Another young writer to inspire you

Can you imagine being awarded the “best writer in the state”?

Well, this 7th grader received that honor. Kayla Staten wrote a poem  about Maya Angelou:    (You can read the whole story here.)

Maya Angelou

My, my Maya,

You sure have come a long way

From being the insecure little girl

You were back in the day.

A spirit so pretty

Like a cover on a magazine,

She’s altogether

A fluent poetry writing machine.

Bright as a flame

Her wisdom shines.

Courage in her words

You’re sure to find.

Millions of awards won-

Poetry is just her thing;

No iron fist could ever keep her quiet;

This caged bird was born to sing.

Cocoa colored skin-

She wished it was lighter.

Little did she know

It made her a fighter.

Boom! Her words explode

Off the page

Inspiring generations

No matter the age.

Though her childhood was hard

And tough at times,

She learned to cope with it

Throughout her poetry lines.

“Ain’t I a woman?”

That’s what she asked.

She refused to hide

Behind a mask.

When she writes,

The pen sings a song

And causes the paper

To sing along.

She stands for realism and strength;

She has paid her dues.

She reminds us all that

All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes.

She loved to write but also dance.

And she did it well

Whenever she got a chance.

Maya is loved by everyone-

By no one disliked,

And through her stories

She has no problem sharing her plight.

Since she’s basically lived

On her own,

She’s taught herself

Well and grown.

When you glance her way

You see a pretty poetic dame-

Author of the book

Gather Together in My Name.

From the back woods to Hollywood

This poet has come

To bring hope to many

And happiness to some.

By:

Kayla Staten

Market Monday

Another Market for young writers {courtesy of Hartford Courant, Courant.com} Connecticut Young Writers Competition Seeking Entries in Prose and Poetry

School Stuff

Submitted by Bernard Kavaler on 2009-10-23.

Teenage writers of prose and poetry from across Connecticut are being encouraged to submit original entries to an annual literary competition which awards winning entrants with cash prizes and the possibility of having their work published in the literary journal CT Review.

The literary awards competition, for youngsters ages 13 to 18, is a project of the Connecticut State University System and the Connecticut Young Writers Trust. The awards competition is specifically designed to encourage young writers and poets throughout Connecticut.

During this academic year, two young writers from each of Connecticut’s eight counties will win cash awards for either prose or poetry. Entries must be nominated by a teacher in a public or private school, and postmarked on or before February 1, 2010. Home school entries are also accepted.

Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, will receive the initial entries and host county award ceremonies in April 2010.

Last year, more than 580 entries were received the third-largest number in the competition’s history.

From the select group of county winners, a distinguished panel of judges will select the state’s top poet and writer to be announced at a special awards ceremony next spring. (Last year, the ceremony was held at the Mark Twain House & Museum.) The two winners will each earn an opportunity to be published in CT Review, the literary journal of the Connecticut State University System.

For more information, including entry forms, visit www.ct.edu/ctyoungwriters.

Market Monday!

Time for another market Monday. This one is a contest with a word count and date deadline – and restricted to FL residents:

Enter the Times-Union’s annual holiday short story contest

It’s the 30th anniversary of the T-U’s annual writing competition.

Dust off your writing skills: The deadline is approaching for the Times-Union’s 30th annual Holiday Short Story Contest.

Two years ago, we started the story and you had to finish it. Last year, we gave a list of a dozen words that had to be included in your stories.

This time around, we’re leaving it a little more open. Your story can be happy, sad, uplifting, depressing or just plain weird, as long as you can do it in 1,000 words or less.

But there is one restriction: Since this is the 30th anniversary of the contest, all stories this year must be set either 30 years in the past or 30 years in the future.

There are separate contests for students and adults. For the young writers’ competition, each elementary, middle school and high school in the Northeast Florida/Southeast Georgia Times-Union readership area may select one story per grade level to enter in the competition. Schools that send in more than one story per grade level will be disqualified. Homeschooled students are eligible. Judges will select three “best-in-show” stories to be printed in the T-U. The top student author will receive $100. Runners-up will each receive $50.

Adult writers should submit entries directly to the T-U. Winners will receive the following: first place, $300; second place, $200; and third place, $100.

Stories in adult and young writers categories should be no longer than 1,000 words, and should be typed. Work must be original, and it must be fiction, not a memoir, recollection or personal essay.

Each manuscript should include the writer’s name, address and telephone number. Student entries should identify the school, the student’s grade, age and teacher’s name.

Deadline is 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20.

To submit manuscripts, go to jacksonville.com/holidayshortstories, where you can copy and paste your story into the online form. All stories submitted online will be posted on jacksonville.com. Stories can also be mailed to Holiday Short Story Contest, The Florida Times-Union, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Please submit online or by mail, but not both.

Inspiration from other Young Writers

Are you a young writer who wishes to be published? Maybe even win a writing contest?

So many young writers don’t think there’s a place for them. But that’s not true. Do your research! Opportunites are out there!

Check out this young writer and read her inspiring interview. This could be YOU!

What inspires you to write and submit your work?

Markets for Monday!

It’s Monday, so how about some writing markets to pursue?

Guidelines for Young Authors

A Fly in Amber invites submissions by young authors and artists under the age of 18. Make sure you have parental permission to submit works to our website — we will need to work with them as well as you in the event your piece is accepted. Please indicate that you are a young author by checking the appropriate box on the submission form.

