#WEP DECEMBER CHALLENGE WINNER PAT GARCIA WRITES FOR US! #HOW TO BECOME A NOVELIST

 Hello friends of #WEP, your foremost online writing challenge site. Pat Garcia blew us away with her beautiful rendition of THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE, a heartfelt tome of love, as our judge Nick Wilford said. We could all do with a positive love story at this turbulent time and Pat has delivered. 

Pat has sent her article which we proudly present below. An excellent way to begin the New Year here at WEP where I'm sure many of you have made resolutions to write more. Writing 6 times a year for WEP must surely improve our craft.

#HOW TO BECOME A NOVELIST

 

 As a kid, I was always writing something. I didn't have any direction, but the desire deep within me was to become a novelist. I discovered reading, which strengthened my craving to be a writer, but I didn't know how to become that novelist with the deep voice I wanted to have until I met Dorothea Brande in her book Becoming a Writer.

I had enrolled in a Writer's Digest class, and an instructor offered to look at 250 words of each individual's manuscript and tell us what she thought.

At that time, I thought, "I got this" until she returned my snippet. I was so devastated that I didn't see her last sentence, "You've got potential."

To make a long story short, this tough lady, who was passionate about writing and had worked in several of the top publishing houses as a consultant in their merger and acquisition departments, had shot my baby (my story) and left me depressed.

 I finally pulled myself up and sent her a note during the last week of class. She recommended that I read Becoming A Writer by Dorothea Brande and get back to her if I still wanted to be a Novelist. And that is precisely what I did.

 The book challenged my thinking on the first pages. After reading them, I knew I didn't want to be a one-book writer, an occasional writer, or an uneven writer.

I also liked how she explained that having all the technical writing books on my shelves (and I had plenty of them) would only make me a successful writer once I knew how to work as a writer.

Brande connects the writer's vision with their willingness to become vulnerable to themselves. It reminded me of what Socrates said, "Know yourself." She talks about the child in the writer, and I thought of William Wordsworth's statement, "the child is the father of man."

 I only knew then what to think about her book once I realized that I had to cultivate my writer's temperament and that it didn't happen overnight. Slowly, I began to grasp that writing is like painting a picture.

 With each chapter I read, I recognized that I had a lot of work to do within me and that I didn't have any guarantees about the outcome. But I knew this was the type of development I sought, and regardless of the cost, I would do whatever needed. Since then, it has been and still is a risk I am willing to take.

 I am continually learning to be vulnerable or aware of the voice within me to write good fiction.

 

Shalom aleichem,

 

Pat Garcia

A writer, singer, and musician, Pat Garcia, lives as an Expatriate on the European Continent. She is a voracious reader of literature from all genres and loves knitting, playing chess, playing her piano and watching Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes films.

A multicultural writer, she writes stories that encapsulate Romance with a mainstream touch, a sense of suspense, and fantasy.

As it was the Movie Poster we found

most inspiring we'll be starting off

in February with

"GONE WITH THE WIND"

Remember, it's all about what inspires you:

GWTW can be the springboard for a million ideas- civil war, love, the definition of beauty (‘Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful but men seldom realized it..’), racism, slavery, strong women, gun violence, plantations, breaking conventions, the bond between fathers and daughters, mothers and daughters, the love for a piece of land, a lament for a vanishing society…alternatively, even an essay on the stars or the film director or the author Margaret Mitchell or some aspect of the making of the film...endless opportunities for creativity.

Post-February 15 to the 17th 2023

#WEPWINNER #How to become a writer  #guestpost https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/01/wep-december-challenge-winner-pat.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim @jemifraser
@pat_garcia #amwriting #writingchallenge

 

#WEP #How to become a writer #guest post  #WEPwinner https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/01/wep-december-challenge-winner-pat.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim @jemifraser
@pat_garcia #amwriting #writingchallenge

Please read and enjoy Pat's post. See you in February 2023 with your entries inspired by Gone With the Wind. 

Denise, for

#WEP August 2022 Challenge Moonlight Sonata #Winner Pat Garcia writes her #guestpost - Writing With WEP.

 Hi everyone, Denise here!

Pat Garcia won our August Challenge Moonlight Sonata with her stunning #flashfiction, Power of Touch. Those of you who read this amazing story will agree that it was unbeatable.

