Friday, September 2, 2016
Open Positions at the PTA
Publicity Chair: Responsibilities include advertising, marketing, and social media presence of the PTA and PTA programming. White Elephant Sale Chair: Responsibilities include organizing the annual white elephant (garage) sale that occurs at SAS and in the Woodlands community each May. Events Treasurer: Responsibilities include preparing cash floats, training cashiers, and reconciling cash/coupons for the book fair and International Fair. There is a one week commitment for each event.
from Singapore American School http://ift.tt/2bTiHTy
from Singapore American School http://ift.tt/2bTiHTy
Volunteers Welcome
Working at the Booster Booth is a great way to find out what is going on in the high school and meet other mothers. Shifts are three hours long, every other week.
from Singapore American School http://ift.tt/2cd7dIT
from Singapore American School http://ift.tt/2cd7dIT
The Winners of the 5th Anniversary Writing Contest
by Joe Bunting
Last week, our partner literary magazine Short Fiction Break announced the winners of the 5th Anniversary Writing Contest. Entering this contest was a huge accomplishment for all our writers, and we want to celebrate the winners here on The Write Practice, as well.
We received over 300 entries to this contest from a number of very talented writers. The judges thoroughly enjoyed reading all your stories, and with such an amazing selection, you made their job of choosing just a handful of winners very difficult.
You should be proud. We’re very proud of you.
The Difficult Part of Contests
The thing about writing contests is, when you select one—or even several—winners, you create a lot of not-winners. (That’s different from being a loser, I think.) I’ve been there many times. Rejection is simply a part of writing.
I believe that if you’re measuring your success as a writer by how many times you’ve been published, you’re using the wrong metric. Instead, count how many times you’ve been rejected. That’s a much more accurate indicator of your effort, discipline, and seriousness as a writer.
Rather than trying to get everyone to like your stories, get as much feedback about how to improve as you can. Rather than trying to justify how good you are, work to get better.
If you do this for long enough, you won’t need anyone to tell you you’re a success. You’ll be a success all on your own.
The Judges
Before I announce the winners, I want to say an enormous THANK YOU to the terrific judges who have worked tirelessly over the past month to read and consider our hundreds of entries. Without their immeasurable effort, this contest would not have been possible.
A huge thank you to these incredible writers:
Christa Carmen lives in Westerly, Rhode Island with her fiancé and a beagle who rivals her in stubbornness. Her short stories have appeared in ‘Devolution Z Horror Magazine,’ ‘Jitter Press,’ ‘Literally Stories,’ ‘Fiction on the Web,’ ‘The J.J. Outré Review,’ ‘Corner Bar Magazine,’ and ‘pennyshorts.’ She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and psychology, and a master’s degree from Boston College in counseling psychology. You can read her writing on her website and find her on Facebook and Twitter.
MC D’Alton shares her writing on her website.
Ashley Emma is a book editor, proofreader, and author of Amish crime novels. Her newest novel, Undercover Amish, will be available on September 4th. You can find out more about her writing on her website.
Sarah Gribble shares her writing on her website. You can also find her on Facebook.
Frances Howard-Snyder is a philosophy professor at Western Washington University who teaches and writes on ethics and philosophy of religion. She has published stories at Wordhaus, Everyday Fiction, OxMag, Whatcom Writes and Short Fiction Break. When not writing, she loves spending time with her family—including twin boy teenagers, walking, playing chess, traveling, and watching Shakespeare.
David Johnson lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Alice Sudlow has a keen eye for comma splices, misplaced hyphens, and well-turned sentences, which she puts to good use as the content editor of The Write Practice and Short Fiction Break. She loves to help writers hone their craft and take their writing from good to excellent. You can learn more about her editing services on her website.
Bill Wells is a published author of short story and poetry. He enjoys working in a variety of forms, though he is particularly fond of poetry. His more substantial projects have been in fantasy fiction. You can learn more about Bill on his website.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! (Everyone, say thank you to the judges in the comments.)
Prizes
Just to recap: in honor of The Write Practice’s 5th Anniversary, the first place winner will receive a $500 cash prize. Five runners-up will receive $50 each.
Ready to hear the winners?
