Sunday, February 28, 2010

Commenter Prizes

We thought long and hard about the best way to reward participation in the exercises and comments. We wanted everyone who played along to have a chance at winning something, and in the end, we chose prizes that we though best reflected the spirit of these games and this blog.


So I printed out all the comments going back to the entry pool, cut them apart, and let my trusty sidekick Danger Boy pull three slips as winners. (This involved him putting down the tacos for two seconds, quite an accomplishment on a hungry day.) (Oh, to have that child's metabolism.)

Here are the winners, in no particular order--


Winner of the "We Talked About It On the Blog, So Now We're Giving It Away" prize--

Simon C. Larter!

Simon wins a download of Nathalie Gray's steampunk romance, "Full Steam Ahead," which we discussed on this blog a few weeks back. Simon, you lucky guy, this book isn't even on sale yet, so this is a true sneak peek! (The rest of you will have to wait until tomorrow to get your copies. It's on sale March 1 at Red Sage.)

Simon's winning comment was the one in which he recused himself from voting in a heat he'd entered. So once again, good sportsmanship leads to unexpected rewards!

Simon, please email Theresa at edittorrent at gmail dot com to make arrangements for your download. We hope you enjoy it.






Winner of the "It's Sort of Like the Heats" prize--

Holly Rutchik!

Holly wins a fabulous prize pack containing A Writer's Book of Days by Judith Reeves and a hardback notepad!

This book is packed with creativity prompts and writing exercises in the same spirit as the exercises we've done here for the past two weeks. The accompanying notebook is the perfect size to fit inside a glove compartment, perfect for capturing those great ideas we get while driving.

Holly's winning comment came from the Yes/No exercise designed to show us what we're passionate about in our worldviews. Holly, please email Theresa your snail mail address at edittorrent at gmail dot com so we can get this prize to your door!





Finally, winner of the "It's the Book Alicia and Theresa Giggle About All the Time" prize--

Spindriftdancer!

Spindriftdancer wins Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss, a book much beloved by both Alicia and Theresa for being the funniest book about commas, ever. Spindriftdancer also wins a glove compartment-sized hardback notebook, useful both for jotting notes about your wips and your kips. (Yes, we get your name. Theresa's a knitta, too, yo.)

Spindriftdancer's winning comment came from all the way back in Heat #2: Curling (Him or Her Around Your Little Finger) when she revealed the true romance of her character being separated from her soul. This comment not only made several of us want to read your book, but it also won you the prize!

Please send your snail mail address to Theresa's attention at edittorrent at gmail dot com so we can arrange for delivery of your prize!


Thanks to everyone who participated! This has been loads of fun!

Heat Winners: Speed Scrivening


Ladies and gentlemen, we have an unprecedented result!

After much deliberation behind the scenes (including some well-reasoned arguments from several contestants regarding how to measure the winner), the judges have decided that all entrants in this event win the gold!

All of you stretched your writing muscles, and you all earned the medal!

If you emailed your numbers in accordance with the rules, you get this gold medal graphic and wicked cool bragging rights!

Congratulations!

Heat Winner: Short-Track Speed Slating


The judges conferred and have made their ruling. It was a tough decision, but in the end, decided to call this race by a horse's nose!

Congratulations to Darkspires!

Darkspires wins the final heat in Short-Track Speed Slating! The editors were very impressed with the deft handling of the horse's point of view, and that's not something we can say every day.

Darkspires wins this gold medal graphic and wicked cool bragging rights! We hope both are put to good use!

Heat Winner: Wordic Combined


Congratulations to Dave Shaw!

This longtime member of edittorrent's Team Comments won the gold medal in the challenging Wordic Combined event with his entry,

edittorment

which your fearless editors have decided to interpret as a twisted tribute to the process we all adore so. Ahem.

Dave wins this nifty graphic and wicked cool bragging rights! Brag away, Dave, and congratulations!

Heat Winner: Cold-As-Ice Hockey


Congratulations to Murphy!

Murphy won the gold medal in the Cold-As-Ice Hockey event with her taut paragraph, Entry #10, Afraid to Shatter!

Murphy, you win this nifty graphic to display on your blog! (Does this mean you'll start a blog now?)

You also get wicked cool bragging rights, and we just know you'll have fun with that! Woo hoo!

Heat Winner: Doggerel Sled Racing


Congratulations to Sylvia!

Sylvia penned the winning doggerel, Entry #4, an ode to procrastination!

Sylvia, you win this totally awesome gold medal to display on your website or blog, AND you get wicked cool bragging rights!

Closing Ceremonies: Did You Make Your Goal?


Back during the opening ceremonies, we posted our writing goals and joined teams.

Did you make your goal?

Brag about it in the comments so we can applaud your great efforts!

Anyone who made their goal can swipe this nifty graphic. (*If your blog or website has a commercial purpose, check the rules in your jurisdiction about whether you can display this emblem. An alternate emblem for those of you in this situation will be provided once we get it from our graphics guru.)

I made my goal -- 2 novellas line edited plus 3 revision letters written. (Actually, I beat my goal and edited 2.5 novellas, but one of them was very short.) So I'm going to post the graphic in the sidebar as a reminder that setting a goal and reaching it is good for the soul.

Theresa

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Heat #13: Short Track Speed Slating

This is our final judged event. Alicia and I are the judges.

Are you all familiar with flash fiction? Flash is ultra-short storytelling, complete with a protagonist, a conflict, and a resolution. It's focused, condensed, and often as delicious as a single bonbon. (There's a great article about it here if you want a more detailed definition.)

Your job today is to write a 300-word flash story. Your story can be on any subject, but you must use two of the three following words: short, track, or speed.

Post your entries in the comments before the Closing Ceremonies begin. Alicia and I will pick the winner.

Guest post on Ian's blog

I'm the guest blogger on Ian's blog. Actually, he tells me that I'm this this week's Super Guest Star, but I'd be too modest to say that. :) Anyway, check it out!