Editor Quote to Consider

W.H. Auden said, "A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." I believe this to be true of all writers. Do you agree? Tell us why or why not here.

Looking forward to reading all of your feedback.

xo,
Christina

Editor Tip: Stop Making Excuses—Write Now

I am in awe of how many people believe that in order to write a memoir you must be a celebrity, elderly, or on your deathbed. While having a huge following (as celebrities do) will help you get published, it's not necessary. As for being elderly or on your deathbed, where would we be without such great memoirists as David Sedaris (Me Talk Pretty One Day), Annie Dillard (An American Childhood), Steve Martin (Born Standing Up), and Jeannette Walls (The Glass Castle)?

Just Write
Don't create excuses for yourself. Memoir binds people together; it is the day to day, the conversations at bus stops, a missed exit on a train ride, a stranger at the supermarket, an eccentric family or friend that create great works. Don't think you need to climb Mount Everest or win an Oscar to write about your life; there is value in your story, so write it—and then share—with your parent(s), child(ren), friends, family, Memoirs Ink, and the world.

Looking forward to reading your stories.

Cheers,
Christina

6 Simple Editor Tips on How to Win the Writing Contest

As Memoirs Ink's Senior Editor, I have seen the writing contests (half-yearly and annual) from start to finish for nearly 3 years. As a result, I have compiled a list of friendly tips to help you make sure that your essay lands in the coveted "yes" pile.

I hope these tips will also help you to stand out as a writer, not just for our contest, but beyond.

#1 Stay Focused
As these are short essays, stay focused. Avoid rambling. Your essay should read like a mini-memoir, not a journal. The reader should know what your essay is about after the first two paragraphs. If you start to stray away from the topic you initially introduced, go back and remind yourself that you need to stay focused. Also, you must proofread your work thoroughly. The piece you submit should be your final draft—do not submit a piece that you have not proofread. This may seem trivial, but spelling errors/typos will land your essay in the "no" pile. Proofread until you are certain there are no mistakes—and then have someone else read your work: Enter tip #2.

#2 Two Pairs of Eyes Are Better Than One
Have a friend, fellow writer, trusted companion, teacher, professor, neighbor, or other willing person(s) to review your work. Something that makes sense to you, especially in memoir, may need a sentence or two of clarification for an outside party (your reader(s)). Have someone read your work before you submit your piece to the contest. Don't have someone to help you edit your piece? Don't worry. Memoirs Ink offers feedback for writers after the contest; submit your piece along with a check for feedback and one of our judges will provide you with feedback on how to strengthen your writing skills and make your piece stand out amongst the pile. This may not help you win the contest you initially enter, but you can revise and re-enter your essay for another contest. I strongly recommend doing so.

#3 Review the Guidelines
This is a note on format: Your essay must be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt. font. Single-spaced essays strain your readers' eyes, and after reading hundreds of entries, judges are less likely to read your essay all the way through—do yourself a favor and play by the rules for all the writing contests you enter. Also, you must start your essay halfway down the first page—do not start your text at the top of the page. Your essay must be previously unpublished. Follow the rest of the guidelines here: http://www.memoirsink.com/writingcontestguidelines/

#4 Read, Read, Read
In order to publish the next great memoir, novel, etc. you must read the greatest memoirs, novels, essays, etc. Before you write, read a vast array of literature and familiarize yourself with all the greatest writers. And then read the not-so-great works and learn from their mistakes.

#5 Use Your Senses
Fill your work with imagery by using your senses. Make sure your reader can see, feel, hear, smell, and taste everything that you are describing. By using your senses, you will show, not tell, which is important in all writing.

#6 Have Fun with Your Work
If you don't want to write your essay, chances are people will be less likely to enjoy reading your work. Nothing is greater than a writer who is itching to share his/her story with the world. Be that writer. Find the joy in your work and others will too.

I have been honored to read the essays for our contests, and look forward to sharing in your writing journey. I hope these tips will encourage and inspire the writer in you. Best of Luck writers!

Cheers,
Christina

*For more tips from the editor, notes from the president, and inspirational quotes to keep you writing, follow us on Twitter: @memoirsink and friend us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Memoirs-Ink/25070364520

A Tasty Announcement --Guest Post from Emily Chang

Years ago, when I was interning for Memoirs Ink, I learned a lot about running a business, but I also learned how to cook lemongrass. You see, the biggest perk of working out of Felice's home office was that we could take breaks to satisfy our crazy cravings in the kitchen. Whether it was sushi, xao xa ot ga (chicken with lemongrass and chilies), or vegan shepherd's pie, our cravings knew no cultural bounds. The longer I worked at Memoirs Ink, the more I came to understand the connection between food and memoirs; in a lot of ways, Felice and I are an example of a relationship founded on a shared love for both. Food, at its most basic, exists to nourish us, but it often does so much more -- it can open doors to the most wonderful relationships and experiences.