Here we go.
Shortlisted Stories
The judges were faced with a slew of excellent stories to choose from. I’m not exaggerating when I say your great writing made their job very difficult. While these stories didn’t win a prize, the judges selected them as some of their favorite stories. They are all well worth a read, so head over to Short Fiction Break and check them out.
New Scars for Old Skin by Ryan Benson
The Memory of Breath by Catherine Callicott
A Scar for a Scar by Joslyn Chase
Sitting in the Shade with Jeremiah Rust by Simon Ciappara
The Warrior’s Scar by CJ Clark
Scar by Jeremy Dorfman
Keeping Out the Cold by Theresa Jenner Garrido
Yellowed Indigo by Nicole Grant
The Life and Adventures of a Desk-Job Confabulator by Alexandra Jade Goh-McMillen
Thank You for Your Service by Tom Heaven
Just Ask by Jennifer Kelly
Blue, Red by Monique Legaspi
The Girl Who Didn’t Care by Bart Mann
The Minister by Stephanie Mohs
The Ones You Can’t See by Melissa Muhlenkamp
The Scars that Bind by Marka Ormsby
On the Edge by K.C. Otenti
Forsaken by A.D. Pate
Turning of the Tide by Brandon Perkins
Kintsugi (or, Beauty for Ashes) by Carryl Robinson
Instead by Dawn Robuck
The Reckoning by Joanna Dunn Samson
Outsides Match the Insides by Rebecca Van Horn
A Thin White Line by Waldo Wesley
Partners in Crime by Pauline Yates
You can find these and all the published stories from the writing contest here.
Fifth Runner-Up
“WingTips” by Jing X. Danforth. We received a lot of unique and unexpected interpretations of the contest theme. This story of shoulder angels is a particularly special, quirky tale, with a light humor that is unusual in a batch of stories about scars.
Fourth Runner-Up
“The War Within” by Deb Bailey. This touching, exquisitely written story conveys a pain many of us struggle to understand.
Third Runner-Up
“The Cicatrix” by Allison Walters Luther. This heartfelt story has an impressive story arc, conveying a lifetime in just a few short paragraphs.
Second Runner-Up
“The Womb as a Tomb” by Gayle Woodson. This heart-wrenching emotional roller coaster kept us in suspense until the very end.
First Runner-Up
“The Tea Party” by Denise Harris. This story beautifully captured a child’s voice, combining darkness with childhood whimsy.
The Grand Prize Winner
The winner of our 5th Anniversary Writing Contest and recipient of the grand prize is . . .
“Red Beans” by Justine H. Cho. Justine’s story combines a deliciously creepy atmosphere, strong characterization, and subtle hints about a heavy topic. All this, as well as its masterful allusions to Red Riding Hood, won the judges over, and we’re pleased to declare it the winner of this contest. You can read “Red Beans” here.
Congratulations to Justine, and to everyone who entered this writing contest. This was a lot of fun, and I look forward to more contests in the future!
And if you signed up for feedback from the judges, rest assured it will be on its way soon. Now that the winners are selected, our judges are hard at work putting together their thoughts about a couple hundred stories. (Yet another reason to thank them in the comments!) You’ll get your feedback soon, I promise.
Share your congratulations in the comments!
The post The Winners of the 5th Anniversary Writing Contest appeared first on The Write Practice.
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(4) Testers Wanted: Precision Pro Nexus Laser Rangefinder
There are few universal truths in golf, but one that has taken hold is that if you want a high-quality laser rangefinder, be prepared to shell out at least 3 bills, maybe 4.
Anything less leans toward the "toy" end of the of golf equipment spectrum.
Testers Wanted:
The folks at Precision Pro are taking aim at the notion that a laser rangefinder has to be a big ticket item. The company says its Nexus Laser can stand toe to toe with the big boys at a price that you won't have to hide from your significant other.
MyGolfSpy has been able to secure 4 of these babies, and we're looking for four avid, accuracy loving golfers to test them out for us.
How To Apply:
As you know, we take our product testing pretty seriously at MyGolfSpy, so please read the following instructions carefully:
First, if you aren't already, you must sign up for the MyGolfSpy Community Forum (click here to register).
