If you are a writer, and if you are reading this blog, I’ll assume you are, you probably resolved to write more and write better this year. I hope you set SMART goals, and that one of those goals is to write on a regular schedule.

Fortunately, writing more is the best way to write better. Ezine Articles is holding a challenge to help you one your way. They have announced that the 3^rd 100 articles in 100 days challenge will start on January 1, 2010. What a great way to kick off the new year!

But, I don’t write articles, you say. I say, give this challenge a try. One of the best ways to promote your fiction is by writing non-fiction.

Writing articles for writing organization newsletters is a great way to spread your words to other writers.  Writers also read and recommend great books to their friends. Also your newsletter editors will love you.

Writing articles can give your book sales and your writing career a boost. Ezine Articles is the best internet article directory to use to build your online portfolio. More people will see your articles there, and the Google search engine 5 mg norvasc places articles from Ezine Articles high in the search results.

At the end of your articles, you include a bio or resource box as Ezine Articles calls it. This is where you can promote yourself, your books, and your website. Don’t have your resource box read like your resume. Make it interesting and show what good stuff awaits your readers if they click through to your website. (Always include a link to your website.) Offer your Male enhancement prescription readers more information about the book, you, or your writing process. You might even offer an excerpt or a short article telling why you decided on this setting or this plot.

People can take your article and post it on their website as well. This is a good thing. They must keep your resource box intact. Their readers will see your work and have a reason to click through to your website.

Nothing builds your credibility as well as having your writing portfolio online where people can see it. This challenge is a great way to build a large body of work fast. It will also get you in the habit of sitting down and writing every day. Once you start writing, you may find that you want to keep going.

I find that my muse loves it when I switch from fiction to non-fiction and back again. She seems to thrive on challenges.

Start the new year right. It’s much easier to start the challenge on time than try to catch up later. If you successfully complete the challenge EZA will send you lots of goodies including a coffee mug, mouse pad, and other neat things.

You can use Twitter to follow discussions about the challenge. Use the hash tag #HAHD to find others who are participating. (That means search for #HAHD to find tweets about cheapest levitra the challenge.)

Jump into the new year by joining EZA’s challenge! Leave a comment below and tell me you are in. Also leave a link to your profile. You can see mine at EZA challenge.

Whatever your goals, have a happy and productive new year!

Write on,

Lynn

I made it back to Portland in time for last month’s meeting of Rose City Romance Writers. This great group of writers support each other in every level of their writing careers. The meetings are informative and inspiring.  I always can’t wait to get back to the keyboard when I leave the meetings.

After a great presentation on promotion (one of my favorite subjects) by a couple of the rising stars of the group and celebrating some great new contracts, a bunch of us went out to lunch. I finally got to catch up with a few friends who I haven’t seen in several months.

One friend has recently started writing again after several months of dealing with life’s obstacles. She bemoaned the fact that her writing wasn’t flowing as smoothly as it had in the past. The words weren’t coming easily, and her writing didn’t evoke emotions of the reader as it had in the past. She asked me how to improve her writing skills.

You’ve probably had this problem at one time or another. When you sit down to write, your fingers don’t fly over the keys or your words would be better gracing the bottom of the bird cage instead of shining in your next novel. › Continue reading…

Even though there are great writing contests happening year-round, we are getting ready for the most prestigious contest for Romance Writers — RWA’s Golden Heart Generic Viagra Online Pharmacy Contest. The Golden Heart is the award for Romance soft tabs viagra Writers of America’s unpublished writer’s contest. To enter you must

• Be a member of RWA
• Have written a complete manuscript
• Not have work published by an RWA recognized publisher

Recognized publishers and requirements vary from year to year. The 2010 rules and deadlines haven’t been published yet. Check the Golden Heart Contest page on RWA’s website to get the latest information.

These details remain the same from year to year.

• Entries usually run around 55 pages including a synopsis.
• This contest provides no feedback, only a numeric 1–10 score.
• It’s designed to be for writers who are ready to publish.
• The final round judges are editors and agents.
• The awards are presented at the national RWA conference at the Awards Ceremony.
• Categories may vary, but currently there buy levitra on line are 10 categories covering everything from Young Adult to Novels with Strong Romantic Elements.

The Golden Heart is a good way to get your work in front of publishers who accept manuscripts only from agents. It’s a very prestigious award. You get to wear a finalist ribbon at the conference.

A good warm-up contest to prepare your manuscript is  the Rose City Romance Writer’s Golden Rose Contest. It has the same page count requirement, but provides plenty of feedback from the judges. Also, your book doesn’t have to be complete. The deadline for entry into the Golden Rose has been extended until August 8.

I will be judging in that one as I do every year. Judging in these and other contests is a great 40 mg nexium way to improve your own writing skills. It’s much easier to see problems in someone else’s work. Also, you get to read some great manuscripts. I have a long list of entries that I can’t wait to see in print.

I hope to add your work to my to-be-read list.

Write on,

Lynn