ADVICE TO WRITERS

I get asked this question a lot, "What advice would you give a budding writer?"

My best advice to any writer is to WRITE, a lot, and READ even more. 

Read everything, even if it's not your cup of tea. Everything you read imprints itself on you, helping you find new ways to express your ideas. 

READ more than you WRITE, and write all the time. Long pieces, short pieces, poems, prose, stories that go nowhere, and ones that take you to places you never imagined when you started them. 

Keep a journal, pepper it with your thoughts, storyline ideas, short stories, drawings, pictures that inspire you, depress you, lift your heart and bring it down. 

OBSERVE. Learn to keep your eyes and ears open all the time. Soak in everything you can. You never know when something you see, or hear will trigger a story, or character. Pay attention to what's going on around you, how the soft mist of the fog feels on your face, how the soft light of spring casts a different light on a world slowly coming back to life after the gloom of winter. 

BE IN THE MOMENT.


This article may be copied and quoted as long as you include the byline below:
© 2012 by MaryChris Bradley, Publisher Buddhapuss Ink LLC, the proud publishers of The Last Track by Sam Hilliard,  Mystery Times Ten 2011, the bestselling collection of Mystery Short Stories for the YA audience, and The Distant Shore by Mariam Kobras, Book I in the Stone Trilogy


Authors, be sure to check out our YA Mystery Short Story Competition -  Mystery Times Ten 2012. Happy writing!

And the Winners are . . .

We had over 200 entries in our competition and we'd like to thank all of them for participating. It was a tough job for our judges, but they persevered and have chosen what they feel are the ten best submissions. The lucky ten authors will have their stories included in the upcoming Mystery Times Ten.

All winners of our 2011 Mystery Times Ten YA Short Story Competition will
receive:

Two (2) copies of the finished book and the opportunity to “fast track” their next Young Adult or Middle Grade manuscript with our Editorial staff

And they are:

Johanna Harness for her story Cherry Bomb

Jessica Souders for her story Toothless

Kirsty Logan for her story Sea of Trees 

Elyse Dinh-McCrillis for her story Submerged

Kathleen Sprayberry for her story Falsely Accused

Barb Goffman for her story Truth and Consequences

Melanie Cummins for her story Frost 


AND the Top Three Winners are:

• The THIRD PLACE winner who will also receive a $75 Gift Card, featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag is Addie King for her story Poltergeist on Aisle Fourteen.

• The SECOND PLACE winner who will also receive a $100 Gift Card, featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag is Wendy Sparrow for her story Passing Notes.

AND a drum roll please!

• The FIRST PLACE winner who will also receive a NEW Kindle, featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag is Cecilia Dominic for her story The Coral Temple.

Congratulations to all our winners and a huge thanks to our Judges:

YA Book Blogger Panel:

• Danielle Smith, aka The1stdaughter from the children's book review site There's A Book, is a reader, reviewer and writer of books of all varieties.

• Gina Reba - Gina is the "insatiable reader" behind the site, Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.  Gina is an avid book reader, reviewer, and general lover of the written word.

• Kristina Guidroz - Kris also known as the Cajun Book Lady where she reviews her favorite genres young adult, paranormal/fantasy, romance, and horror.

YA Teen Panel

• Caleb G 
• Connor M
• Katy H
• Jessica G
• Madison M 

 And our fantastic Editorial Review Panel

• Erica Sommer Karcher - Erica works for Baker & Taylor's Children's and Teens Services and writes reviews for Visual Bookshelf. 

• Joan Apgar - Joan worked for a major book wholesaler for 26 years, 15 of those as a Children's and YA Book Buyer.

• Ellen Myrick - Ellen has over two decades experience in the Children's and YA book field and runs Myrick Marketing & Media LLC.  

 We will have much more about our Judges and our winners in the book and on our website soon. Let's have a round of applause for them all!

LAST CALL! Write a Story, Win a Kindle!

Enter our YA Mystery Short Story competition - Mystery Times Ten - and get a chance to win a brand new Kindle! Competition closes at Midnight PST TODAY January 31st, 2011!

We seek new mystery short stories that are targeted for the YA audience.

Winning Selections:

• The Ten (10) Winning entries will be published in the Spring 2011 Young Adult Showcase titled Mystery Times Ten to be published by Buddhapuss Ink LLC.
• FIRST PLACE winner will receive a NEW Kindle, Featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag.
• SECOND PLACE winner will receive a $100 Gift Card, Featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag.
• THIRD PLACE winner will receive a $75 Gift Card, Featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag.
• ALL TEN (10) WINNERS will receive: two (2) copies of the finished book and the opportunity to “fast track” their next Young Adult or Middle Grade manuscript with our Editorial staff. “Fast track” does not mean you will receive a publishing contract, but we will guarantee that your manuscript is given a priority reading and response.
• Some winning entries will also be featured on our website, blog, and/or Facebook page.

JUDGES:

Buddhapuss Ink was founded with a mission to put our readers first and that’s just what we aim to do in Buddhapuss Ink’s first competition. All entries that meet submission guidelines will be read by and rated by judges from our YA Book Blogger Panel and our YA Teen Panel. The top twenty (20) entries—based on total points accrued—will then go on to our Editorial Review Panel.
Our YA Book Blogger Panel is made up of some of the best Book Bloggers on the web. These are people who are passionate about the YA market, who spend untold hours reading, reviewing and promoting books for this audience.
Our YA Teen Panel is exactly that—a group of teens aged 13-18 from across the USA who have been nominated by teachers, librarians, and book industry professionals. All of them are avid readers.
Our Editorial Review Panel is made up of  3 publishing professionals who have a combined total of over 50 years in the industry. The decisions of the Competition's judges will be final

• Deadline January 31, 2011 Midnight PST
• No manuscripts will be returned.
• Winners will be notified and announced in April 2011.
• Publication is scheduled for May/June 2011. 

Send your best words our way! We publish newcomers and established writers alike.
For all the RULES and Submission Guidelines please check our website!

Word is getting out! Read about our YA Mystery Competition at these fine sites!

Connecting: The Poetry and The Prose

Women of Mystery

Creative Writing Contests

Arts Grants Finder

Of course you can find all the info you need on our website.  Remember the contest closes on January 31, 2011! Don't miss out on the fun - "Butt in chair. Write like mad!"


We would like to thank these sites for helping us in our search for the next great YA Mystery Writer!