Retreats and Contests and Winners, Oh My!

We've got sooo much happening here on the blog and for ANWA this week!

First of all, congratulations to Heidi Murphy for winning last week's drawing!  Heidi, message me at anwaevents at gmail dot com with your address and I'll get the book mailed out to you!

Second, this is our last week of the ANWA SUMMER CHALLENGE!  So we are going to do things a little differently.  You can enter UP TO THREE TIMES:

• Post your numbers by NEXT SUNDAY 
• Post THREE SENTENCES from your work in progress. 
• Tell us one writing-related thing you accomplished this summer.

Because this is our last week, of course we have to go out with a bang.  So, in addition to having three chances to enter, the winner of our final week's challenge will also win these three items:

• A $10 COLD STONE CREAMERY gift card

• A signed copy of Cindy William's book:

• Peggy Urry's ebook:
  

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY WRITING!!!

The Intermountain Retreat, "AIM FOR THE STARS" is coming up on September 19th and 20th. If what you really want is time to write, to socialize with other women who share your talents, and lots of yummy food then this retreat is for you.

THERE'S ONLY FOUR SPOTS LEFT!!!

We'd love to give four more people the chance to get away and have some fun, so we've decided to make it just a little sweeter:

BRING A FRIEND GIVEAWAY:

This is how it works:  if you refer a friend and they attend the retreat, you and that friend will be automatically entered into the drawing for a gift bag.

WHAT'S IN THE GIFT BAG?
1. an ANWA t-shirt
2.  $10 Cold Stone gift card!!!

3. A SIGNED Copy of MY DOUBLE LIFE by Janette Rallison

4. The e-book ARCHER'S HOLLOW by Peggy Urry

THAT is some serious swag, my friends.  Here's a few extra important details about the contest:

• You or your friend must leave a comment HERE ON THE BLOG with their name and who referred them to the retreat
• If you refer more than on friend your name will be entered twice
• You do not have to be attending the retreat yourself to be part of the drawing
• ALL FOUR REMAINING SPOTS must be filled for the drawing to occur
• The contest will end this Friday, 11:59 pm Pacific time.

So go to http://anwa-lds.com/events/intermountain and get a friend registered today!!!

Call for numbers!

Only two weeks left!  Time has flown by.  With fall weather just around the corner-- along with Nanowrimo, ANWA CONFERENCE REGISTRATION, and all sorts of holiday craziness-- now is the perfect time to squeeze in some writing.

And when your mind needs a break from writing, curl up with this week's giveaway: 

MASTER OF EMOTION BY DEANN HUFF

Report your numbers here on the blog by Thursday and get automatically entered to win!

HAPPY WRITING!

And the winner is...

Congratulations Kari Pike!

Emial me your address at anwaevents at gmail dot com and I'll get that book sent out to you.

For the rest of us, here's some inspiration from our current President, Peggy Urry:

My grandpa had a saying that went something like this, "We do what we want and make excuses for the rest."

What is it YOU want with your writing? Are you achieving it or making excuses (also known as Resistance)? We all face Resistance in some form or another. The great thing about 100 words a day is that once you commit, it's doable. I love this challenge, even though some days Resistance wrangles me to the ground. If you're struggling, re-commit and remember what a wise Abraham Lincoln said: "You cannot fail if you resolutely determine you will not."

Call for numbers!

Hey all,
It's time for the official call for numbers.  There's only three weeks left, you can do it!  This week, we'll be giving away a SIGNED book by our wonderful past-president and Conference co-Chair, Janette Rallison:

Post your numbers on the blog (not on fb) and you'll be automatically entered into this week's drawing.  Winner will be announced Thursday!

Good luck and happy writing!!!

Second Time's A Charm!

This lucky winner was drawn randomly two weeks in a row!  

Congratulations Erin Mindes for winning our ANWA t-shirt.  

I will send you some color and size options via email and then get it (and your book from last week) in the mail to you!  

For the rest of us who don't have a contest fairy, here's an inspired message from our President Elect, Cindy Williams.

When your character stops talking to you or seems flat, or bored, try this. Interview him/her.  Ask them what their favorite color, food, game, show, thing to do, purpose in life, goals, friends, friends, enemies, likes, dislikes, parents, pet peeves, what warms their hearts, what they want to get out of "their story".  Get them to come alive and start talking to you again. This may all end out backstory, and never used, but it will get you into their heads and help your writing and your character come to life.

