Sources: Life Goes On

First, please read On historical writing.

Now, enjoy this list of references I used while writing this...thing, hahaha.

(By the way, I'm not going to put every website I used, specifically from Wikipedia--assume that unless otherwise noted I got my information from the pages linked to within the article, but still within Wikipedia--for example, I got my information about Alan Rufus via Gunhild's page plus information gathered from the Earl of Richmond page.)

1840s fashion (Wikipedia)
Fashion 1800 (victoriana.com)
Gunhild of Wessex (Wikipedia)
The American Metropolis by Frank Moss (1897)
Historical Fashion Blog
And because I don't know exactly how a house is built...

Herm...so I just found this youtube video on "The Secret Lives of Trolls". Now I'm wondering if my portrayal of Jeff as a "Troll" is accurate. Is he possibly a "Troll Slayer"? I'm not sure. I envision him as writing both sides of the argument. So on one hand, he's both Troll and Slayer, with the Slayer always winning. BUT at the end of the day, he's commandeering the conversation so that his voice is the loudest, which is standard Troll operating procedure. So, like everything else, it's highly debatable, but I still think he'd describe himself as a Troll in order to commandeer the title to discredit the Trolls--he trolls the Trolls, thus making him a Troll.

OMG. So, I'm working on my family genealogy and while I "quickly" lost track of the Flusches (I only got a generation or two further than I'd previously found), I have discovered that I can trace my lineage to AT LEAST 1000 AD Germany. And, I just found that in 1063 one Bernhard II. von Werl built Arnsburg Castle, hehehe. All I've really wanted to do is to say that there's a castle in my family and there is!! I haven't gone about verifying the information yet; I've currently got 7 tabs open where there's at least one generation further for me to go. I'm incredibly thankful to Bernd Josef Jansen because he's done a heck of a lot of work. I need to figure out how we're related.

Research SUCKS! (Devil We Know)

Okay, not all the time. For instance, I've learned a lot about Packards and something called an "Ultramatic" transmissions (though for personal preference I've decided on a manual transmission for this story).

But broken noses--gah! Not something I really care to Google, ya know? Black eyes, too.

Anyway, now that I've vented the extent of my traumatization (not sure if I've made this word up or if I just can't spell it), I'll let you know that I'm working on a short story for a contest ending this weekend (at the moment I'm going with "Devil We Know" and I think it works well). 1500 words to do...something. Not sure how I'm going to wrap it up yet, but I'll figure out shortly :-). I'll post it once I've submitted it ('cuz I'll be editing until the last minute pretty much). I definitely want to expand it at some point, but I don't know if it'll be novel-length. 17,000 words isn't quite enough room for the story I'd like to tell.

Well...gonna expand this one faster than I'd planned. Just found a novella contest (25,000 to 40,000 words). BUT, I've got to somehow find a song that fits it. I know, I know--I'm cheating. The novella is supposed to be inspired by a song, not the story happens to fit with a song. But I don't have time to write an entire story in a little under two weeks--I'd need at least that amount of time to procrastinate, haha. Sigh. I don't know much about music lyrics, so this may be very tedious. Ah well, gotta have the song before I can expand, though hopefully the song will lend itself naturally to the expansion. Wish me luck.

Hehehe...less than five minutes of thinking and I think I have it: Kryptonite by Three Doors Down. I already loved this song and as I read the lyrics I can see a lot of allegories (is that the proper term?--I don't think so).

I took a walk around the world
To ease my troubled mind

But I watched the world float
To the dark side of the moon

I feel there is nothing I can do

If not for me then you'd be dead

As long as you’ll be my friend at the end

AND WE HAVE EXPANSION!!!

You took for granted all the times
I never let you down

BUT: Does the title Kryptonite really work?!? Gonna need to work on that.

Sigh...I've gotten pretty comfortable using curse words freely when writing mean characters (or very stressful situations), but right now I really don't feel comfortable using the word I know I need to use. But I shouldn't compromise the character just because it's not a word I find palatable.

But on a good note, I seem to have figured out the Kryptonite...and will probably end up changing more of what's currently written than I ever expected. Two months later I realize that the ending really is awful!

Free Writing Contests

You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find real free writing contests--it seems like some genius (no sarcasm intended) realized early how to profit off people who will pay $5 a month to enter writing contests. Technically, they're free and numerous, but for me they just get in the way when I'm looking for legitimate contests to enter. So, here's my contribution. Every time I find a legitimate contest, I'll put it here. They're in roughly chronological order.

