During the holidays, I did a lot of marketing research and I even wrote a couple chapters on my own story. Boo-yah!
January 4 Question: What writing rule do you wish you’d never heard?
I think I was perfectly happy with passive until I heard the “Show don’t tell” rule. Because it was a long, long time between that moment and the moment where I finally figured out how to do that.
Today we also announce the winners of the 2016 IWSG Anthology Contest.
We’d like to thank this year’s judges:
Elizabeth S. Craig
Richard Harland
Laura Maisano
Russell C. Connor
Dawn Frederick
Ion Newcombe
Lynn Tincher
And the winners of the contest, securing a spot in the anthology:
Top story to be featured in the title and on the cover -
The Mysteries of Death and Life by Jen Stanton Chandler
Breath Between Seconds by L. Nahay
Sometimes They Come Back by Roland Yeomans
Mind Body Soul by Elizabeth Seckman
Captain Bulat by Olga Godim
The Silvering by Ellen Jacobson
The Wheat Witch by Erika Beebe
The Art of Remaining Bitter by Yvonne Ventresca
The Witch Bottle by Sean McLachlan
The Last Dragon by Sarah Foster
Memoirs of a Forgotten Knight by Renee Cheung
Of Words and Swords by Tyrean Martinson
The fantasy anthology will be out late spring - Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life.
Ready for the next IWSG contest?
What writing rule do you wish you’d never heard?
We were invaded by Minions this Christmas.
In my stocking:
And on our lawn:
57 comments:
I love the minions outside of your house!
The "show don't tell" rule is one I really struggle with. Maybe one of these days I'll nail it :-)
Many thanks to you, the rest of the IWSG admin team and the judges for the time and effort you all put into the contest!
Cheers - Ellen
Glad you had a productive break!
Love hearing the winners' names announced. :) These were some excellent stories. Thanks for letting me be a part.
Congrats to all winners, Here's to a great New Year,
Yvonne.
Glad you got some work done over the holidays. Me too.
I struggle with the show, not tell rule too. There is a balance to it, but I don't always find it.
Love the minions! Hope you had a happy holiday.
I love the minions. :)
Showing does make the words come alive and help to make the story stronger.
Thanks for co-hosting.
It's a million minions!! (Don't you wish they were real and could do stuff for you?) I thought about this when I sent out my Twitter new year's wish to you. Nothing cuter than minion critters!
Belated Happy New Year, Diane. Congrats to all the winners. All these writing rules stressed me out, they gave me sleepless nights. Yep, passive voice gave me lots of anxiety.
OMG--best Christmas inflatable ever! And congrats to the anthology winners. I recognize most of the names and I'm looking forward to reading their work.
Cool gifts!
Congratulations to all the winners of the latest IWSG Anthology! AWESOME! Can't wait to read the stories!
And yah for you! Writing is the goal this 2017! Go for it!
Minions! Looks like you all had jolly holidays. :)
Show don't tell is one it took me a while to learn how to actually implement, too.
Congrats on the chapter writing. And congrats to all the anthology winners! Great authors on that list.
Love the Minions!!
Congrats to the winners - looking forward to reading their stories.
Aw! What adorable minions. Glad you had a nice break and time to work on your story too. Congratulations to the winners. Looking forward to reading the anthology. Happy New Year to all.
I was perfectly happy with passive voice, too.
Congrats to the winners!
Look at all of those minions! Awesome. :)
Happy New Year!
I keep smiling every time I see one of us from IWSG mention the show don't tell rule.
I look forward to reading the anthology.
Here's wishing you an awesome 2017.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
Ellen, you should've seen the first time I blew them up on the porch. You couldn't get in the front door. LOL
Elizabeth, we appreciate you being a judge.
Lexa, boy do I wish they could work for me.
Tamara, and we got it two days before Christmas at 75% off.
Jen, I was thrilled when yours came out on top. I absolutely loved it.
Congrats to the winners. Best of luck with the book. :-)
Anna from elements of emaginette
Santa knows what you like!
Woo Hoo and congrats to the anthology winners.
And congrats on getting some writing done.
Congratulations to all the winners! Love all the titles.
What a grand lawn ornament, very festive. :)
I'm with you. Show-don't-tell sounds like W-T-F? But, when I started seeing how I was pulled out of a story by narrative, I got it.
A HUGE thanks to all the judges, and congrats to the winners. I'm sure the competition was just as stiff as the first time around.
I think "show don't tell" is one that a ton of people hate, because it takes so long to really get it through your head. I mean yes, you may comprehend the instruction, but being able to actually apply it (or even see it) is a HUGE step in the writerly world. It really means you've graduated to the next level.
Congrats to all the winners! Show don't tell. It's one I'm still working on because while I think I understand what it means, I don't always apply it to my writing. Happy new year.
I still struggle with show don't tell, but I can pinpoint it in other people's work, then learn from that for my own. It's why I love my critique group because we all have different strengths.
