#WEP/IWSG Inaugural Challenge for 2020 - FEBRUARY - CAFE TERRACE. Put-your-thinking-cap-on post, plus exciting news!

Hello writers!

Denise here! 

My motto for the year is: LIGHTEN UP! And I'll start with WEP.

From now on, all news etc will be here in the first-of-the-month post, while the sign up post will be just that, a sign up. We no longer want the sign up post to be cluttered with a lot of information. It will be problematic to start with, as our-first-of-the-month posts are largely ignored, but we'll work on it. 

(A timely reminder: check your Spam folder as I send out a notification email before each post.) 

This month, we certainly have more news than usual!

Did I catch you by surprise! 

The year 2020. 

WEP's 10th birthday.

Beginning life as RFW (Romantic Friday Writers) in 2010, with myself and Francine Howarth (Regency Romance author) at the helm, it transformed into WEP basically because some writers were put off by the idea of writing romance. 

Little ole me has continued as founder/host after Francine's writing career took off, with the generous help of Donna Hole, then Yolanda Renee as co-hosts. Now we have a full team - Olga Godim, Nilanjana Bose and L.G. Keltner who have different strengths but most importantly are all enthusiastic about this unique online writing community. 

Olga created a wonderful anniversary badge with the team's input. Grab it and post it into your sidebar with a link to our website. Thank you!

WEP has been a way to hone our writing craft, a way to gain confidence to publish, and a way to gather countless writing friends to motivate and encourage through beta reading and/or critiquing. 

We celebrate this milestone, first by acknowledging the loyalty of several writers who've been with us since the early days as RFW and its fortnightly 400-word posts, and who continue to post regularly or irregularly -- Nilanjana Bose, Sally Stackhouse, Roland Yeomans, Yolanda Renee, Nancy Williams and Donna Hole. Other 'originals' return from time to time (but not often enough - we miss them!) hey there Michael di Gesu and Adura Ojo.

Each of the above 6 have been asked to share a few words about their WEP/writing experience and to collect their badge. Their replies will be shared in the next few posts.

Yolanda Renee here! 

The WEP has truly meant everything to my writing career. This amazing artistic community, through each writing prompt, gave me an opportunity to learn the craft and hone my skills. I was able to experiment with new genres and word lengths and to share without fear. Because of the WEP, I've made many lasting friendships. I give full credit to the WEP for the five books I've published. Participating gave me the courage to submit to the IWSG anthologies and other writing challenges. So you see, it means the world to me!

Thank you, Denise, and the WEP Community!

Thanks Yolanda! Please accept this badge made especially for you by our master badge-maker, Olga Godim.

Nilanjana here!

I started blogging in 2011 and soon after found RFW which became WEP, first as a participant and then as one of the team. I don’t think I have missed a prompt since I joined my first challenge! The impact of this has been manifold. The first is the tangible outcome – publication. One of my poetry entries got published because Donna Hole, the then co-host, emailed and encouraged me to submit it. My short story won a blog contest, was selected from over 2000 entries and also got published.  Neither of these would have happened but for WEP. There are other outcomes, where the role of WEP isn’t as direct, but is there nevertheless, through the learning of writing craft and support. Writing is mostly editing - writing to prompts builds imagination and the specific word count improves editing skills. WEP therefore makes me a sharper writer.

Not just a better writer, WEP makes me a better, more aware reader too. It builds my critiquing skills. It feeds off and into the writing courses I take. It gives me the confidence to take up offers to judge local writing competitions. To participate in other, local writing events/collaborations.  To experiment with genres and other ‘what-if’ scenarios. And it allows me to be a part of a community of like-minded people, which I relish. I value the friendships and connections made through WEP, above all. Don’t want to be sounding  extra dramatic or anything, but in some rather hard-to-define, fun and fundamental ways WEP ups the quality of my writing life.

Thanks Nila! Please accept this badge made especially for you by our master badge-maker, Olga Godim.

But, hey, it's February 1st already! 

Yep. Happy Holidays are over. For those who took a break from writing, time's flying by!  Let's put that thinking cap on. It's time to visit your favorite cafe and create ... a coffee-infused flash. Or a murder mystery. Or a family reunion ... as long as Cafe Terrace fits in somewhere!

