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
Labels:

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.
Mon Apr 17, 04:54:00 AM 2006
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...
Mon Apr 17, 12:48:00 PM 2006
Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...
64 comments
Read more

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...
39 comments
Read more

Window shopping

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.14.2005 Knee update: I went to the doctor today for a checkup, and saw his assistant. I’ve been concerned because there’s still inflammation in my knee joint, and it’s been almost 4 months since the surgery. She said she’d talk to the doctor about it tomorrow and call me. Sometimes he suggests laying off the PT to see if that causes the inflammation to go away, but I don’t know if that will work because lately I’ve been pretty active outside of PT. At PT today, the therapist did ultrasound and some sort of electrical current on the joint. Hopefully that will make the inflammation start to go down. I’ll know by tomorrow, probably. Writing: Mt. Hermon conference starts this Friday! On Thursday night, I’ll be at the Santana Row Borders bookstore to help out (and hopefully learn a bit, too) at a booksigning for several of the ACFW authors who are attending Mt. Hermon . That should be lots of fun. I had a good brainstorming time at ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Japanese language learning process in more detail

I blogged a few weeks ago that I’ve jumped back into my Japanese language learning after being lazy and letting it slide. I’ve been keeping my Japanese language study habit for about a month now, and I wanted to blog about my process in more detail. One thing I had noticed about my Japanese is that I tended not to do it if I left it to do at the end of the day. I realized that it was just like my exercise—if I didn’t do it first thing in the morning, it never got done. So I started doing my Japanese right after my exercise in the morning. I treated it like one of my “frogs,” as I read about in the book Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time . The book is based off of a Mark Twain quote: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” It suggests doing your “frogs”—your important things that you’re likely to procrastinate doing—first thing in the morning in order to get it done, and ...
2 comments
Read more

I GOT A CONTRACT!

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.29.2006 I had a wonderfully funny blog post planned for today, but I got sidetracked by some news yesterday! Zondervan has offered me a three-book contract on my Asian chick-lit series ! I’m still stunned by everything that’s happened. The series is actually a 4-book projected Asian chick-lit series about four cousins who fall under the infamous family title "Oldest Single Female Cousin," and their ruthless, wealthy grandma applies pressure on each of them to improve their lack of love interests. I think the first book is tentatively scheduled to be released in August 2007. The blurb on the series is on my website here . Brandilyn Collins posted to the ACFW loop about my writing journey, and Tamara Cooper asked that I share it. And since you all know how much I like to talk , here it is. My writing journey: Like most writers, I have wanted to write since I was very young. (In high school, I wrote a fantasy novel that will never see the light of day ...
32 comments
Read more