#WEP 2021 Continues the Artistic Inspiration-Freedom Morning! Sign up on this Post April 21

 

The link above opens for participation on April 21st!

Welcome to the 2nd Challenge of 2021!

Laura is your host for this month. All of us at WEP are hoping to see the usual robust challenge overflowing with creativity and inspiration. The world is still reeling from the events of the past year, but we hope all of you are finding joy in your lives despite the ever-present Covid-19 which just won't let go!

As only Direct Links are now posted, you don't have to add DL after your name. 

As always, the April challenge is taking place in the midst of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge. We know this challenge is important to many of you, (just ask our own J Lenni Dorner!) and we want to encourage your participation! If you are taking part in that challenge, feel free to use the letter of the day, as well as whatever A-Z theme you've chosen, to inspire your WEP entry! On the 21st, the A-Z letter is R. On the 22nd, it's S. Then, on the 23rd, it's T. There's lots of room for creativity, and we know many of you will wow us with your stories which can do double duty!

Once again, we're going with WEP lite. That means:

There will be no...

• Comment counting. We rely on your goodwill to read as many entries as you can, remembering how it sucks if only 2 people read yours. Don't let this happen! We applaud you for reading as many posts as you were able.
• Blurbs. Blurbs are a lot of work. We'll hold off on them again until further notice. 
• Constant post monitoring. We'll still try to check the website and C-Box daily, but for urgent queries, email Denise at den.covey@gmail.com OR Laura at laura.gene.walker@gmail.com. That way we have the time zones covered.

There will continue to be...

• Shortlist and judging
• Winners' post announcement
• Winner's Guest post
• Mail Chimp emails to alert you to posts - please check your spam folder as our emails contain links - some email providers are over zealous and send them straight to spam! 
  

Prizes

WEP is continuing with the popular Critique Prize for the winner along with the regular Guest Post. Each challenge a different editor/author will offer their unique prize. Check out the sidebar for our 2021 offerings. Have some work ready! 

The April Prize is a 10,000k word critique from Christine Rains!

Her new release, Curse of the Hunted, will be available April 12th!

Author bio: Christine Rains is a writer, gamer, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood but make her a great Jeopardy player. You’ll find her either snuggled up with a book

or rolling dice with her friends in their latest Dungeons & Dragons campaign. She’s a proud member of S.C.I.F.I. and Untethered Realms. 

Social media: You can find Christine on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Amazon.

You've got to be in it to win it!

THE APRIL CHALLENGE

Freedom Morning is a watercolour by Claude Clark, the African American artist and art educator, painted in 1941.

“As a child in the churches, the schools and the community, I dreamed of a destiny. My search became a single purpose for the dignity of Black Americans.”

Claude Clark was born in Georgia in 1915. His art characterises the African American diaspora experience. He faced prejudice, poverty and racism but did not allow these to deter him. He mixed his own paints from the trashed tubes in art schools. When he could not afford the expensive brushes and cleaning agents, he developed his unique technique with the palette knife. Read more about his remarkable life here.

The interpretation of art (and prompts!) is in the eye of the beholder and this artwork is rich with possibilities.

Will you let Freedom Morning spark a flash of hope for a systematically suppressed character?

Will someone break free - of chains, of the past, of a closed mindset - after years of living with them?

Or maybe someone will watch a brand new sunrise and come to a decision to start life afresh? Rise to a challenge?  :)  Overcome a hardship?

Take the artwork as a whole or in part and seed that into imagination. Your canvas is unlimited.

We'd love if you'd Tweet Tweet Tweet some/all of these:

WEP writing prompt Freedom Morning @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/wep-2021-continues-artistic-inspiration.html  Sign up April 21-23rd! #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry #nonfiction #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry

Get-your-thinking-caps-on for Freedom Morning @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/wep-2021-continues-artistic-inspiration.html Sign up April 21-23rd! #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Join WEP @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim  for the next Challenge of 2021, April’s Freedom Morning. Sign up and Post April 21-23rd! https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/wep-2021-continues-artistic-inspiration.html  #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Write with @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim  for the April challenge Freedom Morning! Sign up and post on April 21-23rd! https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/wep-2021-continues-artistic-inspiration.html  #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

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We are looking forward to seeing where this month's prompt takes you!

Your host for Freedom Morning

Laura, for the WEP team.

#WEP #Winners #GuestPost - Jemi Fraser on being a newbie author!

Hello everyone! Denise here! The winner of each WEP challenge gets to do a guest post, and today we have Jemi Fraser, whose flash fiction, Sin and Sunshine blew us away. As Nick Wilford, our judge said: "Beautiful, romantic, devastating. The ending hits hard."