After graduating from college, I moved to New York, thousands of miles away from Memoirs Ink and Felice’s kitchen. Now I order xao xa ot ga from Cafe Asean in Greenwich Village instead of wrestling with lemongrass in my tiny studio kitchen. But Felice and I are still cooking up ideas – this time, metaphorically rather than literally. Memoirs Ink’s new pet project, is called  Nourishing Narrativess: Memoirs that Get to the Heart of the Platter. It is a blog that celebrates the perennial connection between food and the beautiful stories it evokes (and vice versa). Our ultimate end goal is to publish a collection of stories and recipes that nourish the heart, mind and stomach.

I know a lot of people are much more comfortable with sharing a recipe than a story; I would love for my father to reveal as much about his younger days, as he reveals about his cooking secrets. But recipes also have a power of their own: they can serve as a gateway to old memories, while creating new ones. Proust’s madeleine is the classic example of how a taste can transport people back to the experiences that shaped them as individuals. Digesting and recording those memories into memoirs is a challenge, but one well worth taking. We want to taste your “madeleine,” read your stories and make your food. Indulge our minds and stomachs – submit your story (750 words or less) and recipe to nourishingnarratives at gmail dot com.

You can visit the blog at www.heartoftheplatter.com.
Also, feel free to become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. We will be having lots of yummy giveaways for our fans.

How You Can Write and Finish Your Book - For Real

Memoirs Ink has been cooking up a solution to some common struggles that creative non-fiction writers face when trying to write or finish a book. Some of these problems include isolation, lack of structure or momentum, lack of support, lack of financial resources, and often times, lack of fun in the process.

So we have combined the answers to all of these problems into a simple, fun, affordable solution. Our bi-monthly webinar series will inspire, instruct, structure and forwardly move you toward a finished book. The best part is that you can participate from anywhere (no driving), at any time that is convenient for you-- all for only $67/month.  (Newsletter subscribers who register in May or June 2011 pay only $57/month.)

A webinar is like a seminar in that there is a speaker and a chance to interact and ask questions. This webinar also has some extra features, including a chance to make book promises and be held accountable at the next webinar. We also have a 2-minute dance party, a forum for subscribers to interact and support each other between webinars, and a few other surprises.

Memoirs Ink has helped hundred of people write and finish their memoirs. Please join us for a completely awesome new way to finish your book. Register Here.

You can also watch our fabulous trailer here:

Transparency About 3rd Place

Since some people want to know more about what happened with third place and why we chose not to award it to anyone, we will tell you what we can without slandering anyone.

After choosing the winners and having them all sign agreements that their work was original and previously unpublished, we discovered that 3^rd place had already won a contest and published elsewhere more than a year ago. This is a violation of our guidelines and because it was not disclosed to us, but rather discovered by us, we were especially unhappy. Occasionally, because we allow simultaneous submissions, people get good news calls simultaneously, and if they disclose it to us, we are usually cool about a story being published in a non-competing avenue simultaneously. This has happened 2 or 3 times in 8 years. However, in this case we were either lied to or there was a grave misunderstanding on the writer’s part about what “published” means. So we had to disqualify the entry.

I thought this was good news, since the woman who came in 4^th place was my personal favorite, but she declined the honor of 3^rd place, because she had already submitted elsewhere and was hoping to get a better offer. There was a tie for 5^th place, however, both stories had significant problems, and we decided that they weren’t publishable as they are. Because this is a writing contest, we can’t edit the stories to make them winners, no matter how much we want to. We realize that there may have been other stories that were winner material that may have fallen through the judges’ notice for whatever reason. Judging is a highly individual process and some people have wildly different likes and dislikes. In the end, we had to stick with the top stories that were chosen.

So that brings us up to date. We are committed to helping writers tell their stories and supporting them in that journey. We realize how not awarding 3^rd place looks—that we are depriving some other author of a prize, but this actually gives us the opportunity to do more with the prize money that is sort of hanging out in space waiting to be used. We aren't sure what to do with it, but we'd like to use it to forward our mission of helping writers and promoting storytelling. We have several ideas and would like readers to vote in the comments.

• Give away more money in the next contest.
  
• Give each of the remaining 6 of the top 10 finalists free feedback/formal critique (normally $40).
• Give it the most disgruntled entrants to make them happy
• Give it to Write Girls, a charity that helps teen girls through writing mentorship. OR Ask readers to submit nominations for a teen girl or boy who could use it.
• Start a scholarship fund for writers with merit who can't afford classes.
  

Other ideas? Vote or leave your comments in the blog.

Annoucning the Winners - 2011 Half Yearly Contest

Okay there was a little bit of scandal, but we are over it. Here are the winners.

First Place: Hockey Night in Canada by Ariadne Hawkins

Second Place: Tasty by Lauren Leatherman

Third Place: In an unprecedented incident, we have disqualified the 3rd place winner for violation of the guidelines. The judges and staff at Memoirs Ink, annoyed and disheartened, have decided not to award it to anyone else.

We will be adding like buttons to our winner archives soon, so make sure you "like" them if you like them. Thumbs up. Smiley Face. Yay! Lots of exclamation points.