Friday, November 7, 2014

Friday Fricassee

Whew!

So the entries are in, and the reading is underway.  I've already plowed through one very disappointing package of salted caramel truffles.  (I mean, these were ORGANIC!  And and and CARAMEL!  But they were lame.  Oh, so lame.  I'll have to do better.)

Here's where we stand:

About 140 adult and 245 YA and MG entries came in.  A few of these ended up "unpaid" and were subsequently removed, which happens every year.  But that gives you a rough idea of HOW MUCH JODI AND I WILL BE READING.

(Don't panic!  If you paid, we got your entry.  Some of you didn't receive your confirmation emails.  But if you received your email from Paypal, then YOU'RE IN.  It's all good.)

We finished going through the adult round yesterday; those winning emails will be going out as scheduled (on the 14th).  We'll be starting the YA/MG entries on Sunday evening.  So, moving right along!

I know you're dying for submission tidbits.  Here are a few:

  • One entry had the most amazing premise/logline ever.  We were super excited.  Then the writing fell flat and it was an immediate no.  That was heartbreaking.
  • One logline--and the subsequent opening--made us both laugh out loud (rather raucously).  That was our first "yes".
  • A few entries didn't have loglines, and I had to hunt down the authors.
  • Some loglines were so confusing that we had to disregard them.  Writing always trumps the loglines, so we read everything anyway.  But clearly loglines remain a boogyman for many (including myself!).
So there you have it!  I'm thinking maybe we'll do something light and fun on the blog next week.  Do you have any light and fun ideas?  Please leave them in the comment box!  (Seriously--don't be shy.  I ALWAYS ALWAYS pay attention to your ideas.  I love hearing from you.)

That's about it!  I've got an incredibly busy weekend, starting in, oh, 5 minutes or so.  Off I run!  See you on Monday.

17 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for doing this! I'm amazed you had time to update us. As a terminally slow reader, I am in awe...

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  2. I hope you have fun reading and there are lots of gems :)

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  3. Thanks for the tidbits. Even though I'm an MG entry you haven't read yet, they give me hope since I look at the glass half full. Looking forward to reading more about loglines and (hopefully) better chocolate!

    *High Fives* to you and Jodi!

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  4. Those tidbits just made me experience a broad range of emotions haha.

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  5. Cant wait to see which ones made it through. have a great weekend. this is my first 'entry' to any thing like this so I am unsure how it all works exactly but I am looking forward to seeing the entries/winners
    marie
    :)

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  6. Thanks for doing this Ms. Authoress and friend Jodi. This time around splurge on good carmel/chocolates. To heck with organic. You both deserve them. Sarah

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  7. We could play writing games. For example, you could give us two or three words that MUST be used in a logline we create. We could see what interesting ideas pop up. Scary? Funny? Dramatic? It could possibly be fun:-)

    And also, thank you for all you do for the writing community!!!

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  8. I vote for a post on your quest to find GOOD salted caramels. Because the world needs this information :)

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  9. Oh P.D. Pabst' s idea sounds fun. You could also do that fun alphabet game where you start a story with a word that begins with "a" and then the next person continues it with a "b" word and so on. And yes, thank you Authoress for the contest and this blog. Since I discovered it I always look forward to your posts.

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  10. Something funny! Like what Sara Ella said, but instead of using the alphabet we do sentences in the comment boxes and write a short story.

    So like Sara Ella would write a sentence, just one
    Then I'd write the next sentence
    Then the next person would write the next one

    And then we would see what crazy places it went to! It would be funny! Kind of like RP'ing but with less pressure.

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  11. Two other possibilities for a "light" post: 1) ways we kid-lit writers manage to feel like kids again, in the privacy of our own studios, i.e., sitting upside-down on our writing chairs, our toes pointed at the ceiling, our hair hanging on the floor, bouncing a tennis ball off the wall; 2) ways we writers keep ourselves entertained at break time during long solitary writing days, i.e., power walks around the block, blasting great albums like "Celtic Mystery" on Youtube; hanging from door frames to stretch our spines (compacted from too much sitting at our desks), etc. I'm always on the lookout for ways to make the writing day more FUN, which ultimately makes my projects more enjoyable for my readers.

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  12. Ooh, I like P.D. Pabst's idea as well! Enjoy your weekend and have fun reading entries! :)

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  13. For fun, I'm game to play build-a-story. I participated in an improv-for-writers workshop, and it was so fascinating. I like it!

    Best wishes with the reading. Enjoy your weekend!

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  14. Oooh, Good idea Petre Pan! I like that variation better:)

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  15. Now I'm dying to know what you and Jodi thought was "the most amazing premise/logline ever"--especially with how much I've been thinking about loglines in the past two weeks! (I don't suppose there's any chance you'd reveal that logline after all this is over?) ;)

    Anyway, thanks again to you and Jodi for all the hard work, and I hope you have lots of fun reading. (And keep us posted on the search for the best caramel truffles -- anything with caramel is always my favorite too!) :)

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  16. Yay Sara Ella it looks like our idea worked!!!

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