Badge courtesy of Olga Godim

Our judge Nick Wilford said,  Nick said - "Achingly romantic and a testament to the healing power of music. As important to the soul as to the ears."

Here is an excerpt from the ending:

Abruptly, she slowed the tempo, intentionally allowing herself to hold specific notes sustained, and closed her eyes to enjoy the timbre herself, and she felt Gianluca’s fingers walk across her waistline in beat with the piece as if he were playing the piano himself. She was happy he heard what she heard, albeit with his soul. Thankful that she’d taught him to treasure the power of hearing, not by listening but by perceiving it through touch, she smiled.

~~***~~

 

 WRITING with the WEP

 

Writing with the WEP is one of my classic writing tools for strengthening my voice, helping me to profile my characters and define my settings. When I started writing with the WEP, I was a passable writer and far from being an author. Although my voice was feeble, I had vision, emotions, and voice. I read craft books, but craft books neglect to tell you that writing is a process, and you won't get it overnight. Writing is a journey.

 It took me walking into a multi-colored diverse world of writers who are excellent at what they write to discover that, and the WEP has become one of the most essential tools I need to grow in my writing. This is one of the reasons I do my best to get around to every story submitted. I learn from the excellence of the author's Flash. They have already achieved something that I benefit from, whether it is a strong voice, magnificent settings, or outstanding characters. I study how they give their characters life, sink into their locations, and let their stories move me from a surface reading to an in-depth reading of their Flash. When I look back at some of the flashes I submitted in the beginning, I say, O ye… Pat, you have come a long way from your first Flash.

 The WEP is competitive. The competition is stiff. However, if you never put yourself out there and compare yourself with some of the best authors/writers around the globe, you will never hone the techniques you have read in the craft books you have, and you'll never become intimate with the depth of the voice that makes you stand out.

 I believe I am one of a tiny minority of Romance writers who participate in the WEP. I don't know. But what I do know is that my participation in this event has helped me develop characters and settings and strengthen my voice on my writer's journey, and for that, I am thankful to be a part of this group. 

 

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

Thank you, Pat Garcia. We are thankful to have you,  too. 

And a shout out for Pat. You can buy Pat's delightful award-winning short story, Turn the Light On HERE.

THE BLURB:

Meet Della Cartwright. A superstar at what she does professionally, but when the tall, mysterious, Italian stranger, Alessio Terracina, enters her world, she begins to question her judgment and everything about her.

A writer, singer, and musician, Pat Garcia, lives as an Expatriate on the European Continent. She is a voracious reader of literature from all genres and loves knitting, playing chess, playing her piano and watching Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes films.

A multicultural writer, she writes stories that encapsulate Romance with a mainstream touch, a sense of suspense, and fantasy.

 ~~***~~

Thank you so much Pat for your heartfelt post, and congratulations once again for your winning flash!

Please tweet this post or share it to Facebook or your favorite social media site.

#WEPWINNER #Moonlight Sonata  #guestpost  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/09/wep-august-2022-challenge-moonlight.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim @jemifraser #amwriting #writingchallenge

#WEP Moonlight Sonata #WEPwinner  #guestpost https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/09/wep-august-2022-challenge-moonlight.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim @jemifraser #amwriting #writingchallenge

~~***~~

Our next challenge will be here before we know it! We hope many of you will consider joining us for our OCTOBER Halloween Challenge: Thriller.

We remind you: This is the Fear fest Challenge in which we ramp up the spook factor, welcoming your creepiest compositions, your most haunting and haunted tales running the gamut of paranormal, speculative, crime and horror genre. However, as always, there are no rigid rules. Feel free to write to any genre if those mentioned are not your thing. 

And, STOP PRESS! In October, there will be Amazon Gift Cards for the winners.

Here is an early TWEET! Help us promote Creepy October!

Write...Edit...Publish -- Online Writing Community: #WEP #October2022 #Thriller challenge October 19-21 #Prizes for #three #winners. Get your creepy on! #1,000words or less! #flashfiction, #nonfiction #poetry #poetrycommunity Get #feedback from professionals and peers.

(Include Thriller badge!)

Grab yourself a prize! See you in October!

Denise for ...