FOOD FIGHT: The Winners!

Creative people have a zillion flitting ideas throughout any given day.  Only sometimes they actually decide to act on one of them.  That is what happened last September when I was struck with the idea of FOOD FIGHT. 

After a one-on-one critique with Dr. Mira Reisberg it occured to me that although I absolutely love onomatopoeia I hardly ever remember to use it in my own writing.  That needed to change.

I came up with the idea of FOOD FIGHT as a way of promoting and reminding the writing community about the fun and beauty of onomatopoeia.

I knew it would be fun.  But I didn't know if anyone would participate. 

Enter 11 brave bloggers and 21 food flingers who took my idea and literally ran with it.  The creativity was astounding. 

We had stories that varied in setting from a car to a school cafeteria to sleep-away camp.  We had fights between farmers and bunnies, witches and princesses, cows and sheep.  And the choices of food to fling were hysterical, from rotted and spoiled food, to a bucket full of worms, to even a chipmunk in a forest fight.  There was even a very creative intergalactic food fight with words worthy of Dr. Seuss and weapoinzed food!  And who didn't love Timmy's grandma who definitely celebrated her birthday with a BANG, or should we say SPLAT?

You can read all of the entries here.

Thank you to each one of you who participated.  I definitely plan to run this as an annual event in conjunction with World Read Aloud Day. 

Also, I plan to create an ONOMATOPOEIA Word List which will include all of the fun words you created during FOOD FIGHT ~ like one of my favorites...BUNKARUNKADUNG!  I hope this list will be a living list and will be a reference guide for writers.  Stay tuned for that.

Now on to the winners.  And trust me, it was NOT easy.

First we have the winner of the Most Food Flung.  This person commented multiple times on each story and definitely was community personified. 

DONNA LOUISE SADD!

She wins a copy of KA-BOOM!: A Dictionary of Comic Book Words, Symbols and Onomatopoeia.  I hope it is a wonderful reference for you.  Watch out, everyone.  She's well-armed for next year. 

Be sure to email me your address at marciecolleen@gmail.com, Donna.

And now the winner of The Best Story. 

This was very tough.  As I said, the creativity was overwhelming and definitely had me rolling on the floor. 

The judging finally came down to the story which was not only creative in its setting, scenario and characters, but also set up an incredible challenge for the community, asking those who "grew" the story to be extra creative and write in rhyme.  This story elevated the FOOD FIGHT to a level of community building I had not intended.  So cool!  And that winner is
MAMMA D's "ON THE WAY HOME FROM GRANDMA'S"!

Mamma D wins free registration in the Picture Book Academy's self-paced e-course "Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Books" which is taught by Marsha Diane Arnold and Dr. Mira Reisberg.

Please reach out to me at marciecolleen@gmail.com so we arranged your prize.

Enjoy! 

Congrats to the winners.  And once again, thank you to all of our participants.  I hope it was truly a good time and we hope to play with you again next year! 

I also want to thank Julie Rowan-Zoch for our fabulous badge that kinda screams cafepress.  We might need swag next year. 

Today is the Day ~ Will You Help?

Today is the day, folks!  And this coming Sunday is my first 1/2 marathon of the season.


This spring I have committed to running in 4 Half Marathons (the NYC Half, the Nike Women's Half in DC, the MORE Magazine Half in NYC and the Brooklyn Half).

Although I do enjoy running to a certain extent, that is not WHY I run. I run because I want to end blood cancers.

When I was growing up, I watched a childhood friend lose his battle with leukemia. I ran the NYC Half with Team in Training (the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) in 2011 in his memory.

Thanks for the efforts of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, along with Team in Training, childhood Leukemia is no longer a death sentence. But there is so much that still needs to be done in regards to research, treatment, and patient services.

Now I choose to run for those children who are still fighting and I am running in honor of 4 year old Meredith ("Merry").

To help my fundraising efforts, my dear friend Suzi Shelton, kindie rocker extraordinaire, is having a benefit concert TODAY ~ Wednesday, March 13th at 6:30pm EST. Tickets are only $10! Please consider stopping by! Its online, so you enjoy from the comfort of your own home.
Watch while you get dinner ready!

 http://www.stageit.com/suzi_shelton/music_for_merry_online_benefit_concert/19379

We will be raffling off many amazing prizes throughout the interactive broadcast, including

custom-made LEGO kits from BKNY Bricks,

a BOY + BOT signed book and swag package from Ame Dyckman,

a prize package of signed Susanna Leonard Hill books,

and adorable art from Wanart!

I would LOVE to have you join us.  Show some love. All proceeds with be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Your donations will help fuel me on all 13.1 miles Sunday and will show support to Merry as she continues her fight. 

 

Already bought your ticket?  Leave a comment and let me know.  :)

Can't make it but want to show some love anyway? Stop by my donation page. Even $20 helps! http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nikewhlf13/cnydiva

Read the Completed FOOD FIGHT Stories Here!

Phew!  Anyone else exhausted?  What a fun time! 

Thank you ALL who participated in the First Annual FOOD FIGHT!  And an extra special thank you to the 12 bloggers who allowed us to FLING and SPLAT all over their pages.  They have had the weeknd to clean up and today you can read their completed stories here.


Blogger Participants, please link your story below. 

Judging will start this week with a winner announced Friday!

THANKS AGAIN!

FOOD FIGHT Stories:

Last Day to Fling Your Food! FOOD FIGHT closes at Midnight EST

Sad, but true.  Our FOOD FIGHT comes to an end at midnight tonight (EST).  So, grab that last spoonful of chocolate pudding or that last bowl of creamed corn and make it count!