Response Time, Rights Selling and Payment Rates

• A Fly in Amber buys First Exclusive Electronic Rights to all works we accept for a period of six months. After that, any and all rights revert to the author. We ask, though we do not require, that you allow us to maintain a copy of your piece in our archives. However, you may request that we remove your work from our site at any time after our initial six month period expires.
• We pay a flat rate of $10 per piece. Artwork pays $20 per piece. Works selected as our features receive an additional $10 “prize payment.” Payment method, as well as any additional per-submission considerations, will be negotiated at the time of acceptance.
• Make sure to provide current contact information with your submission, as this is our only means of getting in touch with you should we accept your piece for publication.
• We strive to give every submission a response within 60 days of receipt. If it’s been more than 60 days since you submitted your piece and you have not heard back from us, please send us a query at aflyinamber@gmail.com. In all probability, the absence of a response indicates that something went wrong with our response email — perhaps we filed the wrong address or otherwise could not deliver to the address you provided.

Bookworm Magazine publishes the stories, poems, essays and artwork of kids ages six through fifteen.  It is edited by Sophie McKibben, who founded the magazine in 2004 when she was in sixth grade and noticed that there weren’t a lot of places for kids to get their work into print.

Bookworm comes out four times a year and has featured the writing and art of kids from all over the United States and, so far, five foreign countries.

Bookworm is always on the lookout for writers and artists.  You can submit your work electronically to bookworm.mag@gmail.com. You can also send submissions by mail using the address on our Be a Contributor page.

Young Writers Scholarship

The 2nd Annual Lisa Rector Young Writers Scholarship

 Postmark Deadline: July 30, 2009.

1st place, SIWC Full Scholarship, 2009.
2nd place, critique by a Literary Agent
3rd place, critique by an Editor or Writer

The winner will be invited to attend the Surrey International Writers’ Conference October 23-25, 2009 in Surrey, Canada. 3-day conference pass includes entry to an awards banquet announcing the winner and a consult with a participating agent or editor attending this year’s conference. Scholarship does not include meals, travel or accommodation.

Students between the ages of 12-18, currently enrolled in a junior high, senior high or college program, are eligible to enter. Contest is open to Canadian, US and Worldwide residents 

Postmark Deadline: July 30, 2009.

Thumbs-up Thursday!

Last week, I took my 5-year-old to his end of year preschool picnic. His teacher said they had nicknames for the days of the week and Thursday was, you guessed it! “Thumbs-up Thursday”

So, not that you all are preschoolers, cause you’d be exceptional if you could log online and read my blog, but I thought we could give “thumbs up” to our favorite books and writing resources.

Warning: your participation is needed here!

My fav’s? Whew, the list would go on forever, but here are some of my favorite writing books and websites for writers:

Writing books:

Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott: Want to know the true life and struggles of a writer? Ms. Lamott tells it like is, but adds a dose of humor throughout the tips she gives to keep your writing spirits high. (warning: mature language and content)

A Writer’s Book of Days,  Judy Reeves : My copy is dog-eared from so much use. Chock full of writing prompts, tips and quotes from authors who are household names.

A Young Writer’s Guide to Getting Published,  Kathy Henderson : I used this book as a resource in my latest class, Publish Me!Filled with writing ideas, how-to’s on searching for markets and formatting your manuscripts, for every writer, for every genre. Tons of books referenced here.

Favorite writing sites/blogs:

This one, of course!

Capitol City Young Writers http://www.capitolcityyoungwriters.com/

(Meet authors, editors, literary agents in person! Apply to be an editor or writer for the Young Writers’ Literary Journal; plus mentorship opportunities and Quarterly Newsletter – fee to be a member)

NaNo’s Young Writers Program http://ywp.nanowrimo.org

(tips, tools and chat rooms are a buzzin’ during National Novel Writing month in November, but active throughout the year as well)

 Smart Writers http://www.smartwriters.com/content/blogcategory/87/57/

(lists of contests and tons of links to other young writers’sites)

 WritingKid  http://www.fundsforwriters.com/writingkid.htm 

(Free newsletter for elementary thru college writers with great contests!)

Share your favorites with us!

Do you want to write a Book?

Stop on over at Writers Inspired today and read the advice from author, Danette Haworth (Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightening) and especially what she says to young authors !

And she’s looking forward to talking to you! Be sure to leave a comment or question and Danette will reply to you! (Comments can be posted on Writers Inspired, at the end of the interview.)

Achieve Excellence TODAY!

“If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.”

Thomas J. Watson ~ 1874-1956, Founder of IBM

OK, time for an honesty check. Do you ever turn in or submit lazy work? Meaning, you know you could do better, but it’s too hard or you’re not quite sure what needs to be fixed in your writing. So, you chalk it up to “it’s the best I can do.” But is it?

Writing is a competitive sport. I say “sport,” because like baseball, hockey, soccer, etc., writing takes practice, repetition and training. You’ve heard that some authors are “born writers.” But what you don’t hear is that even the best of our league needs to practice, refine and revise. Even the famous names you see on the NY Times Best Seller’s lists have been rejected at one point in their writing careers. And you will be too. It’s part of the game.

But, if you push yourself, join a writers’ group to get feedback on your work, take writing classes, read books on the craft* and WRITE EVERYDAY you will achieve excellence and that coveted byline (aka publication).

I speak from experience, my young writers. Wanna know how I handle rejection? Read about it here.

What do you do to strive for excellence? Have you experienced rejection in your writing? Share your story with us!

*for a list of excellent writing books, check out the side bar “Writer’s Toolbox” on my Writers Inspired blog!

 

 

That’s a wrap!

Celebrate the final day of April and Poetry month with Poem in your Pocket Day! Check out the month long entries of poems or print one to carry in your pocket today and any day!

My 10-yr-old needs to memorize and recite a poem in class tomorrow. In helping him search, I stumbled upon this fun poetry site from a poet living in the UK.  Check it out:

http://www.funny-poems.co.uk/kids/

Patrick Winstanley has lots of cool links to other funny and gross poetry sites. Some even accept poems from young writers like you!