My IWSG post this month is about how to set realistic writing goals. The post is here on my StephanieScott website.
Love the Minions. You must have a houseful by now. Happy New Year Diane
Your minion collection never stops growing. Happy New Year. The terrific anthology is giving the year a great start.
Rules aren't much help if they don't come with an explanation of how to follow them, are they?
You get minions. All I have is a disgruntled, never satisfied cat! Glad to see you got so much done over the holidays. May your 2017 be even better than last year. And thank you to all the judges who decided to give my story a chance.
Congratulations to the winners!
That's a lot of Minions.
Happy 2017!
Congrats to all the winners. Always enjoy seeing your Minions. In fact, I thought of you recently when I came across some photos where someone had taken tires, painted them and made Minions for their yard. They were cute.
Love your stocking-stuffers, and yay for getting some of your own writing done! Hope the marketing tips work out well for you, and grats to the anthology winners. :)
Sandra, Santa does know what I like.
Crystal, it's a huge step. I finally found a book that gave examples and it really helped me grasp the concept.
Jo, I have a Minion shrine.
Patsy, and that's why I struggled for so long. No examples.
Roland, I have one of those, too.
Mason, if only my husband would let me do that. LOL
I think showing and telling should both be allowed in healthy proportions. I have not figured out the art of showing yet, but I am worried my book will be twice as long doing it all that way...
Congrats to the winners! I already said that on Alex's blog but they can hear it again.
Gotta love those minions!!
Happy New Year, Diane.
Minions are good. Sometimes I wish they would turn animated and do all my house chores for me.
Happy New Year.
Congrats to the winners. Love the minions.
Your holidays look like hey were fun.
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
Congrats to the winners and good job done to all those who put their stories out there for consideration. Love the minions :) Happy New Year!
Congratulations to all the winners!!!!
Wishing you all the best in 2017!!!
That's a lot of minions!
Congrats to all of the winners! I can't wait to read the other stories!
I am shifting gears here a little bit. I am glad that I heard so many authors in my classes and in the presentations I do saying that marketing only works for nonfiction and can't work for fiction. I'm glad because
that was my impetus for fighting like the devil to make sure that #authors don't believe it. Thank you for asking this question and letting me deviate – – I am good at that!
Look at all those minions, awesome! Congratulations to the winners. I can't wait to read the book! I didn't enter this anthology contest but I am going to enter the next one. Happy New Year to you!
Minion Madness! Wish I was there. Happy New Year Diane and the show don't tell rule has it's place. Not in my fan fiction though. I write what I want over there. Though I have been doing some sprucing up lately. ;)
QueendSheena
2017 IWSG January Co-Host
My hubby would love your Minions. He's a big fan of them.
So glad you got some writing done. I haven't touched my books in a couple of weeks but that's because my oldest came home for the holidays. I'll get back to writing next week. :)
Well, it's kind of hard to be a single minion, there must be MANY to be a true minion.
Congratulations to the anthology winners!
Love the sled-mobile. Happy New Year, Diane. I know it's already 5 days into it, but I wish big blessings for you this year. A year full of fun, adventure, and rewards.
How fun! Love the Minions, L. Diane! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Sounds like you have been extremely busy and congrats on your own writing....
HOW exciting for Jen!!! Congrats to her and all the Anthology winners! It should be an amazing publication and I look forward to reading their stories....
All the best for 2017! I know you'll be moving ahead at a brisk pace!
So happy for the winners! Looks like you had a Christmas theme!
show dont tell has been making the rounds! i don't have a big problem with it - i think it's helped me actually, she said with a wink (ha ha)
MINIONS!
and thanks for supporting my Cradle Rock release party - i've seen your comments at my posts! you're awesome!
happy 2017!
I know you're ga-ga over your minions. I read all I could now and now mostly what I do is show, instead of tell.
"Show don't tell" took a long time to sink in with me too, lol. I think that is most of my revision efforts. The omniscient narrator write the first draft, then about 50 rewrites later the editor has a handle on "show."
That was a lot of minions to put in a stocking. Was it as big as your living room?
Hi Diane - great Christmas you seem to have had - now I can see why you needed a clear out - for the minions growing collection - fun! So many rules ... finding one's voice and going from there ... just writing and learning are essential - cheers and a very happy 2017 - Hilary
Congratulations to all the winners.
Aren't those minions just too cute!!
Happy New Year, Diane!
Congratulations to all of the anthology winners! I'm looking forward to reading their stories. Cute minions!
Have a wonderful 2017!
How many inches of snow did you get, Di?
It does take awhile to get down show don't tell, and I'm sure I don't have it down all the way yet.
Pusheen was the one who took over our house. :)
Happy New Year, and all the best in 2017!
I find writing rules were made to be broken. Who makes them, anyway?
The Minions are fantastic! And it seems many people mentioned that rule last week. Have a fantastic week! :)
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