I'm posting something a little different this week... I am a big advocate for entering writing competitions with carefully constructed sentences and paragraphs, and I'm regularly posting details of competitions on my Facebook page. 

However, one of my blog readers this week said she wasn't on Facebook, but would still like to know about some competitions she could try her hand in. So, as requested, here are some writing competitions which have April closing dates. Good luck all, let me know how you get on.

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Worgle Flomp Humour Poetry Contest
For funny and spoof poetry
Prizes $100 x 10 and 1 x $1000
Free entry
Closing date 1st April (no joke!)

BBC Nature Wildlife Writer of the Year
For short nature writing up to 800 words - no fiction or poetry
Prizes often include a conservation themed trip abroad
Free entry
www.discoverwildlife.com
Email wildlifemagazine@immediate.co.uk 

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest
Free entryDeliberately bad opening lines to novels
www.bulwer-lytton.com
Closing date 15th April

Deddington Writing Competition
Short stories up to 2,000 words and poetry up to 36 lines
Prizes: £100, £50, £25 in each category, web publication
Entry fee TBC
Email hughm34@btinternet.com for more details

Divine Chocolate Poetry Competition
Poems on the theme of 'chocolate is something to cherish'
Three age categories: 7-11, 12-16 and 17-adult
Deadline 30th April
Entries can be emailed to poetry@christian-aid.org
www.divinechocolate.com/poetry

Grey Hen Poetry Competition
For poems up to 40 lines by women over 60 years old
Prizes £100, £50, £25, web publication
Entry fee: £3 or £10 for 3
Closing date 30th April
www.greyhenpress.com 

Tom Howard / John H Reid Short Story Contest
Short stories, essays or other prose up to 5000 words
Prizes are $150-$3000
Entry fee is a little higher but could be worth it! $16
Closing date 30th April
Email: JohnReid@37.com
www.winningwriters.com/tomstory

Bristol Short Story Prize
There is no set theme or subject
Stories should be a max of 4000 words
Entry fee is £8
Closing date 30th April
www.bristolprize.co.uk

Limnisa Bluethumbnail Short Story Competition
First prize is a week's retreat in Greece!!!
Any theme or subject - max 3000 words
Entry fee is £6
Closing date 1st April
Blue Thumbnail

Good luck - go for it! Let me know how you get on...

Until next week... when I start the April Blog Challenge! I'd better get planning...

Lou x

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Born To Be A Tourist

Image courtesy of Kaarc

You may think you're no green-eyed monster. However, jealousy can creep up on the kindest and most successful writers among us. 

The nicest of my friends can become competitive in the right situation. It's one thing to covet a publishing deal or successful writing career of a peer, but jealousy is an unattractive and negative emotion. 

Today I am asking, how can writers use small doses of jealousy, however mild, to our advantage and turn it into something positive?

Jealous of the time another writer has to spend on writing?
So many hours, so little time? This is an easy one - make time. It doesn't have to involve a career break. How you tried watching less crap on TV? How many hours do you waste on Facebook? Don't sleep in so late at the weekends... there are loads of ways you can save half an hour a day and donate the time to your writing. 

These writers you might be so envious might not have as much of a full life as you either. No one wants to write 24/7, surely??

Envious of the earnings of another writer?
All may not be what it seems... Appearing successful can make you seem a lot more successful than you actually are. Some would argue this will bring you yet more success. This is an example of how this works at a school reunion. Why can't this apply to writing?

Also, work on submitting smarter to boost your income. Are you following the guidelines of competitions, agents and publishers before you submit anything? Are you writing to the judges? A top tip for those entering writing competitions includes finding out who the judges are are write for them! What's their genre? What kind of style do they like to write? Chances are they'll enjoy your piece more if it's similar to theirs. 

Someone else always seems to have the great ideas?
Ideas don't make themselves very often, but they do breed. Get brainstorming and you might be surprised what comes out. 

Jealousy. Envy. It's more common among writers than you'd imagine. Read what Carolyn Bass from Huffington Post has to say about how bothered she gets when other authors receive publishing deals for books she deems inferior to hers or friends of hers.  #LitChat dedicated a whole session to that subject. 

Let's not turn this ugly emotion into resentment. Let's support each other in this lonely vocation and keep celebrating our mutual success in the huge potential market. Don't worry, you can do it without spending a penny (or dime), and let's think positive!

Lou x

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Today, 21st March is World Poetry Day. Every year on this date (since 1999) UNESCO celebrates poems and poets and I've joined forces with a writer local to me to bring you new material to celebrate in poetic style. GK Kingsley, a Northamptonshire poet, has entered the spirit of World Poetry Day by penning a something especially to celebrate today.

According to GK Kingsley, her quest is "to sow seeds that make people think about their lives, with bite size bits of poetry that are accessible to all. Some are humorous, some are thought provoking. But either way, it’s never a long haul trawl through my stuff.”

This poet has a following from around the world, from Australia to Hawaii to Alaska. She publishes a new poem three times a week on her website. I really like 'Double Trouble' and 'Make Life A Breeze', two show pieces beautifully displayed - not just lines of text!

Entitled ‘Love’, this specially written poem seeks to understand that most universal of ideas that touches all of our lives.  Enjoy. 

Thanks GK - great to collaborate with you, and I wish you a happy World Poetry Day!

See more from GK Kingsley:

Website:  www.gkkingsley.com                       Pinterest: gkkingsley

Email: gk@gkkingsley.com                              Twitter: @gkkingsley

Facebook: gk.kingsley

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Tomorrow I'll be posting my regular weekly writing blog - this one was a bonus to celebrate World Poetry Day, you lucky things!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
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Born To Be A Tourist

Images from GK Kingsley's website and Off Timetable

April is going to be a big month for me. There's potentially a house move (fingers crossed!), some WWOOFing, Easter break, family do's... Oh, and a writing challenge I've signed up to!

From April 1st, I join Rebecca Giltrow and several other writers in the April Blogging Challenge. We are blogging every day (aside from Sunday) throughout April. 

As Rebecca says, "most of the time if you subtract Sundays from April, you then have 26 days--one day for each letter of the alphabet.  When April 1st lands on a Sunday you begin on that day which will be the only Sunday you would post during that month's challenge." This means day one is A themed, day two is B themed... And so on until Z on 30th April.  

I'm hoping to include social media tips, writing campaigns, reviews, more of my own material, general writing tips and more... Treasured reader, I hope you enjoy it, even if you just enjoy seeing me under pressure!

What have I let myself in for?! More to the point, who else is in?!

My first post will be Easter Monday, the 1st April 2013. Catch you then - I'm off to plan!

Lou x

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Born To Be A Tourist - have you checked out my travel blog yet?

The famous phrase on the best thing for writers to do to improve their craft is to "read widely". I'd agree that is very important, but there should be a caveat to this advice. I'd say, 

"Read widely, join a writing group." 

I first joined Speakeasy writers group in Milton Keynes in 2008, and went on to start a whole new group in my local town of Towcester. I’m finding there are so many more benefits than I had originally hoped for in both groups.

Here are 5 reasons joining a writers' group will help your writing. 

1. Writers Groups keep you disciplined

Many groups set you a theme to work on for the month or fortnight, however often they meet. This really helps me personally as not only does it give me a goal and a deadline, very often it tests me to try something new. A new genre, a random writing prompt, a poem... We have all sorts to pique the interest and develop our writers' styles in Towcester! 

2. You will meet new people

Making friends is always good for the soul. I've got to know a lot of local people through my writers group who I might not ever have come across. It's really helped to me feel part of the community.

A writing club also gives you a chance to meet people from different walks of life and they may inadvertently give you ideas for characters. New people you meet can be great fodder for your writers brain, just be subtle about it.

3. You will probably discover new techniques and approaches which will challenge you 

You will no doubt learn how other writers organise their writing day, gain new perspectives, you might be encourages to try something new, and could possibly gain some expertise from someone else's field (e.g. managing your social media as a writer, which magazines you should subscribe to). Above all, you can share tips and discoveries. This is invaluable. 

4. Writing Groups give you insights into the minds of other readers and writers

As a writer, seeing a snapshot of how writers deal with different themes, genres, criticisms and praise can be very enlightening. You have a ready-made feedback panel who only want to support you. Remember, writers are also readers, so you have a ready made critique board sitting in front of you!

5. It’s fun.

I don't need to tell you what a great thing 'fun' can be in life!

Virtual or otherwise, writing groups are a fantastic resource every writer should make the most of. Check on the National Association of Writers Groups (NAWG) for your local group's details. Get out there!

Please don't forget to share or tweet this blog if you've enjoyed it, and leave me a comment! I'd love to hear from you. 

Lou x

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Have you seen my travel blog yet? #borntobeatourist

Image courtesy of Script Mag