# OCTOBER WINNER'S POST - READ ABOUT WRITER"S BLOCK & HOW BERNADETTE TACKLES IT

Nila here again! 

I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating, like all good things - what a crop of superlative writing the October HORRIBLE HARVEST prompt produced! Picking winners out of so many is always extremely hard, but this time Bernadette was a rare unanimous choice by the WEP team.

Judge Nick Wilford said:

"This wasn't the only story with an eco theme, but it treats the subject in such a stark and sobering way that it nudges into first place for me. Amazing to pack something so powerful into so few words."

If you haven't already, please visit the previous post to read all about the winners and other news.

It is our pleasure to share with you a guest post from Bernadette. As well as winning the critique prize from Kyra Lennon, Bernadette writes a guest post for WEP and the IWSG newsletter which will be out soon.

Here's what Bernadette does to tackle writer's block:

5 Ways to Get Rid of Writer's Block

You've probably already heard about the good ol' writer's block. The fact that there are so many articles on the topic acknowledges that it's a widespread phenomenon (Yes, even copywriters who already have a topic and character limit get stumped on where to get started). So then, it's just natural that a writer who's creating something marvellous from scratch gets stuck now and then.

Here are a few of the tips that work for me:

1. Read what others have done

Make a note of what you want to write about and do a quick Google search on it. It’s a great way of finding inspiration

Warning: This method is also quite a time killer so be sure that you have a way of keeping yourself from going down the rabbit hole.

2.  Listen to music (or do whatever helps you think)

Listening to music helps me think. I usually enjoy rock, blues & pop and they inspire me in different ways. Try using a random line from the song you're listening to as a prompt. It may lead nowhere but believe me, it's fun. Alternatively, if music doesn’t work for you, try something else that helps you think. It could be anything from bouncing ideas off a friend to taking your dog for a walk.

3. Dream

Imagine if you were living in your WIP's world. You could probably bump into one of your characters on your way to work or have one of them plotting a sinister plan right behind you. This is a great way to understand how to move on ahead (almost like looking at a 3D model of a human organ to understand it better). Just bear in mind that this method has the same limitations as point one.

4. Wait

Sometimes the answer to a problem is to just let it be. Do something else that you enjoy or need to get done. It's a better way of staying productive instead of staring blankly at a screen/page. You’ll also end-up spending your time in a much better way.

5. Write about it!

Let your writer's block work for you. If your block is not letting you write, just use it as an inspiration and write a tale about how it's affecting you or ways to combat it. I just did.


Thank you, Bernadette, for these creative ways to get over writer's block, my favourite's gotta be 4! Let the writing find me instead of the other way round! 

Join us for the final 2019 prompt in December as we round up another landmark and creative year at Write...Edit...Publish...

Check out ideas from the WEP 2019 Challenges Page for the next prompt ..or not. Go with your own if you like...

More details in Laura's post on December 1st. In which she introduces the prompts and the directions we take in 2020...See you there!

Till then, happy and blockless writing! 

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

The WEP 2019 October Challenge Horrible Harvest Winner's Post - @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/11/october-winners-post-read-about-writers.html #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF

How unblocked are you? October Challenge Winner's Post @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/11/october-winners-post-read-about-writers.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

Join @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey for the Winner's Post Horrible Harvest  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/11/october-winners-post-read-about-writers.html 
#WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

What has the winner harvested? Join @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey for the winner's post https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/11/october-winners-post-read-about-writers.html  #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

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WEP challenges for 2015. Why we believe in WEP.

Hello there!

Denise here. It's taken awhile to get to our second post, but Yolanda has had edits of her third novel, and I've been travelling up and down New Caledonia. You can check out my trip here. Now Yolanda's edits are all but done and I'm back, so let's get down to the fun part of WEP.

We present to you our Challenge Badge for what remains of 2015. As you see there are only three. We don't want to wear you out, so we'll go slow. This way there's plenty of time for you to participate in other challenges you may be involved in, and of course, November is NaNoWriMo for most of us.

