REMINDER: RosieCentral’s FIRST EVER Writing Contest
WAIT. WAIT. This Really Is For You!
You may be tempted to turn away. Writing about inspiration in your life? You may think this doesn't apply to you. BUT, we think it does.
We hope you'll read on...and we especially hope you will share a time of inspiration in your life with others.
Write to find, to celebrate, and to acknowledge inspiration in your life.
SCROLL DOWN FOR CONTEST DETAILS
A Contest to Acknowledge and Celebrate Inspiration in Your Life
Let One of These Prompts Inspire You to Write
Share about an inspiring time in your life
Share about a person who inspired (or inspires) you
Share a quote you use and how it continues to inspire you
Share about a place that brought you inspiration when you needed it
Share how you try to inspire others
Share how you seek inspiration
Share what inspiration lets you accomplish
Share, share, share!
Oddly Enough...
Seeking inspiration in our lives,
Feeling inspired,
Providing inspiration to others
are all marvelous gifts. Gifts for ourselves and gifts for others. Especially during these times when there is a greater focus on mental health, we can all feel gratitude for the inspiration that we do have in our lives as well as the source of inspiration we can be for others.
Here's One Way to Do That
Share with others about the inspiration you have found in your own life. By writing about it, you can be a source of information and inspiration for others. This is a win ... win. You enhance your own mental state when you acknowledge the inspiration in your life. You improve the lives of others when you give them an insight into the how or what or who of inspiration that may help them.
Write About Inspiration in Your Life...
Last week, I wrote about a woman who inspired me -- first when I was 10 years old and again decades later. Connie Douglas Reeves was her name. If you need inspiration for your writing, you may want to go take a look at that article. Most people have never heard of her, but she was an inspiration.
This Writing Contest is Different
Kendra and I have held many writing contests in the past. We’ve also served as writing judges for other organizations. And, of course, we've taught life writing.
But this writing contest is different. In our other writing contests, a person could choose to write about any aspect of her life.
This contest focuses on inspiration in your life — past, present, and wished for in the future.
Usually, the contest prize was getting your piece published in our website. And that is also true of this contest. But as our first inspiration writing contest on this new website, RosieCentral, we are also offering a prize of one of our Thai Silk Handmade Journals to enhance your notes of all those moments in your life that you want to record, vow to remember, and intend to build on.
Our Thai silk journals were handmade just for us in Thailand. A friend had a dream. It was a dream of living in a foreign country. Would she always think of it as a dream" Would she take steps to fulfill it and live the life she wanted?
She took action. She turned her dream into a reality. She remains an inspiration to me. It is all too easy to postpone our dreams. She didn't.
She moved to Thailand.
Once there, my friend agreed to help us create a very special product for women journalers / would-be journalers, memoir writers / would-be writers, and even scribblers.
She began her search for a place that would create a custom, unique journal just for us. A journal that would be a pleasure to use.
She found just such a place. The staff showed her how the cocoons of the silkworm are first boiled to soften them. The the long threads are carefully unwound. Next, the dried long silk threads are dyed to our chosen colors.
In the final stage of preparation, the Thai silk fabric is woven in chosen colors and patterns. She also found women who would cut the fabric and turn it into journal covers. She's a treasure of a friend.
ONLY 1 JOURNAL BUT EVERYONE WHO SIGNS UP GETS A FREE COPY OF OUR INTRODUCTION TO WRITING ALCHEMY: Writing Alchemy is an approach to writing that ensures your words grab your reader and inspire her to find the courage to lead her own inspired life.
CONTEST DETAILS: Here's What You Need to Know
Writing of Inspiration Contest Guidelines
What makes you feel inspired? Think about your life. Reflect on times when you feel inspired. Was it something you have done in the past? Is it a regular activity that always leaves you feeling motivated? What energizes you today or what do you want to be doing in the future that you are excited about.
All of these are topics you might want to explore in your life.
Essay Length - Between 500-1500 words
Deadline - July 31, 2022
Title - Be sure to give your entry an intriguing title that will make others want to read
Beginning and Ending - And definitely craft a powerful opening and closing that will help to inspire others in their lives and grab readers
Submit - Email your contest entry to:
You can attach your entry to your email as a .doc file
Or
Copy and paste the entry into the email itself.
Either is fine.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!
SUBJECT LINE: You must use the subject line below when you submit:
RosieCentral Inspiration Contest #1
We need this Subject Line so that your entry won’t get lost in our email. We can’t promise to spot your entry if you use another subject line. Trust me. Kendra and I get hundreds of emails each day and we don’t want yours to get buried.
Please contact us if you do not have an acknowledgement within one week from submitting your entry. We carefully monitor emails, but it is always possible that something happens and the entry doesn’t get to the inbox or that it isn’t seen.
And, as we like to say, “You can’t win unless you take the first step by submitting your entry.” Sometimes submitting to a contest means moving outside normal comfort zones. However, we invite you to do just that.
Share you stories of inspiration,
of excitement,
of empowerment,
of motivation,
of exhilaration,
of encouragement.
In sharing, you will help to inspire all of us to grow in our own lives.
Want Some Inspiration from Other Women as You Embark on This Writing Adventure?
We selected a few quotes that we hope with help inspire you in your daily life and as you consider entering our RosieCentral Inspiration Writing Contest.
Shirley Chisholm, 1st Black Woman Elected to US Congress
If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.
Alice Walker, Novelist & 1st Black Woman to Win Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
The most common way women give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.
Ava Marie DuVernay, Filmmaker, 1st Black to Win Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival
Ignore the glass ceiling and do your work. If you’re focusing on the glass ceiling, focusing on what you don’t have, focusing on the limitations, then you will be limited.
Billie Jean King, Tennis Champion
Champions keep playing until they get it right.
Margaret Thatcher, 1st Female Prime Minister of the UK
If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.
Oprah Winfrey, Talk Show Host, Television Producer, Actress, Author
Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.
Missed Our Previous Blogs? Check these out!
Rosie the Riveter's Riveting Story -- Find out the connection to Jackie Kennedy's fashion designer and Rosalind Palmer Walter (major funder of public television).
Wendy the Welder (Rosie the Riveter's Co-Worker)
Sounds like something I want to try
I am inspired and plan to submit.
Thanks for the update! Exciting