UPDATED - Contest time in blogland

Those, who frequent my other blog know about this.

But I'd like to spread the word here as well - there are two contests going on!

1. with Jason at The Clarity of Night:

Visit the fun and excitement HERE. Even if you do not enter yourself, the variety and quality of entries is amazing.

I've written my part and it is posted on Jason's site as well.

2. With Chris there's a four-part competition.

The entries are quite interesting over there, too!

I have written Parts One, Two and Three as well. I will publish it when I can, over on my other blog.

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This is about the fifth contest I enter.

I don't mind how my work is ranked - usually all comments and notes on my writing are supportive and help me develop my style.

I find contests extremely useful.

I know I'm just a newbie among writers, but writing is not my profession - I write when I have to and what I have to.

I know I have a lot to learn, but these contests are great opportunities.

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I recall the first contest I took part. It was Jason's Halo contest sometime around the Summer of 2007.

I recall how difficult it was to shave off my word count to meet the 250 limit.

I learned to set the needed apart from the redundant, the interesting from the mundane.

I am unsure whether I trimmed off the best or the worst words, but hey, I keep learning.

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Do you like contests?

What profit do you make of them?

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you know what?

Now as I've finished my pieces for those aforementined contests, I can return to Halo :))

Happy Full Moon!

I made this photo from one of our windows. The orange light is coming from a window nearby on the other side of the street, the bottom right white light belogs to a publis street lamp some 200 metres away, while the top light is the Moon Herself.

opening and closing doors

In the course of completing Halo, I wrote yet another small piece today. It is about a childhood experience. I do not mention it in an explicit way - I think that would feel clumsy. I trust the reader's intelligence and insight.

I hope it works.

I don't think I could be writing down lines like: Hail was remembering his childhood. This and that happened.

I'm just opening a door and let the reader peep.

And understand.

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This childhood memory was basically to explain some things of the present. I knew I'd need to write it. I'm still lingering within the scene, I'm not sure if I'm through with it or not.

I will see.

I have opened a door and I'm in the scene.

I will wait until the door closes by itself.

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Have a good writing day to day to you all!

whose eyes?

I saw that Miladysa has a new template. I told her I liked the color and the arrangement, but the top photo sort of frightened me.

She, in return, informed me that this painting was a symbol of motherhood - which means that the thing to be frightened from is my own imagination.

Miladysa used my one of my favourite quote: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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So, where there's a full grown woman at the peak of her fertility is supposed to be, I saw a half-dead, drowned woman, who's given in and was following the river's circling movement peacefully, with no intention of getting out.

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At the very same time, I have been working on Halo and was seeing my MC to go to an official meeting in a boring office building. I wanted to illustrate that when MC uses the stairs, he gets tired very easily. He's nothing of a fittness champion, you see.

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He started going up, that is all right.

But then he started seeing and hearing frightful scenes and/or characters that were not there on the stairs.

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What a coincidence.

No wait, there's no coincidence, I don't believe in such a thing.

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It's either

1.

I was in a frightened mode, so anything I touched/saw/heard felt frightful.

2.

MC was in a frightened mode, wanted me to write his adventures on the stairs and influenced me to see the lady through his own eyes.

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What's your take?

Similar experiences?

I've just popped in to inform you that I'm working - well, not on Halo, unfortunately.

But this work is what earns me money ;-]

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I thought I would finish Halo by the end of January, though...

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I keep visiting your blogs, so you'll all see I'm alive :-)

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The photo was made by me on 14 May, 2005.

where am I ?

This conversation (or similar words to the effect of it) actually took place today in the morning, while we were having breakfast.

I started it with some reference to my wip called Halo. I added some more lines the night before and I was satisfied with the going of writing itself.

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(Son, aged 11) Do you know how your story will end?

(Me) I do.

(Son) And how?

(Me) I'm not going to tell you, let it be a surprise. You will all be able to read it one time.

(Son) Will I find the story be interesting?

(Husband) It's a story about a game, isn't it? It must be interesting.

(Son, recalls having seen the map for the game) Do you write about the game?

(Me) Well, it's a story about someone who plays this game.

(Son) Then it might well just as be boring.

(Me) Yes, that might very well be the case. I don't write it to write an interesting and exciting story. I want to see how the main caracter acts and feels.

(Husband/Son?) Oh, that might as well be quite boring...

(Me) Well, uhm, yes...You see, I don't mind. I just want to write it. I don't want to write a bestseller you know.

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It seems that I have defined myself.

No, I was not delusioned to think my story would sell and would sell millions.

I just felt the need to write it, period.

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I think most authors of modern-time bestsellers write about what they think readers are waiting for. Some of their work is great. Some, not so much. Cliches upon cliches.

And there are those authors who just write, no matter what. Some of their composition feels like crazy, inarticulated howling. Some are just fine. Some feels uneasy.

Some great. Simply great, because the story and/or the way it is told speaks to the reader.

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Where do you stand?

Or, if you do not write, what authors do you feel sympathy for?

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I'm around 3100-3300 words now.

Cheers!

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