NOTE: These are contests open to anyone in (at least) the US--there are plenty of contests open to really specific individuals (a school system, a city, a state, etc). I encourage you to look up these on your own. For MY future reference, I'm including any contests I may find specific to my neck of the woods (Hampton Roads, VA). If you find a contest you think I should link to, leave a comment.

NPR Three-Minute Fiction 

• Premise: Write a piece of fiction based on a prompt in 600 words.
• Round 10 was in March 2013, but Round 11 just ended in May 2013. Will there be a Round 12?
• NOTE: Round 11 started and ended in a week, so stay on your toes for this one.

L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future

• Contests close on: October 1, January 1, April 1 and July 1 (YEARLY)
• 17,000 words MAX; No prompt
• There's also an illustrator's contest (same link)

Writer's Digest Your Story Contest

• Follow the Promt
• Short deadline, so stay on your toes.
• Next deadline: June 3, 2013
• Prompt: Write the opening sentence (25 words or fewer) to a story based on the photo to the left.

JANUARY

• January 27, 2013-- Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award
• There are lots of little parts, but if you have an already finished novel and aren't published elsewhere, this is perfect.

MAY

• May 31, 2013--BOROUGHS 2013 NOVELLA CONTEST
• 25,000-40,000 word, completed novella based on the title of a song – any song – that you adopt as the title of your story

JUNE

• June 1, 2013--WRITE IN HEMINGWAY'S HOUSE
• The Oak Park-based Foundation, which owns the home where Hemingway was born, is seeking applicants for a year-long program designed to give writers what they most need in order to create great work: space and inspiration.
• The writer will be given use of the workspace for one year at no cost (see application for details), and will be asked to provide cultural programming – lectures, workshops, presentations, or other programs – to the general public.
• June 30, 2013--Drue Heinz Literature Prize
• NOTE: The award is open to writers who have published a novel, a book-length collection of fiction, or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals of national distribution. On-line publication and self-publication do not count toward this requirement.
• A collection of short fiction.

September

• September 19, 2013--The Sixth Annual Life Lessons Essay 
• TOPIC: What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
• maximum of 1,500 words
• All submitted essays must be nonfiction. 
• September 30, 2013--The Iowa Short Fiction Award
• The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages.
• We do not accept e-mail submissions.
• Any writer who has not previously published a volume of prose fiction is eligible to enter the competition.

2014

•  First Crime Novel Competition  
• Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story.
• no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words
• No date given yet--possibly December 17, 2013
• **Despite full and careful consideration of all of this year's entries in the 2013 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition, unfortunately Minotaur Books could not find a winner that met our high standards of quality. We look forward to reading next year's entries.**
• In other words, I'm REALLY excited to try my hand at this one :-)

I don't write poetry, but it's only fair for me to share what I've found in my searches:



MAY

• May 24, 2013--Putting Our Heads Together; Poetry Contest, 2013
• Subject must be headache or Migraine related, but may be metaphoric or abstract.
• Form: Rhymed, free-verse, most forms of poetry, but not prose.
• Length: Maximum of 60 lines, no more than 80 characters per line (including spaces and punctuation). Please make special note of the 80 characters per line.This means LINES, not paragraphs.

OTHER SITES:

Creative Writing Now--This is a sign-up site, but it claims to be free, is open about it's founders and offers lots of free writing tips, so I'm willing to list it here. There are supposed to be writing contests, but none are listed yet.

Writer's Relief--It's a standard vanity publishing site/company, but I like this free list of upcoming contests. I've linked to all the free contests here, but if you're willing to spend money to enter a contests or I haven't updated this list recently, I recommend you head there.

Writer's Digest Your Story Contest

In compiling a list of free contests for myself and others I came across this one.

Here's the picture we're supposed to use to write a 25 word start to a story:


Le Sigh--I wrote 35 words, but while too long for the contest, it's too good not to share:

You'd think I'd get used to this—it happens a few times a month. Sometimes a man. Sometimes a woman. It’s worst when it’s a kid.

Why can’t people get to the airport on time?

Back to the drawing board...

This is what I've turned in at exactly 25 words:

Did she leave him? Or did he turn down the job?

I sigh and call up the next person in line. “Upgrade to first class?”

