Marching Right Along... (Get It??)

I consider March a success. And it was a fun challenge. Three Cheers and a Tiger hosted a short story mystery writing contest toward the end of the month. The rest of the month I practiced writing monologues and I read. I read a lot. I read The Shining, Misery and Christine by Stephen King and am two thirds of the way through A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.

There are days when I would rather read than eat, write, watch tv, walk the dog, anything. Having done only one short challenge this month was a welcome break and I was happy to reacquaint myself with the authors and genres I love best. I have always been enthralled with mystery, suspense, dark humor, the supernatural, history, fantasy, love, relationships, violence, murder and death. Movies and television have nothing on the written word. That's a bit hypocritical from someone whose repertoire consists mostly of scripts, shorts and monologues, but I envy those who can envision their worlds so completely and vividly and then recreate them for an audience on a blank page. That's why I read. Not out of jealousy, but out of awe. And to escape and be inspired. I may not be able to be onstage anymore, but I can still be anyone I want to be when I crack the spine of a new book or share a favorite old one with my children.

Anyway, that's my feelings on the importance of literacy. As for the March challenge, it couldn't have gone better. A writing prompt was announced on Just the Place for a Snark on Friday, March 21. We had 48 hours to write a mystery story between 2450 and 2550 words. The prompt was, and this is an abbreviation so as not to plagiarize, write a story about something that appears in a pile of snow.

I don't know what made me this, but I decided to go to my 13 year old son for advice and together we came up with a story that if I "ever made it into a book" he would "definitely want to read". Of course that just be because he was the main character. The mystery we made up was that a group of kids found a flash drive in the snow and just had to know what was on it. There were a few hurdles to overcome before they could finally get it plugged it and working. Things like meddling parents, chores, and bedtime. Not to mention they had to dry it out in a cup full of rice. Oh, but just imagining what was hidden on the drive was maddening. Then finally success! And then, when they open it up... The end.

Actually I just ran out of words. I tend to be wordy. In truth, it was fun writing something with my son. Now my daughters are jealous and want a story inspired by them. Guess I'll have to write a sequel.

For April I have decided on a different sort of challenge. April is National Poetry Month. To honor that I have chosen to join the challenge to write a poem every day for the month of April. Now, I am no poet, but that is okay. You don't have to be. I believe, as many writers (and wanna be writers like me) do, that it's not what you write, it's that you write. Robert Lee Brewer is hosting his 7th annual April PAD Challenge on his Poetic Asides blog. All the rules and guidelines are laid very nicely and neatly. He will post a writing prompt everyday and everyday a new guest judge will choose their favorite. What is different this year is that the favorites that are chosen will be published in an anthology, giving the publishers a one-time right to publish but the poems will still belong to the writers and are still able to be reprinted elsewhere. I think that's the most important information, but if you are interested go check it out.

Wish me luck and I'll do the same for you...

Brief Update

I was successful in submitting two pieces to two different competitions so far this year. In January, I wrote a radio play. In February I wrote an article for a travel magazine about a place that inspires me. I am happy to report that I already have plans for March, April and May. In March I plan on participating in a short story writing challenge. I will tell you more about the April and May competitions as more details become available.

I do know that winners have yet to be announced for the BBC Radio Play Writing Competition. Right now, they do not plan on releasing the winner's names until August. The winners for We Said Go Travel magazine will be announced May. When I know, you'll know.

At this moment, I'm going to get back to work rewriting one of my plays. I also am going to write some monologues for a possible future endeavor. The writing challenge for March, hosted by Toasted Cheese, begins March 21. 

Wish me luck and I'll do the same for you!