Announcing: A Call to Pens 2011!

{Photo Credit: sxc.hu}

Pick up your pens, grab your laptops, sharpen your number two pencils and start your coffee grinders.
I'm very excited to announce the fourth annual Patrick Henry College "A Call to Pens" short story competition!

I hope this year's themes will inspire you to strive for literary excellence. The themes are:

The First Division

Theme: An Unexpected Adventure

Age group: 12-15

Word limit: 1,500

The Second Division

Theme: Redemption

Age group: 16-18

Word limit: 2,500

Contest deadline is February 1, 2012.

For more information, contest entry rules, entry forms, etc., please visit the PHC Call to Pens page.

About the blog: Like last year, this blog will continue to be a repository of information on the Christian writer's calling, literary excellence, good books on writing, and tips from the pros (PHC professors and some of our most exceptional student writers). I hope this blog will generate some discussion as we encourage each other in our writing endeavors.

A little about me: My name is Alicia Constant. I'm a junior Classical Liberal Arts Journalism major at Patrick Henry College, and I will be coordinating the contest this year. When I served as a judge last year, I enjoyed reading your works of fiction so much that I decided to get more involved this year.
I'm a journalist at heart-- which means that I mostly deal in non-fiction these days-- but I'm also a poet, a voracious reader, a puttering librarian, and a some-time scribbler. I believe that good stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, communicate truth by challenging and delighting the soul.

I hope this blog is not only your chance to hear from me but also to learn from the colleagues and mentors that have taught me many things about the literary craft. Please leave comments with your suggestions for topics you'd like to see on the blog.

Also, you can contact me at shortstory@phc.edu with any questions about the blog or the competition.


In Christ,

Alicia Constant
2011 Call to Pens Contest Coordinator

the craft and business of writing: essential tools for writing success

The Craft and Business of Writing: Essential Tools for Writing Success, by the Editors of Writer’s Digest books

I recently discovered a real “page-turner” I couldn’t put down—and unfortunately, couldn’t afford. Happily, my school library recently acquired it, and it’s sitting beside me now, as I type this. (And no, it’s not a novel.)

If you’re interested in writing as a career, or even in just publishing a few stories every now and then, this is a book you may definitely want to check out at your library or the nearest bookstore. I haven’t read it front to back, but the portions I have perused are chock-full of sound advice and practical, “here’s how to do it and here’s how not to do it” instruction. I especially appreciate how the editors work to spark your interest through questions, suggestions, and anecdotes, in addition to both positive and negative examples of whatever topic they are addressing. Overall, it gives a good understanding of both business aspects of writing and the building blocks of writing itself.  

Here’s just a bit of what this book offers (quoted from the back):

For more than eighty years, the Writer’s Market series has provided the timeless advice and detailed instruction writers have come to depend on to achieve their goals. The Craft & Business of Writing offers the best of that instruction from award-winning writers such as M.J. Rose, Lee K. Abbott, Alyce Miller, Fred Marchant, Jennifer Cruisie, Megan McCafferty, Gary Provost, Monica Wood, and Deborah Hopkinson.

            In this book, writers, agents, and editors offer their insights into every genre and facet of the publishing industry, so whether you write fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, or poetry—or a little of everything—this essential all-in-one reference includes everything you need to start and maintain your writing career.

To hone your craft and increase your skill as a writer, you’ll find solid advice on how to:

• Craft intricate plots and nuanced characters
• Improve the pace and veracity of your dialogue
• Write in rhyme, or with appropriate meter

To successfully market yourself and sell your work, you’ll learn how to:

• Find and work with an agent
• Negotiate contracts and collaborate with editors
• Test and submit article ideas

No matter what your skill level or area of creative interest, The Craft & Business of Writing is an invaluable addition to your reference library.

Interested? Check it out on Amazon and peruse a few chapters for free!