Contest | Cathy C. Hall Writes

First, a little poetic inspiration to get you primed and ready to write:

I love myself, I love me so!
I took myself to the picture show.
I wrapped my arms around my waist.
I got so fresh, I slapped my face!

Hahahaha! I wish I could claim that, but it’s one of my mom’s jewels from back in the day. If I could use that little poem, I might send it in to one of the poetry contests I’m considering. To wit:

The Poetry Society of Virginia’s Contest (Deadline: January 19)

The North Carolina Poetry Society’s Adult Contest (Deadline: January 15)

The Pennsylvania Poetry Society Contest (Deadline: January 15)

Now, if I’m being perfectly honest, my poetry skills are not exactly scathingly brilliant. But I do so love poetry. Or at least the poetry I understand.

I love the way a lyrical poem makes words sing. And I love how images spring into my mind when I hear a poem read aloud. I can appreciate the wonder of a beautifully wrought poem, even if I can’t exactly wrought one up for myself.

But that doesn’t keep me from trying. And with the entry fees for these contests, I can afford to send my pitiful poems out into the world. Because …

I love my poems. I love them so!
The ones of joy, the ones of woe.
I send them out all over the place-
Makes judges want to slap my face!

(P.S. About the Polar Bears. Um, that was a shameless ploy on my part to grab folks who like Polar Bears and convince them to follow my blog. I’m not sure if Polar Bear lovers would enjoy a blog about writing and such, but who doesn’t like winning a Barnes and Noble gift card? Of course, you can’t win if you don’t sign on to be a follower. Or get your friends to sign on as a follower. I mean, if you get 20 of your friends to sign on here, that gives you 20 entries. Just make sure your friends let me know. And if you’re a rabid Polar Bear lover who feels shamelessly manipulated, I’m very sorry. I could write you a swell poem if that will make you feel better.)

You know how I think of the most scathingly brilliant things in the shower? I just toweled off so fast, my hair is still dripping. BUT, I had to share my scathingly brilliant way to start 2011.

In checking my calendar of last year, I noticed an alarming trend. To wit, I start with a bang and fizzle out. So, I thought I’d capitalize on my Big Bang nature and bang out a couple of goals in the first few weeks!

Introducing the Big Bang B & N Followers Contest! Here’s how it works: You tell your followers about Cathy C. ‘s Hall of Fame and her brilliant contest. They scurry over here and follow me, telling me who sent them (and leaving contact information). One lucky NEW follower will win a $20 gift card from Barnes and Noble! And there’s more…the faithful follower who sent them ALSO wins a $20 gift card! YAY! I’m ending the contest on January 24th; new followers can post a comment on any post during that period, as long as they fill me in. So spread the word, my faithful friends and followers. I’m in a hurry to bang out my goal of getting over 100 followers. Because let’s face it. By May, I’ll be all “followers, schmollowers.”

If you’re like me, you start the year thinking of all the submissions that will fly out from your brain and into an editor’s hand. Except that your brain’s still in an eggnog-induced, turkey-overloaded fog. You need something short to get the old brain ball rolling. Here’s TWO competitions, with NO entry fee, that just happen to begin with B. Brilliant!

For fun and games, try the Binnacle Ultra-Short Competition. Even if you don’t win (Um, you should know that they get about a gazillion entries), you’ll jumpstart those sluggish neurons, working on your 150 word poem or prose. And lots of folks get Honorable Mentions. Why not you?

The Bevel Summers Prize for the Short, Short Story is accepting stories of 1,000 words till March 31, 2011. Now, I know it’s from Washington and Lee University and you’re thinking it’s all hoity-toidy (is that how you spell that?), but honestly. I know many of my followers are gifted short story writers who could win this competition and 250 bucks. So brush off your best short story and send it. I’m sending one of mine.

That’s how you get to be a better writer-and how you eventually get published. Oh, and don’t forget to send me your followers for a chance to win big bucks and bust my budget for the year. Now, let the New Year begin with a B-B-B-Bang-and let me go dry my hair.

P.S. Couldn’t start the year without a word from Cathy-on-a-Stick. She says, “Hey.”