To determine the worthy winner of this luxury vacation package, we decided to host a writing contest right here on our blog. Don’t worry, this isn’t limited to professional travel writers, submissions will be judged on humor (when applicable), quality, originality and overall style. The topic will be based around the following question, but please remember to check out the full writing prompt under the Competition Guidelines before starting:

Write a 300-word-minimum description of your most memorable vacation or travel moment and how it changed or affected you.

The Vacation will begin at the Hotel Alta on the flanks of a mountain overlooking the Central Valley. The winner and a guest will then travel to the Arenal volcano to stay at the luxurious lake-front La Mansion Inn Arenal for three days of adventure in and around the town of La Fortuna. Finally, you will head for some fun in the sun at the brand new Arenas del Mar resort in Manuel Antonio. Land transportation is included as well as one of Costa Rica’s famous canopy tours for two.

The vacation itself is only valid for travel in September 2008 and this cannot be changed. Flights are also not included, but these and any extension or upgrades to your vacation can be arranged through our travel partner Costa Rican Vacations. May the best submission win!!!

Closing Date For Submissions To Be Announced Later

For More Information CLICK HERE

In this article I want to give six tips which will help the want-a-be writer get started and hopefully one day produce that great novel.

1. Observe People.

Next time you’re in a public arena; a shopping mall, work, church, or at the restaurant, watch people. Listen in on their conversations, observe there mannerisms. It will show you how real people act and interact in real life situations

You are not there to pass judgement but to learn about people. Take it all in – put it into a dairy, it will be very useful a little later on.

2. Observe Your Surroundings

Stop and look at what is around you. How would you describe say your local library? Do you know what’s underfoot, what’s overhead? Do you see what is right in front of you?

As an author you’re interested in details, interested in descriptions. Go home tonight and describe your work place and then do the same exercise four weeks from now. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll notice in between.

3. Write Everyday – No Exceptions

Ask any author and they’ll tell you that writing is 90 percent perspiration and only 10 percent inspiration; the purpose of this advice is to get you into the habit of perspiring!

It’s not that important what you write – it could be a shopping list or an overheard conversation – what is important is that you write. Though I suppose if you find yourself writing shopping lists five days a week you might want to reconsider where you are!!

4. Fix A Time.

We all have our own time for doing things. I’m a night owl, I write after 11pm; others I know set their clock to get up two hours earlier in the morning

If you are a morning person then get down to the writing immediately: don’t shower, wear your dressing gown. Maybe while the computer is warming up you can make a cup of coffee. You should be down at your computer five minutes after getting out of bed and for the next five minutes write just what comes into your head.

5. Experiment With Genre.

One mistake new writers tend to make is that they limit themselves to one genre: poetry, prose, dialogue, history.

If you want to write short stories, fine, but for a few hours each week do something different. Write a poem. Put a small play together. It doesn’t have to be to a publishing standard, it just let’s you get a feel for other forms of writing – and you’d be surprised how often people realize that they really do like writing in that medium.

6. My Best Advice

As you begin writing, set yourself a goal. Don’t make it unattainable say promise to write a minimum of 200 words a day – every day. Think of it, that’s almost 1,500 words per week!

Later when you’re used to writing your 200 words, set another goal – finishing a short story every month. By finishing I mean that it has reached publication standard.

Enter competitions. You’ve written a story, a play, a poem now you want people to read it – start entering writing competitions. Again try and enter at least one contest per month. I’ll cut you a little slack on this one because sometimes the contests just aren’t there.

There you have it my tips for the new storytellers and authors.

And I’m not talking about the presidential campaigns.

Of the more than 350 entries received in our Colorado Voices writing contest this year (38 of them students), we had to disappoint all but the 16 folks below, who won spots on our 2008-09 panel. (Read their bios at the end of this article.)

