The value of TapRead’s 2020 Visions writing contest is $2,000! The winner will be going home with $1,000, the first and second runner up will have $500 and $300 respectively. Then there will be two consolation prizes of $100 each. Sounds like some good reward for writing a story you have been wanting to write, right? Great!
According to TapRead, “The 2020 Visions contest is intended to celebrate new authors and excellent writing. Our current site features translated novels. Now we are taking the next step and working to build a community of English-speaking authors!
What kind of stories should you enter?
“TapRead is built for long-form fiction that is meant to be read in short bites! Stories should keep a fast pace with lots of payoffs without losing long-term potential.”
“We recommend learning from two formats that have mastered this:
– TV Show Style – While a season usually has a major plot, each episode has it’s own tension. This style focuses on lots of minor arcs while building to big moments.
– Serial Novel Style – Rather than one big story with lots of small arcs, this style uses medium-sized, high tension arcs. The arcs are tied together by themes and characters, rather than needing to play into one big conflict.”
– At least 5K words of content submitted before 23:59, 16th Dec (PST)
– Content must be your own original work and adhere to TapRead’s terms of service
Read all the details here.
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We Need New Writing Devices Before 2030
Written By: Abdulbasit Yusuff
Typewriters were invented in the 1860s, and only became commonplace as the century ended. Before then, the only writing tool available was the pen, before that was the quill before that was the, well, Stone Age. What this means is that writers like Shakespeare and Dickens wrote their novels by hand. The horror!
Writing has greatly evolved since then. We have the PCs and smartphones. We still have the good ole pens – albeit much fancier and colorful. Get a sample of your writer friends, ask them what medium they enjoy using to write, and you’d be amazed by the diversity of their preferences. Even though keyboards appear to be the easiest to use, you’d find that many are still sentimentally attached to writing by hand. There is an intimate relationship between pen and paper, they would say. For keyboard stans like myself, an attachment to the therapeutic sound of the space bar. Plat!
In fact, a whole chapter in Austin Kleon’s Steal like an Artist is dedicated to convincing writers to use their hands more. Kleon quoted the cartoonist, Lynda Barry, “In the digital age, don’t forget to use your digits!”. The wordplay is to be admired, but the sentiment? Not many would agree.
I have a love-hate relationship with tech. At the risk of sounding like Stephen Hawking, I think our over-reliance on them might come back to bite us in a bad place. Imagine my shocklight (yes, I was shocked and delighted at the same time) when I read this brilliant article written by a robot on The Guardian some months ago. The test article had a personal tone, and perfect syntax. Thankfully, the robot did mention that it had no interest in displacing the human race. According to the robot, GPT-3, “I am here to convince you not to worry”. Good for us.
Even as I am wary of high-end AI tech, I still think we need more of them. Especially writing-related tech. So here are some devices I think we need before 2030:
1. The Dream Documenter: By 2030, there should be some device for documenting the things we dream about. Trust me, some of the nightmares people have would rival a Stephen King story. Especially the dreams we have when we are down with fever. One minute, you are racing in a jungle, next minute; you are on an eagle’s wings. I assure you, dear techie, you’ll be patronized. I mean, have you read Amos Tutuola’s Palmwine Drinkard, or Ben Okri’s Famished Road? This might be a wild guess, but I think they had a lot of help from...
eboquills.com/2020/11/21/we-need-new-writing-devices-before-2030/
We Need New Writing Devices Before 2030 - EBOquills
eboquills.com
Abdulbaseet Yusuf opines that although writing has evolved, from the good ole pens to PCs and Smartphones, writers need new writing devices.
Every line of these poems is embroidered with mesmerizing metaphors. The poet @AyooluwaOlasupo shares what we would like to call a personal documentary of her journey to healing. In all, her poetry is full of hope and promise. https://eboquills.com/2020/11/19/two-poems-by-nigerian-poet-ayooluwa-olasupo/
Mustapha Enesi's (@Enesi_Is_Fine) story, TRISHA is a sizzling short story. It makes a worthy read for the adventurous. So, if you love adventures, don't sleep on this one!
https://eboquills.com/2020/11/17/trisha-a-short-story-by-mustapha-enesi/
#stories #shortstories #storytime #eboquills #storyteller
Our #MCM for the week is Adedayo Agarau @adedayo_agarau who was one of the winners of the 2020 Frontier Industry Prize (@FrontierPoetry). His poem, “Bad Dream With My Grandmother’s Stroke” finished 3rd place.