I often have my character write me a letter. Really. They tell me a lot about themselves. It is an amazing process. Sometimes I don't like the things they have to tell me, but it always helps me understand them and their motivation much better. It also helps me get over a writers block.

Interview your character or, have them write a letter to you. Either way, you will write a well rounded character that makes more sense to you and your readers.

Cindy R. Williams.

www.cindyRwilliams.com

Call for numbers!

Hey everyone.  This week's post is short and sweet. Summer is coming to an end and this contest only has a few more weeks.  Let's finish strong ladies!

This week's giveaway is for an ANWA shirt (because we LOVE swag!)

So post your numbers on this blog and get automatically entered into the giveaway.  Winner will be announced Thursday.

HAPPY WRITING!

Congrats to the winner!

Congratulations Erin Mindes! 

You've won Heather's book!  Email me your shipping address at anwaevents at gmail dot com and I'll get it sent out to you.

For the rest of us, here is a little inspiration from our newest ANWA Board member, Susan Haws:

Guilty Pleasure

I am working at my local library. I call it my guilty pleasure job. (I get to be with books. How could it not be a pleasure? And I get paid, thus the guilt.)

I enjoy seeing circulating books. Read, read, add to reading list, you get the idea. I often say and think even more frequently “So many good books so little time.” But activity I see is as important as the books themselves. People, of all walks of life, reading books. People showing board books to babies, children choosing picture books themselves and older kids and teens looking for their favorite authors. I can count on the dinosaur, drawing, and animal books needing straightening and it makes me smile.

So much competes for our time today and according to RobertBrewer.org “25% of people over age 16 have not read a book in the last year.” “Reading frequency declines after age eight.” There are a great many more book facts at the site worth pondering. I know I am preaching reading and writing to the experts.

 My time at the library has shown me that despite the responsibilities and the variety of entertainment there is still a thirst for knowledge and story. Children and adults and seniors all wear the same look when the book they wanted has all its copies checked out. They all wear the same happy face when they talk about a story they adore.  You are the creators of those stories and that joy. Keep working at it.  

Susan G. Haws

CALL FOR NUMBERS!

Hey all!  We're over half-way through summer and if you're like me, you're starting to look towards fall, school, and (here in Phoenix) the glorious day when the temperature dips down below 100 degrees.

By now, you should have at least 6500 words written.  Can you believe that?  For some of us that's HUGE-- especially in the midst of having kids at home, vacations, kids, summer movies, kids, outdoor weather, kids...

To reward you for all that work, this week we're giving away Heather B. Moore's book:

Post your numbers here on the blog (not on FB) by midnight Wednesday night (PST) and automatically be enrolled in this week's giveaway!

Good luck and happy writing!!!

Congrats to the Winner!!!

Congratulations Jennifer Griffith!  

I will email you instructions on how to download Peggy's book.

For the rest of us, here's a little inspiration from the author- and ANWA President- Peggy Urry:

Elder Richard G. Scott said, "Attempt to be creative for the joy it brings." (Apr 1996)

I love that an apostle of the Lord encourages us to be creative. It is inherent to our nature to create and allowing ourselves time to be creative brings joy to our souls. Elder Scott goes on to say, "Being creative will help you enjoy life. It engenders a spirit of gratitude. It develops latent talent, sharpens your capacity to reason, to act, and to find purpose in life. It dispels loneliness and heartache. It gives a renewal, a spark of enthusiasm, and zest for life."

Do something creative today (write your 100 words!) and savor the joy.

Call for Numbers!

WHOOPS!  Sorry folks.  This post was supposed to go out yesterday, but somehow it got lost somewhere between my mind and the computer.   So here is your official call for numbers.  Because of the delay, I'll add an extra day (that rhymes! Because that's what I do when I slack.  Make up poems.  Okay, not really.)

So post your numbers here on the blog (not on FB) between now and midnight Wednesday (PST) and  win a copy of our fabulous ANWA president's book,

THE ARCHER'S HOLLOW

BY, PEGGY URRY

One quick note: this is an ebook so the winner will receive a link to the book for free. 

Okay ladies, let's do this.  HAPPY WRITING!!!

And the winner is...

Congratulations Donna Fuller! 