Haha. I just NOW (after submitting) read the comments section. Whoops--apparently the entry is supposed to be one sentence long. Hmm...just for kicks, I'll try to convey the same sentiment I want in a single sentence:

Day after day, it’s never a surprise as anonymous people stand before that window, watching their past or future leave the tarmac.

While I'm kind of liking the finality of the last option, I think the second is the best for leading into an actual story. But then, I'm biased since that's the one I've submitted.

Oh goody! I just read a comment where someone wrote too much--I can re-submit!

Revenge

So, this is a short story I wrote today (just finished cutting it down to exactly the required 600 words) for NPR's 3-Minute Fiction contest. The theme is "Finder's Keepers" about characters who don't return the item they found.

It's based on two characters I've already begun working with. That story is about a girl who essentially creates magic, but she's in our world so it's going haywire and would kill her except for the really grumpy wizard who teaches her how to control it. I plan to use this short story as part of that novel, though I'm currently a long way away from when it would happen.

Anyway, enough backstory. I shouldn't tempt you with it because I don't know when I'll get around to really writing it. Here's the finished story at 636 words. Somehow I cut out 36 words without compromising any part of the "plot" (a lesser person than me would cut the first few lines, but I think that would detract from the characterization too much).
----------------------------------------

“Hurry up!”

“Hold your horses!”

Gregory tossed his hands in the air and stalked across the cobbled street towards the butcher’s shop. Lily couldn’t hide her smirk as she turned back to the seamstress. “I really love the look of Lady Argyris’ cloak. Would it be weird for you to make one just like it for me?”

“Not at all deary. That’s how most people decide on their clothing. What color do you want?”

The girl was annoying, that was certain. Gregory glared at the butcher who he knew was overcharging him for the side of lamb he ordered, but didn’t say anything other than to growl that it better be delivered the next day.

“Look out, mister!” Gregory turned at the shout and a small stuffed leather ball hit him squarely on the nose.

“Ow,” he said holding his nose with his hands. Through the film made by his watering eyes he saw three boys, no older than ten, standing in silent horror as they realized who they’d accidentally hit. Good.

As he inspected his nose, deftly drawing out the pain and injury with his magic, he watched their knees start to tremble, the littlest one’s face turning green. At least they seemed smart enough not to beg. He seemed to remember turning the last man who begged briefly into a donkey for a few hours.

The tallest one finally broke the silence. “We’re sorry, wizard. We’ll do anything to make it up to you…” he trailed off.

His nose back in order, Gregory appraised the boys. He’d seen them before just that day helping one of the old grandmother types carry her shopping to her home. Just goes to show that just because people do one good deed didn’t mean that they’re infallible.

“Go away,” he growled. They boys scampered off.

Deciding to go back to the seamstress to hurry Lily along, he stepped off the small walkway onto the cobbles.

“Gahh!!” With an unmanly yelp his leg shot out from under him, throwing him to his back, half on, half off the walkway. He’d stepped on the stupid ball that the boys had inadvertently left behind. Scowling at the sky he didn’t see everyone hide their smiles and double the distance they normally stayed away from him.

Well, one person didn’t hide her reaction.

“Are you okay?!” Lily wore an interesting mix of smile and horror as she peered down at him.

“Go away,” he said once again inspecting his injuries and willing them away with magic.

A few minutes later he stood, ignoring the hand Lily offered him. He stooped and retrieved the ball that was determined to end his life.

“Are you going to give that back to the boys?”

“Hell no.” He put the ball into his pocket. “Unless you’re literally dying, we’re going home now.”

“But we’ve only gone to a few shops!”

Gregory stepped closer to her, taking advantage of their nearly foot difference in height to intimidate her. “I’m done.”

As usual, she was not alarmed and merely rolled her eyes.

He turned and strode out of the town, not caring if she wasn’t following him.

Gregory didn’t pause as he reached the steps leading up to his home, throwing his arm out in a grand flourish as he willed the door to open. He ignored the snickered “show-off” behind him.

Going directly into his workroom he immediately set a copper pot on a hook in the fireplace. Adding turmeric, woad, and indigo to a boiling base of honeyed water, he stirred the concoction briskly.

“What is that?” Lily asked from the doorway.

“Teaching the boys a lesson,” he said dropping in the ball. “They’ll think twice about where they play when they wake up tomorrow with aqua colored hair.