Quick Note
By clairec23 | May 16, 2008
Just a quick note to let you all know that the judging process is still continuing. I have had another little setback - the charger on my laptop broke so I can’t access a lot of the contestant information until a new one is delivered from America but hopefully by the time the winners have been decided, it will have arrived and I’ll be able to see who actually wrote the winning entries! Again, thanks for the patience and good luck to everyone who has taken part. Fingers crossed that things start going as planned from here on out.
Popularity: 2% [?]
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Book Excerpt Meme
By clairec23 | March 30, 2008
I was half-heartedly tagged for this by Sharp Words so decided to do it and let people know that I haven’t disappeared. 
These are the rules, although I’m not tagging anyone.
Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
Open the book to page 123.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the next three sentences.
Tag five people.
The excerpt is:
I winced.
“But what do I care? A new sun has risen, and it will scorch every other star out of the sky.”
Not a great excerpt but a very entertaining book. I chose the book I read last night called Nefertiti by Michelle Moran. It is historical fiction from the point of view of Mutnodjmet, the younger, more sensible, less beautiful sister of Nefertiti who married the unstable Prince of Egypt at the age of 15 and became his Chief Wife. Really good book, can’t wait to read the next one.
Popularity: 30% [?]
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Last Day
By clairec23 | March 21, 2008
Today is the final day of the writing competition. Somewhat unsurprisingly, considering everything else that has managed to go wrong, I’m having a great deal of trouble replying to emails for some reason. :) Hopefully, my replies will send soon!
More importantly, the deadline for the contest is midnight tonight, GMT. It is up to you to send in your entries before the deadline so if you haven’t already (or if you have to bump up the word count/make changes) you should get cracking.
I will check my email at midnight so any entries sent afterwards will not be acknowledged. That includes any additions or changes. No excuses or exceptions. (Unless it was somehow my fault…)
After midnight, the contest will enter the judging phase. The judges are people with lives so please don’t expect miracles. The results will be in as soon as final judgement is agreed upon but the judges are not under pressure or in any particular hurry so please be patient and check back for updates. There are quite a few entries so it would be impossible for me to guess when the results will be announced.
Good luck to everyone who has entered. Having the courage to send your stories in to strangers to read is amazing so be proud of that.
Popularity: 36% [?]
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Nobody’s Child
By clairec23 | March 18, 2008
Nobody’s Child by Cora Coleman details the writer’s life from childhood to adult. Cora was born one of seven children to a father who regularly beat her mother and intimidated his family with a little help from his sadistic mother who liked nothing more than to watch. A nervous child, Cora felt unloved and rejected by most of her family throughout her life and fell into one abusive relationship after another as an adult. Years of therapy became the reason she wrote this book and shared her story.
Cora’s story is sad to read, frustrating and yet intriguing. I suppose it gives insight into the mindsight of a person who seems to thrive on abuse, violence and insecurity. For a lot of this book, it feels like Cora is her own worse enemy. Yes, she is a victim many times but she says herself that she drove most (but certainly not all) of those men to become the animals they turned into. That’s a hard thing to admit and on that note I felt like Cora was incredibly brave to put her side of the story across without trying to sugarcoat her part in it.
I wanted to read this book because I don’t understand what drives women to stay with violent men, particularly if they have children. I have questions that were never answered until I read this story. Some of the answers to my questions disturbed me but at least they were answers. It’s also fascinating to see how different personalities react to difficult childhoods. Out of seven children, it appears that Cora was the one who pressed the self-destruct button. She was the sensitive one, the highly strung child. It’s painful to read how little love there was in her life (until she became a mother) and how guilty she felt as a child, as if it was her fault her mother was regularly beaten. It just reinforces the fact that children shoulder a lot of the problems in their family and are capable of carrying it with them throughout their lives.
Nobody’s Child is worth a read even if you find it as frustrating as I did and whether you have experienced something similar or not. It isn’t particularly easy to read but as a writer, reading such a personal account could help you with similar stories and characters.
Popularity: 34% [?]
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One Week Left
By clairec23 | March 14, 2008
One week left on the writing competition - celebrated by my children by removing every single button on the keyboard of my laptop - so it’s time to start winding down.
If you have any changes to make to your story such as adding to the wordcount to ensure it is eligible, then please send in the revised stories as soon as possible. If you haven’t given me any information on your age then I will assume that you are over 18. If you don’t clarify that you are under 18 by the 21st (if you haven’t already) then you will be judged as 18 and over.
Keep sending your entries until midnight GMT on the 21st of March.
Popularity: 38% [?]
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