Friday blogshare

All Things Writing – What’s Going on Around Blogtown this week?

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Friday blogshare

 

Today’s post is an info share about a few interesting articles I came across in my blog reading travels this week. Three of these finds are time sensitive, so do check them out ASAP if you want to jump on the bandwagon.

 

The first fun contest I came across is Charli Mills‘ Rodeo Contest at the Carrot Ranch. The month of October is filled with opportunities to submit your writing and win prizes too! Norah Colvin is starting off the Rodeo today.

 

Carrot Ranch contest

 

The Flash Fiction Rodeo is 8 contests with 8 first place prizes and 0 entry fees! Each contest provides a different twist to a flash fiction prompt. The Rodeo takes place Oct. 5-31 with a new contest every Tuesday and Thursday.

It’s free and includes first place prizes in each category of $25. The best of all eight winning entries will be dubbed the All-Around Best Writer of 2017 Flash Fiction Rodeo and win an extra $50. You can enter one or all contests (it’s free).

It’s a contest, so enter your best, polished work. Quality over quantity matters.

Winners will be announced one contest at a time over 8 consecutive Tuesdays Nov. 7-Dec. 26. The All-Around Best Writer will be announced January 2. Prizes will continue to be given away at each winner post, so be sure to tune in and comment on the Winning Announcement Posts.

WATCH DEADLINES AND ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS: When each contest launches, read the instructions carefully. Everything you need to know to access instructions will be posted at Carrot Ranch midnight EST (that’s New York time if it helps you get aligned). You will be asked to enter a variety of ways, according to how each leader has set up entries. Deadlines will vary, too. If at any time you need clarification, contact The Ranch.

CONTEST PREPARATION: Click on the links below to meet the Rodeo Contest Leaders (and some of their fellow judges) to get a feel for the style of writing you might be called to pull off in a rodeo event! Continue reading Here for a list of contests and dates.

 

Next up is Sarah Brentyn’s Flash Fiction entry where your short entries will help earn a donation dollar towards hurricane victims – Hurricane relief – #Flash4Storms

 

Harvey, Irma, Maria… These hurricanes have hit hard, leaving massive damage in their wakes. Here’s how you can help:

Hurricane relief - #flash4storms

 

1. Write a piece of flash fiction in 50 words or less with the theme: Help 

(This can be any sort of assistance, support, encouragement, or a story of someone or something that needs help. You do not need to use the prompt word. Be creative! It can be 50 words, 15 words…even a six-word story. Anything goes provided it is prose up to 50 words. It doesn’t have to be sunshine and rainbows but keep it PG and friendly.)

2. Add a new post on your blog with your flash fiction and the hashtag #Flash4Storms in the title

3. Link to this post

4. Leave a comment here with a link to your post so I know you’ve participated

5. Help spread the word on social media with the hashtags:

#Flash4Storms

#LemonSharkCharity

I will donate $1 to hurricane relief for every flash that is posted (up to $50). Continue reading Here to read more and enter 

 

And this fun find I came across with a great idea from Deborah Jay to sneak in a little more dedicated writing time – The Pomodoro Method. 

 

WRITERS, HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR TIME? HAVE YOU DISCOVERED THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE? #TIMEMANAGEMENT #AMWRITING

 

I shared this technique earlier on Marcia Meara’s blog, THE WRITE STUFF, while Marcia continues her clear up after the destruction visited upon her home by Hurricane Irma.

I am not a full time writer. Like a lot of others, I have to fit my writing time around my full time business. And my business is VERY full time – I train and judge competition dressage horses at National and International level. It’s a fabulous job, but very time consuming, not to mention sometimes exhausting.

Me at work.
I don’t always look this glamorous, believe me.

When people glibly tell me that there is always time to be found in the work day, I know they have NO idea what my life is like. I can often be on the road by 7am, and not home until 10pm, having been either driving or working the entire time. Please tell me where I am supposed to find time to write in that schedule?

I’m not complaining, no sir, I’m just making a point. Not everybody’s life lends itself to a regular writing routine. Mine certainly doesn’t.

So what is my point?

Well, I recently followed a short writing course, largely because it had a great module on plotting (guess who is trying to learn more about plotting vs pantsing?). But what it also had, was a section on time management.

My first thought was, ‘here we go again, I’ve heard it all before’.

But I hadn’t! This course introduced me to the POMODORO TECHNIQUE.

If you haven’t come across it yet, it is a time management approach developed in the late 1980s, and named after the Pomodoro kitchen timer.

The reason I found this so useful?

Because I have always felt that there was no point starting to write unless I had at least a clear hour available. Anything less than that seemed to me to be unproductive, and I hate to get started only to find I have to give up.

The nub of the Pomodoro technique, though, is that you work for exactly 25 minutes. Continue reading Here

 

 

And Hot of the Press!

My friend Carol Balawyder is releasing her brand new book, The Longest Nine Months – women’s fiction, Friday October 6th. In honor of the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, she is offering her book FREE Oct 6th thru 10th. Grab yourself a copy! I’ve read all of Carol’s books and loved every one of them. To see my reviews just put Carol’s name in the search bar at the top of my page.

The Longest Nine Months by Carol Balawyder

 

Get this book on Amazon!

 And a friendly reminder, I’ll be chatting with fellow writers and authors at 2pm EST today Friday October 6th on Facebook , AUTHORS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. I hope to see you guys drop by and join in the convo, or just to say hello. Please don’t forget to click on the page event (below) and hit ‘like’ in order to enter the event.

 

Happy weekend! 🙂

58 thoughts on “All Things Writing – What’s Going on Around Blogtown this week?”

