As mentioned last week I've entered two other writing contests, and am waiting for the results.
The first is the "100 Words or Fewer Writing Contest No. 9" with the theme of "Uncommon Character". For this I came up with a story about an Australian Leprechaun. One advantage of this contest is that they give you (for a price) a check mark evaluation and critique. I scored 47 out of 75 on the check mark and the critique was positive overall as they liked my story despite the hole they felt was in my plot. I'm very happy with the feed back and find out if I win or place by 17th of March. I think I have a chance of a honorable mention.
The second is the Stringybark Short Story Award 2011. For this I had to provide a short story (1400 words max) that had something Australian about it. I again went with an Australian Leprechaun story, it's about a young Leprechaun who sets up tourism business in Australian foe holidaying Irish Leprechauns. When I finished this, just a few days before the contest deadline, I realized that i had approached the story all wrong. I think the idea is good, but I wrote it all wrong. I agonized over if I should submit the story. In the end I decided to because this contest also offered feedback. I won't get the feedback until ten days after the winners are announce on the 14th of February. I'm not expecting to win or place in this contest, I'll know next week. I'm just hoping that the feedback will help me develop my writing.
Next I will be about my future writing projects and if I've done any good the the short story contest.
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Monday, 6 February 2012
Speaking to myself
I don't have a lot of people reading this blog, and the few that do never leave any comments. It almost feels like I'm talking to myself.
The interesting thin is that now my blogs are out there, they are out there forever, well kind of. Ten or twenty years from now someone could still be reading this blog. For some reason it might pop up in a search and they'll read this and may ask why?
I don't know.
The interesting thin is that now my blogs are out there, they are out there forever, well kind of. Ten or twenty years from now someone could still be reading this blog. For some reason it might pop up in a search and they'll read this and may ask why?
I don't know.
Friday, 3 February 2012
Evidence?
Some years ago I had a go at debating some atheists on an online forum. I learnt two things.
1. I'm not very good at debating atheists on an online forum.
2. For some atheists, if not many, it's not really about the lack of evidence for God.
In case you don't know, one of the big cries of the atheist cause is that there is know evidence that God exists. One way this stand is justified is by discrediting anything that might be considered evidence, like the Bible. In one of my debates online the opponent claimed that the Gospels could not be relied on because they were not historically accurate, in particular none of the claimed miracles had any external verification so they could not be regarded as history. I asked, "What if everything else in the Gospel that could be shown as accurate by external verification was shown to be accurate?" (or something like that, it was a long time ago). He's answer was that this would make the miracles even more unbelievable. I was stunned. He basically was saying that if the Gospel were bad history the miracles cannot be believe, and if they were good history they still cannot be believed.
So, for this atheist (and I have found many others who are of the same view), miracles, and therefor God, cannot be true, regardless of the evidence.
1. I'm not very good at debating atheists on an online forum.
2. For some atheists, if not many, it's not really about the lack of evidence for God.
In case you don't know, one of the big cries of the atheist cause is that there is know evidence that God exists. One way this stand is justified is by discrediting anything that might be considered evidence, like the Bible. In one of my debates online the opponent claimed that the Gospels could not be relied on because they were not historically accurate, in particular none of the claimed miracles had any external verification so they could not be regarded as history. I asked, "What if everything else in the Gospel that could be shown as accurate by external verification was shown to be accurate?" (or something like that, it was a long time ago). He's answer was that this would make the miracles even more unbelievable. I was stunned. He basically was saying that if the Gospel were bad history the miracles cannot be believe, and if they were good history they still cannot be believed.
So, for this atheist (and I have found many others who are of the same view), miracles, and therefor God, cannot be true, regardless of the evidence.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Rick's Writing Story No. 1
From the time I learnt to read at ten (yes ten years old, that's for another time) I've had a dream to be a writer. It's always been a dream to write science fiction and fantasy, what is now commonly called spec fiction.
I've had a number of false starts over the years, but for some reason I really got the bug about haft way through last year. At the same time as starting to write a story that had been in my head for some years, I discovered a magazine on writing called, "Writers Digest". As well as lots of articles on improving writing, I found they had a short story contests on there web site. The deadline for there spec fiction one was close, so I rushed writing my story, got a few people to proof read it (all family) and got it in by the dead line. I then got really annoyed when they put back the dead line, not once, three times. Anyway if I'd won or placed, I was supposed to get a letter (in the mail!) by the 31st of December 2011. I held out some hope because the contest was in the US, and I thought it might take longer for the letter to get to Australia. A month has passed, so now I'm fairly sure I didn't win. Which is not a real surprise. I reread the story the other day, it's called 'Bounty', and I think its' a good story, but I don't think it's well written. I decided to highlight all the parts that needed more work, there is more story highlighted than not. I also found two spelling mistakes, despite the spell check on my computer and all my proof readers, who all found many mistakes. Anyway, I'm going to give it a rewrite soon, find some new proof readers, and try again. Probably not a contest, more likely a magazine (or ezine) that prints short spec fiction stories.
In the mean time I've got another story I'm working on and two more in other online writing contests, but I'll get to that next week.
