Hey Everybody!



It’s another one of your wild and crazy writing coaches. I’m 💙 Carly: Joan Watson and I am here with the Saturday contest entry reminder…. Yes, this is early, but some of us are already on Saturday and some of us need reminders to get working on this because it needs to be submitted by Sunday at noon.

The link is this: I was going to add the link here, but it’s probably better if you just go to the bottom of the OctoPrep page and click on those links. Make sure to refresh the page before clicking as that often seems to help.

So what is involved in this contest entry? The Octoprep Calendar has this to say:
Write a story about your protagonist that takes place outside of your novel. Make your readers relate to him or her in such a way that we would be devastated if they were to experience conflict (which, ultimately, sometime in November, they will.) The object of the contest is to make your judges root for your protagonist! Simply put: the character we like best wins. If your protagonist is a drug dealer or someone similarly "unlikeable" (a.k.a, an "anti-hero"), never fear! I love Vlad Taltos, the professional assassin. You can make us love your character, too.


*Contest Round entries may be any rating. Submit your ITEM or ENTRY number by 1200 noon WDC time on Sunday to compete. WDC time is New York City time and can be found at the top of the IM Console. If you miss this deadline or choose not to compete, you must still log the assignment complete (without linking your work) for the grand prize, per the standard Prep guidelines.

I love playing with the backstory of my characters. So this is right up my alley. I want to know what makes them tick - why they are, the way they are? I don’t have a degree in Psychology for nothing folks. I want to know the details.

This contest entry… or assignment (if you choose not to enter the contest) is about getting to know your character BEFORE your story takes place. You want to elicit an emotional response that tugs at the heart strings and gets readers interested in your character. You also get to play with the back story and get to know the character better. This will go a long way to helping you figure out where their story is going and who that character really is.

This is a chance to breathe life into your main character. Take the character profile stuff you did for Friday’s assignment and make it take form in a scene that will make us want to know more and cheer for them to get what they want…. Or not depending on if they are a hero or anti-hero.

I look forward to hearing what some of you are considering.

Feel free to ask any questions. I will do my best to answer or direct you to the person or people who can make things happen. (I’ve already had to get myself fixed up on the Assignment log - all’s well).

Above all - Have fun and see where your wonderful imagination can take you.