So here they are. We’ve tried to represent the community as best we can with these 16 new voices, and we’re proud of the writers we’ve found. Watch for them in our Sunday Perspective section, daily op-ed pages and at denverpost.com over the next year. We can’t wait to see what they come up with. (Lucy Ewing starts off the group today on the cover of Perspective.) MORE

The prizes for the same were given away by Director Public Instructions (Schools) SK Setia.

The Club has adopted female foeticide as one of the focus areas and had organised a poster-making and slogan-writing competition among schoolchildren last week with the help of the Education department of the UT Administration, said club President Arvind Mehan. There had been a tremendous response and the club had received over 400 entries from students of 30 schools of Chandigarh and Mohali, informed the project chairperson, Neena Singh.

All entries have been displayed at the Rotary House in Sector 18A, and three entries from each of the categories were awarded prizes.

The slogan-writing contest winners included Mamta of GMSSS, Rajeev of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Secondary School, and Vishal Sharma of GHSSS. In the poster-making competition, Tsewang Lama of Guru Nanak Public School, Manisha of Government Model School and Harkirat of Ajit Karam Singh International Public School, Mohali.

You can enter the Summer 2008 contest below - July

24-Hour Short Story Contest! - $5.00

Select this to register for the Summer 2008 24-Hour Short Story Contest. Start time is July 26th, 2008 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) central time. Held quarterly and limited to 500 entrants. Don’t miss out on the ultimate source for creative stress…and tons of fun! More than 85 prizes! (When you purchase this, you’ll download a PDF file of the guidelines. There is also a link to them in the email receipt.)

The contest topic will be emailed to all entrants at start-time. In the event of e-mail difficulties, the topic will also be posted online at start time right here.

If, on the date of the contest, you’re checking the website for the contest topic and word count, don’t forget to to click “REFRESH” on your browser so it’ll pop up after we upload it.

Some ISPs filter out list mailings (which is what the contest mailing is) as sp*m. Therefore, you may not get the contest email. If that happens, pull the topic and word count (and rules!) from the web page above and start writing.

Click HERE for details

Second prizes are GBP 1000 each, and third prize for each category is GBP 500. the Brdport is the Bridport is the richest open writing contest in the English language

The Bridport Prize was instituted in 1973 and is now a prestigious writing award. Contestants are free to write either Short stories or Poems which should adhere to the Contest Rules. The normal rules apply submissions must be original and should not be published elsewhere. Entry is open to anyone, the Bridport Prize is the largest of any open contest.

Key Dates: Closing date for entries: 30th June, 2008 (Online entries will be accepted until midnight GMT on the deadline)

For Whom: Persons of any nationality over 18 years of age

In addition to the prize fund winning entries may be published in an annual anthology brought out by the Bridport Prize Organization.Former Bridport winners have gone on to become established novelists and poets. The Bridport Prize was instituted in 1973 and is now a prestigious writing award.

Contest Rules:
-Maximum of 5000 words for short stories and 42 lines for poems
-Entry fee is 6 pounds per entry
-Contestants may send any number of entries
-Entries must be original pieces that have never been published or broadcast partly or wholly
-Entries must be typed in English on separate sheets (single-sided) and must not contain the author’s name or address

You can find details and an entry form AT BRIDPORT PRIZE

The winner of the Seattle P-I’s inaugural poetry contest is her own font of creativity.

She graduated last May from the University of Washington’s very competitive Master of Fine Arts program, with an emphasis on poetry. She designs and creates a line of hand-knit and crocheted women’s wear, called Solis, with her mother, who is also a writer.

She’s a classically trained vocalist who sang first soprano with the Seattle Girl’s Choir and favors Schubert compositions, as well as Baroque music, which, “with all its trills, you can go nightingale on.” But, she also likes Led Zeppelin, Jeff Buckley and funk bands. “I sing a lot in the car and the shower,” she said. “We have a loft in our apartment, where I like to yodel.”

Moir, 28, nearly majored in vocal performance as an undergraduate, but turned to English literature instead. To make ends meet, she tutors writing at UW, and this summer, she will teach at the Institute for Reading Development.

