Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving coming, I have to say how thankful I am for my on-line Writing Family. The friendships and support I've found in the last year since I came back to writing regularly have been awesome.


I am especially thankful and excited to be a part of Writing Without Drama. It is a small close-knit group of writes but the participation has been awesome. If someone has a writing related question or issue, there is always someone there with an answer, help and encouragement. We also have some regularly scheduled activities with an incredible degree of participation.


Tuesday Topics is a weekly post by writer, ghostwriter and professional editor, Jeremy Menefee. The members are able to suggest topics they would like for him to cover and he is extremely responsive and always posts valuable information for our writer's toolbox.


Friday Flash Fiction Challenge is something new we have instituted. Our first challenge was posted on November 11th. The challenge was to write a story from the perspective of someone of the opposite gender, and since it was posted on Veteran's Day, we also required that the story include a veteran. We had nine amazing entries. Quinne Darkover was so impressed that he volunteered to give Beta Reader feedback for all the entries in this and future challenges. Justin Ames submitted the winning entry, “Waves” which was posted in the group for everyone to enjoy (and possibly learn from). Justin won a free e-book of his choice from our list of writing related titles. Additionally, Kristen Leah Evans' entry was selected for feedback from all of the Group Admins including a full professional edit by Jeremy.


The second Friday Flash Fiction Challenge was posted this past Friday and is to write a story in a genre that the author has not worked in before. So far, eleven writers have indicated that they have accepted the challenge. With a limit of 500 words, our writers are learning to make every word count, a skill which will definitely help them in future endeavors.


This challenge is such a good exercise for learning the craft of writing. Not only do our members stretch themselves to meet the various challenges, but submissions are required to be in standard manuscript format just like they would use when submitting their stories to a magazine, anthology or contest so they are learning to use and feel comfortable with the correct format.


More, every entry receives either an acceptance letter for the winners or a rejection slip just like they would if they had submitted their piece for publication. This helps them get over the fear of rejection which paralyzes so many writers and prevents them from submitting their work to markets.


I am so thankful and proud to be a part of such an active and supportive group.


I hope you all have a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving.