Hey, What's up? It's R! After a few relaxing summer days, I've already come up with a story idea. It's a fantasy story and M has challenged me to write at least 30 pages over the course of the summer. Since my last story was a short story, this will be a big change for me. I encourage people to challenge themselves as well and write longer stories this summer, or try a writing style that's different from the one you usually use. 
    Tonight I'm going to start doing character sketches and story plans, which is always a good way to start out if you are unsure of where you want your novel to go. I hope to get my story done by the end of the summer because I'm often busy during the rest of the year. Hopefully M and I will be able to do a short meeting soon, and add some activities to the activities blog.
Write, write, write!
-R

Not My yummily superawesomlicious (Reggie does not approve of these words) Chai tea, but my plans for the day, and my QPK Society mug!

Today is the first day of my writing summer. Which means...the party is over - I'm writing every day until the end of the summer. But, in some ways, said 'party' has just begun. 

I love to write. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Writing is something I'd like to do for the rest of my life. So, although I won't be spending the summer relaxing in front of the TV, I'm doing something that is very important to me, and also better for my brain. By the end of this summer, I would like to finish revising my novel, which will only get done if I write every day.

Next - my lovely mug. For my birthday a few years ago I was given this wonderful mug, and a special pen to draw on it with. The QPK Society seemed like a perfect thing to celebrate with the mug, so that's how I got my beloved (and HUGE) mug that I use for tea. Note about me: I am a tea lover.  

So, with my mug poised and my novel ready and beckoning, my writing summer begins. Also, another special event is beginning today...but that'll be for the next post.
Ciao,
-M

Hey everyone, M here!
I told you earlier that I'd keep you updated on how I did in the short story contest I entered, so....................I WON! I'm really excited because my story will be published in the local newspaper and I get to go to a special banquet dinner this summer. Plus, I get a big bag of books!

    This contest has been such a great writing experience for me. I started out with a good concept and worked very hard to revise my work before submitting. I really proved to myself that if I work hard and follow through, great things can happen. I suggest that everyone enter contests because who knows? You might win!
Here are the steps I took when writing my short story:
1. Come up with an idea. This step is a must for every story, for obvious reasons. Finding your idea can be as simple as listening to things people say in your everday life. 
2. Write the first draft of your story. I wrote the first draft of my story in one sitting. It didn't take long, but the first draft was pretty messy.
3. Revise. I went through and cleaned up as many mistakes as I could see and improved language here and there. I also tightened up the plot by adding extra details.
4. Find a trusted friend to read your work. My first reader picked out all the parts that they thought I could improve on or that were confusing.
5. Repeat Step 4. I repeated step 4 countless times. It was an involved process, but it paid off in the end.
6. Have your family read your work. My family pointed out things they thought were confusing and I fixed them up.
7. Copy edit. I went over my story several more times and checked for grammar and punctuation errors.
8. Submit. I submitted it to the contest! Make sure when you do this that you follow all the rules, including the word count, the genre, and the number of copies you need to submit.

Last friday night, a woman from the contest called me to tell me that I'd won. It kind of felt like I was in a dream. At first I was even afraid to tell people because I thought it was all in my head - seriously, it's a crazy feeling, you can comprehend it until you experience it.  Basically, I screamed for a little while and then called my family and the other group members to tell them the news.

So, find a contest in your area, and enter it...you never know how it will turn out!
Happy Writing,
-M

Hey everyone, at the request of Lauren B, over the next little while, each of the group members is going to give a little update on how their writing is going. So, here's mine!

I've been very busy lately so there has been very little time to work on my novel that I mentioned on the 'Members' page. I am slowly rewriting the beginning of my novel and taking out a lot of the backstory that I included in the first draft. Trying to piece parts of my first draft together with the new chapters I'm writing is kind of like piecing together a complicated jigsaw puzzle. A lot of my 'writing time' is spent sitting at my desk and trying to think out how my novel fits together.

The other reason I have been taking a break from my novel is to work on a short story. I have been working on it since February and a couple of weeks ago I submitted it to a contest. I'll hear back mid-June about the results of the contest so I'll post an update on the website when I find out.

Over the next little while, I'm going to work on some poetry, and get back into revising my novel. With any luck, I'll be able to finish my novel this summer!

-M