About two hours.

That’s how long it took me to go from inspiration to submission when I saw this call for hint fiction earlier today.

Disregard the fact that hint fiction is the very definition of brief – it’s a story of 25 words or less that suggests a larger, more complex story. Considering the way I agonize over every word while editing, it’s remarkable that I cranked out two of these hint fiction pieces in less than 120 minutes.

This was a great writing exercise – even if neither piece I submitted is chosen for the hint fiction anthology, it felt good to challenge myself to do something a little outside of my comfort zone. If you are a writer (or even if you aren’t), consider taking on this challenge. Submissions are open until August 31, 2009.

What I’ve Been Doing Lately Instead of Writing

I spent a large portion of the past two months reading and critiquing poetry instead of writing it.

Why? Because I had the honor of judging a contest for the first time, the 2009 Shine Journal Poetry Contest.

The talent of the entries was impressive and choosing winners was challenging. You can read the winning poems by clicking here.

I learned a lot serving as a judge and getting a chance to be on the “other side” of the whole contest rigmarole. Thanks to Pamela Tyree Griffin for this opportunity – I enjoyed the experience and believe in the long run it will also help me in my development as a poet.

Cool giveaway for writers at The Write Helper.

Amy over at The Write Helper is offering a unique recession-busting opportunity for writers – a drawing to win free editing services for 50 pages of writing!

If you are a writer who has been stuck trying to figure out what is wrong with a story or novel, this opportunity may be for you.  All you have to do is follow some simple instructions and send Amy an email – then you’ll be placed in a drawing to possibly win the free 50-page edit.

Pretty simple, huh? Then you have no excuse - click here for the details.

April is National Poetry Month.

April is National Poetry Month.  So what does that mean?

National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets. The concept is to widen the attention of individuals and the media to the art of poetry, to living poets, and to poetry books and journals. The hope is to increase the visibility and availability of poetry in popular culture while acknowledging and celebrating poetry’s ability to sustain itself.

So what can you do to celebrate poetry? Check out this list of 30 ways to celebrate at poets.org for a start.