Skip to main content

Mount Hermon recap, part 2

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.17.2006

Blog book giveaway:
My Thursday book giveaway is AND BABY MAKES FIVE by Debra Clopton.
You can still enter. Just post a comment on that blog post.

I was supposed to have another giveaway today, but it’s not yet ready so I’ll post it tomorrow.. On Thursday I'll draw the winner for AND BABY MAKES FIVE and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.

Continued from Mount Hermon recap, part 1:
It was very good timing that I got my contract just before I went to Mount Hermon, because I was able to focus my learning goals. I took the Media Mania class with Ellie Kay, assisted by Sharon Durling.

Wow, that was terrific! It was media training—stuff I had no clue about. I went into sponge mode.

I learned about sound bytes—15 second answers (to very short questions) that are appropriate for radio and television (mostly television) interviews. Fifteen seconds is about 25 words, and it goes much faster when you’re miked than when you’re practicing in a nice friendly small group of classmates.

It really made me learn to give just the meat of what I wanted to get across, to break information up into small chunks, to be selective with my word choices.

There were lots of hands-on exercises. I did a mock camera interview for the first time, and although I felt like I was going to puke in Ellie’s lap, I restrained myself thanks to an encouraging word, and I did a good job.

I don’t think I’m as “media-ready” as I should be, but at least I wouldn’t be completely unprepared for interviews.

Wednesday: How I fed my addiction.

Attention new writers! This is a message from Linda Fulkerson on her New Writers Showcase contest:

So many people have helped me in my journey as a writer, I've decided I need to do something in return, so...

Announcing a new contest especially for new writers. I'll be featuring a New Writers Showcase on my web site beginning in May. Each month I will announce the "New Writer of the Month."

This is a no-fee contest. The purpose is to help new writers get their writing read and publicized.

Not only will the winner be featured on my web, but I'll announce it in my NEW monthly e-newsletter (please visit my website to subscribe) and will also announce the winner with a link to the several writers' groups I'm a member of. The winning piece will also be posted for everyone who wants to read. You will also get a link to your web site plus a special winner's logo to post on yours!

BIG NEWS! Camy Tang, who recently signed a 3-book deal has agreed to add a special surprise for each month's winner. She has offered to give a FREE critique to each month's winner on 15 pages plus a 2-page synopsis of their work. Camy is one of the best critiquers I've ever worked with and offers great insight when she reads one's writing. Trust me, it will be worth your while to enter this contest just because of Camy!

(Note from Camy: I promise I did not bribe or blackmail Linda in any way, shape, or form to get her to say the above...but it's not my fault if it's exceptionally pleasant to post on my blog. :)

* Submissions are accepted via e-mail only: mail@lindafulkerson.com
* Put "Contest Submission" in the subject line, please.
* You may submit any genre, or even non-fiction, up to 1000 words. Essays, columns, articles, and short-stories will also be accepted, but please keep the 1000 word limit.
* Submissions received by the 20th of each month will be considered for the following month's contest. The contest submissions open immediately and the May winner will be announced May 1st.
* Sorry, but no critiques are available for any of the submissions except the winner.
* I'll accept attachments in MS Word.

Thanks! I look forward to reading your stuff.

Linda

Comments

Unknown said…
That media class sounds fantastic! What a great idea. Glad you didn't puke. I can't seem to find part I of this Mt. Hermon recap. But then I have no sense of direction so maybe it's related.
Catherine West said…
You mean I have to enter a contest to get you to read my work? Sheesh!
15 pages huh? That's not even half of chapter one...or maybe it is...well, got nothing to lose I suppose.
I will think on it...

Popular Posts

Poll for the title of my book!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Blog book giveaway: My Thursday book giveaway is The Wedding Caper by Janice Thompson . My Monday book giveaway is Thanks for the Mammogram! AND Reconstructing Natalie , both by Laura Jensen Walker . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on the blog posts above . On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for The Wedding Caper and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Pick my title! The Zondervan Marketing Department is torn about which title would be best for my debut novel. So you guys get to weigh in! Here are your choices: Solo Sushi Sushi for One Single Sushi Solo Sashimi Leave a comment about which you prefer and WHY. I’ll run this poll for a couple weeks to figure out which will be the title for my new book! TMI: Writing: I posted another "Health and the Writer" post at WriterQuotes , and an agent post at my Story Sensei blog . And in case you missed it, my review of The Guy I’m Not Dating by Trish Perry is ...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Mon afghan

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.24.2009 I am extraordinarily proud of this. For Christmas, I wanted to knit something for my parents that would be really cool and personal, and sort of an heirloom. So I took the five family crests I had for my family (in Japanese, a family crest is called a “mon”) and graphed the designs on knitting graph paper so that I could knit intarsia panels of the mons. I knit 5 intarsia panels and 4 plain panels and then sewed them together to make an afghan. In Japan, family crests are carried by both male and female, so I used mons from both my parents' sides. Traditionally, mons are passed down from mother to daughter and from father to son, but there are sometimes cases of a son taking a mother’s mon or a husband taking his wife’s family’s mon and things like that. I know we have more than 5 family crests, but we’ve lost some of them. My mom tried to find them all several years ago, but could only find these five. The fans mon was actually...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

I’m a Book of the Year winner!

Captain's Log, Stardate 09.22.2008 I won first place in the Debut Author category of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year awards! Here are all the winners! Debut Author Sushi for One? (Camy Tang) Zondervan, editor Sue Brower Bayou Justice (Robin Miller writing as Robin Caroll) In Between (Jenny B. Jones) Contemporary Novella Finally Home in Missouri Memories anthology (Deborah Raney) Barbour Publishing, editor Susan Downs Moonlight & Mistletoe in A Big Apple Christmas anthology (Carrie Turansky) Remaking of Moe McKenna in Race to the Altar anthology (Gloria Clover) Historical Novella Love Notes in Love Letters Anthology (Mary Davis) Barbour Publishing, editor Rebecca Germany Beyond the Memories in Missouri Memories anthology (DiAnn Mills) The Spinster & The Tycoon in The Spinster Brides of Cactus Corner anthology (Vickie McDonough) Lits Splitting Harriet (Tamara Leigh) Multnomah Books, editor Julee Schwarzb...