Next, in the Official Precision Pro Nexus Rangefinder Testers Wanted thread, tell us your name, home state and handicap. (click here to enter).
It's that easy. Best of luck!
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
TaylorMade Partnering to Create Top Golf-Like Golf Entertainment Venues
For the 2nd time this year TaylorMade has a posted a fairly raw video specifically for TaylorMade’s staff ambassadors. Ambassadors are, for the most part, PGA Professionals representing the TaylorMade brand at green grass shops all across the country. It’s part of their jobs to sell you TaylorMade gear.
As was the case last time around, the semi-private video provides TaylorMade a vehicle to provide a pom-pom jiggling company update that avoids the scrutiny that should come with more public statements.
As was also the case last time, we fully expect TaylorMade will pull the video before many of you have the chance to watch it.
The general takeaway from the video is this: Everything is awesome.
What Wasn’t Said
It’s perhaps noteworthy that adidas was not mentioned once during the twelve-minute video. Certainly, the intent was to promote all things TaylorMade, but the mention of the parent company suggests that we’re moving closer to separation.
That brings me to what Abeles had to say about the sale:
“We’re being very thoughtful and very disciplined to ensure that if, and when, we get to a place where we find the right buyer that they will invest in the things that matter most for our company, and I’m proud to say that those who we’re working with, which is a very select group, are all extremely excited about investing in advanced product technology, investing in our pyramid of influence which starts on tour and works all the way through our staff in the United States and around the world, investing in our people, our strategy, and a very bright and robust future for TaylorMade”. - David Abeles, CEO TaylorMade Golf
It's an intriguing statement, and likely one we’ll want to remember. Multiple sources have told MyGolfSpy that a deal is in the process of being finalized (it may very well be finalized by now). There hasn’t been a substantial amount of interested in the company, the sale price will likely be well below adidas’ original asking price, and the most likely buyer is from the Private Equity world.
By every account other than Mr. Abeles', product technology, innovation, and the pyramid of influence won’t be among the new owner’s primary concerns. The speculation is that when the dust settles, TaylorMade will be a very different and much leaner company than it is today.
The Next Top Golf?
The other interesting bit of news is TaylorMade’s involvement in what reads like a Top Golf clone.
A couple of weeks ago we got a bizarre tip that “TaylorMade is going the Top Golf route”. At the time, we didn’t quite know what to make of it, but the video provides some clarity. In the video, it’s revealed that TaylorMade’s Dwight Segall has accepted a new position with a Fortress Investment Group (which manages Newcastle Investment Corp), where his role will involve overseeing the development of Drive Shack sites across the U.S. and internationally.
If you’re just hearing about Drive Shack for the first time, you’re not alone. It’s described as an experiential entertainment venue that provides a gamified golf experience.
Sound familiar?
It’s especially worth mentioning that Drive Shack is partnering with TaylorMade to build out these Drive Shack sites.
If and when Drive Shack becomes a reality, comparisons to Top Golf will be inevitable. TaylorMade’s chief rival, Callaway Golf, has a +/-15% state in Top Golf, so it’s not surprising TaylorMade would seek out a similar alternative revenue stream – even if this one is perhaps a little too on the nose.
Keep this news in your back pockets as it could prove to be a major part of TaylorMade’s business once it’s under new ownership.
The Rest of the Video
For those who don’t want to sacrifice twelve and a half minutes of your life, or for those who come here (presumably) after the video has been removed, here are the other key bullet points from this quarter’s pep rally.
- TaylorMade staffers have had a great season on tour and in Rio. While TaylorMade can tell you that Dustin Johnson won the US Open, ridiculous rules prevent it from mentioning that Justin Rose won a freaking gold medal.
- M products have “taken over the world”. Retail sales numbers are strong, and driver counts on tour (a stat TaylorMade basically pays to guarantee) are at an all-time high.
- Market share is strong, healthy, and growing.
- M is the #1 selling iron product.
- The 2017 produce line will be the very best TaylorMade has ever brought to market (Abeles said before gulping tremendously).
- Q2 business for TaylorMade is up 23%, making TaylorMade the fastest growing equipment manufacturer in golf.