Today Jemi is going to post about being a newbie author. I'm sure we'll all find something helpful and encouraging within Jemi's words of what she's learned in her short time of self-publishing. I'm currently reading an ARC of her latest, Reaching for Roots in her Bloo Moose series and can attest to her writing skills!

 So, take it away, Jemi!

Thanks so much to Denise, Renée, Olga, Laura, & Nila for allowing me to take over the blog for the day!

 I think of myself as a newbie author.

 A couple of years ago, my first published story Until Release, was published in a DLP anthology Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime.

 In a few weeks, it will be a full year since I published my memoir/self-help Dancing With Dementia. I wonder if then I’ll think of myself as an author without the newbie label.

In July of 2020, I published the first 3 books in my Bloo Moose romantic suspense series. Will I feel like a fully-fledged author when that anniversary rolls around?

I’m currently working on the 8th Bloo Moose book and the first book in the next series. Will publishing that new series be the time?

 I’m not sure.

 This is an industry with a long and bouncy learning curve. Learning one thing leads to more questions and more learning and I don't know if I'll ever lose the newbie feel.

 I started writing about a decade ago when I didn't know agents did anything other than represent famous actors. When I'd never heard the term query letter or first draft or even show not tell.

I've learned a LOT both about writing and the publishing world over the years. I stockpiled stories and ideas until I knew enough to write them properly. I've got multiple stories that will never see the light of day and others that are waiting for a rewrite and so many Shiny New Ideas. But I still feel like a newbie.

 I thought pressing Publish would be the moment.

I thought the first 5 star review would be it.

Or the first 5 star from a complete stranger.

Holding my paperbacks in my hands.

The first contact on social media from someone who loves my books.

The first email where a woman called me a favourite author. (eek!)

Hitting 100 reviews on my freebie series starter.

 Those are AMAZING moments.

Yet, I still feel like a newbie.

 There is so much to learn. Not only about the craft and publishing, but about marketing and promotion (definitely a newbie there!).

 There will always be a lot to learn.

Thankfully, that learning is also part of the fun!

 How about you? Anyone else feel like a newbie? Anyone else looking up the steep hill of the next learning curve?

 Jemi Fraser writes romantic suspense filled with hope, heart, and humour. Her stories combine her love of mystery with the satisfaction of a Happy Ever After.

 For a peek at the Bloo Moose small-town romance series, sign up for her newsletter for a free short story or check out Reaching For Normal (free at all retailers). For more info, check out jemifraser.com

 Armed with a mug of tea and freshly-baked cookies, Jemi is living out her own HEA in beautiful Northern Ontario.

 Book & Social Media Links 

~*~

Thanks Jemi! Very shortly Laura will be with you to kick start our April challenge! Please join us! You could be guest posting for us in May!

Winner's of #WEP THE KISS Challenge 2021

Hello everyone! Thank you for participating in the WEP 2021 February challenge THE KISS. The response to the first artistic prompt didn't disappoint. The entries were varied and brilliant! You can imagine trying to choose three winners out of all that brilliance.

Since we're still keeping things lite, there will be no blurbs again this month. But if you still haven't read the entries, just follow this Link to THE KISS!

SHORT LIST

It's never easy to decide on a shortlist, and this challenge was no exception. After much debate, including some writers not shown here, the final shortlist was sent to our judge, Nick Wilford. We've added a link for you to check them out if you didn't get to read them.

C Lee McKenzie https://www.cleemckenziebooks.com/wep-kicks-off-2021-with-a-kiss/

Jemi https://jemifraser.blogspot.com/2021/02/wep-kiss.html

Dixie https://writingwithdixie.wordpress.com/2021/02/16/the-kiss-wep-992-words-fca-by-dixie-jarchow/

Steph Wolmarans https://www.teasighcreate.com/2021/02/the-kiss-wep-february-2021-challenge.html

Kalpana https://kalpanawrites.com/blue-and-gold/

Anstice https://curiousdaydreams.com/2021/02/17/golden-summer-inspired-by-the-kiss-wepff-flashfiction/

Carole https://www.freedomandhope.de/baby-it-s-cold-outside-wep-february-2021-challenge

Jemima http://jemimapett.com/blog/2021/02/17/wepiwsg-artful-flash-fiction-february-the-kiss/

Rebecca https://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2021/02/wep-kiss.html

~*~

COMMENTING
We would like to thank all of you who commented on all/most of the entries. Such a crucial part of making WEP work. Though we didn't count them this time around again, we still notice and appreciate your thoughtful responses to each entry.

