Preparing for Genesis

I'm braving it this year. This year is the time to step out of comfort zone. To just do it. To take a deep breath and plunge into the unknown.

This year...

I'm entering the Genesis contest!

I've been putting it off for a couple of years with life excuses--and this year I could do the same. I'm tired of excuses though. My motto for the year: "No excuses."

So, now I'm in the midst of preparing for the ACFW Genesis contest. Here are my tips for contests:

1. Read the guidelines carefully. It is really pointless to enter a contest and be disqualified because you used the wrong format, especailly since it is easily avoidable.

2. Grammar should be superb. With all the information out there these days, there's really no excuse. Programs like Microsoft Word can catch a lot of grammatical errors, but that doens't mean you should depend on them alone because they don't see everything.

3. Use extra eyes. Have several people read over your entry. Sometimes we are too close to our story to see what needs fixed. Try it out on a few readers just to make sure you're not missing anything.

4. Get the entry in several days before the deadline. This gives you a cushion in case anything should go wrong. If there's a fee, you want to make sure it has time to go through so that you still have time to resubmit the fee if it doesn't go through the first time.

Right now, I'm working on my synopsis. This is only the second one I've written and I'm kind of nervous about it. Like most novelists, I'm great at expanding on something and turning it into a 90K novel. However, condensing a novel down to ONE page. Oy! I think I've done it, though. I just hope it's moderately interesting, especially with all that telling!

What about you? Have you entered any contests lately? Are you entering the Genesis contest?

Over the next week on my other blog, Encourage. Empower. Extend., we're hosting a Valentine's contest. So stop by and join in the fun!