Moir, who grew up in Everett and now lives in Ballard, knew that studying poetry wouldn’t lead to earning a living from it. “It’s not like a vocational degree — you are aware that no one can really make a living off of writing poetry. I think Seamus Heaney does it now, and historically, Longfellow did it. You know that you’re going to have to teach or work for an agency or earn your living from another vein.”

She always carries a notebook, jotting down poetic images, strings of thoughts and sketches. Two of her poems will be published in an upcoming anthology, but she’s considering sending more out.

“They’re my little treasures. I’m not quite ready to give them away. But I’ve started — I bought some envelopes and stamps,” said Moir, who’s also performed her poems in readings, including at Richard Hugo House.

Moir’s winning poem, “Bloodspell,” is about new, combustible passion. “It’s just your garden-variety unrequited love kind of thing — just admiring someone from afar and thinking you’re going to go absolutely apes**** if you don’t get them.”

“Bloodspell” — the first piece Moir has submitted to a contest — was selected from 876 poems. The preliminary judging was done by P-I managing editor David McCumber, who has written and published four books of nonfiction, one of which includes poetry, and has also had poems published in various periodicals.

“It was a really positive experience to have the chance to read this outpouring of Seattle poetry,” said McCumber. “It’s very reassuring that so many people in our city are moved to engage in the process of writing poetry…. Some people think of poetry as high-flown and distant and inaccessible. The opposite is true — the process of writing a poem is incredibly grounding and constructive. And no matter what the form or content of the finished product is, all that positive energy can’t help but be communicated to the reader.”

The entries explored diverse themes, from the standbys of love enjoyed and lost, friendship and family, war and peace, cats and dogs, birth and death, city life and nature, to less expected topics. Poets wrote about praying mantises and computers, madrona trees and food banks.

Watching for powerful voice and original vision, McCumber narrowed the field to 35 finalists. Those were read, discussed and judged by:

The winner of the Seattle P-I’s inaugural poetry contest is her own font of creativity.

She graduated last May from the University of Washington’s very competitive Master of Fine Arts program, with an emphasis on poetry. She designs and creates a line of hand-knit and crocheted women’s wear, called Solis, with her mother, who is also a writer.

She’s a classically trained vocalist who sang first soprano with the Seattle Girl’s Choir and favors Schubert compositions, as well as Baroque music, which, “with all its trills, you can go nightingale on.” But, she also likes Led Zeppelin, Jeff Buckley and funk bands. “I sing a lot in the car and the shower,” she said. “We have a loft in our apartment, where I like to yodel.”

Moir, 28, nearly majored in vocal performance as an undergraduate, but turned to English literature instead. To make ends meet, she tutors writing at UW, and this summer, she will teach at the Institute for Reading Development.

Moir, who grew up in Everett and now lives in Ballard, knew that studying poetry wouldn’t lead to earning a living from it. “It’s not like a vocational degree — you are aware that no one can really make a living off of writing poetry. I think Seamus Heaney does it now, and historically, Longfellow did it. You know that you’re going to have to teach or work for an agency or earn your living from another vein.”

She always carries a notebook, jotting down poetic images, strings of thoughts and sketches. Two of her poems will be published in an upcoming anthology, but she’s considering sending more out.

“They’re my little treasures. I’m not quite ready to give them away. But I’ve started — I bought some envelopes and stamps,” said Moir, who’s also performed her poems in readings, including at Richard Hugo House.

Moir’s winning poem, “Bloodspell,” is about new, combustible passion. “It’s just your garden-variety unrequited love kind of thing — just admiring someone from afar and thinking you’re going to go absolutely apes**** if you don’t get them.”

“Bloodspell” — the first piece Moir has submitted to a contest — was selected from 876 poems. The preliminary judging was done by P-I managing editor David McCumber, who has written and published four books of nonfiction, one of which includes poetry, and has also had poems published in various periodicals.