There are NO genre restrictions here at WEP (except erotica). So...if coffee isn't your thing (OMG, really! Psst. Let me tell you about the cappuccino with real melted chocolate drizzle I discovered in Townsville, north Queensland, on my latest trip). Better still, let me share it with you ... and it had melted chocolate at the bottom ...

Just like there're myriad types of coffee, feel free to tweak the prompt to whatever you want. We're cool like that!

So without further ado...here's the challenge for February -

Cafe Terrace at Night is one of the many names of this painting by Vincent van Gogh of a cafe in Arles, Provence, the south of France. Painted in September 1888, the cafe is still in the  Place du Forum amongst many eateries welcoming coffee and wine drinkers from around the world. What a sumptuous setting for your flash  -- fiction or non. Check out the CHALLENGES 2020 page above for more ideas, or go with your original gut feeling when you first saw this painting.

HOUSEKEEPING

- No sign up now. 

- This post is to get you thinking ... considering ... ruminating ... about the way you want to spin the prompt.

- Add your URL to your blog entry on the InLinkz on the February 19 - 21 post with DL (Direct Link) after your name. 

- It'd be awesome if you gave your entry a title (remember those school essays - no marks for the title, but you had to have one.) Don't just use the name of the prompt. 

-Include the Challenge badge and 'WEP' in your URL title.

- Indicate the level of feedback you desire by adding the critique codes below. Be careful not to go overboard with your words of wisdom if the writer hasn't asked for full critique. 

The linky closes after 21st February 23:59 EST. 

- Read and comment on the participating blogs. This is one of the most important aspects to us. So sad if few read our work :-( Messes with our heads.

Simple, isn't it?

COMMENTS:

Comment counting will cease at midnight on Friday 28th February EST time, which gives you over a week to read/comment. (If this is a problem to you, let us know and we'll give some leeway). When you've finished reading, it would be helpful if you left a comment on the main post to tell us you're done. PLEASE everyone, make sure comments are allowed on your blog. 

***If you'd like to help in this or a later challenge, please email me at: den.covey@gmail.com or leave a comment below. Always looking for comment counters and blurb writers.***

PRIZES!

The WEP/IWSG has always been a writing contest, but the prizes change over time.

First, we have the CRITIQUE prize for the WINNER. This month  Lynda Dietz at Easy Reader and Editing who offers the winner a 10,000 word (about a 3-chapter) critique. (Wouldn't I love to win this prize!)

Lynda has been fascinated with the written word since her earliest years of reading the back of the cereal box at the breakfast table. She’s now a copyeditor who works with authors in a variety of genres, both in fiction and nonfiction. She’s had a blog since 2013, where she encourages writers with advice and a healthy dose of silliness.

Blog:

Easy Reader Editing Blog easyreaderediting.com/blog

Website:

easyreaderediting.com

Instagram:

@easyreaderediting

Medium:

https://medium.com/@lyndadietz4

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/lyndadietz4/

THERE'S MORE...

As fabulous as it is, the above Critique Prize isn't all. Read on...

We also offer the winner a chance to write a Guest Post here at WEP and at times a short post in the IWSG Newsletter.


If you have any other suggestions for prizes, please email Denise: den.covey@gmail.com

So...let's get thinking...let's get writing!

  

Here's what's happening in YEAR 2020 at WEP, one of our best yet judging by the prompts:

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

WEP 2020 February writing prompt Café Terrace @DeniseCCovey @TheIWSG https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/wepiwsg-inaugural-challenge-for-2020.html Sign up February 19! #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry #nonfiction

Get-your-thinking-caps-on for Café Terrace @DeniseCCovey @TheIWSG https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/wepiwsg-inaugural-challenge-for-2020.html

Html Sign up February 19! #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Join WEP @DeniseCCovey @TheIWSG for the first challenge of the year Café Terrace Sign up February 19! https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/wepiwsg-inaugural-challenge-for-2020.html       

#WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Begin 2020 by joining @DeniseCCovey @TheIWSG for the latest challenge Café Terrace Sign up February 19! https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/wepiwsg-inaugural-challenge-for-2020.html

#WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Denise,

FOR THE WEP TEAM!