First, if you haven't, please go read "Saturation Point," a moment of Deb Markanton's life Nevetsized.
Second, a point of wisdom. While the contest prize for Deb, it was also a valuable experience for me, too. Once she gave me her moment, it was suddenly like I was writing something on commission, and I felt a whole lot of pressure. "Saturation Point" is not the best story I've ever written, but I'm happy with it. Posting it up and letting Deb see it only once it had been completed was more of a leap of faith than I'd realized. As soon as it was up, I was overcome with the need for her to not hate it. Fortunately, she loved it it and everything is good.
This seemed like a lesson about publishing. Deb knows my writing pretty well. I knew she liked it. But I was still afraid that this piece, the one she'd (sort of) asked for, would fall short of her expectations. All I could do was trust that the quality of my writing, and my basic foundation was solid enough, as was my understanding of my target audience (Deb). And then. Put it out there, and let the writing do its thing.
Third, a joke. A terribly nerdy joke.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Doctor.
Doctor who?
Exterminate!
Fourth, contest news. Deb won the right to have a moment of her life, of her choosing, be written up as I might were it a story of my creation. She also won a signed, collectible version of the story and the t-shirt you can find at the Nevetsize Your Stuff store.
But wait! There's a change for you to bring a little Nevets into your life, too. Watch next week for the full entry rules, but you will be getting a chance to Nevetsize your Halloween! A ~300 word scary story, written by me to your specifications.
But wait! There's more! A signed hard copy of the story together with a CD or digital version of me reading the story -- delivered to you by Halloween!
But wait! There's more! Your choice of the Nevetsized coffee mug or Nevetsized teddy bear!
Stay tuned next week the rules! In the mean time, get a head start on an edge for the contest by reading at least one of the stories posted at www.Nevets-QST.com.
By the way, anyone have a terribly corny or nerdy joke they feel like sharing?
.Nevets.
Coffee mugs, teddy bears, cd's, t-shirts! When is the theme park coming? LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to be getting a signed copy of my story and a t-shirt. I am getting a t-shirt, right? ;)
I'm not great at platform building, but I'm pretty decent at defining a brand. lol
ReplyDeleteOur improv comedy radio show in college was just about the most listened to show we had, even though most of us were terrible. I credit my brand-generation. hahahahaha
Something like that...
By the way, anyone have a terribly corny or nerdy joke they feel like sharing?
ReplyDeleteDescartes walks into a bar. The bartender says, "René, you want a drink?" Descartes says, "I think not" -- and disappears.
LOL Thanks, Loren. I needed that. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, way to give out prizes. Sign me up for a teddy bear please.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any cool jokes - I always mess up the punch line. But I sure liked yours and Loren's.
And I did read The Saturation Point. Boy, did I feel claustrophobic (had to let spell checker write that word). And the build up for the snake was awesome. I was expecting him to pull a string of beads out of the basket at the end.
I always fall for the red herring.
Love your site CN. Cool place to hang out.
......dhole
Sounds like a pretty cool prize. I like that idea. Here's my corny joke (I think it's pretty common):
ReplyDeleteA horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks: "Why the long face?"
LOL. It gets me every time though. *sigh*
@Scott - haha Yeah, I know the joke but it still makes me smile!
ReplyDelete@Donna - Trying to do some prizes that are different from the run of the mill, even though many of them are good.
And I am so glad to hear you say that about the basket. It's not easy to have your narrator seem both reliable and unreliable at the same time. lol
(To follow Loren,)
ReplyDeleteA horse walks into a bar. . .
Oh No!! I put Descartes before the horse.
hahahahaha B
ReplyDeleteI love it.
Love the Dr. Who joke! Heehee.
ReplyDeleteB. - Hahaha! Good one. Hey, we miss you over at Flashy Fiction!!!
ReplyDeleteHahahahahahaha loved the joke
ReplyDelete