1 – Page 160 – Cathy C. Hall Writes

I’m ending 2009 with a great way to start 2010: The Highlights Fiction Contest!

With three (Yes, three!) prizes worth $1,000 each (Yes, $1,000!) AND no entry fee, it’s crazy not to give this contest a try. Which is why every year, between January 1 and 31st, I write a story and send it to the folks at Highlights.

I haven’t won this contest yet, but the stories I’ve written for the Highlights Fiction Contest have won in other children’s fiction contests. So, technically, that’s a win, right? Which is why I’m starting my year, thinking about family stories (the theme for this year’s contest). As the saying goes, I’ve got a million of ’em.

I just have to clean them up a bit for the kiddies!

(Find all the details here, and read EVERYTHING! Including a couple of issues of Highlights Magazine for Kids!)

If you want others (and by others, I mean editors, publishers, and potential readers) to believe in you as a children’s writer, you’ve got to believe in yourself first.

So invest in your writing and give yourself a few gifts this year. That’s right. I said give yourself. Because you know what you need to make your writing better in 2010. And you just can’t afford to wait around any longer!

Do you need some serious writing support? Join a professional organization like the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. SCBWI can help you meet other children’s writers in your area, get the scoop on important conferences, and provide tons of writing information on the members only website.

Could you use some help with the sticky ins and outs of children’s writing? Take that class you’ve been debating about forever. Even if you’ve been writing for a long time, a specialized class can help you learn (and climb!) the ropes. The Institute of Children’s Literature offers a great class, with detailed one-on-one instruction.

Buy a children’s market book, get a manuscript professionally critiqued, attend a conference, enter your work in a contest. You already know what you need to do. Isn’t it time you believed in yourself enough to do it?!

(Hoping your writing heart will find what will keep you believing this holiday and throughout the year!)