Unicorn Bell Inspiring Stories Contest

By now you realize that I've been talking about Real Imprints all week. I'm sure you've already visited this amazing website and found your own favorite inspiring story.

Well, I have an announcement to make....
                                             
                                                     **** Drum Roll please****

The writing blog I co-host, Unicorn Bell, is teaming up with Real Imprints for an Inspiring Stories Contest and YOU are the first to know about it! Yep, you get a sneak peek before I post all the information on the UB website tomorrow. So you basically have 24 more hours to write and perfect your own inspiring story! :)

What is this Inspiring Stories Contest you ask?

Send your own Inspiring Story to unicornbellsubmissions@gmail.com before March 24th.
Enter the contest for a chance to have YOUR story chosen to be the featured story on the Real Imprints website! Also, the winner of the contest will receive a $10 Amazon gift card!!


Things to know:

*Please submit real life stories, an experience that has happened to you or someone you know.
*Stories should inspire, uplift, or encourage, and can be as simple as an act of kindness or as life-changing as an unexpected tragedy or triumph.
*All stories will be posted on the UB website with your name unless otherwise specified.
*Stories should be as concise as possible while still giving enough background information and detail. I'd rather not post a word limit, but I would think 1,000 words (give or take) would be sufficient.
*The Real Imprints team will comment and choose a story to be featured on their website with a link to your blog (if you have one). The writer of the chosen story will receive a $10 Amazon gift card.
*After the contest ALL stories will be submitted to Real Imprints with the possibility of being posted on their website in the future.

Any questions?

If not, then you better get writing! Can't wait to hear YOUR story!!

And don't forget to check out my own Imprints story featured on their website today and through the weekend. Click HERE!

With Every Step Leave An Imprint

I have Tasha here today to tell us a little more about Real Imprints (the amazing website I highlighted in Monday's post).

Take it away Tasha!


Every story has a beginning. Mine started 10 years ago in a small Idaho town. I was newly married and going to college. It is here in a “home turned duplex” that I met Lindsey and her husband Aaron. We became fast friends. Our friendship became sweeter as the years ticked on! I came to know that if we were both willing to travel to see each other over great distances, those miles wouldn’t affect our friendship. Never would I have believed that many years later I would be asked to be a part of Real Imprints. (Read Tasha’s story here)

The idea of Real Imprints came through Lindsey. She has always been inspired by the stories of others. Their trials, their triumphs, and their spirit, were motivating for her and she finally decided to put those stories out there for others to see.

She came to me with this great idea and I pretty much jumped right in! We each carry a role that adds to what you see on Real Imprints. It has been amazing to witness the miracles that have brought this website to light, and we continue to witness how it blesses other people’s lives.

Each of us come from different circumstances gleaning from our own personal experiences. These experiences make us who we are and they are important, they are the “Real” part of us. These stories need to be shared…the good and the bad…or life would be pretty plain. We often tend to think that our own lives might not have anything inspiring about them, but our message is to show that that isn’t true. We each are inspiring. Our unique stories shared leave imprints in the hearts of others.

There is a story on our site that I love. It celebrates the life of a band teacher who tragically passed away. The writer was a young high school student that knew her. She has been impacted by this woman’s life and now through her story, can impact others. This lady, although gone, continues to leave an imprint. That in itself is the best celebration of life. (Read that story here)


My new favorite quote I find myself often repeating is “WITH EVERY STEP LEAVE AN IMPRINT.” I am daily affected by the lives of others and it motivates me to be something more. That is the power of this idea. The stories, the books, the videos, the music, the quotes, and the service we share all come from that same source. We all can inspire and be inspired!

                                                                                            --Tasha (Real Imprints)

Thank you Tasha for joining us today! Those of you who want to rush over and check out this Awe-spiring website (there's that word again--I may have started something...) can click on the image below OR click on the story links above.

Also, don't forget to join me Friday for the Inspiring Stories Contest reveal!! You will get all the details here BEFORE it's posted on Unicorn Bell (now don't you feel special!).

Let me know in the comments what YOU think of Real Imprints. Do YOU have an Inspiring Story to share?

Real Imprints--Real Inspiring

Have you heard of Real Imprints yet? If you haven't, you will after this post. Real Imprints is an AWESOME website designed to inspire and uplift. It has the most AMAZING stories of triumph, failure, love, loss, hope, friendship, and all around goodness.

Tear-jerking and beautifully written, these stories highlight children, cancer survivors, Olympic winners, families, and anyone who has a story to share.

I first heard of Real Imprints through my friend Tasha who is a part of the Real Imprints team. This is what she had to say about her experience as part of this amazing team of visionaries.