Email me at anwaevents at gmail dot com with your address and I will get Janette's book mailed out to you!  

Thanks for participating everyone.  Here is a little writing inspiration from our wonderful founder:

Finding Your Theme

by Marsha Ward

http://anwafounder.blogspot.com/2010/10/finding-your-theme.html

Several years ago, I had a wonderful week in cool Prescott, Arizona, where I attended the Hassayampa Institute for Creative Writing at Yavapai College. In the friendly atmosphere created by the limited enrollment and the nurturing faculty and staff, I got to know many fine folks, and did revisions on work that had been mired in mud for a long while. The intensive writing workshop helped me focus on aspects of my writing that I had neglected. I had a chance to reach deep within myself to find emotions and conflicts that needed to be present in my characters to make them real.

The most important thing I found, though, was my theme, my reason for writing. I'd agonized over this issue for years. Why DID I write? I knew I felt compelled to do so, but did not know the underlying motivation.

It took me by surprise, when I was asked a single question, that the answer I gave was my theme, my motivation. The question was, "What do you want to share with the world through your writing?" I was blown away when my answer provided me with the purpose I'd been seeking to identify for such a long time.

I said, "I write to help people find hope amidst their trials, to learn to overcome, not just to wallow in misery."

Now you may think that doesn't apply to a novelist's work, that it's more suited to an essayist or a self-help guru. However, as I look back over my books, I think it fits nicely into what I have written. My principal characters pick themselves up in various ways and go forward with their lives. They illustrate how personal attributes and growth can help a person persevere.

I was very glad to have found my theme at long last. However, I don't go into every writing session thinking, How can I make my characters toe the mark and hold to the theme? I build my characters' attributes, motivations, and conflicts carefully and then let their actions come forth. Because I do this legwork out of my value system, the theme will be there, in one form or another, when I have finished.

How do you find what you want to write about? Maybe the same question I was asked will help you isolate your theme, too.

Call for Numbers

CONGRATULATIONS!!!  

You have all made it half-way.  You have officially made it to the ranks of other famous "half" things. Like half price, half marathon, half wit...

Because you are so awesome, this week we're giving away an awesome *signed* book from Janette Rallison.  

Leave your numbers for the week in a comment here on the blog (fb doesn't count) by the end of Tuesday and automatically be enrolled in a drawing for:

HAPPY WRITING!

And the winner is...

Congratulations Peggy Urry!  

You won our *special* half-way gift card and swag!  I will contact you via email and get those items to you asap.

In the mean time, here's a message from Rebecca Lamoreaux, our Conference Co-Chair, to keep the rest of us going:

My admiration goes out to all of you today. To each and every one of you who have pushed through thick and thin to reach your goals.

The reason I am saluting you today is because of the inspiration you are to the rest of us, who have for years gone through the things that you have already done. Your books, and your joy at having your books, gives hope to the rest of us that one day our books will join yours on the bookshelves in stores and in the world of Kindle and Nook.

So here's to you and your books - to the endless time and effort of editing, critiquing,  rewriting, and sometimes killing off your babies. Here's to knowing when you have to cut out your favorite scene, and knowing how your characters will react in any situation. Here's to the many queries and the frustration of rejections, to slogging through writing a synopsis, and to the joy of seeing your book in print.

Thank you for showing us that our dreams can become realities, and for writing books that entertain us to no end!

And here's to many, many others in our critique groups, Facebook groups, and blogging groups who have helped us out, inspired us, and cheered us on. Thanks for showing us it can be done!


Thanks
Rebecca
http://rebeccalamoreaux-anauthorinprogress.blogspot.com/

CALL FOR NUMBERS AND A *SPECIAL* GIVEAWAY

Hey all.  I'm sure you've been super busy perusing our NEW WEBSITE.  Isn't it awesome???

This is a big week for ANWA and for the ANWA Summer Challenge.  That's right ladies, we officially reach our half-way mark THIS SUNDAY!!! 

To celebrate, we're going to have a special giveaway for a $15 AMAZON GIFT CARD, plus some extra ANWA swag just because we love you.

 

You can be entered THREE TIMES into this drawing:
1- post your numbers here on the blog (required)
2- leave an extra comment on the blog telling us your favorite thing you've written so far
3- tweet or post about it on the ANWA Facebook and Twitter pages- let's give our ANWA sisters who haven't joined the challenge a little motivation to jump in (especially since we'll only be at 5,000 by Sunday, so catching up is a snap).

