WEP - FEBRUARY CHALLENGE "GONE WITH THE WIND". What inspires you about this film? Write for us ...

 

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Denise here for our first challenge of 2023!

Hope your holiday season was fun and relaxing.  WEP welcomes you to the Year of Movies! We're so excited! Hope you are too! Here is the whole year in a badge, proudly created by WEP's Olga Godim.

But first, we have ...

TEAM WEP NEWS!

- We have created a new website. Do you like our new look? Let us know.

- Notice the gorgeous new badges in our sidebar created by Olga? Choose which of the two you like best and if you're 'proud to be a WEP writer', please post it in your sidebar linking to WEP.

- Laura has taken a leave of absence to care for her family whilst working night shift. She'll be back when she sorts her work/life balance. Take this opportunity to say thank you to Laura for the stellar job she's done for WEP these past years. We look forward to working with Laura again.

- To help ease the load, Team WEP has taken on Sonia Dogra as a trainee. Sonia volunteered to help in any way she could when she saw my blog post about the ups and downs of WEP these past months when life just got too much for many of us. However, we have collectively stood up, brushed ourselves off, and are powering ahead to provide a supportive online writing community of which we can all be proud. Most of you will know Sonia, but here she is in her own words:

Sonia is an accidental poet and short story writer based in Delhi. Her writings have appeared and are forthcoming in The Kali Project, Write in Power, Amity, Kitaab, Tell Me Your Story, Recipe for a Perfect Marriage, A Body of Memories, The Hooghly Review & Flash Flood Journal among others. An ex-educator, copyeditor and nature enthusiast, she dreams of owning a book café in the hills. She can be followed on A Hundred Quills (https://soniadogra.com).

Welcome Sonia!

This unfortunate upheaval in late 2022 has forced each one of us to take stock. We find that most of us are at a stage where, for one reason or another – new jobs, new family circumstances or life events - our tranche of time devoted to WEP is no longer as wide or flexible as previously. We agree that we fill a need for many. Whose writing doesn't improve when every two months you find inspiration to write to a prompt? Over the years we've seen such an improvement in each of you. Reading your entries is one of our favorite things!

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CHANGES FOR 2023!

There will be several changes to WEP this year. We need a different iteration to suit the changed circumstances of our team members and that is what we present to you in WEP Challenges 2023!

The Changes

1. 5 Judged Challenges instead of 6.

2. No Challenge for December but a Christmas Party post instead. Check the December badge - Over to You. That is exactly it. Over to You to write about your favorite movie of all time.

3.  No winner's guest post. Instead, a team member will write a 'How-to' post outlining something they've already tried and found successful. Or they may share a post you will find interesting/educational/motivational. If there's something you'd especially like to share in the guest post format, email Denise - den.covey@gmail.com

4.  Critique prizes remain. We have some sought-after prizes this year as always. Check our sidebar. Remember, if you have no WIP ready, please pass on the prize to the runner up and so forth. We encourage you to check out the editors in our sidebar and contact them if you need their services.

5. To replace the winner's guest post, for the 3 winners each challenge there is the option to be included in a WEP Anthology which will be published in early 2024. Here is your chance to garner a publishing credit if you are not yet published.

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So, let's do this!

Image courtesy of Freepix

All our challenges in 2023 have the theme, the Year of Movies. As it's Valentine's month, we kick off with the classic Gone With the Wind. Both the movie and the book have broken all sales records so is worthy of its Number One slot. 

From our Challenges 2023 page, use or discard ideas as you wish. Your interpretation of the prompt is totally up to you as long as it is obviously inspired by the image and blurb in some way. 

Nila's blurb says of 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

Don't forget your tagline at the beginning or ending of your entry!! 

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The February prize:

The 3 winners have the option of being published in a WEP Anthology.

The outright winner receives a Critique Prize from our stable of generous editors and authors.

This month's prize is from a contributor to the IWSG, L. Diane Wolfe.

 

L. Diane is the owner of Dancing Lemur Press LC, professional speaker, & author, She  also conducts seminars, offers book formatting, and author consultation. She’s the senior editor at Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C. and contributes to the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG).

 

http://www.dancinglemurpressllc.com/ - Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C

http://www.spunkonastick.net/ - Spunk On A Stick

http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com - Spunk On A Stick’s Tips

http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/ - Insecure Writer’s Support Group

https://www.facebook.com/l.diane.wolfe - Facebook

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BC4SRKH2
iTunes - https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6443336227
Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940165920110
Kobo - https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=9781939844903

In Darkness: The Vampire. First in Diane's In Darkness series.

 

Souls shrouded in darkness…

 

Stuck working as a barmaid for her demanding father, Anna dreams of adventure. When mysterious strangers enter the bar, she overhears they seek Zancrela, an ancient fortress filled with treasure and a magical library. Taking her chance, she offers to guide them. The conditions: deliver Zancrela or die.

 

As they journey through the wilderness, she discovers their secret: they are vampires. And most view her as food. One takes interest in her and her heart dares to hope, but it might not be enough to change her fate. Will Anna find Zancrela or become a vampire morsel?