"I love being a part of Real Imprints! I am so privileged to read and share the stories of so many courageous and inspiring people. It is through these stories that we share our purpose to uplift and inspire. The world could use a little more HOPE and our website is dedicated to spreading that HOPE into the hearts of many!" 

                                                                                                    --Tasha

The creator of Real Imprints had a vision and this is how it started...

"This all started with a simple thought of how amazing the “real” part of people is. Sometimes we feel the need to appear perfect and amazing, but more times than not, the thing that makes people amazing is the journey they’ve been on and what they’ve done along the way. We have all been given a different path and our perspectives often depend on what we’ve experienced. Real Imprints provides the opportunity to share your journey, to bless others with the things you’ve learned, the perspectives you gleaned, and the blessings you’ve received as you’ve trudged along YOUR path. As we share our stories, aspirations, dreams, realities, struggles, and triumphs, we can connect our paths and learn from the “real” amazing parts of us. We can let go of the need to be perfect right now, celebrate our progress, embrace our lives and circumstances, knowing that we each have a purpose and can make a difference. We believe that as we share the “real” parts of our lives, it will inspire and give hope to so many, leaving imprints in lives and hearts."

                                                                                                               --Real Imprints

One of my favorite stories on the website is a video of a dying young father leaving a message of hope for his baby daughter. Check out his story HERE, but CAUTION--you are entering a "Tissues Highly Recommended Zone". Another one of my favorites is a story written by a grieving father who lost his infant son after he was born with Down Syndrome and a hole in his heart. Very touching. You can read his story HERE. 

But the story that hit me the hardest was the story of little Emilie Parker, one of the shooting victims in the Sandy Hook tragedy. Watch the video to see what her mother has learned from this experience.

 


Now on to a lighter note...I have an exciting week planned!! 

On Wednesday, my friend Tasha will be here to tell us more about how Real Imprints came to be. 

On Friday, be sure to visit and get all the details of an upcoming Inspiring Stories Contest. Unicorn Bell and Real Imprints are teaming up for an Awe-spiring (awesome and inspiring!) contest. 
And there will be PRIZES! Yep, and a chance to have your story featured on Real Imprints. Yippee!! You don't want to miss this!

Don't Miss Out!

Today as I was getting my manuscript ready to send via mail, everything that could possibly go wrong, did. Our printer is broken (strike one), then when I tried to send the document to my husband at work for him to print, the formatting completely changed. What was once 50 pages became 47 pages because I sent a document from a Mac to a non-Mac. (strike two) Then when I tried to download software onto my computer so I could fix the formatting issue, the computer refused to allow it. Something about not enough memory space? Whatever. (strike three)

If this was a baseball game, I'd have been "out" long ago. But as it was, I took a deep breath, left the room and decided that no matter how hard I tried, those fifty pages were NOT being sent to an agent today. Sometimes there are circumstances far beyond our control. It's frustrating, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

Enough of my sob story! Now on to some information about upcoming blogfests and contests! Who doesn't love a good blogfest?

March 3rd-5th, author Sheri Larsen is hosting a Gratitude Blogfest. All you have to do is watch the video and share how watching it affected your attitude of gratitude. Tell us how you've changed and what you're grateful for. Feel free to post any of those three days. You can watch the video and sign up HERE. 

 How happy do you feel on a daily basis? How often do you consciously think about it?



 ALSO....

Unicorn Bell is hosting an AWESOME contest March 10th-14th. It is the Fountain of Drabble Contest. If you've never done a drabble before (like me), get ready to let your creative juices flow, but not TOO much because you can only use 100 words. Sounds impossible? You can do it! Here are the details:

Write a complete story in 100 words using these words:

fountain of youth
boots
triangle
nest
plethora

Winner gets to pick between a query critique or first chapter critique!




You can send your drabbles in at any time to unicornbellsubmissions@gmail.com with the subject as "Drabble Contest".



ALSO....

As part of Sheri Larsen's Writer's Creed for 2014, I am committing to the following creed and will post once a month.

Here's what Sheri had to say about the Creed:

There are two optional commitments you can make:

1. Copy the CREED Badge and paste it on your site, encouraging others to join us. I've included a smaller size for your convenience. Or you can copy and paste the larger image and size to you're liking.
2. Write one post a month somehow related to your journey in following the CREED. Choose a day and time to your liking. Just include the badge in your post, linking back to this post so others can join in. Share your post via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or however!

ALSO...

I'm still trying to create a button for another contest Unicorn Bell will be co-hosting with the website Real Imprints, so more details to come on that. All I'll say right now is be thinking about an inspirational story you'd like to share. We all have them! You might have to pull one from the recesses of your mind, but I know it's there. :)

Partial Request!

