This is going to be a quick one – I’m nursing two kids through strep throat and hitting a tight writing deadline, but I wanted to flag these two:

Calling all FIREFLY fans (squee!!):Fan-fiction contest with Alan Tudyk on Inkitt: Submit Con Man, Firefly or Spectrum stories

Zebulon’s Guide To Flash Fiction Submissions – a comprehensive list of 300 – 500 word flash fiction contests.

And just a quick reminder that WINDSINGER is FREE tomorrow!!! Get your read on and prep for the launch of SEASINGER on Feb 12th!!

Hello everyone and welcome to another Resource Thursday. This week: Opportunities and Contests with fast-approaching deadlines! If you’ve got a slamming story or book (or can cook one up in a limited time frame), you might want to check these out:

Opportunities For Writers in Feb/Mar of 2016 (this is a comprehensive list of literary reviews and contests accepting submissions – LOTS of good stuff!)

The Erma Bombeck Writing Competition is open now through Feb 15th. 450 words could get you a free ticket to the writing workshop.

The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing offers prizes in Poetry and Fiction, covering tuition, room and board at their week-long summer seminar.

The Wisconsin Romance Writers of America has contests for both unpublished and published authors, opening in Jan and Feb, respectively.

The Narrative Travel Writing Contest at Transitions Abroad is now open – if you’ve ever wanted to be a travel writer, this one has no entry fee.

Swoon Reads YA Romance Novel Contest runs bi-annually. Deadline is Jan 31st. No entry fee.

Good luck, and get your work OUT THERE!!

Sorry this blog post is so late today, but Alan Rickman is dead and my mind is having a really hard time wrapping around that.

So in honor of the man who was known (rightly or wrongly) for his villainous portrayals, I thought we’d delve into the topic of villains, and how we write them. I’ve found a lot of good resources to give you some mental fodder as you’re writing, but Alan Rickman himself once gave a good piece of advice in an interview about the portrayal of villains:

“Be subversive.”

So with that in mind, here are a few resources to help you craft your next cunning, complex, complete sonuvabitch. Continue reading →

If you’re a writer – particularly a romance or YA writer – you need to be familiar with the term “Mary Sue.”

A “Mary Sue” is a convenient character trope leaned upon (a lot) by beginning writers (and sadly, some not-so-beginning writers). I hate to feel like I’m throwing Stephenie Meyer under a bus here, but Bella Swan in the epitome of a “Mary Sue.” And the difference between Bella Swan and the protagonist of Stephenie’s next book after the Twilight series is night and day. In The Host, the character of Wanderer is so much more fleshed out and so much more interesting for it.

There’s a really good definition of a “Mary Sue” here, if you’d like to read all the tired, hackneyed character traits. If you recognize a majority of these in your story, you may want to check out The Writer’s Mary Sue Test.

I’m pleased to say my overall score was in the mid-twenties and my character was pronounced “healthy” and able to stand on her own.

Your mileage may vary, of course, and this test is not definitive by any means. It is a helpful tool though, to keep you from turning a blind eye to your own weaknesses.

So tell me – which “Mary Sue” ruined a book for you?