Swimming the shortlist

You may have noticed I've had a break from the A-Z Blogging Challenge.  I'm still on that break, that's why this blog doesn't start with whatever letter of the alphabet the blogging challenge is at.

If it was an 'S' letter day I'd be well ahead of everyone else and sitting here all smug and pleased with myself. This is because a) the sun shone today so I went to the pool and swam and b) I'm in the final stage of contacting those not on the shortlist for the START competition that Dan Purdue is judging.  You can read Dan's words about the judging process at http://lies-ink.blogspot.co.uk/

For those of you not on the shortlist, I am pleased to say I've organised a free-entry December Draw.  Details of this are in the email you will receive either today or tomorrow.

More soon.

I is for I

I have decided I won't be posting in the A-Z Blogging Challenge anymore.

It's a fab idea, but I prefer to post once a week only.

Thanks to everyone who is following me, has commented and please keep visiting as I will be posting soon with some tips about entering competitions and other useful/interesting information. Hopefully I will also have learned how to post to my blog to offer some pictures too.

Cheery bye for now.

G is for Growth

Growth

Hello. 

As you can see, my blogs are still following the A-Z Blogging Challenge for the time being.
This is while I find my feet in the blogging community with my first blog site.

I've decided today to grace you all with my thoughts about growth.  No, don't worry. We'll not be taking an in-depth look at the blistering, itchy, pus seeping, lump on end of my nose but if you want me to discuss how much taller than myself my children have become then like any other proud parent I could go on and on and on.

Yesterday I packed my sandwiches and a drink and took myself on a trip down to the end of my garden.  It was there I rediscovered the allotment. It's not really a grand thing, just a few boxes made out of other stuff that had been left over from something else.  It was our veggie patch, is our veggie patch I should say, and once I master how to post a photo to this blog, I'll keep you posted of our progress in this area.

Our progress means myself and my youngest son who enjoys gardening.

Btw, if you're looking to grow in your expertise of writing flash fiction and short stories, why not pop over to the writing competition website http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/
and choose one to enter.  We're currently accepting entries for these competitions:

http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2013-burst-flash-fiction-competition.html


http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2013-open-short-story-competition---maria-smith.html


http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2013-full-stop-short-story-competition---helen-baggott.html


Do you like gardening?

Goodbye and see you tomorrow.

F is for Fun

Earlier today I began thinking about which 'f' word I wanted to choose.

Fabulous, I thought, and I was fuelled into a furiously frisky frenzy. So many flipping fantastic words flying around inside my noddle.

After frittering away fifty minutes frequenting my dictionary, I became frightened this activity would simply leave me a fraught, frustrated and fruitless figure.  I felt I had come to a full stop and considered fetching my friend, Helen Baggott, who is the judge for the free-entry Full Stop competition
http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2013-full-stop-short-story-competition---helen-baggott.html

Then I remembered it was Friday.  Helen would be at the fish and chip shop where she chats up the fella with the frier in his fingers.

It was then I realised fear was holding me back from making a decision.

I chose freedom by forcing myself to face up to it. 

I'd had fun in making a selection but once the final countdown had begun, that was it.

Finito.


What would you usually be doing on a Friday if you weren't busy with the A-Z challenge?

E is for Entry

Entry

Despite the bitter cold I noted the sun shone during this evening and it struck me what a wonderful event evenings are when they stay brighter for longer.

That led me to idle for a while and I stared out to the lawn as the light began to fade. A blackbird and a robin made the last call to eat from the bird table in my garden before flitting off to their nests.

To maintain the strict rules of entry to my garden I’ve erected signs in strategic points around my garden. Signs stating ‘NO ENTRY CATS’ and ‘CATS KEEP OUT’ convince me the neighbourhood cat patrol is being kept at several paws length from my feathered friends, as I rarely see any cats. It’s not that I don’t like cats. It’s simply a fact birds have always ruled the roost in my garden.

The competitions I organise also have Rules of Entry. You can find them if you follow these links:

BURST http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2013-burst-flash-fiction-competition.html

OPEN http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2013-open-short-story-competition---maria-smith.html

FULL STOP http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2013-full-stop-short-story-competition---helen-baggott.html

Good evening to you.

Debbie

A-Z Blogging Challenge (posted at 01.25 am on Monday 4th April)

I've decided to join in with the A-Z Blogging Challenge.  Here is my first post for letter A.

Accessible to All - one aim of the competitions I organise is to make them accessible to all, as far as is possible to do.  This means the competitions are usually open to entrants inside and outside the UK, and to all ages.  There will be times when this is not suitable or appropriate but generally that is the aim.

The fees to the competitions will be kept as reasonable as possible in relation to the prize, and in some cases will be free-entry. This is with a view to keep the competitions accessible to all.

Have you ever experienced a barrier when entering competitions?