That's it.  Happy writing!

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations Kathy Cowley!  

Email me at anwaevents at gmail dot com and I'll get that mailed out to you!

For the rest of us, here is some inspiration from the author of this week's giveaway, DeAnn Huff http://www.dogdenhuff.com/ :

Too often novice authors rely only on miscommunication between characters to create conflict in stories. Harlequin editor, Victoria Curran, reminded 2014 ANWA Conference attendees that our conflicts need to be strong enough so that one good conversation between the characters won’t resolve all their problems. But have you considered that your characters can be role models for others, especially children and youth? Have you thought about putting at least one character in your novel, perhaps a mentor or a sidekick, who is an example of a good communicator? We can teach light and truth one word at a time. Here are some characteristics of a good communicator:

Good communicators apologize when they make mistakes.

Good communicators resolve conflict without confrontation.

Good communicators speak positively and express gratitude.

Good communicators think before they speak.

Good listeners pay attention.

Good listeners don’t interrupt.

Good listeners don’t make judgmental generalizations.

By making one of your characters a good communicator, then the communication errors of your other characters will be more obvious. If the good communicator is a main character, then it will force you to create a conflict that can’t be simply resolved by the characters sitting down and having an honest conversation. Try good communication in your writing—and if not in your writing, try it in your real life!

CALL FOR NUMBERS

I hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July weekend.  If you're like me, you spent the weekend traveling away from home, so in honor of the vacation weekend our giveaway this week will be:

ONCE UPON A TOUR by D. Ogden Huff

Just post your numbers (remember, estimates ok) by midnight Tuesday night to be automatically entered into the giveaway.  

Good luck and keep writing!

AND THE WINNER IS...

Congratulations to DONNA HATCH!

I'll get that mailed out to you. 

Now for the rest of us, here's a great writing lesson from our illustrious founder, Marsha Ward.

Whet the Appetite
by Marsha Ward
http://anwafounder.blogspot.com/2011/02/another-english-lesson.html

I recently heard someone refer to the need to wet someone's appetite for a book manuscript. That's when I knew I had my topic for today's blog post.

What the person meant to write was "whet." The word comes from the Old English hwettan, meaning "to sharpen, encourage." We use it today in at least two contexts: to sharpen knives or other bladed implements, and to stimulate, enhance, or increase; such as desire, appetite or curiosity.

Seeing "wet" applied to appetite for anything makes me think the opposite: to dampen down or diminish, and that's not what you want to do when you present a book manuscript to an agent or editor. You want to whet that appetite for your work.

Now that you understand the difference, let's wander off into the first meaning for whet, because I have a childhood memory to share. My father had a whetstone, a fine-grained stone about 6 or 7 inches long by 2 inches wide and an inch thick, that he used to sharpen and hone the blades of knives, principally his pocketknife. Those were the days when a man wasn't a man unless he carried a pocketknife in his, well, pocket, and my Daddy was no exception. Sometimes, if he was away from home, he used spit on the surface of the stone before he honed the blade of his knife to a sharpness that could slice through a tomato without denting the skin. If he was home, he used a bit of machine oil. In fact, when I handled the whetstone, I recall it had a slight oily film on the surface.

Sometimes Daddy used the whetstone to sharpen a camp axe, but mostly it was his knife that I remember him stroking repeatedly over the surface, back and forth, one side and then the other. He would test the sharpness of the blade on his thumb as he progressed with the task, until he was satisfied at the keenness of the edge. Only then did he attempt to use his knife on the job.

We have to do the same thing with our writing: perform the mundane, almost hypnotic task of coaxing out words, testing the sound and the keenness of them as we go, until at last, they are perfect. Only then will they do the job they are designed for: entertaining or educating others.

CALL FOR NUMBERS!

I'm expecting big numbers today since many of you were at the retreat!  Don't let this happen to you...

And since last week we hung out in the romance genre for our giveaway, this week we're wandering over to the children's section.   So post your numbers by Tuesday at midnight and be automatically entered into a giveaway for TWO fantabulous books.

Newbery Honor Book  The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper

And, Chase McKay Didn't Get Up Today by Cindy Williams 

(if you think you've seen this book before you have- Cindy was super generous in helping me out with this giveaway and has donated multiple books- thanks Cindy!)

THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED THURSDAY!

And the winner is...

Congrats Sarah M. Eden for winning this week's drawing! 

Message me at anwaevents at gmail dot com with your address and I'll get Donna's book sent out to you.

If you're feeling sad about not winning Donna's book, have no fear-- here is a message of inspiration from the author herself!

Chasing the Muse by Donna Hatch

 Sometimes the muse pours rich blessings down on the heads of us poor mortal writers, and sometimes they remain elusive and silent. Trying to write when your muse is silent can be a frustrating and seemingly futile endeavor. However, even the most uncooperative muses can be coaxed out of hiding by using a few simple steps.

First, go into a state of calm through prayer, meditation, or simply taking a few cleansing breaths. This helps clear away the noise in your head so you can write with clarity and purpose.  It also helps tap into your creative side and acts as gentle beckoning to the muse.

Then, whether or not your muse speaks, give yourself permission to write complete and total useless dribble that you will delete later. It's okay if you end up deleting everything you wrote when you edit your manuscript, it really is. The very act of writing or typing can jump start your creativity which will eventually lead to good writing later in the day or week. Also, the knowledge that there's no pressure to write something brilliant can turn off that often crippling self editor, thus allowing true expression to materialize.

 Finally, put your fingers on the keyboard, or around a pen if that’s your method, and start writing. Don't go back and proof, and don't correct anything you write. Let go of your concerns about whether there is enough or too much description or if what you just said is cliché. That can all be fixed later. Just write. Some of it will need correcting and editing--or even deleting--and that's okay. But some of it will be brilliant, and writing in that true creative zone can often reveal unknown and surprising details about your characters and even your plot.

So breathe, give yourself permission to make mistakes, and write!

Donna Hatch is the author of the award-winning Rogue Hearts Regency historical series. You can find her at www.donnahatch.com

CALL FOR NUMBERS!

I don't know about you guys, but this week has been TOUGH!  But we've got to push through it with a little (in honor of a tiny competition going on right now)

in the 

And what says "kick in the pants" better than a CALL FOR NUMBERS and a GIVEAWAY!

So post your numbers before midnight tomorrow night and get automatically entered into a giveaway for a SIGNED copy of Donna Hatch's The Stranger She Married

AND THE WINNER IS...

CONGRATULATIONS TO AZ SMITHS FOR WINNING OUR BOOK(S) GIVEAWAY THIS WEEK!

Message me here with your address and I'll get those books sent out to you.

For the rest of you, here is an encouraging message from our President-Elect, Cindy Williams: 

Writers Challenges! I love them! They are great! You accomplish tons!

Excessive use of exclamation marks! You have to know the rules to break the rules.

Writing is a lonely world. Sure there may be family running all around us. There may be patrons at the library shuffling quietly by or ruffling pages in books. The phone may be ringing, the washer and drying beeping, but it all boils down to diving into our computer all alone.

As a writer, we no longer have teachers calling for writing assignments. We don't have parents giving us chores to complete. We don't have a boss telling us to get this thing done. We have only ourselves and sitting our bottoms down and making magic flow from our fingertips. As writers, we are sometimes tough task masters, and at other times we are too soft on ourselves and give in to our own flimsy excuses.

A Writers Challenge meets these built in difficulties of being a writers.

If we jump in with both feet and report each day, we have a place of accountability. We support each other. We are in this together. We are no longer alone. Melinda Carroll, our ANWA Event Chair, set this up and not only cheers us on, but offers incentives to keep us excited, involved and motivated. Thank you Melinda for taking your time to run this.

We are ANWA! See us write!

Cindy R. Williams
ANWA President-Elect
(which just means Ghost of Christmas Future)

IT'S TIME FOR OUR OFFICIAL CALL FOR NUMBERS!

Summer is now in full swing. I always think it should be like this:

But instead it always seems to look more like this:

Or this:

Or this:

 So you deserve a big 

for reaching the goal so far!

***TO CELEBRATE OUR SECOND CALL FOR NUMBERS, EVERYONE WHO LEAVES THEIR WORD TOTALS (ESTIMATES OKAY) IN THE COMMENTS WILL BE ENTERED INTO A DRAWING FOR TWO BOOKS!

