using sensory language to make your writing come alive

Good article here including strong examples: http://tinyurl.com/mane9ju .

writing opportunity for Greater Edmonton Area seniors

Strathcona Place

A PLACE FOR ACTIVE SENIORS

 

Award prizes of $500 available for writers aged 55-plus

 

The Strathcona Place Seniors Society of Edmonton is seeking entries for the 2017 edition of the John W. Bilsland Award. Inaugurated in 2015 to celebrate and foster the creativity of older writers, this year the award is being expanded in geographical scope.

 

Writers aged 55 years and older who live in the Greater Edmonton Area are eligible to submit work to be considered for this year’s award.  Prizes of $500 will be awarded in each of three categories: short fiction, short non-fiction and poetry.

 

The deadline for award submissions is June 22, 2017.

 

For entry rules and regulations, and to download an entry form, go to www.strathconaplace.com. Entry forms are also available at the Strathcona Place Senior Centre, 10831 University Avenue. For further information email strathconaplace@outlook.com.

 

The late John W. Bilsland, MA (British Columbia), PhD. (Toronto), was Professor of English at the University of Alberta. In addition to his 30-year professional teaching career, as a volunteer he taught creative writing at the Strathcona Place Senior Centre for more than 25 years. During that time seniors who attended his classes produced more than 20 publications, including books.

 

Strathcona Place Seniors Centre has been serving older adults in south Edmonton for 43 years, providing a range of social and recreational programs.

 

Please publish in your newsletter and/or circulate to your membership.

 

can you write about an anniversary in 50 words or less?

On The Premises, an online magazine, is running another mini-contest. Here’s what they say about it: “Show, tell, or evoke a complete story in no more than 50 words in which the idea of some kind of anniversary plays a part. Remember we value creativity so the most obvious ideas might not be the ones most likely to win (unless they are REALLY well done, because we care about quality, too).

One entry per author. No fee for entering. Maximum length of 50 words.

Deadline: Friday, May 5, 2017, 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

Hyphenated Words: If the hyphenated word is generally considered a single word, it counts as one word. (Like "twenty-five" or "jack-o-lantern.") Otherwise each part of the hyphenated word counts separately.

Prizes: $25 for first, $15 for second, $10 for third. Honorable mentions get published but make no money.

To submit, go to https://onthepremises.submittable.com/Submit and follow the instructions. If you don't already have a (free) Submittable account, you'll be prompted to make one.”

 

a couple of writing contests

David Greber award for freelance writers living in Canada and writing on topics relating to social justice. There’s a book award, also an award for a magazine article. Deadline for both June 16, 2017

http://www.greberwritingaward.com/ .

 

Mother Tongue novel contest for authors living in BC. $40 entry fee, deadline August 1, 2017  http://www.mothertonguepublishing.com/contest/great-bc-novel-contest.html

 

Want to beat writer's block? BookBaby advises.

Want to write but can’t make yourself do it? This article gives 21 tips for beating that discouraging condition: http://tinyurl.com/mdlt68c . [Picture courtesy of Pixabay.]

Canada 150 BRAIN-TEASER 1

Canada 150 BRAIN-TEASER Canadian landscape artists formed the Group of Seven in 1920, three years after artist Tom Thomson's mysterious death. True or False? For the full story, see my book YesterCanada: Historical Tales of Mystery and Adventure. It's available online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo, or the publisher, Borealis Press of Ottawa. [Photo of Tom fishing from the Library and Archives Canada]

 

Shirley Dodding's review of YesterCanada: Historical Tales of Mystery and Adventure

I just want to write you a note about your wonderful book:  YesterCanada. 

 

We have just returned from California and I read your wonderful pieces on the plane going there and coming back.  I am extremely impressed with the facts, knowledge and expertise you showed in how to write non-fiction and make it come alive.

 

Each story was brimming with colour whether it be in the tale itself or in the trees, landscape or the emotional feelings of the people.  I could feel them, I could walk with them and I could see how they felt in every aspect of their life and journey.

 

Thank you, Elma, for such a rich tapestry of Canada, our heritage and

our proud lifestyle.