Golden Baobab - Call for Submissions

Thanks to Fi for sending this in. Please note that any queries should go to the addresses at the bottom of the poster, not to CWOSA! Don't forget to follow the guidelines to the letter!

The 2012 Call for Submissions for the Golden Baobab Prize

Golden Baobab 2012- Call for Submissions   Dear Friend: It is a pleasure to announce the ongoing Golden Baobab Prize, a literary award that annually invites entries of unpublished African-inspired stories written for an audience of ages 8-11 years or 12-15 years.  The mission of the Golden Baobab Prize is to identify the African literary giants of the next generation and produce excellent stories that will be appreciated for years to come. This year the prize will award $1,000 to the best story in the junior category as well as the senior category and $800 to the most promising young writer (18 years and below). Beyond that, the Golden Baobab Prize offers to connect outstanding stories with African and international publishers. The Prize is open to African citizens of all ages. Deadline for submission is June 24, 2012. Please help us spread the word about the Golden Baobab Prize by: 1. Forwarding this email with the poster to interested persons or organizations. 2. Encouraging eligible persons (i.e. African citizens of all ages)within your networks to write and submit their stories. 3. Printing out and putting up our catchy poster attached. It should only take a minute! The Golden Baobab seeks to ensure that in the next ten years every young African will have access to excellent quality literature that they can relate to. We solicit your support in making this a reality. Plesse help spread the word. Our website:  www.goldenbaobab.org Regards, Maureen Atebawone Programs Associate & Prize Co-ordinator- The Golden Baobab Prize

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God's Open Day

I recently had the privilege to attend the Pearson High School Open Day…a time of introduction to all new parents and students. Coming from Switzerland and an entirely different educational system, this was all so new to me, but even some of my South African friends said that, coming from Primary School, it seemed like a whole new world - a world we didn’t even know it existed. So much more to do; so much more to aspire to…so many new people to meet. Quite overwhelming at first, but exciting nonetheless. On that evening, the admission rules were explained to us. This new school, this new world is reserved for some. Yes, anyone can apply, but only 160 students will be admitted. That’s the reality, these are the limits set by the authority in charge. However, somewhere amongst the application forms there was a piece of paper that stated a very important part of the admission rules…and that is that admission is guaranteed if you live in the vicinity of the school. It said that if Pearson High is your nearest High School and if you are a rightful resident of Summerstrand, then you will not be refused entry. What a relief to know! Especially in the presence of the 500 odd people present who might all be applying later.

Why am I telling you all this…?

Easter is coming up…and I have been pondering over this thought for a while…EASTER IS JESUS’ OPEN DAY…! He came; He made His presentation. Heaven is His world, a world we don’t know but it exists, far beyond any imagination. God wants all of us to be there one day. Anyone can apply. Not everyone will be granted a spot. But I have some really GOOD NEWS! There is a  little detail lots of people keep overlooking…if Jesus is your friend…if you live in the vicinity of the cross he died on, admission for you is GUARANTEED! Yes, you may fail a grade or two…you might mess up your very next exam, but if you live with Jesus in your heart, your grades don’t matter. You will get in.

This vicinity thing is really important because it is easy to be worried. Many people worry if they will go to heaven one day, just like many parents have asked me since that Open Day…”What if you don’t get in?”…”Will you apply to any other High School?”…and my answer is always NO. None. This is the only one we will apply for. No doubt it is the best for us and the good news is we live nearby. Some parents seem to worry, even though they live near the school too. Perhaps they did not read the small print and now the devil can sneak in a thought of worry. “Are you sure your child will be accepted?” or “What if his grades don’t measure up?” I have had lots of thoughts that I am not good enough for heaven, and many a time where I have sinned and the devil tried to convince me that I would not make “the cut”. But that is when I go and read the small print of God’s promise again for in the bible it says that if you are a friend of Jesus and you make him your Lord, you WILL get into heaven. Your behaviour is not the deciding factor, but your closeness to Jesus is. So the only question for you over this Easter is this: is he your friend? DO YOU LIVE NEAR THE CROSS? Why not make him your friend this Easter and make sure your admission is guaranteed? Jesus was here. He had His Open Day and He is reminding us every Easter. He has enough space for all of us. He died and he rose and HE IS COMING BACK.

I think even the devil knows that his time is almost up…almost every new action movie released is dealing with some kind of “impending return”…people are sensing it…and the devil is trying to advertise his own team. He will do anything to keep you distracted and busy and away from Jesus. But remember - Easter is Jesus’ Open Day! You have to make your choice. Do I want to be in or out? And remember the small print…so move your heart to the cross and DECLARE JESUS YOUR FRIEND…it will be well worth it! Is there any other heaven you would want to go? No. None. This is where I want to go and I hope to see all of YOU there! Have a Happy Easter!

