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This week: A Competitive Edge Edited by: KimChi  
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| Hello, I'm Kimchi. Here I hope to share tips on the art and craft of writing, from idea to implementation, from editing to submission. Have an idea for a topic, tricks for phrasing? All suggestions are welcome. |
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"Shoot for the moon; even if you miss you will land among the stars." ~Brian Littrell
I've always wondered why authors tend to not share a good call for submissions. Understandably we need to do our homework regarding which sites and contests fit our style and genre, but let's be honest: we're also a bit leery of competition. It's a completely natural preservation instinct.
It's terrifying to go up against writers you admire, writers you consider "better than" yourself. When certain handles show up in a contest I want to enter here on WDC, my heart skips and flutters. I'll never win against so-and-so. S/he's more creative/less wordy/older/younger/insert pity here.
Competition is good. Knocking knees or not, forcing myself to enter a competition I think I have zero chance of winning is sure to bring out my best work. To not enter is to miss an opportunity to compare my entry to other entries, which is one of the best ways to learn about my strengths and deficits. (Note I'm comparing entries which yields information. Comparing myself to another author is an opinion. Counterproductive and normally painful.)
Each contest and judge (or editor) is unique so "lose" is a relative term, less than useful for any author's growth and self-esteem. We keep our competitive edge by continuing to enter and submit, continuing to hone our skills with every story and poem. Winning is the goal, and writing is its own reward, but learning from other writers (and the judges' feedback if we're lucky) is the consolation prize that keeps on giving.
A bit of friendly competition? Bring it on! |
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Brooklyn  : Great newsletter! I love the thesaurus especially when I'm writing poetry and spreadsheets rock! Thanks for the smile Appreciate you!
LJPC - the tortoise : Hi Kimchi!
I live in fear of my computer crashing. I have a separate hard-drive that I back up on once per month, but when I'm writing, I'll paste the WIP into a private WDC item in my port every 300 words or so. I'm that paranoid. But I've never lost any writing so far.
~ Laura
Tadpole1  : Hi Kimchi,
Thank you for the great newsletter! I email my novels at various stages to myself, and I email them to my husband for him to save on his computer.
There is an online site that I use a thousand times a day. It is www.rhymezone.com. If the word it not there, it sends me somewhere else. I use rhymezone for the definitions and the related words, especially when I am looking for a synonym. If I am not sure about the spelling of a word, I Google it. Google usuall suggests the proper spelling.
Voila!
Tadpole1
JACE  : Excellent newsletter this month, Miss Kimchi. I loved tool #3. As a self employed person I use spreadsheets for almost everything--have never considered using it for my writing too. Thanks for the tip. Great job!
bertiebrite hoping for peace : I have had to use a spreadsheet to organize my writing, since I have so many stories started at the same time, plus my various WDC projects. I find that this helps me to arrange my days writing with time to spare for other areas.
Zeke  : Every Thursday my flashdrive gets reloaded with all my documents. I learned this the hard way the same as you.
Zeke
Missus Miranda : Thesaurus and Dictionary.com are my favorite websites when I am writing, and I used to read encyclopedias for fun as a child. That last bit is actually going to be woven in to one of my stories, ha!
urals: Thanks for a very interesting and insightful article. I confess that I never thought of using spreadsheet like that. Hope to read more articles like this in the future, too.
Apondia  : Hi Kimchi, When I started writing as a journalist, I found the "Flip Dictionary" by Barbara Ann Kipfer, Ph.D. "For when you know what you want to say but can't think of the word". It soon became one of my treasured writing tools. I really liked your article. Happy Trails, Apondia
J. A. Buxton : ((How do you use technology in your writing life?))
Since I want accuracy in my stories, I use Google constantly. While I wrote the last novel in my "Home" trilogy, this fantastic site really got a workout. Home of the White Dolphin began in the 19th century and ended in the 21st, so I wanted to sow the differences in language and men's attitude toward women. There are dozens of reference books in my office, but Google is so much faster and easier.
To keep track of the characters, I created spreadsheets that also listed the action by chapter. You try to keep three plot lines straight in your head and see how confused you can get.
BIG BAD WOLF Happy July 4th!  : How do I use Technology? I write and travel, and most everything else because of it.
hairchick: Great ideas for getting organized. I still hand write most of my stuff so i have those drafts but i will back-up my hard drive tomorrow. Thanks!!
Wally Setter : You said: It's not a fancy word I've picked to sound educated, it's the right word.
Wiser words there never were.
I thoroughly enjoyed your article.
Wally
Legerdemain  : Hi Kimchi! Thanks for featuring "Rusty and the Shillelagh" in your newsletter edition this week. Much appreciated!
Gaby ~ Finding my way back  : Great newsletter! I wanted all my writing on my computer but it's still on WDC only. That way I know I don't have to wory about losing it. Some of it I even printed out.
I read Stephen King's book on writing and thought it was pretty good. The part about the thesaurus, I think, was meant more for the type of words that seem out of place. I've read books where every other sentence contains. Word that needs translation. After a while I just tossed the book out.
Just my two cents...
Beckyl : I have to say I'm with the irreplaceable Mr. King on the Thesaurus thing. I have cheated countless times to just remind myself of a simple unpretentious synonym, don't get me wrong. However I felt guilty the moment I read your words "...to conserve precious brain power..." I believe all the doctors and neurologists have things wrong- the brain is a muscle. I think research in the Alzheimer's area is getting close to proving this to be true- if you don't use the muscle, it withers and atrophies. Of course, I've just cut and pasted this blurb after spell check.
niteowl : I just graduated from the Institute of Childrens Literature course and have lots of ideas but dont know how to focus so I can get some articles or stories published I even have a book in progress. help
oldgreywolf scribbles : Hi, Kimchi. Great tips.
External drives are excellent for doing your own monthly backups, and jump drives are great for doing a quick backup on something you've just worked on. In either case, you should also have your security program set to check any removable media that's detected, especially if you have kids in the house. |
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For Authors: April 04, 2012 Issue [#4977]
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