             

You have until 11:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time on Tuesday to post your numbers.  Winner will be announced on this blog on Thursday along with our weekly post on writing.  This week's post will be written by our President Elect (and author of Chase McKay Didn't Get Up Today), Cindy Williams.

HAPPY WRITING.  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

CONGRATS TO THE WINNER

Be sure to check FB for the winner of CJ Hill's book, SLAYERS.  I will mail you the book at the first part of next week.  CONGRATULATIONS.

And to give you all a little inspiration to keep going on the challenge, here's a few tips on writing from Janette Rallison (AKA CJ Hill).  Be sure to check out her website here.

Ten Reasons You Should Be Writing

1)      You could be cleaning your fridge, and who wants to do that?
2)      Writing can be done in your pajamas.
3)      Writing doesn’t require you to drive anywhere, which means you’re saving the environment.

4)      Your computer will never gossip about you to other coworkers. (Although the computer and printer do snicker about you behind your back.)
5)      If you’re writing, both hands are on the keyboard and therefore not grabbing junkfood, which means writing is healthy.
6)      You can put the guys who dumped you in high school into your story—and kill them.
7)      Ditto for your bad bosses.
8)      Words last forever. Kapow—you’re immortal!
9)      Artists are expected to be eccentric. You can wear those fuzzy bunny slippers and people will
just shrug and say, “Well, you know, she is an arteest.”
10)   Writing is fun!

CALL FOR NUMBERS

Hey fabulous Summer Challenge ladies. Did you reach your goal for the week?  Judging from the FB posts, many of you overshot the goal in one day! You all deserve a giant round of applause.

IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!

Today is the official call for numbers.  Although normally the totals for the week would only be 700 words, since it's been a little over a week we're now at 900 words.  

***EVERYONE WHO LEAVES THEIR WORD TOTALS (ESTIMATES OKAY) IN THE COMMENTS WILL BE ENTERED INTO A DRAWING FOR A SIGNED COPY OF CJ HILL'S (AKA JANETTE RALLISON) SLAYERS***

You have until 11:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time on Tuesday to post your numbers.  Winner will be announced on FB on Thursday (this week only-- I'll be temporarily without a computer) but be sure to check back here too for inspiration in our weekly post on writing.  This week's post will be written by the wonderful author herself, Janette Rallison.

HAPPY WRITING.  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

AND THE WINNER IS...

DENA HAYNES! 

 Congratulations, you've just won a $15 amazon gift card.  Email me and I'll email you the code!  

Thanks to all of you who are participating in our ANWA Summer Writing Challenge!  So far it's been super fun to see you post all your numbers.

Make sure to check back on Monday and officially post your numbers to be entered into next week's drawing.

Here's a little inspiration to help you keep going, from the website writetodone.com:

31 WAYS TO FIND INSPIRATION FOR YOUR WRITING:

1. Blogs. This is one of my favorites, of course. Aside from this blog, there are dozens of great blogs on writing and every topic under the sun. I like to read about what works for others — it inspires me to action!

2. Books. Maybe my favorite overall. I read writers I love (read about my current loves) and then I steal from them, analyze their writing, get inspired by their greatness. Fiction is my favorite, but I’ll devour anything. If you normally read just a couple of your favorite authors, try branching out into something different. You just might find new inspiration.

3. Overheard dialog. If I’m anywhere public, whether it be at a park or a mall or my workplace, sometimes I’ll eavesdrop on people. Not in a gross way or anything, but I’ll just keep quiet, and listen. I love hearing other people have conversations. Sometimes it doesn’t happen on purpose — you can’t help but overhear people sometimes. If you happen to overhear a snippet of interesting dialog, jot it down in your writing journal as soon as possible. It can serve as a model or inspiration for later writing.

4. Magazines. Good magazines aren’t always filled with great writing, but you can usually find one good piece of either fiction or non-fiction. Good for its writing style, its voice, its rhythm and ability to pull you along to the end. These pieces inspire me. And bad magazines, while perhaps not the best models for writing, can still be inspirations for ideas for good blog posts. These magazines, as they don’t draw readers with great writing, find interesting story angles to attract an audience.

5. Movies. Sometimes, while watching a movie, a character will say something so interesting that I’ll say, “That would make a great blog post!” or “I have to write that in my writing journal!” Sometimes screenwriters can write beautiful dialog. Other times I get inspired by the incredible camera work, the way that a face is framed by the camera, the beauty of the landscape captured on film.