  4. Debby, a terrific share of blog news – I’ve already downloaded Carol’s latest novel and can’t wait to read it; probably on the plane to Sweden next week! Thank you very much, Carol for your kind and generous gesture!❤️ I’ve never heard of the Pomodoro Technique but I’m definitely interested in trying this out. I need discipline! A great shout out to Sarah’s very worthwhile flash fiction event and wish her the best of luck with this…?

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  5. What a packed post, Deb! I kept wanting to add a comment about a section, got distracted by the next, and have now forgotten everything I wanted to say. Well, you are gorgeous on your horse. 7am-10pm–I just don’t have that in me anymore. You are amazing.

    Interesting Pomodoro technique. I can see that working.

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    1. Lol Jacqui. I know, it’s an action-packed post! Hope there’s something for everyone, and a bonus free book! Thanks for the smiles. 🙂 x

      Oh my gosh, I just realized ‘the horse’ – that’s Deborah Jay, but thanks for the compliment. 🙂 x

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  6. Lots of fabulous stuff here. 🙂 The month-long contests at CR should be awesome. And what an amazing Facebook chat. I’ve seen the Pomodoro technique before and thought it looked like it would work for me but, alas, I never tried it. I have to. I’m honored to have my little fundraiser mentioned here. So appreciated, Debby. There is so much need still. Thank you. ❤❤❤

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  8. As a procrastinator who has all the time he needs (hahaha) being retired, I love any tools to be more productive. Had to keep from laughing at the name “Pomodoro” technique. Made me imagine a hair product. LOL. But it sounds intriguing!

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  9. Some great finds this week, Debby. There is so much good stuff for writers that it’s hard to get to them all, so I find these “roundups” useful! The Carrot Ranch one is saved to my favorites bar. Now, if I can just get over the hump and give it a go…. Happy Writing and have an amazing weekend!

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    1. Thanks Diana. I enjoy the roundups too, to catch things I may have missed. And happy to announce, I just submitted to Norah’s challenge at the Ranch! 🙂 Happy weekend my friend. ❤

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  10. Wow Debby lots of delights you have given us here to explore.. Oh to have more time… Yes, i know we make time.. LOL.. Love the Pomodoro ,, My gran had a timer similar she would wind and it would click away the minutes, she used it to time her bread in the oven as when we kids were around we would distract her attention.. And the oven was one that was run at the side of the fireplace from the heat of the fire..
    That brought back memories xxx 🙂

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  11. Lots of good information, Debby! I use the Pomodoro technique often and find its useful when I have much going on and I need to remember to stretch and breathe, too. Thanks for including the Ranch!

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  12. Great blogging updates…. Love the Pomodoro Technique… LOL …. Such a good idea!. See!: common sense or practical intelligence (Metis, in Greek) is really important on a daily basis. I hope the event ‘Authors Against Domestic Violence’ went well!. Have a great weekend, dear Debby! xx 😀

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  15. Hi Debby great shares. That pomodero technique sounds great, particularly at the moment. What with full-time job, university visits (for my youngest) time is a major issue. Serves me right for calling my book The Curse Of Time. I reckon I cursed myself!

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    1. OH thank you my friend. Glad I can keep you in the loop, lol. But seriously, WP often takes the liberty to ‘uncheck’ our preferences, it’s happened to many of us. If you find you’re missing blogs from those you enjoy reading, just go to the ‘reader’ and check the settings for each blog you follow, and you’ll find you’ll mostly likely have to ‘turn on’ notifications there again for each blog. ❤

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  17. Interesting round of shares, Debbie. I really liked the one by Deborah Jay. She does sound like she leads a very jam packed life with her business, and yet she makes time to write – making sure she is committed to it, even if it’s just 25 minutes, when the time comes. Maybe it’s time i give that a go and maybe I’ll get a move on writing my first book. Then again, I do write my best after sitting and working at my piece after a few hours non-stop 😀 Thanks for sharing ❤

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    1. HI Mabel. So glad you enjoyed this post. I say, take whatever time you can steal to write. And if a timer is the thing that’s going to help take that time, go for it! Deb has a crazy busy life and if she can crank out epic fantasy books, we can all find a little more time. 🙂 ❤

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      1. Writing whenever you can is real dedication right there. You write because you want. Hope writing is going well for you, and thanks as always for sharing the writing love around ❤

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    1. Lol, it’s difficult to keep up with myself Carol. 🙂 I was thrilled to find your new book released and wanted to congratulate you. You know I look forward to reading it! ❤

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  19. Great selection of posts from around the blog world, Debby! It’s so nice you highlight those contests for us. I got Carol’s book on the weekend, woohoo 🙂 I’m going to check out that post about the Pomodoro technique to learn more. Talk soon!

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  20. Interesting collection, Deb. Thanks for making me aware of them. i missed out on Carol’s free offering by a day, but if I’m too covered up to jump over to find out about it in time I’m probably short on book-reading time as well. ::sigh::

    I’m not a fan of the Pomodoro technique personally – at least not for writing – but I do use the idea of setting timers to limit time-on-task for other things (like cleaning – lol – it breaks the back of “procrastination.”)

    The Pomodoro insistence on a strict 25 minute chunk limit works for some folks, not for all, however. Focus-time is person and task specific (science-backed, btw).
    xx,
    mgh
    (Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
    ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
    “It takes a village to educate a world!”

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    1. Thanks for sharing M. Sorry you missed Carol’s promo and I tend to agree with you on the timer thingee. I impose my own time constraints on myself and that’s brutal enough, lol. But I had to laugh out loud at you – putting the timer on for cleaning, that’s priceless! LOLLLLLLLLLLLL xoxo

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