- Year to date results are equally as impressive. “We’re on a roll, we’ve got a lot of momentum.”
- No specific news on the sale.
- “Shares are off the charts.”
- M1 has been at retail for nearly 12 months and at full price. Price has also been maintained for M2.
- TaylorMade has “an incredible coffer full of great new innovations.”
- TaylorMade is “the most vested company in the green grass.”
Most of the above are, by the letter and numbers, true. While not exactly taking over the world, M is selling well, and TaylorMade has made small gains in total market share. Those shares, however, are not, by any reasonable definition, off the charts.
The 23%/fastest-growing stuff involves some clever math and an equally as clever interpretation of momentum. While Q2 was good, Q3 and Q4, in particular, are expected to be down significantly, largely due to upcoming releases from Titleist and Callaway.
Finally, we suspect that Titleist might have something to say about TaylorMade’s claim that it is the most vested company in the green grass channel. Titleist lives at green grass. Titleist owns green grass.
Quite frankly, for the company whose policies and practices nearly destroyed green grass before those same policies and practices nearly obliterated the big box market, to suddenly position itself as the champion of green grass, is patently absurd.
More To Come
Sources are telling us that a formal announcement on the sale of TaylorMade could come as early as this month. Stay tuned.
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How to Write a Story Without an Outline
Today’s guest post is by V.R. Craft. V.R. always heard you should write about what you know, so she wrote Stupid Humans, drawing on her retail experience and subsequent desire to get away from planet Earth. Now self-employed, she enjoys clearance sales, yard sales, and social media, where she finds inspiration for a sequel to Stupid Humans every day. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
I have been opposed to outlining since childhood.
I distinctly remember a time in middle school when I was required to write essays and turn in my outline as well. I couldn’t do it.
The necessity of the outline had a paralyzing effect on me—I couldn’t write anything if I had to know everything I was going to write beforehand. I took bad grades on good essays because I refused to do the outline. (To me, that’s like taking points off a bicyclist at the Tour de France for not using training wheels, but my teacher didn’t see it that way.)
Eventually, my mom convinced me to write the outline after I wrote the essay, which was a huge waste of my time, but did improve my grades. I’ve never written anything with an outline since.
But Isn’t Outlining Essential For Fiction Writers?
I know many writers who say they can’t write without an outline. While it can help people organize their thoughts, I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary for anyone.
In fact, I find it can stifle creativity and stop the flow of good ideas. It certainly does for me, and I’m not alone. There’s even a name for writers who don’t outline: Pantsers (because we fly by the seat of our pants).
No Outline Doesn’t Necessarily Mean No Planning . . .
My first book, a comical science fiction novel called Stupid Humans, ended up being around 140,000 words in its published version, all written without an outline. I had a general idea of where I was going with the plot, and had a few key scenes in my head, but I also had a lot of fuzzy gray spots—areas where I knew I needed to write something to fill in the gap; I just didn’t know what.
One of the members of my writing group is also a pantser, and he compares it to going on a road trip—you know your destination, but you don’t know what route you’re going to take. While I had a general idea of the main plot line in Stupid Humans, there were characters and subplots I never thought of—until I started writing them.
But No Outline CAN Mean No Planning
Knowing where you’re headed on a road trip can be helpful, but it’s not essential. There’s something to be said for just getting in the car, picking a direction, and putting the pedal to the metal.
I’ve also started other projects with no clue where I was going, including one that became my next book.
How Do You Organize A Story Without An Outline?
To organize my story without an outline, I keep in mind some general ideas about writing a plot. There are many helpful books and blog posts on this subject, so I’ll just give you the simplified version I usually have in my head: You have a main character. He/she wants something. Someone/something gets in the way.
You have an idea. A character, a scene, an interesting setting. You don’t know where you’re going with it, but you find it interesting.
What do you do? Just start writing.
If you have an interesting character, figure out what he or she wants and what’s getting in the way. It doesn’t have to be a basis-of-my-book’s-plot level problem, although it can be.
But it can also be something simple: For example, your character is hungry. But his annoying boss is forcing him to work through his lunch break, and his coworker bought the last package of pretzels from the vending machine and is loudly crunching them on the other side of the cubicle.