“It was a really positive experience to have the chance to read this outpouring of Seattle poetry,” said McCumber. “It’s very reassuring that so many people in our city are moved to engage in the process of writing poetry…. Some people think of poetry as high-flown and distant and inaccessible. The opposite is true — the process of writing a poem is incredibly grounding and constructive. And no matter what the form or content of the finished product is, all that positive energy can’t help but be communicated to the reader.”

The entries explored diverse themes, from the standbys of love enjoyed and lost, friendship and family, war and peace, cats and dogs, birth and death, city life and nature, to less expected topics. Poets wrote about praying mantises and computers, madrona trees and food banks.

Watching for powerful voice and original vision, McCumber narrowed the field to 35 finalists. Those were read, discussed and judged by:

To help raise our community’s awareness that historic preservation is good for the environment, Historic Lexington Foundation is sponsoring the Third Annual Creative Writing & Art Contest, open to elementary (grades K-5) and middle school (grades 6-8) students in Lexington, Buena Vista, and Rockbridge County.

Two $50 awards, named in honor of former HLF Trustees Mary Erskine Gentry and Gillie Campbell Tutwiler, will be given per age group for entries that best interpret the contest theme, “So, You Want to Help Protect the Planet? Preserve an Old Building!”

Students may enter both the Creative Writing and Art categories, but may have only one submission in each category. Elementary and Middle School students entries will be judged separately. All submissions must be original student works. Creative Writing entries (essays, poetry, short stories, etc.) should be no more than one page (8.5″ x 11″) in length. Art entries may be in any media — such as drawing, painting, collage, or sculpture - and of any size. Each entry should be clearly labeled ON THE BACK with a 3″x5″ notecard with the following information: (1) Title of Work; (2) author/artist name, age, school, and grade; and (3) parent/guardian name, phone number, and address.

Students should submit their entries to the Lexington Art Gallery, 11 West Nelson Street in downtown Lexington, no later than 4:00 PM on Friday, May 9th. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, Noon to 4:00 PM.

Awards will be announced and entries will be displayed publicly at a special Preservation Month Reception sponsored by Historic Lexington Foundation at 2:00 PM on Saturday, May 17th. The Awards Reception will be on Hopkins Green in downtown Lexington, with refreshments for all who attend.

Historic Lexington Foundation, Inc. will retain all student entries through the end of Summer 2008, for additional display in one or more public places throughout the year. HLF may also reproduce submissions in its publications. For additional information, please contact the Historic Lexington Foundation office by phone at 463-6832 or by email at hlf@rockbridge.net.

Robert’s story beat out 6,805 entries and won him more than $3,000 in prizes. To read the story in its entirety, click here.

As a third-year E.R. resident at Synergy Medical Education Alliance in Saginaw, Mich., Brandt spends his days and nights either on call or at home, studying. The hours are long; the work is intense. And when the life of a doctor begins to overwhelm him, he turns to a passion he’s had since childhood—writing. Read more about Brandt and the other winners of this year’s Short Short Story contest in the June issue of Writer’s Digest.

Think you’d like to try your hand at short short fiction? Enter your bold, brilliant and brief fiction in the 9th-Annual Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition. Send us your best in 1,500 words or fewer. The deadline is Dec. 1, 2008, and the entry fee is $12 a story. Mail your entry to: Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition, 700 East State St., Iola, WI 54990. For more information on the contest or to enter online, visit writersdigest.com/competitions.

Creating believable characters is an essential element of fiction. The story rest on your characters shoulders. If they don’t hold up then your story collapses. So how do you make believable characters?

First recognize that different genres of fiction have different needs. A tightly plotted action or suspense thriller may not need characters fleshed out in detail as much as a literary novel. Also be aware that the more outlandish your plot is, the more important character believability becomes.

Read any Steven King book and you’ll see this. The reason he can take us on these journeys through strange and unusual events is his power to create realistic characters. When we believe the character, we believe what’s happening to them.

