I've Been Asked to Speak on Magazine Writing

   The Garfield County libraries are asking local authors to share their work, and I'll be talking about writing for magazines at the Glenwood library on April 12th and the Silt library on April 19th.  It means I'll miss the SCBWI event on revising in Grand Junction, but Meg Miller's ReviMo has got me revising on my own.
    I realized that my poem for Susanna Leonard Hill's October contest, One Lonely Halloween, was 100 words--exactly the right length for a rebus!  So I fine-tuned it and mailed it off to Joelle Dujardin.  I also revised my poem for Susanna's holiday contest, Seriously Santa? (I do love Susanna's contests!) and sent it off to a humorous poetry contest, which won't pick a winner til this summer.  But, there's a $1,000 prize, so it's worth the wait!
   Ever since seeing Kathy Doherty's portfolio of her magazine work last fall at the Highlights Barn, I've been meaning to get my pieces copied and put in a binder.  Now that I'm presenting at the library events, I'll finally get it done!

Writing is Revising...

and...

 

Thanks, Meg Miller, for a challenging, fun, encouraging, inspiring week!  I worked on Marisol and the Dream Ship, Hurricane Carlos, Grandma's Hats,  The Enormous Potato, Ready to Run, and I turned a contest entry into a picture book called Once Upon a Panther.  I really needed this challenge!

Good News, Great News!

   The good news is, I shared 7th place in Susanna Leonard Hill's holiday writing contest, and I will be receiving a book on writing as my prize.  Yay!
    The great news is, I sold a story to Highlights!  It's called The Disappearing Earrings, and I got a bear card after sending the requested revisions, so I was hopeful.  And lo and be ho ho hold, the contract came in my e-mail! I have sold two rebuses (rebi?) to Highlights, and a craft project, but this is my first story, where I truly feel like a writer.  Feels good!

I Will Revise!

  January is the perfect time to revise the stories that evolved from November ideas, and the perfect event for revision is Meg Miller's ReviMo!
http://megmillerwrites.blogspot.com/p/revimo_16.html

Seriously Santa? made it into the finals!

  Out of 118 entries in Susanna Leonard Hill's holiday contest, 14 finalists were chosen and one of them was my entry, Seriously Santa?  She has posted them without the authors' names, which will help keep the contest all about the writing.  She has lots of great prizes, so I'm excited to see what happens next!  Thanks, Susanna! And all your elves, too.

Love those contests

   This is my entry for Susanna Leonard Hill's holiday contest.  The challenge this year is that the story has to involve a mix-up of some sort.  Thank you, Susanna, for taking time out of your busy holiday to run this event every year!

Seriously Santa?

By Deborah Holt Williams

 

Dear Santa, Hi, remember me?

I asked you for a pet.

A goldfish or chinchilla,

That’s what I hoped I’d get.

 

But seriously Santa?

A reindeer? Really? Gee!

First he ate the ornaments

And then he ate the tree!

 

He ate the treetop angel

And the lights! Now that was shocking.

He swallowed all the garland down

And then he ate my stocking!

 

We couldn’t find a name tag.

Is he Vixen?  Is he Comet?

But when he barfed up tinsel,

I thought I’d call him Vomit.

 

So Santa, what’s your policy

On taking presents back?

 We just can’t keep this reindeer

Who eats curtains for a snack!

 

And after all that eating,

When he could munch no more,

He left a present of his own

Upon the hardwood floor.

 

You must be trying to downsize.

I guess you just don’t need him.

But gee, before you dropped him off,

How come you didn’t feed him?

 

I know you must be tired,

Too pooped to come yourself.

But please!  Come get this reindeer!

If you have to, send an elf!

 

Seriously, Santa,

Old Vomit has to go.

I tried to put him in the yard—

                                                             He doesn’t like the snow!

 

He likes it by our wood stove

With a sofa for his head.

I must admit he’s comfy

When I use him for a bed.

 

He’s helpful with the firewood,

And holds our hats and coats.

I’m sure he keeps my bedroom safe

From alien zombie goats.

 

I went on-line for reindeer chow,

I guess we’ll be OK.

He’s so cute when he’s sleeping…

So Santa, he can stay.

 

P.S. Next year I’ll leave cookies

And cocoa in the kitchen.

But promise me I won’t wake up

and find you’ve left us Blitzen!

  

30 New Ideas

   Finished Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo challenge to come up with 30 ideas in the month of November.  Now to turn them into manuscripts!