I've had a number of false starts over the years, but for some reason I really got the bug about haft way through last year. At the same time as starting to write a story that had been in my head for some years, I discovered a magazine on writing called, "Writers Digest". As well as lots of articles on improving writing, I found they had a short story contests on there web site. The deadline for there spec fiction one was close, so I rushed writing my story, got a few people to proof read it (all family) and got it in by the dead line. I then got really annoyed when they put back the dead line, not once, three times. Anyway if I'd won or placed, I was supposed to get a letter (in the mail!) by the 31st of December 2011. I held out some hope because the contest was in the US, and I thought it might take longer for the letter to get to Australia. A month has passed, so now I'm fairly sure I didn't win. Which is not a real surprise. I reread the story the other day, it's called 'Bounty', and I think its' a good story, but I don't think it's well written. I decided to highlight all the parts that needed more work, there is more story highlighted than not. I also found two spelling mistakes, despite the spell check on my computer and all my proof readers, who all found many mistakes. Anyway, I'm going to give it a rewrite soon, find some new proof readers, and try again. Probably not a contest, more likely a magazine (or ezine) that prints short spec fiction stories.
In the mean time I've got another story I'm working on and two more in other online writing contests, but I'll get to that next week.
Monday, 30 January 2012
Becoming Regular
I've read on one of the blogs I follow that to get more people to read you blog, one of the things you must be is consistently regular in you posts. This is something I'm not. Seeing that his blog has more that 5 million people reading it, I think he might know what he's talking about!
So, I'm going to try and blog three times a week, Mondays (today, only just), Wednesdays and Fridays
On Mondays I'm going to just do random stuff, just what pops into my head.
Wednesdays will be given to a Chronicle of my quest to become a publish writer.
Fridays will be spiritual or theological in some way.
This is the plan, and I'm going to stick to it.
One other thing the successful blogger said was you had to write something worth reading. This could be a problem!
So, I'm going to try and blog three times a week, Mondays (today, only just), Wednesdays and Fridays
On Mondays I'm going to just do random stuff, just what pops into my head.
Wednesdays will be given to a Chronicle of my quest to become a publish writer.
Fridays will be spiritual or theological in some way.
This is the plan, and I'm going to stick to it.
One other thing the successful blogger said was you had to write something worth reading. This could be a problem!
Sunday, 11 December 2011
Chess and the Bible No.2
Well, it's been a very long time since number one, so I guess this is overdue.
While looking for some games on YouTube for coaching, I came across a very interesting game from 1920. (you can find the game here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJe88cgb4BU) In it white offers it's queen by placing it on an unprotected square for the black queen to take. just giving up your queen is not normally a good idea, and if you just play chess by the numbers you would never do such a thing. However, in this case, if black takes the queen, black looses to a forced checkmate. In fact white is able to offer it's queen two more times with the same result, if taken. However, if white makes a fourth offer of it's queen, in a move that fits the pattern of the past three, it's white that looses. Then, a few moves later, white again offers it's queen. this time it's win for white regardless of whether black takes or not. the key to this game is knowing when to do the unusual and when not. It's about looking outside the box, looking for something new.
In Isaiah 43:19 God says, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." In this I see, as in the above chess game, the need to look outside the box. So many of us do church by the numbers, and in doing so we miss the win. We miss the 'new thing' that God has for us that will lead to a spiritual victory in our lives. the other thing is to know when to stop. Just as in the chess game offering the queen one to many times lead to a loss, we can get to caught up in the excitement of the new thing and miss when God is calling us back to the norm, this to can lead to us missing out on God's real blessing.
In both, chess and following God, we need to know the basics. The rules that govern the normal passage of play. Without the basics we fail before we begin. However, having mastered, or as we continue mastering, the basics, we must be aware of when it's time for a 'new thing'.
While looking for some games on YouTube for coaching, I came across a very interesting game from 1920. (you can find the game here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJe88cgb4BU) In it white offers it's queen by placing it on an unprotected square for the black queen to take. just giving up your queen is not normally a good idea, and if you just play chess by the numbers you would never do such a thing. However, in this case, if black takes the queen, black looses to a forced checkmate. In fact white is able to offer it's queen two more times with the same result, if taken. However, if white makes a fourth offer of it's queen, in a move that fits the pattern of the past three, it's white that looses. Then, a few moves later, white again offers it's queen. this time it's win for white regardless of whether black takes or not. the key to this game is knowing when to do the unusual and when not. It's about looking outside the box, looking for something new.
In Isaiah 43:19 God says, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." In this I see, as in the above chess game, the need to look outside the box. So many of us do church by the numbers, and in doing so we miss the win. We miss the 'new thing' that God has for us that will lead to a spiritual victory in our lives. the other thing is to know when to stop. Just as in the chess game offering the queen one to many times lead to a loss, we can get to caught up in the excitement of the new thing and miss when God is calling us back to the norm, this to can lead to us missing out on God's real blessing.
In both, chess and following God, we need to know the basics. The rules that govern the normal passage of play. Without the basics we fail before we begin. However, having mastered, or as we continue mastering, the basics, we must be aware of when it's time for a 'new thing'.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Second story submission
I've now summitted my second story to a contest.
This one is called "100 Word Story Contest" which means the story must be 100 words or less. An interesting challenge.
The biggest challenge, for me, is the time it takes to find out if you've won. The winners for this 100 word comp is announce on the 17th of March next year. I'm wondering if I'll even remember entering it by them. Actually, i'm sure I will.
This one is called "100 Word Story Contest" which means the story must be 100 words or less. An interesting challenge.
The biggest challenge, for me, is the time it takes to find out if you've won. The winners for this 100 word comp is announce on the 17th of March next year. I'm wondering if I'll even remember entering it by them. Actually, i'm sure I will.
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