This is the short story I’m writing for the competition. The word count in the sidebar has been changed and now relates to this story. The deadline for submission is 6 February 2006.
Wish me luck.

Filed under: My Writing:, Other Projects | 1 Comment »

Before Christmas, I reported that I was writing a story for an Australian magazine competition (first prize $10,000 and publication). Well, after only 1000 words I’ve decided to abandon the story I was writing. The story is too complex for less than 5000 words, and too much needs to happen and be explained. [...]

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An advance is money paid to the author upon acceptance and contract of the manuscript. Generally half is paid at contract stage, and the other half is paid upon submission of the final manuscript. This money is given to the author against future royalties, so no more money will be paid until profits [...]

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I finally have time at home, time to do whatever I want - surf the internet, write, read, nap - but the heat and humidity is so high (yesterday was 42 degrees celcius in our backyard) that the computer room is the last place I want to be. You see, our house has ducted [...]

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Like most people who celebrate Christmas, I’ve had a busy few weeks leading up to Christmas Day. All those presents to buy, wrap and then fret over. All the food and drink to consider. The taxi service - picking up people and dropping them off. Visiting all sides of two [...]

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This is a new category. I’ll be placing quick writing tips under this heading from now on. These tips will consist of a sentence or two only, which describes, or gives the meaning of, a word or phrase. Some will be common sense, but all are something you’ll need to know [...]

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I seem to be on a roll. The Grammar Slammer Complete Contents website provides help where anything to do with grammar is concerned. Take a look at the list if you don’t believe me. If you have a question about grammar, I’m sure you’ll find the answer on that page.

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This A to Z list at Writer’s Encyclopedia is so extensive I had to put a link to it here. It will keep you quiet for hours as you wade through the terms. I’m sure you’ll learn something from visiting this page.

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Busy times keep me away from here, and most of my other internet interests as well. For now, I just want to wish everyone a…
Merry Christmas and may 2006 be a great year for all of us.

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In August, I told you that I had joined a critique group. It was an exciting time for me because the group was small, and consisted of writers of children’s books. I imagined the feedback to be priceless, and the inspiration gained from this group to keep me on a constant writing high.
This [...]

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