Writing contest

I feel like I need to extend a metaphorical olive branch, after the response to my grammatical critique a few days ago. I was thinking back to my favorite teachers from high school and college. The best ones always provided constructive criticism: praise for what you're already doing well, and critique of what needs work. Only hearing praise would have felt warm and fuzzy, but wouldn't have helped me improve. Only hearing criticism would have discouraged me. (I had a violin teacher in high school who did this, and she made me cry all the time. I finally switched teachers because she scared me so much.)

So I am going to sponsor a writing contest. Think of it as Act II--the part where we put our minds and pens (keyboards) to work and do something constructive. To entice you to participate, I have prizes!

Topic: Becoming a Parent, Becoming Transformed
Genre: Your choice (first-person narrative, short story, informational article, etc.)
Length: 500-1,000 words
Deadline: entries must be received by March 1, 2010
Submission instructions: email your essay and contact information to stand.deliver at gmail.com. One entry per person, please. Entry must be your own original, unpublished material. Don't even think about plagiarizing.
Prize: winning entry receives a $50 gift certificate to Second Womb Slings. The entry will also be published at Stand and Deliver.

I purposely made the contest topic open-ended. I encourage you to reflect on one specific aspect of becoming a parent that has transformed you in some way. It could be about anything from struggling with infertility to giving birth to raising an exceptionally spirited child.

Please spread word about this contest. I look forward to an inbox full of entries!

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Attack of the Grammar Queen

This post was a grammatical edit of a recent online article about home birth. I went back and forth about leaving it up and taking it down. I finally decided to take it down and focus my energy on constructive pursuits such as the writing contest. I've left the comments section open, though. Lots of sparks flying in there!

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