A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Are you brave yet?

Time for some fun. Kids are at the pool or shut up indoors with the X Box, and you finally have a few minutes to rub together for yourself.

Put those minutes to work for you.

This June, in honor of the new edition of The Writer’s Jungle (which will be out third week in June), Brave Writer is holding a writing contest for moms. There will be three winners: Grand Prize, and two runners-up.

The Grand Prize winner will either win Help for High School and a one year subscription to the Slingshot, or the new Writer’s Jungle (your choice). (If you already have these, we’ll offer you some equivalent in Brave Writer materials or classes.)

The runners’ up will receive $25.00 gift certificates to any Brave Writer materials (classes not included).

Before you decide that you’re not a writer and can’t possibly win, I want you to think about entering this competition anyway. This is a chance for you to write under pressure, to a deadline, drawing on all the skills you are teaching your kids. You’ll get to experience first-hand what it takes to create, what it feels like to know that your writing will be read and evaluated, and you’ll have the joy and exhilaration of defeating that anxiety about writing that you have well-concealed under your cool exterior. 🙂

Also, I’m not looking for the most professional piece, but the essays that show me that the writer is stretching, risking… in short, being brave! Ask your kids for help. They’ll love the chance to edit your work, and to give you ideas and feedback.

Guidelines

• Write a 700 word essay that uses Brave Writer principles (literary elements, opening hook, satisfying conclusion, alliteration, telling the true truth, and so on) that answers the following question:

  Write about a time in the last year that you were brave. The experience doesn’t have to relate to homeschooling or writing or parenting. It might be your first time sky-diving, or the time you confronted your mother-in-law for meddling in your family’s business. The essay can be humorous or serious, and you may fictionalize some elements for flow, though the original story must be about you (autobiographical).

  We’ll post the top five here!

• You may use a pen name for the essay itself, if you don’t want to post your real name on the blog. I will need your real name in the email itself. Include your phone number as well as email address.
• Deadline for entries: Monday, June 26, 2006
• Please send your essay in a Microsoft Word document, attached to your email. If you don’t have Word, then please type the essay into the body of the email itself (no other programs as attachments, please).

I look forward to seeing all the ways you’ve been brave this year!

Julie

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