Writing Unleashed with Laura M. Harkins

GUESS THE TRUE STATEMENT & WIN JESSICA BELL'S THRILLER, WHITE LADY ! (Statement #54) To celebrate the release of Jessica Bell's latest novel, WHITE LADY , she is giving away an e-copy (mobi, ePub, or PDF) to the first person to correctly guess the one true statement in the three statements below. To clarify, two statements are lies, and one is true: The first novel Jessica Bell ever wrote was ... a. published b. purposely deleted from her computer c. accidentally lost What do you think? Which one is true? Write your guess in the comments, along with your email address. Comments will close in 48 hours. If no-one guesses correctly within in 48 hours, comments will stay open until someone does. Want more chances to win? You have until October 31 to visit all the blogs where Jessica will share a different set of true and false statements on each one. Remember, each blog is open to comments for 48 hours only from the time of posting. If you win, you will be n

Winchester  I welcomed a new member to my family this week. A polydactyl or Hemingway kitten called Winchester (homage to Supernatural ) . His brother Tennant is still getting used to him, but they're both such love bugs it shouldn't take long. Tennant & Winchester So, in celebration, I bring to you a little motivational writing tool I found on Electric Literature's Facebook page: Written? Kitten!  You write 100 words, then a picture of a kitten appears. You write 100 more words, another picture of a kitten appears. Mind blown! Enjoy!!

Catching an Employer's Eye in 150 Characters or Less A few months ago I applied for a writing job, that I subsequently did not get, that required me to sell myself in 150 characters or less. In this fast past world where publishers and bloggers format their articles to fit on a cell phone screen or people discuss their lives, adventures, and mindless dribbles in 140 characters, I wasn't surprised.  A challenge nonetheless… So, I tried to stay with the food theme of my cover letter, more or less because I couldn't think of another angle at the time. It came out all right. Here's what I submitted: Combine an infectious laugh, creativity, and self-motivated work ethic in a large bowl. Pour into any sized work environment. Watch me flourish. My best attempt to deliver a succinct list of my most important qualities and abilities along with showcasing my writing ability. I look at it now and see a dozen ways to improve it. Woulda, co

Over at Tor.com  Stubby the Rocket talks about The Story Museum's newest exhibit : photographs of British writers and storytellers dressing up as their favorite children's lit characters. Neil Gaiman chose Badger from The Wind in the Willows . What a fun idea! I always loved Ottie and the Star by Laura Jean Allen. An adventurous little fellow who meets all kinds of new sea animals on his journey to find the star. I still have the book report I wrote in first grade. So, if I had the chance to dress up as my favorite children's lit character, I believe it would be Ottie. A close second would be Charlotte  Scarlet Monster from a book whose name eludes me   Scarlet Monster Lives Here by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and illustrated by Dennis Kendrick, but is hiding  I found in a box somewhere in my parent's attic. Which character from your childhood would you dress up as?

It's been well over a year, 16 months to be exact, since I entertained the blogging world with my dazzling prose (hahahah!). Life. What a pain in the ass. She played with me like a cat with it's prey, setting off every one of my triggers. Grasped between her teeth, I went limp. I woke up on the ground. My face scraped up with pebbles imbedded in the cuts. Looking up, I saw her  standing above me, pointing her well-manicured finger in my face while her shoulders bounced with laughter. She takes pleasure in my pain. This past year, in particular, has been incredibly challenging. I know there's more strength hidden inside me. And it's time to look inward and recharge. During my hiatus, I kept busy reading fiction, reading craft books to improve my writing, and writing when my schedule and procrastination allowed. I burned sage to shoo away all the negative energy surrounding me and created some new goal: finishing my current WIP (stuck at Chapter 9) and researc