Other books in the series ...

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COMMENTING

Commenting is the lifeblood of WEP. We are a supportive writing environment where you are welcome to try new ideas, take risks, put forth your latest WIP for feedback.

If you have trouble commenting on blogs, please continue to leave a comment here (we're fortunate that Google hasn't messed up our commenting here) or on our C-Box. And if your blog comments are down and you have a blogger blog, consider changing your comment settings to Pop-ups, not embedded, temporarily, until google provides a fix.

We'd love if you'd Tweet or post to FB or any social media site where you network!

WEP movie #writingprompt February 2023 "GONE WITH THE WIND" @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/01/wep-february-challenge-gone-with-wind.html Sign up & post-February 15 thru 17th! #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry #nonfiction

Get your thinking caps on for February 2023's first movie prompt "GONE WITH THE WIND" @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/01/wep-february-challenge-gone-with-wind.htmlSign up & post your entry February 15th thru 17th! #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Join WEP @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser, for the first movie Challenge of 2023, "GONE WITH THE WIND". Sign up and post your entry February 15th thru 17th https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/01/wep-february-challenge-gone-with-wind.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction.

Check out #stories of #love, #loss, #racism, #war @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee, @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser, for the February movie challenge "GONE WITH THE WIND https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/01/wep-february-challenge-gone-with-wind.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

 

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Wishing you a fabulous February at WEP. Bring on the entries!

Our next movie prompt is for April. How about this?

Post - April 19th  to the 21st 2023

At the basic level, Life is Beautiful is about protecting children from the trauma of war, about paternal love, about one family's struggle for survival amidst the horrors of the concentration camp. 

Denise for:

#WEP February Challenge Winner - Sally Stackhouse

 Hi everyone, Jemi here!

Sally Stackhouse won our February Challenge All You Need Is Love with her touching tale of Walter and Sarah. You can read it here. An abiding love in troubled times.

As our judge, Nick Wilford said, "This really hits hard given the current situation in Ukraine. Beautiful and heartbreaking."

Today Sally is going to share with us about life and writing!

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I was overwhelmed that my entry for ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE was the winner and so proud of achieving this commendation from my peers – thank you. 

I’ve always had a lot of words rumbling around in my brain but it is only in the last ten years or so that I’ve been able to put them down on paper.  There are a couple of reasons for this, the first one is time, i.e., my kids left home, I was working part-time and therefore gained more time for my own pursuits, reading, and writing. 

The other reason is that it is easier nowadays to type something out on a computer, save a word file (always back it up!) and change and edit it as often as you like.  Just think how much time it would take to write in long-hand, harking back to school days and homework, writing something quickly, and then copying it out in your ‘best handwriting’. 

I remember my lovely mum (sadly no longer here) remarking, ‘where do you get your ideas from, certainly you don’t get it from me!’  

I really don’t know. I think because I am an avid reader words make sense and flow, not always smoothly I must admit.  I also people/watch and people/listen, not so much nowadays because of Covid restrictions but I’ve spent a lot of time over the last 18 months hanging around hospitals, having treatment, and waiting for appointments.

Last year my brain couldn’t cope – chemo certainly addles your thought processes a bit but now, I am very pleased to say, most of my mojo is back.

When you were at school

Did you sometimes feel a fool?

Physics and maths weren’t my thing

Nor the choir ‘cos I can't sing.

Now history was interesting

But not kings and queens and their bling

The ordinary folk such as you and I

Who toiled the land and watched the sky

Gave me more to think about and learn

Not good times to be born.

Give me a book and I would lose time

Transported to other worlds, romance or crime

Thrillers and sci-fi and then the classic writers

People who are long dead with words that survive

With a heritage to revere and characters that come alive.

So, head out of the clouds and prepare for a career

Typing and shorthand were part of my future

To stand me in good stead for the next of life’s adventure

Loving the English language opened new frontiers.

So now I’m in my sixties and am able to indulge

This passion of mine that started at a young age

Some praise from family although they are biased

But I’ll take it and try not to be pious.

An opportunity has opened which I will embrace

Hoping I won’t get egg on my face.

My brain is in gear

Stamping down on my fear.

With encouragement and love

I’m going forward, onwards and above

To get it all out before it’s too late

Before all the brain cells dissipate.

      

 

Sally Stackhouse: wife, mother, step-mother, grandmother, step-grandmother and step-great-grandmother. Living in the Weald of Kent in South East England.

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Thanks so much, Sally and congrats again! We're all so very happy you have your mojo back!! You can find Sally at her blog Sally's Scribbles!

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

#WEP ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE #WEPwinner #guestpost  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/03/wep-february-challenge-winner-sally.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim @jemifraser #amwriting #writingchallenge

#WEP ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE #WEPwinner #WALTER&SALLY  #guestpost https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/03/wep-february-challenge-winner-sally.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim @jemifraser #amwriting #writingchallenge

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Our next challenge will be here before we know it! We hope many of you will consider joining us for our April Challenge: A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall.

See you in April!

Jemi for ...

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.