Susanna Leonard Hill's 5th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest

Thanks to one of my critique members, I found out about an interesting and challenging Halloween writing contest. The conditions of the contest are: 1) Write a Halloween themed story, 2) keep the word count under 101, and 3) include the words costume, dark and haunt in the story (any forms of these three words is okay too). So here is my entry into the contest. Wish me luck.



                                            

A Costume Party at the Dark, Haunted House

By Ken Major

A Costume Party at the Dark, Haunted House,

Read the invitation from my friend, the Mouse.

Rabbit, Fox, Cat and Dog were invited too,

Along with some others from the local zoo.

Cat went as a dog and Dog went as a cat.

Rabbit went as a fox, Fox went as a rat.

Monkey as a lion, Lion as a fowl.

Zebra went as a bear, Bear went as an owl.

Giraffe went as a horse, Horse went as a goat.

And I, Owl, went as an old howling coyote…

To the costume party at the dark, haunted house.

Writers For Kids Ride Again!

Over the past five years, I have participated in a number of critique groups, both large and small. Those groups all disbanded for various reasons.  A year and a half ago,  I started a new critique group using Yahoo groups called Writers for Kids (WFK). We had six members in the beginning, but the usual things began to happen. One person lost interest, while another was too busy with her regular job to continue. By the end of last year, the group was down to three members.

Since that time, the remaining members except me, the moderator, decided to leave the group. However, thanks to the SCBWI website, I was able to recruit five new members. I had forgotten how much fun it was to actively participate in such a group. Writers for Kids is back in business and I just completed my first critique for the group. Each new member brings good energy and some unique skills to the table and that should bode well for the group.

Ken 

Storyboards/Dummies

I recently purchased a large whiteboard to help with my writing. The first thing I used the board for was a picture book manuscript I wrote as part of last year's PiBoIdMo. I enjoyed the process of drafting a 32 page dummy for this story. I found it most helpful in editing the manuscript. As stated in Ann Whitford Paul's "Writing Picture Books", I was able to see some of the weaknesses in my manuscript and come up with changes that seemed to flow better. This is only the second time I have tried something like this, but it was well worth it.

I took a picture of a portion of it to illustrate the result. I plan on doing this a lot more.

Ken

What if...?

What if ... I was to stop writing all together. Would anyone notice?

What if ...one of my manuscripts actually got bought my a major publisher. Would it change who I am?

What if ...all members of my online critique group got a picture book manuscript published. Would it change us?

What if ... one of my critique group members won a writing contest like Highlights for Children. Would that person leave the group or would jealousy creep into the our discussions?

What if ... I dedicated myself to writing each and every day, even if it's only a few paragraphs long. Would writing become easier for me?

What if ...is loaded with all types of  possibilities so why don't you try them.

Highlights for Children Fiction Contest 2014

Well, it's that time of year to put together a fictional story to enter Highlights for Children's fiction contest. The actual deadline is January 31, 2014. This year's theme, holiday stories, is similar to the 2006 category, the true spirit of holiday celebrations. I spent time reading a number of Highlights issues to get a renewed sense of what they publish and to find some of the previous contest winning stories. With no entry fee and good themes, this is one of the best and most competitive contests I've ever entered. Good luck to all those writers that enter this year! No matter the outcome, I've generated another story to add to my growing portfolio of manuscripts. Happy Writing! Ken

My New Friend, Albert

I recently wrote a picture book manuscript as part of PiBoIdMo, which has a monkey for a main character. Doesn't that sound familiar? No, this isn't Curious George pretending to be a monkey named Albert. This monkey's name is REALLY Albert. I'm not going to reveal any of the story, but I drafted the above and below rough sketches while writing the manuscript.

Inspirational Trip to New York City

New York City is known for many things, the Empire State Building,the New York Stock Exchange,Rockefeller Center, Trump Tower, and Grand Central Station, to name a few. But it's also the location for the majority of publishing houses in America. Yesterday, part of our family went to New Haven, CT and took the train into New York City to experience the holiday festivities. I find trips like these great for coming up with new story ideas for my writing. This isn't anything that I force though. There is so much to experience and see in the city that it seems there's never enough time to do everything. Sitting in Grand Central Station, I came up with two different story ideas while we were eating lunch. As we walked by the Lego Building and Rockefeller Center, another idea came to me. Things were very busy in that area last night. At times I felt like I was in a cattle drive, but it was fun. If you happen to live in the area, I think it's a worthwhile adventure to try. Now that I'm more familiar with the route, I expect that we will try this again. Happy Holidays!