Cathy C. Hall Writes

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.”

I’m a BIG believer in the To Do List. In fact, I make a To Do list every day. I don’t always accomplish every single thing on the list, but it’s a great motivator for me–I LOVE ticking off points on a list. Somehow, it makes me feel smart and successful.

Come New Year’s, I make the Grandaddy of all To Do Lists. Seriously, it’s a work of art. But before I make my new list, I check the old list. Did I achieve my goals? Were some of my goals totally unrealistic? Or perhaps a goal was too vague? Sometimes, I make goals that really just aren’t that important. So, it’s a fine-tuning process every year, with the hope that each new year, I’ll get closer to reaching my writing dreams.

Jan Fields’ article, “Wishing Up Good Goals” from the latest ICL newsletter, really emphasizes the importance of making “good” goals. It’s worth a read before you start your 2011 list.

And you know what else is worth a read? The ICL newsletter. I gained so much from the class I took several years ago, and I got in the habit of reading the newsletter back then. I still read it every week because I always find a useful article or tip. Plus, it’s free, and I love a good deal.

So, you might want to add “Read the ICL newsletter” to your To Do List for 2011. It’s a goal worth keeping–and you’ll get to tick off something every week. Now, don’t you feel smarter already?