Deadline November 3rd:

You have a little while to get ready for this, but it doesn’t hurt to start thinking and writing early – it’ll give you time to edit too.  Check their website out for more info: http://www.writersunion.ca/cn_shortprose.asp

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$2,500 Prize; Winner and finalists will have their stories submitted to three Canadian magazine publishers for consideration.Entry Fee: $25 per entry, cheque or money order made payable to The Writers’ Union of Canada. Deadline: November 3 Eligible Writers – Canadian citizens or landed immigrants – All writers who have not been published in book format, in any genre and who do not have a contract with a book publisher Eligible Entries – Nonfiction and fiction prose; up to 2,500 words, English language – Not previously published in any format – Multiple submissions are welcome How to Submit Entries – Typed, double-spaced, on numbered pages, plain 8.5” x 11” paper, not stapled – Submissions will be accepted by hardcopy only – A separate cover letter with full name, address, phone number, e-mail address, number of pages of entry, and whether submission is fiction or non-fiction. Please type name of entrant and title of entry on each numbered page. Manuscripts will not be returned. Latest Winner 2009 Award Winner Previous Winners 2008 Award Winner 2007 Award Winner 2006 Award Winner 2005 Award Winner 2004 Award Winner Deadline – Postmarked: November 3 Results – Results will be posted at www.writersunion.ca. Send entries to: SPC Competition, The Writers’ Union of Canada, 90 Richmond St. E, Suite 200, Toronto, ON, M5C 1P1 top

Burning to get your book on the page? I thought I’d direct some of you superfast writers to this fun contest.  This is taken from their website:

The World’s Most Notorious Literary Marathon

I just finished teaching a group of teens at the Sage Hill Saskatoon experience.  Great group.  Great writing.  Great to be surprised by their work as the week went on. 

Here’s one simple exercise I used (modified) with the group for you to try – we did it on the first day to get words flowing:

DON”T LET YOURSELF STOP WRITING UNTIL THE TIME IS UP – even if you’re writing the same word over and over. 

Go: Freewrite for 10 minutes on your earliest memory.  Stop.  Freewrite for 10 minutes on someone you admire.  Stop.  Freewrite for 10 minutes on the word window.  Stop.

That’s 30 minutes writing all together.  Somewhere in the words you’ve got down there will be ideas and maybe even sentences that you can use later on.  Freewriting helps you discipline yourself to pour words out and stops you editing yourself before you’ve got something to work with.  Try it.