OUR CHALLENGE BADGE:

We'd love it if you would copy this badge and post it onto your blog .

You are most welcome to post it in a blog post to help promote WEP.

For this we would be very grateful. Just send us a link so we can visit your blog!

So on August 19, we have our first challenge, Spectacular Settings. Very soon I will publish a post on settings as a prelude to our challenge. Meanwhile, think about some aspect of setting that comes to you. As you know, you are welcome to post flash fiction, non fiction, poetry, photographs, artwork...go for it, but try to keep under the 1,000 word limit. 

Our Halloween challenge, Youthful Frights Vs Adult Fears, will be posted early, so you can participate in other Halloween challenges if you wish. Yolanda is the horror Queen, so she has taken charge of this one! As well as a winner's badge, there will be an Amazon $10 gift card to the entry that catches our eye and disturbs our dreams!

The December challenge, Holiday Celebrations that are out of this world, will have a definite sci-fi flavour, so that will be an excellent way for those of us who don't write in this genre to think outside the square. It will be fun!

For further information on all three challenges, click on the page above. 

Now as mentioned in our previous post, there will be judges for each challenge, and we will return to the RFW (RomanticFridayWriters) idea of choosing a WINNER,  a RUNNER UP, and an ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD for each challenge. A guest judge will read through our 3 choices, then decide on the winning order. There will also be a wrap up of each entry.

HERE ARE THE WINNER'S BADGES:

Can't you just see your name and a link to your story on one of these?

WHY WE BELIEVE IN WEP:

So in case you're wondering, why do we feel so passionately about running an online writing challenge group? Let's try to put our passion into words...

Writing prompts are designed to help us start writing. And I don't just mean fiction. You may be a poet, a creative non fiction writer, an essayist. It doesn't matter. Sure, most who accept the WEP challenge write either flash fiction or poetry, but all writing is creative. Many creative writers use prompts every day to get into the writing groove. Some call these exercises free writing. Once they've jump-started their writing, they often move on to their WIP, energised and refreshed. 

Not that anyone here suffers from writer's block, but just say you did, a writing prompt can hasten the return of your muse. Sometimes when nothing else works, a writing exercise will! 

The best part of writing challenges such as we host here at WEP, is that your entry could be edited, rewritten, transformed into a longer piece, a short story, or even a novel. Many of us have had this experience. And it all started with a writing challenge, a very powerful tool.

Often someone leaves a comment about how we have improved as a writer with each challenge. It's true. We learn our craft by writing to prompts and editing for clarity and a word limit. Sentence structure, paragraphing, punctuation, grammar, dialogue...all can be improved in this little writer's laboratory. 

Hi folks, Yolanda here. Are those badges awesome or what? Kudos to Denise. She out-did herself with those! As a collector of old typewriters, that Winner's badge is way too cool!

Just popping in to say Hi! and let you and Denise know that first edits are done, so my attention is back on WEP. And to reiterate Denise--I know first hand that participating in Flash Fiction challenges are an excellent way of honing our writing skills. When you have to write a story with a beginning, middle and ending in only 1,000 words, well, it's called a challenge for a reason. Cutting, tightening, and rewriting until only the meat of the story remains, is a skill your editors will appreciate.

Please join us. We promise to make the journey informative, rewarding and fun!

Don't forget to share the Challenge!

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

#WEPFF 2015 Challenges and dates are now up join the WEP Flash Fiction Challenge http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2015/07/wep-challenges-for-2015-why-we-believe.html  @DeniseCCovey &@YolandaRenee  

#WEPFF The first Challenge is Spectacular Settings – join the fun on August 19  http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2015/07/wep-challenges-for-2015-why-we believe.html  @DeniseCCovey &  @YolandaRenee

#WEPFF Winners badges designed by Denise are Perfection! Join the WEP to win at http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2015/07/wep-challenges-for-2015-why-we-believe.html  @DeniseCCovey & @YolandaRenee