May 9, 2012
A Siren’s Call to Writers
My muse has been vexing me. She’s gotten into this annoying habit of visiting late at night or when I’m in car without so much as a dirty napkin to write on. (I recently paid the kids to clean the inside of the vans.) I should have a talk with her, but I won’t. I never do. I’m afraid of offending her.
Last night after I’d already been dragged out of bed by her a few times, I decided to hell with it and just stayed up. And I came across the siren call that seduces most writers at one time or another. The words:
The good news: It’s a free Writer’s Digest Contest. The bad news: The deadline is Monday, May 14. There’s not much time.
Details: Welcome to the 10th (free!) “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest on the GLA blog. This is a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here’s the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you’re writing a upmarket (see exactly what this term means below) novel, this 10th contest is for you! (The contest is live through May 14, 2012.)
Of course, it’s for that novel you’ve already written. Just get it out and polish it up. It’s show time.
Polish it up.
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Lorna's Voice said,
May 10, 2012 at 11:07 AM
I’m working hard on my memoir–finally. But it’s nowhere near completion (not even 1st draft completion). So maybe someday I can enter this contest. Thanks for letting us know!
Dawne Webber said,
May 10, 2012 at 10:06 PM
Hope you’re having fun with your memoir.
countingducks said,
May 13, 2012 at 12:27 PM
I’ve surely missed that contest, but I do know about my muse dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night. I do know that if I wait til the morning to express the same idea it never has the same quality of expression. That is so irritatring but what can you do
Dawne Webber said,
May 13, 2012 at 5:32 PM
I have an artist friend that keeps a notebook by her bed to track visits from her muse. I tried it once…
countingducks said,
May 13, 2012 at 5:35 PM
did it work. I did try that but I found the odd phrase on its own couldn;t replace the flow of thought I was experiencing. I remember the idea but somehow the passion of it goes
Dawne Webber said,
May 14, 2012 at 8:12 AM
No, it didn’t work, for the reasons you said, plus the fact I was too lazy to write them down. Also, I get a lot of inspiration in the shower and there’s no way to keep a notebook in there