Just setting a goal and then making my goal public--it's a wonderful thing. I've accomplished my first goal, and plan on keeping the momentum going for the remainder of the week. (I'm hoping to finish the whole manuscript by the time Monday rolls around.)
What writing goal do you have right now, and what are you doing to accomplish it?
Earlier in the week my students had fun at my expense. One of my 8th graders looked up my name on the internet, and up popped all sorts of photos. Photos of me at book signings. Photos I've used on my blog (like the one below of the rat family). In a second, several of the computers in the lab had the same pictures. Somehow, the sickness became contagious... without a single word being exchanged.
Oh, how they laughed because every day is a bad hair day for Sioux... and the camera always does a fantastic job of capturing each catastrophe.
And now onto the business of book blurb stuff.
Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book. You choose the genre. Is it a coffee table book of fashion trends? Is it a photo collection of mentally-ill patients and their clothing choices? You decide.
Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Blurbs are those enticing bits that prod you into buying the book. Sometimes they're on the back cover of the book. Sometimes they're on the inside front cover. What they always try to do is lure you into purchasing the book.
Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this writing challenge. She moved to Florida, and is too busy to host a weekly book blurb. If you'd like to read my review of The Write Man, Lisa's most recent novel, you read it here. It's a great read (and that's saying a lot, since I don't read romance novels).
Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. Also, link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is. And then, check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
Rats! Rats! Everywhere There's Rats!
Elsie loved Nigel... which meant Elsie had to learn to love rats.
Growing up, Nigel had trouble kids his age. His pointed nose, his furtive glances, his habit of squeaking when threatened--it all resulted in more torment from his peers.
When he found a trapped rat and then nursed it back to health, he found what he'd been yearning for for years: a friend. Jerry (thankfully, there was no Tom in Nigel's childhood home) slept with Nigel and even spent every day in Nigel's pocket during the day.
Then Elsie came along. When they first met, Nigel had only 3 long-tailed friends. He kept them separated so there was no baby rats. But while basking in the glow of love, he got sloppy... and the rats got busy. Three became 168.
Will Elsie stick with Nigel? Or will she gnaw off her leg so she can escape this sticky situation? (150 words)
And for anyone who still reads by blog, here is the photo for the next book blurb:
