No Ordinary Contest

Although I’ve entered many writing contests before, this is the first time I’ve ventured into writing a story in the horror genre. After my recent trip to Maine, I felt inspired to give it a go. Not that Maine was scary. Quite the opposite. However, I did encounter certain situations that helped me understand why I enjoy Stephen King novels so much. The quirkiest things happened: someone staring at me for longer than a minute, a person seemingly vanishing from a car when light illuminated the front seat, being caught in a thunderstorm near a small dirt path. You get the idea. Lots of fodder for future stories. I can hardly wait to see how this story does.

Wolf Flower

Recording “Zale’s Tale”

I’m excited that I get the opportunity to record “Zale’s Tale,” a short story I wrote in 2018. It will be released as a podcast episode later this month. I am learning how to be a director to the young actors who are helping me bring the merboy and the other characters to life. I look forward to sharing them with you.

Wolf Flower

Why do I write?

Because I must.

I’ve gotten this question many times, either during a presentation or as an ice breaker at a writers’ group, and that is the simplest answer I can give. After being handed the silence rhetoric as the youngest of four children and bullied into a quiet corner by school children without a clue of how to be a proper human being, writing has and continues to be my go-to for expressing what I really want to say, what I want people to hear.

I’ve written long letters to mean neighbors, accomplished publishers, religious leaders, government workers, and parents. Whoever acted as if their speaking words meant more than the ones coming from my lips, I sat down and crafted a document which possessed all the passion I could muster. Amazing things happen when I write.

Although I write poems and fiction stories, they convey ideas in a much better fashion than me droning on about this or that. Action attracts attention. And I’m getting better at depicting movement in my writing. Imagine the happiness I felt when Chicken Soup for the Soul accepted two of my stories and published one of them in I’m Speaking Now on June 1st.

In fact, the very act of writing disperses the stress of the day, the week, the month, and even the year. How could I stop doing the very thing that adds health to my bones?

I write because I must.

Why do you write?

The Importance of Not Being a Loner Writer

Writing is usually seen as a loner profession, but writers who improve over time rarely pursue their craft alone. Ideas for stories usually come from spending time with others, asking questions, or listening to stories. After the first draft is written and the self-editing has taken a writer only so far, having someone else read the manuscript to provide well-meaning and constructive critiques is a gold mine. The writer is unable to see what will confuse others because the writer has created a world about which others have yet to discover.

Because of this, I’ve joined three writers’ groups, attended critique groups, and have asked fellow authors to read my stories prior to submission. The feedback I’ve received is priceless. Finding an accomplished editor is also a must for those pesky plot holes typically missed or out of sync character development.

I’m grateful for all that I’ve learned over the years and am willing to help others as well. Find your writer circle.

A Month for Reading

Did you know that March is National Reading Month? Interesting, right? I’ve published a few stories and poetry, but those accomplishments were birthed out of a love for the written word. Guess what? I still enjoy a great book. In fact, my writing improves the more I read material penned or typed by people dedicated to their craft.

What brings me joy, though, is knowing that some teens have picked up my books and admitted they didn’t want to put them down. One of them even told me that A Beautiful Girl was the first book they ever read all the way through. That made me smile because I want others to experience how much fun delving into another world can be.

So, keep on reading and please do leave reviews for your favorites.

Editing the NaNoWriMo2020 Short Story Anthology

Having achieved 50K words in thirty days, the feat to edit those 50K words looms pretty high. With no time during the writing frenzy to craft near perfect scenes, much focus is needed in the months that follow to fix all the grammatical misses, disjointed plots, and characters with multiple names. It’s almost laughable.

So, after a month of breathing time, I began editing the short stories that are being compiled into a short story anthology. As of today, I have crossed 25K worth of editing. Lot’s more work needed before I can share it with the world. Stay tuned.

Whew! Glad It’s 2021!

The title of this post seems to be the general sentiment of the human population on planet Earth. The challenges we faced overshadowed the really neat things that happened. We all look forward to a better year. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I am glad that I pushed through those challenges to release three books.

Live life. Love intensely.
Keep Hope Alive.

I even released my first ever book trailer.

The fourth story I mentioned in Happy New Year! It’s 2020. – Cassandra Ulrich, Author is still with the Beta reader, but I plan to tighten up and edit that story this year.

As for contests, I entered four and received three rejections. I won’t hear about the fourth one until November, so we’ll see. I plan to continue submitting stories or poems as time allows.

Lastly, I participated in NaNoWriMo2020 after a nine year hiatus and wrote 50K toward a short story anthology.

Be sure to like Cassandra Ulrich, Author | Facebook. It would be cool to reach 1,000 followers by the end of the year.

Happy New Year! It’s 2021!