Be ready to share

I was reading a reflection by Henri Nouwens, who was on a retreat when asked to share with others. He was reluctant because he felt that there was just too much preparation required. The wise Abbot  said to him. " Why do you need to prepare? If you pray half and hour in the mornings, sing in the choir and do your spiritual readings, you will have more than enough to share with others."
It is not to prepare to share, but to live in a state of continuous preparedness.If you live with your life steeped in the Lord's love you bring Christ with you in all your meetings with others. Your attitude, your loving kindness, your knowledge of God's Word is what God has prepared in you so that you are Christ to others in all meetings.
As Christ's own you have more than enough love to share, and the Holy Spirit speaks through you to touch the heart of the one who listens..

Please Identify the Picture

Isn't this the most beautiful picture?

Reminds me of Psalm 91:4, He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Can anyone help me with the type of bird this is? Is it a dove? I've been asked this by an American friend and don't want to give a wrong answer.

You can enter your thoughts as a comment. Thanks in anticipation.

Finding Inspiration

I have been thinking about Marion's question about what motivates me and wanted to take the time to mention five.

1. Nature- seeing the beauty of God's creation always makes me want to proclaim what He has done and what's the best way to do that? Through writing.

2. The need to see justice played out- An editor mentioned this about my books and I love this because I do write because I want to see the good guys win.

3. Deadlines- I can't skip this motivation. I find that I'm much more likely to write with a deadline, whether self-imposed or from an editor. Without it, I tend to do...nothing.

4. I love it- Sometimes it's motivation enough for me just to write because I love to write. I love fleshing out characters, placing them in peril, saving them, learning from them.

5. Sharing something deeper- I love the chance to share a deeper message through fiction. Whether it is opening people's eyes to things they don't know about (like human trafficking) or helping them grow spiritually, I'm motivated to write to share.

Happy writing,

Lisa

Give Me a Name and a Time

Marion asked, "What inspires you to write?"

I am inspired by deadlines. For that reason I usually have way more deadlines than I can cope with, and the ones that are self-imposed fall away. I have a large white board on the wall next to my computer and I write on it all the time. All the deadlines are written in blue. A quick count now tells me I have 21 deadlines! The latest one is the end of March next year - a Chicken Soup story I plan to write. But some of those 21 are multi-tasks in themselves. e.g. "Blogs" - one heading. That includes two a month on each of my two sites, plus 4-5 devotions up on ICFW (one a week) - either by me or by someone else. (Oh yes, and someone else has just asked me to do another one. Thanks Marion!)


Another multi-task is "Newsletter". That means two a month - one from each website.


Then a "teensy weensy" goal is "TOTW" - which can involve all sorts of things, like trying to figure out how to save hundreds of emails into folders.

Moving on - before I get overwhelmed. Oh, wait. I am overwhelmed.

Moving on anyway . . .

I also find a good title is important, so that I don't lose track of what I'm trying to say. I waffled about whether to sign up for the non-fiction Book in a Month challenge, until I decided on a title. Now I'm raring to go. And I've just realised that's NOT on my white board yet. Just a book in a month. Oh sigh.

In closing, my working title for November is:

A Year of My Life

Blogging Through Cancer 

The challenge is to write a whole book in a month, so I will aim to complete the book, but will only post one blog a day Monday - Friday. That means I can schedule the others to go up for the next months that lie ahead which will be a multi-function for the blogs too. After all, if I multi-task, surely it's only right that my writing has to multi-task too?

Bye for now! I have a deadline or 20 to meet.

What inspires you?

There are many things that can inspire us in our daily life. However, the question here is not directed at those things. What I’d like to know is, “What inspires you to write?” Does facing a deadline inspire you to write? Does the spurring on from a family member inspire you to write? Or encouragement from a friend? A piece of music? A certain setting? Your own private space … your writing corner?

And what does this inspiration look like?

In his book, Plot and Structure, James Scott Bell gives some useful tips on getting motivated:

·                 Write a statement of purpose and put it in a place that you can see daily. But it must be one that excites you!
·                 Have the word “Writer” printed across your coffee mug. Every time you take a sip you’ll be reminded of your commitment to write. This will not only give you a caffeine boost, but a fresh jolt of enthusiasm too!
·                 Browse the bestseller section in bookstores – look at the authors’ pics and bios, read their openings, and imagine what your face would look like on the back of that book. Think to yourself, I can do this! And then, the most important piece of advice, rush back to your office and start writing.

The next tip was the one I liked – probably because I had already been doing this long before I read this great writer’s advice. And I felt a whole lot less silly because of my approach to getting myself inspired.

·                 Find your own item of visual motivation – inspirational words taped to your computer, a photograph of an admired writer, or your own rendering of your first novel’s cover (you could even put your own critical praise on the back … and if you’re going to do that, be lavish in that praise!)

You see, after getting an idea for a book, the first thing I tend to do is come up with a working title. The next thing I always do, and this has been the greatest source of inspiration to me, is design a book cover. Yes, I know that cover will probably never see the light of day, but it is the one thing that has spurred me on to continue writing, time and time again.

