Writerly Wednesday

 

With the new year underway, I thought what better time than to set a few goals? And, I thought it would be more fun if I connected with other like-minded folk who enjoy fiction, fantasy and maybe even a little fun too.

So, I thought I’d start a Writerly Wednesday blog where I could list upcoming competitions for writers and illustrators and perhaps some mentoring opportunities.

And I wanted to begin with Brenda Drake’s competition. If you’ve never heard of Pitch Wars or PitMad, check it out here: Pitch Wars and if you’ve never heard of Brenda Drake you can read more about her here:  Pitch Wars » Brenda Drake

Years ago, I competed in Pitch Wars and was lucky enough to win a mentorship. It was a fantastic opportunity and an even better journey on my path to publication. Now, I’m not saying that I sold that particular book…yet…but it definitely helped me take my manuscript to the next level.

So, if you’re looking for a little help with your creativity, Pitch Wars might just be perfect for you. And, if you’re simply looking for some like-minded friends or building your network in the writing community, this is a great place to begin.

And if you have any questions about my experience through the Pitch Wars process, please list them in the comment section below.

Let’s all work together to make this a better, more creative, year for everyone.

 

WINTER IS COMING - and so is SEPTEMBER 10th - YOU'D BETTER BE READY

Okay this isn't nearly as frightening as GOT winter...but, then again, maybe it is--at least for writers and wannabe writers who aren't used to that little blue bird sitting up above because September 10th marks the date of PitMad also known as #PitMad or Pitch Madness, hostessed by the ever wonderful and wickedly wise Brenda Drake, on Twitter.

So, if you've stumbled upon this post and you're wondering what the heck is Pitch Madness...?

Well, then, let me explain. It's a party... No. Not with wine and toasts but, then again, maybe it is ;D because this is the day that writers everywhere will be pitching their best blurb on twitter in the hopes of grabbing an agent's attention. Of course only 140 characters can be used to describe even the longest works of writing. It doesn't matter if it's War and Peace or Goodnight Moon, every story has to be pared down to a mere 140 characters (including spaces). So, just like with winter, writers everywhere had better be ready to send their pitches out into the wonderful world of Pitch Madness.

So, if I haven't given you enough to worry about and you're still wondering what Pitch Madness is all about, here's a direct quote from Brenda Drake's blog:

"#PitMad is a pitch party on Twitter where writers tweet a 140 character pitch for their completed, polished, unpublished manuscripts. Have several variations of your Twitter pitch available. Twitter may not let you tweet the same pitch over within the same hour. The pitch must include the hashtag #PitMad and the category (#YA, #MG, #A, #NA, #PB and #NF) in the tweet. The “#” is important to include. It will sort the categories to make it easier for the agents/publishers.
For more information about Twitter Pitching visit this post by agent @carlywatters here and this post by #PitMad alum @DianaUrban here. And here find a post from Diana on how to filter out spam from the #PitMad feed."

And, just like for Christmas, you'd better watch out, you'd better not shout, you better not cry because I'm telling you why... PITCH MADNESS is coming to TWITTER. 

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN.