Monday 20 January 2020

#DECEMBER WINNERS POST-Sonia Gives Us Tips to Avoid Procrastination

Laura here once again!

The December prompt saw a lot of wonderful entries! Choosing a winner was no easy task, but Sonia prevailed with a beautiful and heart-wrenching tale.

Judge Nick Wilford said:

"A beautiful evocation of loss. This was really touching."



If you haven't yet read the previous post listing our winners, please do so.

Now it is our pleasure to host a guest post from our winner Sonia. In addition to this guest post, she also won a critique from J.L. Campbell and a guest post in the IWSG newsletter.

Have you as a writer ever struggled with procrastination? Sonia has some useful tips to help you avoid it and get words on the page.


The Art of Not Procrastinating

Finally, I am at my desk doing the WEP Post. It’s taken me some time with the New Year and all the travelling. But more than that, I think procrastinating has been my biggest enemy when it comes to writing. The temptation to write on another day, when the sun is out and the bees make enough honey or when God himself decides to send the right signal, is so strong that today just doesn’t seem enough! So, I decided to talk about the art of “not procrastinating” when it comes to writing.

The famous Indian saint and mystic poet, Kabir Das says in his oft-quoted couplet,

‘ काल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब
पल में परलय होएगी बहुरि करेगा कब !’

Simply translated, what you intend to do tomorrow, do it today and what you intend doing today, do it right away because the world might end in the blink of an eye leaving you with no time at all!

On the flip side, I am also someone who believes in writing ONLY when my heart calls and when words flow ceaselessly. Yet, sometimes, this belief can turn out to be the most incredible impediment.

The ‘Art of Not Procrastinating’, I think, can help writers a great deal. Here are a few pointers I made for myself and which might help my writer friends:

Have a personal almanac   Assign yourself a task for every single date on the calendar. The same piece may spill over to another date but just be clear about what you want to write about on a particular day.

Smaller Goals   Just ensure to spend fifteen minutes writing. Do not think that you shall sit at the table only when you have enough. Fifteen minutes should help you start.

Perfection is a Myth   We often postpone work because we want to do it near perfect. On the contrary, remember that action is far more important than perfection, which is subjective and only a state of mind.

One Goal at a Time   Do not think of achieving too many targets together. If you are looking at writing a book, it is better to focus on it than fill your time with several small pieces to attain temporary gratification.

If you must write gibberish, so be it   Stop waiting for the muse to come to you, for the perfect word to hit your mind. Write whatever you can, even if it’s not the best version. It is way better than not writing at all!

There are, way many points to add to the list above, but for now, I guess I can just ask you to get to your desk. I just did that and finished this piece. Yay!

About the Author-Sonia Dogra is a blogger and writer, who is trying to play with words in the hope that they may convey what her heart wishes to say! She may be read here: A HundredQuills


Thank you Sonia! I'll have to try these out for myself. I'm already following one of these as part of my goals for the new year. I'm writing so much gibberish right now, but I'm meeting my word count goals.

Please join us for the first challenge of 2020 in February as we begin a new year at Write...Edit...Publish. I have the feeling this one is going to be special and filled with wonderful stories.

Feel free to check out ideas from the WEP 2020 Challenges Page for the next prompt ..or not. It's up to you!

More details are coming in Denise's post on February 1st. See you there!



Until then, happy writing!


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We'd love if you'd Tweet one of these:

The WEP 2019 December Challenge Footprints Winner's Post - @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey #amwriting #flashfiction https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/december-winners-post-sonia-gives-us.html #WEPFF

Do you struggle with procrastination? December Challenge Winner's Post @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey  
https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/december-winners-post-sonia-gives-us.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

Join @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey for the Winner's Post Footprints  
https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/december-winners-post-sonia-gives-us.html  #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

Will you follow the footprints of advice? Join @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey for the winner's post 
https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/december-winners-post-sonia-gives-us.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction


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Monday 6 January 2020

#WEP/IWSG WINNERS POST - Whose #FOOTPRINTS Left a Lasting Mark?

Hello writers! Laura here!

December brought us a plethora of wonderful entries! Thank you to everyone who took part. We know December is a busy month for many of you, so your time and effort is greatly appreciated. 



Jemi Fraser once again wrote up the blurbs for this month's entries. Thank you so much for doing a fantastic job with them, Jemi!

BLURBS:

Denise Covey - On Top Of The Mountain
After a break up, Ciara hikes the Camino de Santiago on a pilgrimage to help her heal

A memoir in photo-essay that will leave you breathless with the beauty of the imagery & the emotions

Cami’s older brother has told her something awful so Cami is out to prove him wrong. And she’s found footprints to prove her case!

A powerful reflection of how our choices and actions define us - right until the end

On the Rendezvous Space Station, a man has lost an invisible animal. Will Dinara be able to help?

Life is full of challenges, and these poems will show you how to deal with some of them

Xavier Xanthum, space explorer, and his AI buddy Larry find a new planet to explore

Needing to clear her head, Jamie finds herself caught in the rapidly rising tide and needing to find a way home

Can dreams foretell the future? Do they impact the present? Read on to find out!

A continuation of a Halloween tale. What will Teresa and her friends find on this next full moon?

Calla, senior biologist on the Pathfinder space vehicle, hopes to find signs of animal life on a new planet

A construction worker looking to overcome a checkered past agrees to work on a mansion where all is not what it seems

An early morning awakening leads to a beautiful adventure filled with footprints and memories 

A musician lives for the music - no matter what that music might cost him in the rest of his life

Skadi makes her return in a mythical tale of power and struggle along with love and balance

When new creatures start crawling out from the bog, people think they’re cute - until they’re not so cute

Snowflake fairies, warm cosy dreams and the wonder of the season

Snapshots of a life well-lived with glimpses into the past and future

Think you know the story behind the carol Good King Wenceslas? Check out this wonderful retelling

Snow has arrived in England and when a woman goes for a walk in the snow she follows unusual footprints

Chander returns to his home in Chicago and tries to cope with a heart-rending loss

A poem reflecting the way we feel when we’ve lost our way and are overwhelmed. Which way to choose?

Kelly and the red wheelbarrow make a reappearance to check out a troubled land

A walk on the beach leads two sisters to a discovery that fills their hearts

A heartfelt poem to a young one who is struggling with the harshness of life


SHORTLIST

We had a difficult time coming up with a shortlist this month. How could we not with the high quality entries we saw? We went back and forth for a bit to finalize the short list, but we finally came up with one we could all agree on. If you don't see your name on this last, don't feel bad! Competition was fierce, and none of you went unnoticed.


And now for the official shortlist!



Sonia Dogra 

Roland Yeomans 

Cyndi Pride

Sally Stackhouse 

Jemi Fraser 

C. Lee McKenzie 

Once again, we'd like to thank everyone who took part and to congratulate everyone on a job well done! It was also heartening to see so many people commented far and wide. Please keep it up, because in order to make the final shortlist, you must be commenting!


WINNERS:

3


THE WINNER OF THE DECEMBER 2019 CHALLENGE-FOOTPRINTS is:



Congratulations, Sonia! Your first time at WEP and you nailed it!

Nick said: 

"A beautiful evocation of loss. This was really touching."

Sonia, please link the badge to your story and post it on your blog!

In addition to a critique of your first three chapters from J.L. Campbell, you've also won a guest post here at WEP and a short post in the IWSG newsletter. Details will be emailed to you shortly.


THE RUNNER-UP OF THE DECEMBER 2019 CHALLENGE-FOOTPRINTS is:


Congratulations, Cyndi!

Nick said:

"Heartrending and emotional. Captures so much in just a few words."

Thank you for participating in WEP with your wonderful entry! Please link the badge to your story and post it on your blog!

THE ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD FOR THE DECEMBER 2019 CHALLENGE-FOOTPRINTS is:


Congratulations, Jemi!

Nick said:

"I loved that there was something so different about this one. Great twist."

Jemi, please link the badge to your story and post it on your blog!

And now for something a little different. We pay attention to all of you, and your words touch us. We've grown especially familiar with the writing talents of our regular participants. It brings us joy to see all of you strengthen your craft through regular writing and taking feedback into account. That's what WEP is about, after all.

This month, we noted an extraordinary effort from one of our most loyal regulars. All of us commented on how strong his entry was for this month, and how much improvement he's shown in his work. We agreed that was worth remarking upon. So we created another award...


EXTRA-ORDINARY ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD



Congratulations, Christopher! Please link the badge to your story and post it to your blog!


COMMENTERS AWARD:

Thanks for the excellent commenting, considering it was December, with Christmas fast approaching. Thank you for showing respect and encouragement to all the enthusiastic writers who penned a post for the December challenge! 

The comment count was made difficult by so many using multiple monikers to comment. But our crafty Elephants Child, despite going cross eyed, did her level best to work it all out. There were some blogs which were problematic, so Elephants Child gave a free pass. 

Those who read all, or close to all, by the cutoff date on Friday 20th December -- wow, just look at this list!!

Rebecca Douglass, 
Pat Garcia,
Susan Rouchard, 
Jemi Fraser, 
Cie, 
C Lee McKenzie, 
Sonia Dogra, 
Tanya Miranda,  
Roland Clarke
Yolanda Renee
Christopher Scott
Elephants Child and
the WEP team

The Random selector chose REBECCA DOUGLASS for winner. Congratulations Rebecca, wherever in the world you are currently traveling! Please display the badge on your blog with a link to the WEP website. 



Feel free to check out the WEP 2020 Challenges page for ideas regarding the the next prompt. More details will come with the February 1st post.



Are you excited to see what 2020 has in store? I know I am!

Thank you so much for an amazing December challenge! Here's a little reminder of what's to come in the next year. We know some of you check out the CHALLENGES PAGE and plan for the year ahead.  




Laura!



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

#WEPFF Footprints winners announced. @DeniseCCovey @theIWSG

https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/wepiwsg-winners-post-whose-footprints.html
#amwriting #flashfiction

Come congratulate our  winners. #WEPFF Footprints Challenge @DeniseCCovey @theIWSG
https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/wepiwsg-winners-post-whose-footprints.html
#amwriting #flashfiction

The #WEPFF writers had some fantastic entries! @DeniseCCovey @theIWSG
https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/wepiwsg-winners-post-whose-footprints.html
#amwriting #flashfiction

Give the #WEPFF challenge a try and let your imagination fly! @DeniseCCovey @theIWSG https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/wepiwsg-winners-post-whose-footprints.html#amwriting #flashfiction