Monday, November 26, 2012

Deadline Approaching for Christmas Story Contest



Hi, Ink Quill Society Friends!

I am very excited about what is in-store for our club!  We had a wonderful magazine last year and I know this school year’s submissions will be just as wonderful (if not even better!).   

As a writer, I enjoy having the opportunity of submitting some of my work for publication, and I hope you all do, too.  This month there is a great opportunity to have your short story published in a local newspaper.  The Fayetteville Observer is currently accepting submissions for its annual Children’s Christmas Story contest.  There are three age groups (kids, teenagers, and adults).  I hope that each one of our club members will use this opportunity to submit a Christmas story.  This is a win-win situation.  If your story is a winner in your category, you will have your Christmas story published in The Fayetteville Observer, and you will win $100.  However, if you do not win, this is still a good opportunity to work on your writing skills.  Also, the Ink Quill Society would love to receive all of the submissions that our club members and fellow BCC students send to the contest.  The stories will be put into next semester’s printing of the Ink Quill Society magazine.  So no matter how you look at it, your story will get published!

If anyone is interested in submitting a Christmas story to The Fayetteville Observer, the deadline is November 30th.   Here is a link to more information about the contest and the rules for entry.  http://fayobserver.com/fayobserver.com/files/6d/6d9f5e35-48ee-45e1-a3e0-a0e14d8ae999.pdf

Have fun writing and Be Creative!

Morgan Pait
Assistant Editor

Friday, November 9, 2012

Hunting for Book Giveaways

Hello, all! As many of you know, reading is an amazing way to really improve your writing skills and stretch your creativity to new lengths! Unfortunately, reading can also become a fairly expensive habit once your local library’s shelves have been depleted of new stories. 

Many authors have recognized this and to try to help this situation, they will offer their books as giveaway prizes on blogs. Many times these books will come straight from the author, who will even take the time to sign the book for you. The trick is to find the giveaway blogs.

A really good one is ‘A Christian Writer’s World,’ run by Lena Dooley. Dooley is an author herself, having written many historical romances like, ‘Maggie’s Journey,’ ‘Mary’s Blessing,’ and the soon-to-be-released, ‘Catherine’s Pursuit.’ While all the books given away on this blog are Christian, many of them could be sold as regular fiction because they are definitely not overly spiritual. The link to this blog is: http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

There are several other blogs like this. To find them, simply Google search it. Just make sure it is a legitimate giveaway blog.

Remember to be preparing your submissions for publication in the magazine! I know they will all be great!

Katie Galyean
Secretary

Creative Community

I love the scratching of pens and the crumpling of paper. I must press hard when I write; the pages in my composition book crackle when I turn the page. These sounds are comforting and energizing when I'm alone, but they are even more so when I'm with others who are writing or drawing.

All of my seated class use the first ten or fifteen minutes to write a journal entry. I used to use this time to grade or plan, but I decided that instead, I would write with my students. Now, I bring in a composition book just as they do. I don't know if seeing me write matters to them, but the shared activity means a great deal to me.

Writing is, and, I imagine, many other art forms are, often solitary endeavors. When people in one room devote themselves to creative work at the same time, even if their efforts are separate, the air changes. The charge is almost tangible.

I experienced this fully for the first time in a high school creative writing class. The teacher would give us time, and the only requirement was that we read, write, or do something creative that had nothing to do with homework. I usually wrote in a journal with multicolored pens and markers. Everyone around me took out a novel, began to doodle, or worked on drafts of poems and stories. A girl next to me copied her favorite lines of poetry (often e. e. cummings) into a small green spiral notebook. I craved that time. It felt like that thick and serene silence of a snowy field, but it had those little sounds (turning pages, sighs, uncapping markers, pencils sizzling across paper) of branches cracking, ice bits clicking, and something happening.

The Ink Quill Society is now official with a constitution, officers, and regular meetings. For the past three weeks, we have spent the majority of our meeting time with a few creative prompts. Libraries are magical places anyway: that communal effort of studying or reading, the fairy godmother or -father presence of the librarians, and the quiet breathing of all those books and the characters, knowledge, and words that fill them. But when we, four or five of us gathered around a study table, hunch over our notebooks to fill or draw lines, the shimmer intensifies.

Whatever deluge of work or stress has preceded or will follow that half hour, I feel renewed, more connected to my creative self, more sure of my identity as a writer (in addition to wife, mother, and teacher), and assured that others like me are striving to maintain a commitment to creative work.

Mrs. James
Faculty Editor