agent and sold THE PREY to Ballantine." -- Allison Brennan, author of SPEAK NO EVIL, out now!!! So pull those manuscripts out of the crypt and send them post haste. Why? Because the deadline is March 15, 2007. What happens if you don't? It frightens us to say. The Daphne has enlisted the help of some acquiring editors and agents as final round judges who rarely judge contests. ...

I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned anything about the Genesis contest yet. Well, it’s finally here! The 2007 Genesis contest for unpublished writers, put on by American Christian Fiction Writers . The Genesis contest, formerly known as the Noble Theme contest, is becoming one of the largest Christian Fiction writing contests in the world. Yours truly is the contest coordinator (again) this year. Head on over to the Genesis page on the ACFW website for more information. Some highlights of the contest: --We have TEN CATEGORIES of Christian Fiction --You can enter as many entries as you like, in as many categories as you like (although you need to pay a separate entry fee for each entry) --It is all electronic this year, which means no postage, no printing, no copying, no self-addressed stamped envelope, no entries or scoresheets lost in the mail. All entries will be judged using Microsoft Word’s Track Changes feature. And if you don’t have Microsoft Word, no problem! We can return you...

HEARTBEAT INTERN CONTEST for Pre-Pubbed, Pre-PRO Romance Writers Accepting entries starting January 1, 2007! This is a brand new contest aimed at beginners. In other words, if you’ve been published in any format at any time, or have achieved RWA-PRO ( Romance Writers of America ) status, you’re not eligible. CATEGORIES & JUDGES Romantic Suspense: Patience Smith - Silhouette Suspense. Erotic Romance: Alicia Rasley - Red Sage Anything Romance w/ Medical Elements: Sheila Hodgson - Harlequin Mills & Boom Medicals Inspirational Romance: Melissa Endlich - Steeple Hill Series Romance (long & short): Scott Eagan - Greyhaus Literary Agency Single Title Romance: Hilary Sares - Kensington First place winners in each category will receive a critique from Lois Winston, Agent with Grayson Literary Agency. TIMELINE 1. Entries accepted from January 1 - February 1 (Entries with a postmark of February 1 or before will be accepted until February 6). 2. If a deadline falls on a Saturday/Sunda...