The Frasier Contest is open!

Are you a writer?  Is there a novel ruminating in your head, or perhaps even on your computer?

I want to tell you about an awesome opportunity that I discovered last year.

For over two years now I have been a part of an online community of Christian writers. It is a teaching community that focuses on how to write better and then eventually sell better, of course. The women heading this project have a love of writing (they are published) and a passion for encouraging.

They have tailor made the group to teach to you at whatever level you are at - serious, dedicated writer or interested-but-in-my-free-time kind of writer. You won't be disappointed either way. Feel free to check out the group My Book Therapy here.

The reason for my post today is about a contest they offer titled the Frasier Contest. This isn't like other contests I have entered. The goal isn't publication or winning first place - the goal is feedback! That is something I have found hard to get since I have started writing. I'm not talking the kind of feedback I get from my mom or my sister-in-law - NOTHING AGAINST THEM - you guys are great!  I am talking about deep, concise (measurable) feedback from people who have traveled the writer's journey and who know the ins and outs of the publishing world. Good feedback.

Here are some of the reasons I entered the Frasier last year.

1. I knew I wasn't going to win any prizes or final in any big fancy contests with my writing - it just wasn't there yet. However I didn't really know where my writing sat. I wanted some honest feedback.

Take the good with the bad.

The other evening my teenage daughter and I watched a movie we rented from the video store. She had previously seen the previews for it but I hadn't even heard of it. I took a gamble not knowing much about it. (Sometime taking a gamble goes well, sometimes it doesn't.) This particular movie was a bit of both.

We watched People Like Us starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks.

Plot Blurb: While settling his recently deceased father's estate, a salesman discovers he has a sister whom he never knew about, leading both siblings to re-examine their perceptions about family and life choices.


The movie was littered with dysfunctional people and relationships - which isn't bad - but along with that always comes unhealthy ways of dealing with your problems. This movie is no exception - for that very reason I am NOT recommending this movie as a family-friendly option.

HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE:

• a writer - you should consider watching this movie for the sake of the very last scene.
• a movie buff that likes stories that aren't predictable or you like satisfying endings without being a Happily Ever After - then you should consider watching it too

There are some very redeeming qualities about this film that do inspire and challenge. In fact, as the credits

Book Review of I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp (Plus free CD)

What a better time to discover a terrific love story than Valentine's Day.

I Still Believe is a testimony of the love story that God wrote for Jeremy Camp, one of the top Christian Musicians today. The book has been co-written with David Thomas and it lays out a wonderful and amazing story of God's power.

Jeremy's first wife, Melissa died of cancer only months into their marriage. God had prepared Jeremy for it in many ways that he didn't see until after.  For example, he wrote the words to Walk By Faith on his honeymoon while they believed she'd gone into remission.

A few short months after that Jeremy had to live out what he'd penned.  During that painful and confusing time after losing his wife God pressed on his spirit to write again.

"Pick up your guitar."

But Jeremy didn't want to. "Pick up your guitar.  I have something for you to write."

After the famous song I Still Believe was birthed.

There is so much more I could tell you about this book as

"None of us are free if one of us is enslaved"

Our ladies bible study is collecting diapers, blankets and cash for a Christian organization that rescues babies abandoned at local dumps in Nairobi. Can you imagine the place of desperation you'd have to be in to leave a baby at a dump? I realized I have no real idea what other mothers around the world have to deal with.  I worry about my kids getting cavities.

I also felt the same conviction while reading A Year of Biblical Womanhood recently.  I know about a few issues going on around the world because they are in the news.  What other issues am I missing? Personally, I need to become more aware of global issues and social justice.  The author of the above named book, spent the month of July in her experiment to focus on fair-trade products, the inequality of women worldwide and a trip to Bolivia with World Vision.  (Chapter 10, A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans.) 

If you haven`t read this book yet, you need to.  But if nothing else, borrow it from a friend, or your local library and read this chapter.  It is eye-opening.

I mean, my family gives money to Samaritan`s Purse and World Vision and Compassion Canada.  We also support an organization that helps women find meaningful skills to run a business in Africa.  But even with all that I still have no idea what some women and girls are really facing around the world.  And truthfully, I can't