I missed posting yesterday. You might have noticed that I now try to post three times a week--Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, although sometimes that schedule may alter. 

Unfortunately, I don't have an amazing post to share with you today either. I am a little preoccupied with something else...

Remember how I said I was taking you with me into the query trenches? Well, here's an update:

On Tuesday I sent a query to an agent and received a request for a partial shortly after. I've been busy going through my first fifty pages with a fine toothed comb, searching out those mistakes I might have missed the other two hundred times I've read through/revised it.

I read an interesting quote the other day, but I can't remember where I read it. Basically it said, you know your manuscript is ready to send when you've gone through it and changed things so many times that you're sick of it.

I totally feel that way. If I have to read one more scene between Declan and Giselle, I think I'm going to throw my computer against the wall.

I love the story, but I've read it so many times the words are starting to blur together. *sigh*

So, even though I don't have any scintillating stories or information to share today, I hope you'll stay tuned to upcoming posts. There are some FABULOUS blogfests coming up as well as a Unicorn Bell inspirational stories contest. More info to come....

Have an AMAZING day!!! Here's an awesome smiley face just for you!!

Courtesy of Hedfones via Wikimedia Commons

Query Trenches

Alright folks, I'm headed back into the Query Trenches. This time, I'm taking you with me. Some of you may be thinking, what the heck is a query trench? And you're about to find out, probably more than you want to.

A query is a writer's project pitch for their completed manuscript. It is THE most important letter you will write during your writing career. Therefore it has to be PERFECT (or nearly).

The ideal in this world of writing is to land a literary agent who would like to offer representation. This is where the query comes in. A writer can spend hours upon hours polishing their query, which should be no more than a page, and more specifically, the blurb about your story no more than 250 words. Have you ever tried to write a 99,000 word novel and then condense the most important parts to 250 words? It's not easy.

There are many other considerations when writing a query. It should reflect your writing style, your voice, and have absolutely no grammatical mistakes or spelling errors. (Remember this is your only shot at getting an agent to notice your book. Do you want to give them a bad impression of your writing? Typically if agents see mistakes in a query, they assume they will see the same types of mistakes in your writing.) It should be interesting, show character development and the major conflict, and most importantly, it needs to pique the agent's interest. All in less than a page.

So, why do writers do this? Why search out for a literary agent when there are other publishing options available nowadays? I think every writer dreams of "making it big". We spend months or years writing a novel and just as long revising it. Our hope is to find an agent who believes in our story as much as we do. One who will offer representation, pitch the project to one of THE BIG SIX publishing houses, and Voila! A million dollar contract! (Okay, so maybe that's dreaming a little big....)  :)

But the point is, the THE BIG SIX are put on a pedestal, idolized by writers, engraved in gold. And as I'm about to enter these "query trenches" again, I wonder if it's worth it?  I'm about to "stalk" agents--I'll research their likes and dislikes in a query and their preferred query format. I'll find out the types of books they represent and books they like to read. I'll read their bios and search out their blog, twitter, or Facebook pages. It's a process, and one that has proven unfruitful thus far.

I took a few months off from writing queries. I needed a break. And now, I'm ready to do it again. I have a manuscript ready and waiting, screaming at me for not doing anything with it other than the occasional hacking at the story, removing characters, and rewriting scenes. The longer this manuscript is in my possession, the more changes I make. Pretty soon it will be a shell of the original. (Which is probably a good thing!)

So, wish me luck! I'm heading into those trenches and praying I come out unscathed.

All of you writers out there, I want to hear from you...Did you brave the query trenches? In the end, what did you decide--try for an agent, send to small publisher, or self-publish? I'd love to hear from you!!

A Valentine's Celebration

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hopefully you have fun plans for a romantic night with your significant other. If you don't have a significant other, no worries, you can have fun on Valentine's too. Chick flick, anyone?

We were bombarded with snow this week and I wasn't able to get out to the store and pick up a few items for the kids to help celebrate V-day. I usually like to decorate the table and leave a little wrapped gift with some candy at each child's place setting. So, last night around 11:30 I had to improvise. Here's what I came up with...

It was super easy and of course I got the idea off of Pinterest. To recreate the centerpiece, just find a large tree branch in your yard and set it in a glass vase with marbles, rocks, or fun hearts. Punch holes in paper hearts and hang them with ribbon. Voila! You have an inexpensive centerpiece that packs a big punch. I love how it turned out! Don't you?

I honor of Valentine's Day, I'd love to share a clip from one of my favorite romantic movies..."You've Got Mail" (an oldie but goodie!). 

Enjoy!!

  

Do you have any fun Valentine's Day traditions? What is your favorite romantic movie? Please share!