CRITIQUE PRIZE
As you all know, the winner of each challenge receives a critique prize along with the opportunity to Guest Post here at WEP. You can check out the generous contributors in our sidebar. This month, Yolanda Renée, yours truly, is offering to give: 

- feedback, or a content edit on your short story, flash fiction, 

or 

-she’ll beta read your latest WIP and give a written critique.

NOW, LET'S CONGRATULATE OUR WINNERS

THE WINNER OF FEBRUARY[S 2021 CHALLENGE

THE KISS IS:

Congratulations, Jemi, for your entry, Sin and Sunshine. 

(It is so nice when an entry has a title, not just the name of the challenge.)

Nick wrote: "Beautiful, romantic, devastating. The ending hits hard."

Jemi, please link the badge to your flash and post it on your blog. You've also won this month's fabulous critique prize! If you can't avail yourself of the prize, please email Yolanda so we can offer it to the next on the list.

~*~

THE RUNNER-UP OF FEBRUARY'S 2021 CHALLENGE

THE KISS IS:

Congratulations,  Rebecca, for your unique story.

Nick wrote: "I never saw this one coming. Great fun and seeing things from the slug's perspective was unique." 

Rebecca, please link the badge to your story, The Kiss, and post it on your blog.

~*~

THE ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD WINNER FOR FEBRUARY'S 2021 CHALLENGE, THE KISS IS:

Congratulations, Anstice, for your story, Golden Summer.

Nick wrote:  "Very nicely done with great imagery. It seemed like the painting had come to life."

Anstice, please link the badge to your story,  and post it on your blog.

~*~

Because we struggled to choose winners from such amazing entries, many of you missed out which is unfortunate. A new WEPper, Steph Wolmarans, stunned us with her entry for The Kiss. We unanimously agreed to award her with a special prize which we do when we're moved to. So, Steph, Olga created this badge expressly for you.

Steph, thanks for joining us in February. Please link the badge to your entry.

Stay safe and well everyone, here's to a super creative Spring and our preparations for the next WEP Challenge in April...FREEDOM MORNING! If you didn't win this challenge, there's always this one!

~*~

We'd love for you to tweet this post or share it to Facebook or your favorite social media site.

Read excellent entries from our WEP FEBRUARY 2021 winners @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @LGKeltner @OlgaGodim https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/winners-of-kiss-challenge-2021.html  #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners

#WEPFF THE KISS winners announced @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @LGKeltner @OlgaGodimhttps://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/winners-of-kiss-challenge-2021.html #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners 

Come congratulate our February winners. #WEPFF THE KISS Challenge @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @OlgaGodim @LGKeltner #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/winners-of-kiss-challenge-2021.html

The #WEPFF writers had some fantastic entries! WEP winners announced! @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @OlgaGodim @LGKeltner #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/winners-of-kiss-challenge-2021.html

#WEPFF THE KISS @DeniseCCovey @yolndarenee @OlgaGodim @LGKeltner #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/winners-of-kiss-challenge-2021.html

Thank you for the writing excellence, WEP Winners! @LGKeltner @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @OlgaGodim #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/03/winners-of-kiss-challenge-2021.html

Here we go again. #WEP 2021 begins with the first of our arty prompts - The Kiss! Get on board! Sign up on this post on February 17.

The link above opens for participation on February 17

Welcome everyone to WEP 2021! 

Renée and Denise are your hosts this month. We're relieved to see the end of 2020 and we're sure you are too. Here's hoping this new year will treat us kindly.

WEP is an enormous amount of work, so in the interests of the team's health and other commitments,  we're making the 1st of the month post do some heavy lifting. There will be no post on the due date. Instead, the InLinkz is embedded at the beginning of this post and will go live on the due date. 

WEP lite

We are continuing with WEP lite. This means that:

WEP is stripped of everything but the absolute essentials.

There will be no...

• Comment counting. We rely on your goodwill to read as many entries as you can, remembering how it sucks if only 2 people read yours. Don't let this happen! We applaud you for reading as many posts as you were able.
• Blurbs. Blurbs are a lot of work. We'll hold off on them again until further notice. 
• Constant post monitoring. We'll still try to check the website and C-Box as much as possible, but if you have a very urgent query, email Denise at den.covey@gmail.com or Renee at yolandarenee@hotmail.com.

There will continue to be...

• Shortlist and judging
• Winners' post announcement
• Winner's Guest post
• Mail Chimp emails (most of the time) - please check your spam folder as our emails contain links - some email providers are over zealous and send them straight to spam! 

  
  While we're talking about reading each other's entries, how about following WEP members on their blog/twitter/FB if you haven't already?

  PRIZES

  WEP is continuing with the popular Critique Prize for the winner along with the regular Guest Post. Each challenge a different editor/author will offer their unique prize. Check out the sidebar for our 2021 offereings. Have some work ready! 

   If you had a successful exchange of work with an editor/author in 2020, please email Denise on den.covey@gmail.com and tell her about it.

  
  

   MEMBER SHOUT OUT THROUGH IWSG, FACEBOOK AND WEP

  Our partners at the IWSG regularly promote WEP challenges on Facebook, so if you see them, please 'like' or leave a comment. Also, the IWSG offers us an opportunity to post our entry to a list after the challenge. So there's two opportunities to promote!

• Tell WEP about your success and struggles in the writing world. Have you published a new book? A story included in an anthology? Found an awesome editor/cover artist? Found a sure fire way to beat rejection/depression/self doubt? Drop us a few lines, along with an image and link if applicable. Email den.covey@gmail.com with the subject line: "WEP Promo".

 The February Prize is a beta read with critique or plotting advice from  

Yolanda Renée

To place her credentials before you,  Renée has (5) published novels, all part of a suspenseful/romance series set in Alaska. And she's had two short stories placed in the IWSG Anthologies. 

Renée adores writing flash fiction. Horror, romance, and mystery are favorite genres, but she loves her poetry too. Her specialty is plotting, so tell her what you need and she's there.  

You've got to be in it to win it!

THE FEBRUARY CHALLENGE

What could be more appropriate for Valentine month than Gustav Klimt’s  The Kiss?

This shimmery, early 20^th century painting of a couple embracing in a patch of wildflowers has riveted art afficionados  across the world for decades.

Use this amazing painting to kick off  a romantic love story of star crossed lovers. Or maybe a much married pair who’ve been together for years. Of unrequited or lost love. Or any love of the other gazillion types.

For unValentinish souls, remember that there are kisses other than romantic ones.  The kiss of life, the kiss of death, the kiss of betrayal, the angels’ kiss in spring. The mystical thousand ways of kneeling and kissing the ground.

One golden artwork, a zillion directions to go. Pick yours and run with it. We’re cheering for you. And can't wait to see what you come up with!

READ MORE IN CHALLENGES 2021

We'd love if you'd Tweet Tweet Tweet some/all of these:

WEP writing prompt The Kiss @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/02/here-we-go-again-wep-2021-begins-with.html  Sign up February 17-19th! #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry #nonfiction

Get-your-thinking-caps-on for The Kiss @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/02/here-we-go-again-wep-2021-begins-with.html Sign up February 17-19th! #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Join WEP @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim  for the first Challenge of 2021, February's The Kiss. Sign up and Post February 17-19th! https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/02/here-we-go-again-wep-2021-begins-with.html  #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Step into the New Year by joining @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim  for the first challenge! The Kiss! Sign up and post on February 17-19th! https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/02/here-we-go-again-wep-2021-begins-with.html  #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

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Welcome, everyone to what we hope is a

 most creative year!

Your hosts for The Kiss 

Denise & Renée.

#WEP signs off for 2020! See you in the New Year!

 Hello friends!

This is just a quick post to thank those of you who posted for UNMASKED. So glad you did. The quality was exceptional, as always. Even though there were no prizes, we hope you enjoyed writing and reading for the unstructured December challenge.

So, a big thank you all for writing for us in 2020!

A big thank you for your reading of entries!

A big thank you for your ongoing support during the trials and tribulations of 2020!

Even if you've never won a prize for your writing at WEP, press on. Improve. Polish. Format. Proofread. It's good practice for submitting to agents and editors out there who love a flawless piece of writing, that has a hooky story!

If you want to read UNMASKED entries, here are the links:

Toi Thomas – It's Been So Long

Hilary Melton-Butcher's – The Cake

The Ornery Owl – Unmasked Undead

Nilanjana Bose – Masks

Jemima Pett – Unmasked

Bernadette Braganza – Unmaking the Criminal

Rebecca M Douglass – Masked

Donna Hanton – Unmasked

Roland Clarke – Unmasked - Seascapes

Sanhita Mukherjee – Mary Huxley and the Truth

Susan Rouchard - Redemption

Denise Covey – Pierrot, the Fool. (Unmasked in Venice)

Olga Godim – Unmasked

Yolanda Renee – Unmasked on New Year's Eve

Badge by Olga Godim

We're so looking forward to our first of the arty prompts in February 2021! How about you? Can't wait to see what you do with THE KISS!