ViNoWriMo- Vinyl Rhino

For those of you who didn't get to participate in NaNoWriMo fear not, you have another shot at crafting a novel in a month. Vicious Writers is hosting Vicious Novel Writing Month (ViNoWriMo) on their writers' site Key Publications Network.

Though this challenge is a bit more difficult than NaNoWrimo. For one thing you will have no idea what you will be writing about until New Year's Eve when the topic is announced. You have from January 1st to the 31st to complete your 50,000 word manuscript which must use the topic as a main theme. At the end of the month you submit your manuscript to be judged.

The first place winner receives $500 dollars and the opportunity to publish with Key Publications Network. They will be opening their doors in January with the release of Faith's Friendship by Nazarea Andrews. She was the winner of 2009's ViNoWriMo. If you are interested in checking out her blog I have a link to her blog under my links page.

**Now if you'd like to learn more about ViNoWriMo please click on the title of this blog post to visit Viciouswriters.com

Also, you must become a member of Key Publications Network to participate. A link to that is located beneath my links column as well. www.key-publications-network.socialgo.com

Best of luck to you all!

New Site!

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't been posting much, but it is Finals week here in college so I'm a bit overwhelmed and my brain is a bit fried. I promise by next week I should be posting more regularly.

But I wanted to announce the creation of my very own WEBSITE! The actual url is www.elizabethprats.weebly.com but to see it just click on the title of this post :]

I have a bunch of helpful links listed which I will be adding to, some artwork, a poem or two, and a blurb of my novel. Check it out. :]

Happy Writing!

Harry Potter Seven Release Dates

Harry Potter 7 Part 1 comes out November 2010 and Part 2 July 2011

I'm sorry, but the link to the trailer was deleted literally 2 min before I originally published this post.

December-The Writing Back Burner

An interesting post by Nazarea Andrews--her debut novel, Faith's Friendship, is due out in January--sparked my interest. Click on the title of the of this post if you'd like to see her post.

Anyway, she's so busy that writing has kind of been put on the back burner. Though, it's understandable, putting a book out, getting the author website going, editing, etc all that takes time, and not only that, but we are in the midst of the holiday season. The holidays are busy, for parents it's going to be taking off to watch the kids once winter break arrives, for students like me it's the dreaded finals, for teachers it's finally time to get their christmas shopping done. Dinner parties become the norm, as do shattering decorations for those with youngsters or just the clumsy folk. Now where in that time frame do we find time to write?

I'm a bit saddened by it, but I'll admit I haven't written anything in more than a week and refuse to because I need precious time to study for finals, and read a couple manuscripts. Well, at least I haven't put this blog on the back burner. Though, it's not just us! Check out Agent Mary Kole's blog www.kidlit.com (sadly, I can't remember the exact post). According to her, even agents and editors are taking a break from submitting projects. Most use this time of the year to catch up on their large manuscript pile, queries, etc and hold off on submitting projects until after the new year.

Hmm, I wonder what it is about December?

Anyway, Happy Writing!

Meyer Accused of Plagiarism

Wow, I was reading an article on Publishers Weekly, which stated that Stephenie Meyer had been sued by the author of The Nocturne, Jordan Scott, for similarities between her novel and Breaking Dawn. In the end the judge ruled in favor of Meyer.

Click on the title of this blog post to read the full article.

I'm sure similarities can be found in many novels. In case none of you have ever read this, but most plots have all been done. What makes them original is the twist and spin you give them. Anyone notice the Twilight Saga's similarity to Romeo and Juliet? Star crossed lovers type theme? All book and movies have similarities to one another. If you really nitpick I'm sure you can find plenty. Any one have any thoughts on the matter?

Kids Movies

I don't care what anyone says, I'm still a bit of a kid at heart and do enjoy those heartfelt kids movies. And I consider them "research" for my writing. Have you taken a look at any Disney movies lately? Take the Lion King II for example. Kiara and Kovu (I think that's how you spell it) fall in love pretty fast in like one scene and then the plot quickly turned into saving the pride etc.

Well, that is what happens in a lot of MG novels I've noticed. At least for younger readers.They are naturally shorter novels (20-40k) more if its historical, fantasy, or paranormal, but that's beside the point. Because they are shorter a lot of character relationship building tends to happen a bit faster to move the story along. That is just something I've noticed. If you still don't know what I'm saying, then watch the movie and then you'll probably understand.

Also! I can't wait for the new Princess and the Frog movie! I was starting to miss the old drawn cartoons ya know? Everything is all 3-D like Monsters Inc.

If you don't know about it then click the title of this post to check out the trailer.

Happy writing!

Advice to Writers

As writers sometimes we lock ourselves up in a dark room, chain our legs to the chair, or superglue our butts, (whichever option is readily available) and write. During this time you begin to forget to shower, forget to clean, take out the dog, or don't realize 5 hours have passed until your wondering why your stomach won't stop its incessant growling.

Fellow writers it's okay to reside within our own worlds when the muse is calling us, but don't forget to take a look at the real world. When you finish that manuscript you have a whole other world to deal with, and that is the world of publishing.

We can't just be those secluded writers that hardly interact with our fellow writers. No, we must learn as much as we can, see what similar books are being released in our manuscript's genre, join a critique group, attend a conference, and dump the shyness that some tend to hide behind.

This is a new world you will be entering, now make the most of it. I bet you your manuscript needs work. For most of us this is true; we won't have a sellable manuscript right out of the gate. We need one another to tell us what's working and what's not, but remember it is your work and your opinion that matters the most.

If you are interested in networking with other writers, check out the Writers Digest Community and Key Publications Network. I have the links up on the right side of this blog.

Good luck :]