New Puppy Energy: Unorganized, Exciting, Needs Work
LITFRIENDS* We just adopted Wilson; the new puppy energy in the house is both exciting and draining. Even though we know a puppy will be a lot of work, we forget how much. We have trained puppies before, but each puppy is different. Wilson is smart but uncivilized. We can't punish him into submission, we have to get to know him and find what works for him. All our experience helps, but each pup is an entity of its own. It occurred to me that a new puppy is a lot like a writing project.
The excitement of a new great idea is full of promise, but the story, plotting, or finding the right voice can be a bit of a slog. The patterns of what we have learned may be helpful, but each writing project has a differentiated life of its own. Natalie Goldberg said that "First thoughts have tremendous energy." She's right. That energy can fuel our work, yet, sometimes we have to clean up accidents, feed and protect our projects, identify what doesn't work, and help them grow into themselves.
Do you have a writing project in the works right now? If not, it probably bugs you. We writers feel our best when are making progress. We've got a lot of content for you to begin, complete, and publish your work. Find a year's worth of writing contests and more in the content below.
–Amy Lou Jenkins
Here's our concise email with three items to bolster your lit life a few times each month. For July and August expect just one newsletter each month. Stay with us. Exciting developments are afoot.
1. #CallsForSubmissions
These Markets Want Your Work
Find more than a year's worth of writing contests, but we don't mean to suggest that you have to enter a contest every month. Choose a few that you plan to enter. Study your market, read past winners, and plan to write an entry. You will then have assigned yourself progress in your writing career.
Read: A Year of Writing Contests
2. #WritingArticles +
Consider which writing contests are right for you.
Read: How to Tell if a Contest is Right for You
Have you wondered what motivates a memoirist? Successful writers tell you. "If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased." - Maya Angelou
Read about: Writing Motivation
If you missed it last time: Download your free 15-page writing project planning sheets gift.
3. #WriterNews
Subscribers can list their news on our FB page, message us from there, and we may promote it in our newsletter and website. Share widely so we can support each other.
R Eric Thomas' new memoir Congratulations, the Best is Over earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. "In this hilariously candid memoir-in-essays, bestseller Thomas (Here for It) offers a glimpse at his experiences returning to his hometown of Baltimore from Philadelphia after decades away...."
Carrie Cogan’s “Lowest of the Low on a High Red Hill” was selected as the winner of The Kenyon Review’s 2023 Short Nonfiction Contest by Guest Judge Leslie Jamison. She described the essay: "The voice of this essay moved like wind through hollowed-out bone, to borrow one of its countless haunted images.”
Amy Blain is opening up a membership community with an emphasis on sales and personal growth. If the artist in you also needs to generate sales and profit while growing a business and satisfying life, Shatter Lounge might help you get there.
Notice: Jack Walker Press Writer courses coming in Fall.
Contact us if you have a review for publication you'd like to publish in this newsletter, or perhaps you'd like us to link to a great review for your book.
End Notes
Follow and like us on
Thanks for reading LITFRIENDS* newsletter from AmyLouJenkins.com and JackWalkerPress.com.
If you stop opening the newsletters, the email providers assume we are sending you something you don't want and remove you from the list. So, have a little read, and if we are not giving you what you want, tell us how we can partner with you for a better LitLife.
· *Literary Insights to Fuel Revolutionary Expressions, Narratives, and Discourse