WANT TO KNOW THE OTHER 26 WAYS?  CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE POST FOR YOURSELF.

KEEP UP THE AWESOME WORK LADIES!

Welcome to ANWA's Summer Writing Challenge!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is...

Do you...

Or...

And watch as...

Is that what you do?

NOPE!

***WE WRITE ***

ANWA's Summer Writing Challenge: 100 Words For 100 Days starts today! 

It's hard to find time to write when the world is green and we want to fish in a stream, or lazily dream, and watch as the clouds go by.  

Sometimes we just need a little extra encouragement.  So starting today and ending September 8th, ANWA is challenging YOU to write 100 WORDS FOR 100 DAYS.  

And what better way to kick off this challenge than 

A  GIVEAWAY!

Join the summer challenge and be automatically entered into a drawing for a $15 Amazon gift card.

There's 3 simple steps:

1. Join the ANWA Summer Writing Challenge FB event. Go to the ANWA FB page, click on the events button at the top, click on the ANWA Summer Writing Challenge, and join the event (all ANWA members have been previously invited to this-- so if these instructions don't work then check your email for the invite). You'll get notices when we do giveaways, occasional tips on writing, and be able to share your experiences with your fellow ANWA summer writers. 

2. Leave a comment here telling us what you plan to write this summer-- a book (genre is always fun too), a journal, a blog-- and you'll be automatically entered into our drawing.  Make sure to include a way to contact you if you win in your comment.

3. Be awesome.

(The drawing will end Tuesday, June 3rd at 11:59 pm.  Must be able to receive an amazon gift code by email. Winners will be announced and notified next week.)

Remember, the ultimate goal is to have 10,000 words written by the end of the summer- so if you miss a day or choose to skip Sundays don't worry. The beauty of only writing 100 words each day is that it's easy to catch up if you miss some time.

REPORTING YOUR NUMBERS:
Every MONDAY we will publish a blog post requesting your WEEKLY totals.  We're operating on the honor system here ladies.  Leave a comment on the post HERE ON THE BLOG (not on FB) by Tuesday 11:59 pm.

If you don't know your exact totals, but you know you've reached your goal for the week, then just post the estimate.  For example, this next Monday (June 9th) will be day #9 and you should be at 900 words by the end of the day, so post 900+ if you've written at least that amount.  

Everyone who posts their totals will be entered into a WEELY drawing for signed books, swag, etc!  The winner will be announced on the blog on Thursday of that week, along with some helpful writing tips from the ANWA Board of Directors.

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY WRITING!!!

ANWA SUMMER WRITING CHALLENGE

Welcome to summer. The sun comes up, the kids come home, and our writing sits around all day like dead weight, occasionally whimpering at us from the desktop.

It's time to get our manuscripts swimsuit ready!  

We've got to get serious, cut the excess, and tighten the body.  So how are we going to do that with all the summer madness?

Here's a clue:

That's right, we're going light.  

Starting June 1st and ending September 8th, we are challenging all of you to write 100 words each day.  

100 words a day?  That's easy!  It can be any kind of writing-- 100 words in your manuscript, 100 words in your journal, 100 words on your grocery list (well, maybe not that one).

Need support from your fellow ANWA sisters?  Be sure to check back here often for tips and clues on how to reach your goal.  For any of you seasoned writers, we'd love to hear what works for you.  Contact us at anwaevents at gmail dot com and we'll post your suggestions.

We may even give a few little gifts along the way...

Leave a comment and let us know who's joining the challenge.  Then roll up your sleeves, grab your computer, and buckle down for the half hour or so it will take each day to meet the goal.

 To help you feel inspired, here's some pictures of a few other things that come in 100's:

Pennies

Cheerios

Candy bars (okay, ignore the "Grand" part. But hey, chocolate)

ANWA MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL!!!

Hi all,

With the craziness of the holidays we know it is so very easy to forget to renew your ANWA membership.  So now that the new year has been in full swing for hours, we can't think of a better time to remind you to renew those membership!

Besides all of the fabulous things you get as members, as an added incentive, ALL THOSE WHO REGISTER BY JANUARY 7TH WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED INTO A DRAWING FOR A $20 GIFT CARD (THE AMOUNT OF THEIR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL).

So hop on your computers and get renewed today!