Here are the covers my finished (unpublished) novels, and others that are still under construction (yes, I do tend to multitask!)

 

Prodigal:  My first novel – complete, but have some reworking to do.

Scarlett:  The sequel to Prodigal – about 70% complete.

The Red Floor:  My first NaNoWriMo win in 2009. Based on the story of my mother’s life. About 90% complete.

Diplomatic Immunity:  A great story line, but a difficult project. Only just started on this project that a friend and I were going to do together. This story is based on her life as a diplomat’s wife but due to the sensitivity of this project, we’re unsure how to proceed – fiction or non-fiction?

Hungry:  My second NaNoWriMo win in 2010 and my first attempt at a historical novel – about 70% complete.

Pebbles in my Pocket:  My first non-fiction project I will be attempting in November with WNFIN (which stands for Write Non-Fiction In November) – and hence, sadly, I will not be taking part in NaNoWriMo this year. Such a pity, but I can’t do them both, and this project is far more important to me.

Looking at all these covers, I feel inspired all over again. I think I might just put them all up at the same time in my writing attic … maybe that will inspire me to finish these works in progress.

Please take time to share with the group, not in a comment below, but in a separate blog, your writing inspiration/s.

Never, Never, Never Give Up

Talk About Rejection:

 

"The Help" has earned $154.4 million at the box office so far.
 
Not bad for a screenplay based on book that was rejected 60 times.
 
The author, Kathryn Stockett wrote, "In the end, I received 60 rejections for The Help. But letter number 61 was the one that accepted me. After my five years of writing and three and a half years of rejection, an agent named Susan Ramer took pity on me. What if I had given up at 15? Or 40? Or even 60? Three weeks later, Susan sold The Help to Amy Einhorn Books."

 

More Famous Rejections:

• Margaret Mitchell – Gone With The Wind (38)
• Rudyard Kipling managed to sell one article to The San Francisco Examiner in 1889, but the paper then rejected any future submissions, saying, "You just don't know how to use the English language."
• John Kennedy Toole, meanwhile, received so many rejection letters for his novel, A Confederacy Of Dunces, that he finally killed himself. Only the persistence of his bereaved mother led to the eventual publication of his novel and its receipt of the Pulitzer Prize in 1980.
• Richard Bach – Jonathan Livingston Seagull (140)
• Stephen King – Carrie (30)
• Richard Adams – Watership Down (26)
• Thor Heyerdahl – The KonTiki Expedition,(18)
• Laurence J. Peter – The Peter Principle (16)
• JK Rowling – Harry Potter books (12)
• Beatrix Potter – The Tale of Peter Rabbit (8). She finally published it herself.

Val Waldeck

 

P.S. Self-Publishing is King! Createspace for Amazon P-Books and Kindle for Amazon E-Books.

 

Never Say Never

Here's a story I thought would appeal to most of you:
Yesterday, I came across a point in my writing that needed clarification from a map of the Caribbean. I went and got the Atlas, and on my way back to my desk, I saw my younger sister doing mapwork in the book I remembered with no pleasant feelings. I decided to show my sympathy:

"Shame, Charissa. You have to do mapwork!" And I began looking through the Atlas index.

Then my mother suddenly said, "Aren't you glad you had to do mapwork?"  And I realized that while so empathetically declaring how I had hated mapwork, I was consulting maps for my story!

Well, my family got me there. My worst fear now is that they will triumph in the maths-issue. Will I one day be caught willingly working out those sickening co-tangents or trying to integrate an awful function for fun?

Hi, I’m Cheryl and this is a new beginning with regards my writing. I have been a writer most of my life, however, until the day I met my Redeemer, my writing was self-centred and empty. Now it’s full of testimonies of how amazing our Heavenly Father is, and forever will be. Poetry, prayers and devotionals are just some of what I enjoy writing.

I have suffered a long dry spell away from my keyboard and screen. I am trying to understand why, and have a string of justifiable reasons that I am working through.

One thing I have never stopped is journaling, and through my written notes, I am able to see where I have been wondering.

I am published in various Anthologies of Verse, and in two different e-zines, but am yet to publish a book of my own. This is a dream I pray I will be able to fulfil, just need the confidence to pull me out my comfort zone.

I continuously wrestle with my thoughts, and wonder if procrastination plays a bigger role than I realise. Also, I find that I carry too many stories in my head at a time, and tend to lose focus. For these reasons, I pray that God would allow my creative writing juices to flow in such a way, that His Mighty name may be glorified in what I pen.

What I enjoy about the CWOSA group, is the regular emails that make me accountable, which is a discipline I need. I love writing and can’t help wanting to write all the time, and because I write for God, I feel compelled to share further than my journal notes.

So, here’s to my Lord and King; thank You Father God for my wonderful gift of creative writing, for which I pray I will use effectively, diligently and regularly, to extol You and Your glorious Kingdom, in Jesus precious name I pray, amen.