Blogging from A to Z April Challenge--Prepped and Ready to Go

There's Still Time--Come and Join Me!

Have you heard of the "Blogging from A to Z April Challenge"? Until about a week ago, I hadn't. Marie Ann St. Jean's blog, Write, Wrong or Indifferent, turned me on to it. Of course, you may also be tripping over this pic on every blog you cruise (seems like I am):

A to Z Blogging Challenge badge.

Starting April 1, 2010, intrepid bloggers of all genres are to write a blog post a day, taking Sundays off. Each day's topic will start with that day's letter. For example: April 1 starts it off with the letter 'A' and my topic will be 'Accountability'. The letter 'I' falls on April 11, so 'Interviewing' or 'Independence' would work as topics for me. The challenge ends on April 30, with 'Z'.

This is the first blogging challenge I've signed up for, so I was pretty excited. Started making my topic list that day. I even have the first post scheduled. Yep, like a puppy with a new toy, I had to shake the idea to death, gnaw on it and give it all my enthusiastic love.

Tamara Writes was the 536th blog to join and the total number has swelled to 645 and counting. Everyone is welcome, so come join the motivational insanity..err..fun! Visit Arlee Bird's follow-worthy Tossing It Out to sign up.

Flash Fiction to the Rescue!

Something unbelievably cool happened five days ago. My creative writing was chosen for the March 2011 issue of  Leodegraunce, an online flash fiction magazine.

Leodegraunce was founded and is edited by freelance writer and erotica author Jolie du Pre.

Something even more fabulous happened the month before that--I submitted the story. Say what? If you're a freelance writer, like me, who is always busy plugging away at non-fiction, then take a minute to feel me on this one. Finding the time to unleash the creative writing beast can be an epic battle. And you resent--yeah, just a little--the work that pays the bills.

I've been in a rut, so down in the writing dumps that not even my passion for news writing could light a fire under my...fingers. My creative mind was staging a coup.

Leodegraunce interview with Tamara McRill.

So it was flash fiction to the rescue! I saw Leodegraunce's call for March submissions and that the flash fiction piece had to be less than 200 words. Topic: Isolation. I took a deep breath, let my mind spill onto a blank Word document. Edited--quickly, before deadlines distracted--and submitted. Done.

And the pressure in my head subsided. I enjoy my daily grind again.

So don't feel smothered. Feel free to be a flasher.

Psst...Oh, and also feel free to read my Leodegraunce interview and then click on over to the 'Submission Guidelines.' Looks tempting, huh?

Update 3/19/2011: Leodegraunce does not archive the flash fiction selected to be published to the site. There will be an anthology printed for this year. :) Even if you didn't catch my story "The Machine" you can still view my author interview linked above.