Wednesday, April 1, 2009

I'm Back, Baby! (WRITING CONTEST)

The hiatus is over and I'm ready to party! In honor of my re-immersion into bloggerdom I'm hosting my first ever writing contest. Tantalized? Read on, my friend.

The welcoming of hoodlet number 3 into my life has made me feel somewhat introspective and I find all my writey-thoughts simmering in the non-fiction area of my brain.

In general I'm not drawn to books biographical in nature. I think that's mainly due to the fact that so many of them read like textbooks. I'm not engaged.

My favorite non-fiction book, however, is just as enjoyable to read as good fiction. It is a memoir by Haven Kimmel called A Girl Named Zippy. It's always one of the first books I recommend to someone looking for something to read. The way Miss Kimmel writes about her childhood in rural Indiana is so sly, witty and poignant. Perky.



SO - In order to generate some excitement here in Hoodie-land, clear away some cobwebs and string up some cyber-crepe paper the contest rules are as follows-

Write a flash memoir of 250 words or less. Submit your entry to hoodiewriter(at)yahoo(dot)com by midnight Thursday April 9. The content can be anything as long as you are writing from personal experience and judging will be based simply on how engaging I find it. Basically if I like it a lot, you win. Pretty scientific, huh? Entries will be posted on this blog and comments are encouraged. And since I'm all about expanding the personal library, the winner will receive a new copy of Haven Kimmel's A Girl Named Zippy. I'll also choose 2 Honorable Mentions who, sadly, won't receive a prize, but will have that warm, honorable feeling about being mentioned.

There is a catch, however - There must be at least 15 entries for there to be a winner. Also, for every additional 10 entries above the minimum I will choose an additional winner. So, 25 entries or more equals 2 winners, 35 or more will produce 3, etc. So you see, it is in your best interest to get the word out.

Oh yeah, and in honor of my sweet, new, little thing, your entry must contain in it, somewhere, the word "baby."




Contest starts NOW!

15 comments:

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Hi, I was intrigued by your message to Vesper about a "coming back to blogging party" and decided to pop in to see what all the excitement was about.

What a beautiful angel baby you have!! She is just precious. Congrats in a big way.

If I can get my mind to thinking - I would like to join in the fun, if that's OK. ;D

Hoodie said...

Of course! Please, please, please! And may I add, WELCOME!

Anonymous said...

Very cute picture Hoodie! I'll have to whip an entry together for your contest. It sounds fun!

Paul

Hoodie said...

Paul - I hope you do!

Liane Spicer said...

She is ADORABLE! So that's where you've been! Congratulations!

I don't usually do contests (chicken that I am) but I'll give this one some thought.

Unknown said...

So gorgeous - I may be inspired!!

SzélsőFa said...

Wow, she's just plain beautiful.
I'll be checking my memories that may include the word 'baby', hm, hm.

SzélsőFa said...

Uhm, on a second thought - I'm unsure of using the word 'plain' correctly. I have not been using English very much these days, lately, you know.
I was just meaning to say that the best way to describe her is 'beautiful'. She's just gorgeous-looking.

Vesper said...

What a sweet, beautiful baby.
Welcome back, Hoodie! :-)

And what a great idea with the contest! I admit I'm a bit scared of the autobiographical... but I'll see if I can think of something. :-)

Beth said...

Oh my gosh, your little one is absolutely gorgeous. Gave me "I want baby pangs" just looking at her.
I don't know how good I'll be at whipping something together. I've been absent from all contests lately because the old brain has been mush. If something strikes, I'll definitely be back, but I'm just not sure.
Also, "Locks of Love" now takes colored hair. They just don't take bleached hair or bleached hair that's been colored over. The guidelines are here: http://www.locksoflove.org/donate.html. So, if you still have that hair, it's usable!

Hoodie said...

Liane - yes, I've been a tad busy, but I've missed you all. I can't imagine you being chicken to write anything. :)

Minx - Thanks for coming over. I hope to see something from you.

Szelsofa - That wasn't an inappropriate use of the word "plain." I completely understood what you meant. I am in awe of anyone who speak more than one language and do it not only understandably but eloquently.

Vesper - Good to see you again. I'm sure you've got some great experience just waiting to be told, right?

Beth - Entry or not (though I'm pulling for an entry) I hope you'll come back and comment.
And, alas, I'm pretty sure the hair I tried to donate had been bleached and colored over. That was nearly two years ago. I've kept it pretty short since that cut.

Unknown said...

Aw, so cute! And welcome back to blogging. I'm trying to think what I could write about that could include the word baby though - given that my experience of small, mewling humans is non existent and I certainly don't remember my own babyhood! But I'll apply my mind!

Anonymous said...

Welcome, Hoodlet. You're too cute. :)

Hoodie said...

She is, isn't she?

Michelle said...

I've been slow to catch up on my blog-reading, but I just wanted to say you have yourself quite a cutie there! Congratulations!!!