My Light Magazine is hosting a Writing Contest

The magazine I publish, My Light Magazine, is hosting their first writing contest! 

See the flyer below for all the details. You can also visit the Writer's Guidelines on www.mylightkids.com for things we regularly look for in submissions. 

Writing contests are good for practicing the skill of adhering to guidelines including word count and style. When I first began my writing career, contests were helpful in developing my professionalism. 

The reason we are hosting (and hope to contine to host) the contest is because we are trying to find a way to keep the magazine free for readers, yet allow us to pay our talented contributors. 

More details are in the flyer below. 

My Light Magazine Returns

I chose to wait a few months before announcing the news here. Now that it seems there is a definite momentum going, I am thrilled to announce that My Light Magazine has officially relaunched. We are located at My Light Kids. We also brought back the PDF version. It has been a core part of us, and we definitely felt something was missing without it. 

We have had three issues published already. The December 2018, January/Winter 2019 and February 2019.  We're currently working on the March issue. We have several other plans involving My Light which we hope to announce in the near future. 

Now that the new year has begun, what are your writing goals for the new year? 

#GAP Highlight

Guardian Angel Publishing's newest E-zine is out for November.  In this issue we will see: 

 SPECIAL FEATURE 

Little Isaac’s Big Adventure Tracy Schuldt Helixon and Illustrations by Jack Foster

POETRY

Bird’s Eye View by Pamela Love 

The Butterfly and the Balloon by Jill Clark

FICTION SHORT STORIES 

Up in the Air by Caroline Kiberd

Abel the Angel by Brenna Miller 

NON FICTION ARTICLE-

Star Light, Star Bright by Irene S. Roth

Sweeping the Sky by Carol J. Douglas

The Sky is the Limit by Mary Sue Roberts

PARENT/TEACHER ARTICLE 

Our Very Own Star by Kelly Bakshi M.S. Ed. 

The special feature this month is Tracy Schuldt Helixon 's book Little Issac's Big Adventure. I, being a very short person, can appreciate what Little Isaac goes through in the book. The illustrator, Jack Foster, is absolutely incredible with his work. I can think of no better combination of creative people to put together an empowering picture book. Be sure to head on over and see the other features in this months Guardian Angel Kids EZine!

So It's November

I've been in a writing funk for a while. Mostly this is because I've had a lot of things to take care of on my end. I'm finally gaining the Muse back and I know it never really left. It's always there. It's quiet voice whispers an idea as I drive past the brown and orange trees or as I pass an old, curious building with endless possibilites. I love those moments. I just need to continue to "feed" the Muse and let it do its job. The relationship between an Author (or any creator) and its Muse is like any other relationship. If you ignore or neglect the relationship, it will fade.

November is here and I know I'm not ready to plunge into NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) , but I am grabbing the spirit of it. I am using this time to nurture the writer in me again. I have set alternative goals for me to reach this time. They are just basic writer things that I used to to all the time. Some goals I have are to blog more, write down those ideas that come to me, explore one of those ideas, and add more to that novel I am working on.

So what about you? What are your goals this November? 

Happy Halloween

Another Halloween has come and gone. With that the rest of the holidays are upon us. Every year around this time I am reminded of a creation my artistic husband did for me. A few years back I asked him to carve a jack-o-lantern to resemble Corky, a character from my book Teresa's Shadow.  The process was long, but this is what he came up with.

Once it was complete, we decided to light it up.  

This definitely resembles the "glassy yellow eyes" Teresa saw in the story. 

Hope you all had an awesome Halloween! 

Fleeting Inspiration

I think the most ironic part of writing is the whole process of inspiration. I know most writers have been in the situation where you are in the middle of something at work or you are running an important errand and then all of a sudden an inspiration for that next book or article comes along.  Did it come when you were focused and brainstorming?  Nope. Did it come along while you were outlining? No again.

I have found that my inspirtation always comes when I am not equipped to act on it.  I even have a notebook with me for these moments, however many times you can't just stop what is going on. So why does this happen?

Research from an article I read in Psychology today  suggest that not only are we more creative when we least expect it, but we come up with creative answers when we are least alert or not totally focoused on coming up with an idea.  Maybe trying too hard creates a block for us rather than a quick solution. Could this be why some of our best ideas come just as we are falling asleep?

So, what can we do to harvest those fleeting inspirations that are just too good to miss?  One idea is that if you aren't able to jot down your ideas ( maybe you are in a car or you are without a pen and paper) you can use your phone's voice recorder to campture the inspirational moment. Another idea is if your inspiratioal was visual, take a photograph of what inspired your idea.

Just like writing itself is a creative action, capturing that fleeting muse takes creativity as well.  What are your ideas to capturing an idea when you aren't able to jot it down?

 Photo Credit: G. Crescoli@freegraphictoday

Guardian Angel Kids October Issue

My publisher, Guardian Angel Publishing, has been doing a great job with their E-Zine for kids. They cover a variety of topics and there are many different engaging activites. There are stories and artilces along with poetry and a parent/teacher article.  Here is what is included in their October issue.

Guardian Angel Kids- Online Magazine 

October 2018 Boo-Hoo, Boo-Boo

www.guardian-angel-kids.com

BOOK FEATURE

Lola B. And the Skinned up Knee by Nancy E. Hughes

and Illustrator- Dougie K

POEMS

Heart-Hurt by Stephanie Malley

FICTION SHORT STORIES

Halloween Surprise! by Nancy Engler

Dr. Fix-It by N. Engler

The Birthday Kittens by Caroline Kiberd 

The Rainbow Ghost by Bonnie Kloster

Be Careful, Braden by Pamela Love

PARENT/TEACHER ARTICLE

When a Child Gets Hurt by Kelly Bakshi M.S. Ed.

I enjoyed all of the content, but I thought the Halloween Surprise by Nancy Hughes was especially heartwarming. I loved how the main character, Emma, came up with a creative solution to her Halloween problem. If you haven't checked it out yet, head on over.