The process of creating characters is so varied I suspect there are as many methods as there are authors. As always, take these tips as guidelines- not law. Every writer must do what works for him or her. These ideas will hopefully serve as a springboard to get you on your way.

Here’s how I create my characters:

Step 1- Consider the story.
In general the more my emphasis rest on the plot of the book, the more my characters need to serve that plot. If the story focus is more character based then my plot needs to serve the character.

If I need a character that will chase down a killer then I better design someone who’s able to do that. Everything from their build to their psychology must help them get to the killer. Now it’s important not to make the character a perfect fit. No one is perfect, that’s what makes life interesting.

Your characters should have flaws that make it uncomfortable for them to reach their goal. For example the character chasing the killer might have a wife and family that worry about his safety. This creates tension- tension drives story.

When constructing a more literary work then the character should be in mind already, and the plot forms around them. For example- a coming of age story requires a young character who will experience events that will shape their life. If you don’t have those elements you don’t have a coming of age story- so your plot must support your character.

Step 2- Get to know your character.
I like to use a form that looks like an extensive dossier when I create my characters. For supporting characters the dossier is smaller, but still quite detailed. Design one for yourself and be sure to include details about:

• The character’s appearance.
• Their habits and mannerisms.
• Their motivations.
• Their past.
• How the character will change in the course of the story.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming the bad guys don’t need as much character detail- they do, particularly in motivation. Sure a story about a killer is suspenseful and scary, but if you have a killer who murders because he sees his abusive father in every victim, well- that’s a little richer. Remember- the bad guys have motivations that seem good to them. Hitler thought he was a nice guy- your bad guy should too.

When you finish your dossier you may want to get creative with it. I’ve spent time leafing through old magazines until I find a picture of someone who reminds me of my character. I cut the picture out and paste it to the dossier. Somehow this makes the person seem real in my mind. I can think of them as a human rather than a construction when I see an actual face.

Step 3- Interview your character. Don’t let your family see you do this or they’ll call the guys with the butterfly nets. You need to sit down at the keyboard or with your notepad and interview these characters. Ask them all kinds of questions about the story and their lives. Why do you need to do this? Because it helps you iron out the wrinkles in your character’s construction. If you interview your character and they reveal a motivation that just seems weak to you- great. Now you have a chance to fix it before writing hundreds of pages.

Step 4- Introducing you character.

When you finally sit down to write you’ll wonder how you go about introducing your character. A few points to consider:

• Introduce them at a moment of change in their lives. Don’t show how your character was born and raised in intricate detail- jump into their lives at the moment something dramatic happens. Instead of beginning your story “He was born at 2:34am in Lakeview hospital,” you can begin like this- “Marvin had never killed anyone before. Looking down at the body at his feet he wondered if it would be the last time.” Whoa!

Much more interesting, eh?

• “Show, don’t tell,” still applies. Try to show your character’s nature rather than tell about it. The exception is minor characters. You can use some short exposition to explain your minor characters just to get them moving fast. You don’t want to spend a large chunk of text describing the Boy Scout who helps Granny walk across the street- and your reader doesn’t either. Just give enough information about the kid to get Granny across the street- then go back to Granny’s life.

• Some authors go for the bullet approach. Decide if it’s right for you. The bullet approach works like this- when a character is introduced the story stops briefly and the author spends some time writing expository information that gives the reader everything they need to know about the character. This works for some writers- but I don’t recommend it. For one thing fiction has to be hyper-realistic.

In real life we don’t get to know people all at once like that. It’s a gradual discovery. Consider your story and consider what other authors in your genre are doing and decide for yourself.

That’s the basic recipe for character creation. I hope it helps you get your characters off the ground and running. Remember- characters are the building blocks of story- don’t forget to spend time on them before you dive into your first draft. You’ll be glad you did.

You can read more of Jeff’s tips at http:\www.heislerink.comwriteaway.htm