For the writers out there:

The Writer’s Digest has extended the entry date to October 31, 2012 for their Young Adult Fiction Competition so get writing and editing today and get your stories in.

What happens in the dark? Why are things different at night? Maybe it’s magic, or madness or both. A new anthology coming Summer 2013 from HarperTeen, Defy the Dark explores those questions and invites you to try your hand at answering them.

HarperTeen and Figment are joining forces in a new contest for new writers.  If you’re 13 or older and live in the US or Canada (excluding Quebec), you could win the chance to publish alongside professionals in a new YA anthology of short fiction.

Your short story can be in any genere but it must be between 2000-4000 words and it must take place at night or in the dark. You can write in any genre: contemporary, paranormal, horror, science fiction, romance, humor, fantasy, etc.

The Promotion began on August 1, 2012 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on September 1, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. ET (the “Promotion Entry Period”) so don’t delay.

Be sure to check the official website for exact contest rules.

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival last weekend was fabulous, and now I have tons of very cool new music to explore.  The downside to being away at this time of year is trying to catch up on work and keep up with my rather large garden. I’ve managed to get a lot done though, even if I’m not totally caught up.  I’ve done some critique work for CANSCAIP’s Blue Pencil Program (established writers mentor new writers for a modest fee), I’ve had to do a some tweaking of the text of my new picture book (Island Santa) to work better with the illustrations, I’ve put together a slide show for a short Skype visit with a Pakistani library, and I’ve fit in a bit of crisis gardening including, picking a batch of peas, salad greens and artichokes, as well as making a dozen jars of strawberry jam with my very own strawberries. It’s totally delicious by the way.

So, on my ‘to do’ list is to revise a picture book manuscript and do a major overhaul on my novel in progress.  Fortunately, I have notes for the latter two revisions from my critique group’s meeting of a few weeks ago to help me get going. If you’re a writer, or are trying to be, and you don’t have a trusted critique group that you periodically work with, I’d highly recommend that you either look for one or start one of your own.  I find the process invaluable.

Sometimes writing is easy and safe, and sometimes it isn’t.  Sometimes writing is about taking risks. It might be that you need to tap into something painful or unhappy to emotionally connect with a character.  Or, it might be about stepping outside of your comfort zone and doing something different. Writing is just like life. At some point, you have to let your fears go.

This weekend, I came a wee bit closer to overcoming one of my lifelong fears.  In the past, I’ve developed great strategies for coping with my fear of heights. I tend to stay away from the balcony edge in my friends’ condos and keep my eyes glued to the car in front of me when I’m driving over a bridge.  I used to be able to make my husband put up the Xmas lights, but these days, I’m forced to do it myself.  I shake like a leaf even though I only have a one story house.  It’s a small step on the road to facing my fears.

This weekend, I took another step. I went zip lining. It was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating.  Let me tell you, the white knuckle death grip and I are more than closely acquainted.  For the first few runs I kept my eyes tightly shut.  But after a while, even I started to loosen up.  While other participants (especially the teenagers in the group) were busy twirling and flipping upside down, and waving, I eventually managed to open my eyes and loosen my death grip on my harness.  And guess what?  I discovered that the views were stunning. By the time we hit the last run, I was actually enjoying myself.

So, now that I’ve faced my fear of heights (and I admit, I’m not completely over it yet) I think it’s time that I tackled one of my writing fears.  The main character in my WIP needs to hit the bottom so she can climb back up. She needs to hurt.  And since I really like her, it’s hard for me to write that pain.  So, my strategy has been avoidance…I’ve danced around the harsh scenes that are central to the story. But, I think it’s time to step off the safety of the platform, open my eyes, and let go.

Contests are a great way for writers to build up a little cred.  But, you do have to be careful as there are all sorts of contest scams out there designed to pad someone else’s pockets, so be sure the contest is legit and that the prize is worth the sweat.  Writer Beware has a great post with plenty of tips on what to watch for.