What do you do next? Keep writing, until you either finish the story or, for a longer piece, have some idea of where you’d like the story to go.
But What If I Can’t Think Of Anything?
I suspect this is why some people prefer to stick with the safety net of an outline—they fear that moment of not knowing what to do next. What if you start writing and suddenly you don’t have any idea how to continue?
This happened more times than I can count when I was writing Stupid Humans. Often I didn’t think I would ever finish the book, because I didn’t know how to finish a scene.
So what did I do? I kept going.
When most people say “I can’t think of anything to write next,” what they usually mean is, “I can’t think of anything good to write next.” This is a natural way to think. We want our writing to be good, or as good as possible. If we don’t believe an idea is good enough, we discard it and try to think of something better.
There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you can’t think of anything that strikes you as a good idea, don’t let that stop you.
You can always delete or edit it later, but you can’t do much with a blank page. By writing a not-so-good idea, you might eventually stumble on a better idea that you never would have had if you hadn’t started writing something.
At one point, when I was writing Stupid Humans, I didn’t know how to add tension to supporting character Hank’s plot line. I knew an old enemy of his would show up and complicate his already challenging situation, but I had no idea who the enemy was or why he was mad or why the reader should care. However, I was determined to write a chapter that day, good or bad.
At first I felt like I was writing garbage, but I kept going anyway, and after a page or two I started to feel like I was writing something I might consider not deleting. By the time I was done, I’d written a scene a beta reader later told me was his favorite part of the whole book. (Somewhere along the way, I also figured out the enemy-from-the-past was a billionaire beer mogul who was going to crash a peace rally to pitch his product as a solution for ending hostilities.)
Write Freely, Edit Just as Freely
There is one important guideline to keep in mind: Kill your darlings. You’ve probably heard this before—be a good self-editor, and get rid of parts that aren’t moving your book forward, aren’t interesting, or both.
While that’s good advice for anyone, it becomes even more important when you don’t outline. Because you give yourself permission to write the not-so-good ideas, you also need to give yourself permission to delete or change things on your second pass.
The Delete Key Is Your Friend
For example, the first draft of Stupid Humans was roughly 176,000 words. The second draft was around 150,000. By the twelfth draft or so, it was in the neighborhood of 140,000. My editor then trimmed about another 1,000 words, mostly by removing unnecessary uses of the word that—something I’ve since learned to avoid.
Sometimes, writing freely means you start out writing one story and end up writing another. You may decide you like the second story better and abandon your first idea. You may decide you like the original story better, go back, and move in a different direction.
Or, you may decide you like both stories but they don’t belong in the same book. Then you simply write two different stories.
Some people have a hard time deleting a paragraph if they spent a lot of time writing it, or if it contains a description they really like. If you get very attached to your writing, it can help to simply cut and paste the segment in question into a new document, so you can use it in a future piece of writing. Then go back and see if your story still works without it.
If so, you should probably leave that piece in its new home.
A Way to Free Your Creativity
Writing without an outline requires discipline in the self-editing department, but it also allows much more creative freedom than writing with an outline. Flying by the seat of your pants opens your creative process to new possibilities you might never have thought of following an outline.
Best of all, it can help you avoid abandoning a project because you don’t know what to do next.
Of course, it’s not the only way to write a novel. For a different perspective, check out this defense of planning and outlining.
If you’ve never written a story without an outline, though, why not try it out now?
Are you a pantser or a planner? Let me know in the comments.
PRACTICE
Whether you normally outline or not, give writing without one a try right now. Take any story idea you have, or choose one from this master list, and write for fifteen minutes without planning or plotting.
You can start with an idea for a character, a scene, or a setting. If you don’t have any ideas, use a random character or scene generator. Both are easily found with a quick online search.
When you’re done, share your practice in the comments. Then, leave some feedback for your fellow writers.
Tip: This exercise is also a great way to finish any project that you started but never completed, whether it’s a short story, the first chapter of a novel, or a blog post. Even if you can’t complete the project in one sitting, you can use this exercise to move it forward by one page.
The post How to Write a Story Without an Outline appeared first on The Write Practice.
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