WINNER OF "THE POLISHED PARAGRAPH" CONTEST ANNOUNCED

Thank you again for a successful writing contest here at The Storyteller’s Scroll. We had great participation and some fantastic paragraphs. The voting has been tallied and the winner of the 1^st Polished Paragraph Contest is:

Cecilia M. -THE REAPER'S NOVICE

Congratulations Cecilia. Please contact me through my website. The link can be found at the upper right hand corner of the blog. Looking forward to critiquing your first chapter. 

Happy Leap Day writers. May you leap to success this year! 

THE "POLISHED" PARAGRAPH CONTEST

Well folks, since this month’s “First Sentence Flash Contest” was such a success, writers have been contacting me to ask for more.

So I’m pleased to announce another writing contest, titled “The Polished Paragraph.”

Agents and editors encourage us to polish our work before submitting.

I’ve attended many writer’s conferences (SCBWI, Highlights Foundation Workshops, Rutgers One on One, Historical Novel Society International Conference and Cliff House Writers Writer’s Retreat) And every agent or editor, that ever there was, has told us they can tell when a manuscript is “NOT” ready to be submitted simply by reading the first paragraph.

Some even extend their sleuthing abilities to your query letter to determine the worthiness of your manuscript.

So with Roxanne Werner’s comments on your “opening line” in the last Storyteller Scroll contest, I hope by now you have revised it.

She also mentioned, “Don't feel the need to force everything plus the kitchen sink into that opening line. Give yourself a paragraph with a novel.”

With that in mind, this new contest will help you “polish” your first paragraph. And I will be assisting you to make your paragraph shine.

This contest is open to MG and YA writers in any genre. (Don’t worry PB writers. Next month it’s your turn J)

My affiliations are SCBWI, YALITCHAT, YA WONDERWRITERS, THE RED PEN MG WRITERS, CLIFF HOUSE WRITERS (MIXED LEVELS) and THE POETS’ GARAGE.

THE “WINNER” WILL RECEIVE A FULL FIRST CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM ME.

1. ****Make sure you are a follower of the Storyteller’s Scroll.
2. ****Submit your first paragraph, title and genre in the comment section.
3. ****Vote for the paragraph you think should receive the full chapter critique. 
4. Ah-Ah-Ah! You can't vote for yourself.

The paragraph with the most votes wins the critique. It’s that easy. Free advice and a full chapter critique for some lucky writer.

Contest starts Wednesday, February 22^nd  at NOON and ends Tuesday, February 28^th  at NOON. Winner announced on the 29^th. Maybe this leap year will bring good luck to one of you. J

The Winners of the First Sentence Flash Contest Announced

Finally, the day has arrived to announce the winners of THE FIRST SENTENCE FLASH CONTEST.

I’d like to thank Roxanne Werner, editor at Stories for Children, for donating her time and expertise and all of you who entered to make this a wildly successful contest.

The first place winner is:

Rogan had never eaten a knight before, but there was a first time for everything. 

Morning Scribbler - PB will receive a full picture book critique from Ms. Werner.

Second place:

 MG fantasy--By the time the final words at the King’s funeral were spoken, I felt nauseated by incense and overwhelmed by the urge to become a trespasser. 

Jess will receive a critique of her first page. 

If the winners will please send me their email addresses I will forward them to Ms. Werner so you may claim your prize. You may contact me through my website. The link is in the upper right hand corner of my blog.

All of you may contact Miss Werner at her website for her professional opinion and critique services at:

http://roxannewerner.com/Services.aspx

Check back for monthly contests and writing tips at The Storyteller’s Scroll.

Happy Writing!!

Last Chance for First Sentence Flash!

Hi folks:

Just posting how thrilled I am that this contest is such a success. Over 29 entries so far with 123 comments and tomorrow at noon the posting window closes.

I also wanted to remind those of you that have entered to reread the rules. You must be a follower to win the free critiques. If you don't see your picture there, you didn't follow the 1st rule of the contest.

So be sure. You don't want to miss out on a free critique from Roxanne. :)

Happy Writing!

Gayle

"First Sentence Contest" at The Storyteller's Scroll

FIRST SENTENCES IN A FLASH!

First sentences must be dynamic from the very first glance.

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” — 1984 – George Orwell

See what I mean…

As writer’s we often struggle with our opening lines. The story might be fantastic, but if we don’t get the reader hooked in the beginning they’ll never get to our wonderful story.

You want a reader to get that unmistakable “WOW!” feeling at the start. Something ticks in their brain that tells them they absolutely MUST read your story, be it picture book or novel!

So to help polish all those first lines we have a new contest this month:

FIRST SENTENCES IN A FLASH!

Have the first sentence of your manuscript critiqued by an award winning children's author and fiction editor from Stories for Children.

Roxanne Werner has graciously offered her expert eye at evaluating the strength of your opening line. Be it picture book or novel, she will give you a star rating.

4 stars = excellent

3 stars = very strong

2 stars = average interest

1 star = needs to be rewritten

All participants will receive a rating and the top two will win a further critique from Ms. Werner.

First place – the first novel chapter or the whole picture book

Second place – the first page.

Contest runs for 1 week, starting today. February 1^st to February  7^th.

1. You must be a follower of The Storyteller Scroll to enter.

2. Type your first sentence in the comment section below and indicate the work’s genre.

3. Miss Werner will comment on every opening line.

Next Wednesday, February 8^th, The Storyteller Scroll will announce winners

You may contact Miss Werner at her website for her professional opinion to finish critiquing your work or for further information at:

http://roxannewerner.com/Services.aspx