Showing posts with label winners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winners. Show all posts

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Announcing the WINNERS of the First Line Contest!




Hello WriMos,

I hope this post finds you in good health and writing stamina. Some of you have finished their novels by now, others have just figured out how to end them, and yet others are nowhere near the finish line (hey, you're in good company). BUT I bet all of you are still very much hopped up on NaNo.

Anyway, you might remember a little competition called 'most gripping first sentence' and the wonderful submissions by fellow WriMos a week back. And NOW it's time to shower the winners in praise and giveaways. But before this, I'd like to thank our judges and sponsors yet again, for being so helpful! In addition, I'll throw another thank you note at everyone who voted on the poll. You rock!!!

Just to remind you what the giveaways are...


1. Rochelle Melander (@WriteNowCoach) is giving the first place winner a print copy of her book Write-A-Thon, which is a great tool for jump-starting your writing career and writing your book for less than 30 days. I'd say it's a perfect fit for NaNo!
2. Roxanne Piskel (@roxisbrilliant) will give a complete critique of the second place winner's NaNo manuscript. In addition Roxanne is giving 20% discount to all entrants. 
3. Alivia Anders (@AliviaAnders) will make a pretty book cover for the third place winner. Woohoo!

So for a while there we had a tie between the first two winners and this is why I decided to put off the awards until there was a definite winner. Without further ado, I present:

Winner #1: So this was the cannibal train, March thought.
This precious gem was submitted by Angela Goff (@Angela_Goff). From the very start it was my favorite also, because it made me so damn curious about this train! Well done, Angela. I hope you'll enjoy your prize!

Winner #2: If everything goes according to their plans, I will be dead in three hundred and seventy days.

This one was submitted by Jenny Adams (known as @jennyadams on twitter), who will now get a free critique of her NaNo manuscript by Roxanne Piskel.

Winner #3: I have lived a life of deliberate anonymity.

But why? Why did the protagonist choose that life? See, we're on sentence one and already we're hooked! It's such a simple sentence, but we all know those are the best.

Congratulations for winning a book cover, Regina Grey (@TalesYetUntold)!

I'll be contacting the winners shortly to make sure the giveaways get to them. To everyone else, good luck with the final 10 days of NaNo! If you're behind, join me in catching up; and if you're writing like the wind, keep at it.

Sunday, 16 October 2011

Sunday Synergy: NaNo Prep and Blog Awards



Hello WriMo’s!

So I’ve had a very long and unusual weekend. It started off with buying a present for a friend, went onto getting as drunk as a skunk and ending up all over Facebook in all my glory… and then came some pretty great conversations, a new good friend, and saying goodbye to an old one.

Basically, I’m emotionally spent and ready to share this week’s NaNoWriMo related posts, which will hopefully make up for the fact that Saturday Synergy has suddenly become Sunday Synergy.

Oh well.

So here’s the NaNo compilation. Also, stick around for the BLOG AWARDS!



General

J.D.Mader shares how he climbed the Mt. Everest for writers.

@4KidLit: Which came first: plot or character?

@Kim_Wright_W reveals why she’s doing NaNoWriMo this year.

Joel Friedlander reveals how NaNoWriMo is a rite of passage for any aspiring writer.

@12books12months poses the decade long question: to NaNo or not to Nano.

@Amanda_Rudd gets to the bottom of it. We’re all masochists at heart.



Entertainment

THE NANOWRIMO SONG captures the essence of NaNo. Fun!

Daniel Swensen (@surlymuse) uses 80’s movies’ quotes to take on NaNo.

SarahKetley shares yet another deadly writing sin: re-reading your work.

There are so many holidays in November! By @HaraStrife.



Resources

NaNoWriMo’s young writer program provides free workbooks for the youngsters.

NaNo for the New and the Insane: FREE EBOOK BY Lazette Gifford (@LazetteG).

Nanowrimo cheat sheet via Alexandra Sokoloff.

Don’t miss out on these colorful NaNo desktops via @imaginepageant.

Awesomely amusing NaNo wallpaper by @surlymuse.



NaNo PREP!

Some basic NaNo prep before November by @indigospider.

JCRosen shares how she prepares for NaNoWriMo. (Excellent suggestions.)

@upandonmyway shares some useful links and tips.

Great resources for nano prep via @carolynecooper.



Writing Aids

Write or Die and 750 words: Great online writing tools. Try them out!

Alexandra Sokoloff’s NaNo workshop. Part 1: story.

An ingenious approach to plotting by using a Rubik’s cube.

Kate Brown gives advice on mind-mapping one’s plot. (via Vision: Resource for Writers)

@JAHite blogs a bunch of writing prompts if you ever get stuck on NaNo ideas.



Donations

Also, for those who’d like to give to the OLL, you can fundraise for donations!



NaNo links


Lisa_Bouchard’s upcoming posts and resources.


Some links and resources to consider before diving into NaNo via @easilyamused.

Some useful links from WriMo @elizabethscraig.



And finally, I’m happy to give out the first batch of WriMo’s FTW BLOG AWARDS. But first, here are the rules of the game…

1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.
2. Share three things about your NaNo story.
3. Pass the award along to five other NaNo bloggers.
4. Contact your chosen winners to let them know about the award.


And here are the five people I’ve chosen this week:


And here’s your award, NaNo bloggers extraordinaire!