It's not too late to win the coveted "Most Food Flung" award. 

Remember:

Your comment needs to grow the story.

Read the posted story and all of the comments that precede you. Then, post your comment. Be sure to build on and further the existing story. Your comment should flow. The story should read as if it was written by one person when read from beginning to end.

ALSO, your comment needs to include at least one word of onomatopoeia and one thrown item of food. Your onomatopoeia must be a word that has not been used already in that story, as well. That's right. Be creative.

You can comment more than once on a story, however, you cannot fight with yourself...meaning, you cannot follow one of your own comments...someone else needs to comment before you can comment again. Have fun.


To my Participating Bloggers:

Over the weekend (March 9th and 10th) blog owners need to wrap up their story. 

Clean up any comments that do not contribute to the story (you know, those "I heart this post" comments). 

I am going to ask you to repost the story in its entirity in a brand new post. 

Create a satisfying ending.  Tie up any loose ends.  Flex those creative writing chops.

Judging starts on Monday and the prize for "Best Story" will be awarded the following week.  Remember, the prize is spectacular!  Free registration in the Picture Book Academy's new self-paced e-course on "Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Books". 

You MUST be a Follower of this Blog to be eligible for prizes.

The Next Big Thing: A Blog Hop

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop celebrates what writers are working on or what they have coming up next. Welcome to my stop!

I was tagged by picture book author extraordinaire, Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, author of many favorites, such as Chicks Run Wild, Hampire and Pirate Princess.  See what her next big thing is HERE.

Obviously my post will be a little different from Sudipta’s as my journey is in a different place.  You see, I am pre-published and have just recently started to “put myself out there” in hopes of finding an agent.  That being said, I have one submission-ready manuscript that I am currently shopping around.  I suppose that is what I will talk about here.

1: What is the working title of your book?  LYLE AND THE PENGUINAUTS

2: Where did the idea come from for the book? Never underestimate the creative energy that can be found on Facebook.  LYLE AND THE PENGUINAUTS was inspired by a bad pick-up line that a friend of mine had posted.  Truly.  A picture book inspired by a bad bar pick-up line.  Who’d thunk it?

3: What genre does your book come under?  Picture Book.

A Lego creation inspired by Lyle
by BKNY Bricks

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? I have always thought of Lyle as I kind of Buster Keaton-like character.  In fact, in the very early drafts of this story, I did not have Lyle saying anything for that very reason.  He just putters around getting things done.  But even now, I sort of think of his dialogue in thought bubbles.  He is a very internal character.  As for the other penguins, no one in particular stands out.  But I would love to hear the line “Where’s the fish, Lyle?” spoken by John Ratzenberger or Brad Garret (although he would be a little tall for a penguin).

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?   I think I am going to pass on this question, not because I can’t write it.  But because the book is not under contract and I don’t want to give up the plot.  Guess you’ll just have to wait for this one.  J

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency? None of the above.  But I’m gonna  keep on keeping on. 

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I wrote the first draft of my manuscript back in January 2012 for the 12x12 Online Picture Book Challenge.  I sat on the couch in my fiance’s art studio and wrote it in about 2 hours.  Fast forward 13 months, countless critiques and revisions and it is finally done!

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? LYLE AND THE PENGUINAUTS has been called FLIGHT OF THE DODO by Peter Brown meets Kevin Henkes’ KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON.

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book? As I said earlier, I initially got inspired by the bad pick-up my friend posted on Facebook.  That little line sparked so many visuals in my head. That’s how it always works with me.  I can have a zillion ideas in a day, but when one sparks an entire movie of visuals to play out, I just have to get it down on paper.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? It’s a silly fantasy.  As a writing teacher of mine said of an early draft, “this has the Marcie stamp of humor and absurd joy.” That is what I hope to bring to all of my stories:  A sense of wonder.  A sense of adventure.  A sense of humor.  All packaged in a book to be shared at the most tender of moments…those between an adult and a child.

Thanks for checking out what I’m working on! Next week be sure to stop by the blog of author Nancy Viau who has an amazing Spring ahead with the release of TWO picture books!  You won’t want to miss that!

WRAD13: Reading Aloud Builds Community

"Read-aloud is the common thread that ties together all of the listeners in the classroom. It gives them books in common, authors in common, stories in common, and characters in common. Read-aloud is when we think together, laugh together, and sometimes cry together.

Read-aloud is a movie theater where everyone in the audience hears the same soundtrack, even though the screen and the pictures are inside each head."

 ~ Mary Lee Hahn, Stenhouse Publishers on World Read Aloud Day 2012

(read Mary's blog post in its entirity here.


Today at The Write Routine we continue our FOOD FIGHT by building community and allowing others to "grow" our stories and fling as much food as they can through comments.

I am thrilled to say that we have 12 amazing blog participants who have cleverly started the story for you.  Now its your turn!

FOOD FIGHT Rules of Engagement:

 

1)  March 4th til March 8th (midnight EST) ~ Comment on as many of the Food Fight stories as possible. Your comment needs to grow the story.

Read the posted story and all of the comments that precede you. Then, post your comment. Be sure to build on and further the existing story. Your comment should flow. The story should read as if it was written by one person when read from beginning to end.

ALSO, your comment needs to include at least one word of onomatopoeia and one thrown item of food. Your onomatopoeia must be a word that has not been used already in that story, as well. That's right. Be creative.

We are creating community here. Anyone can participate. Comment on as many stories throughout the week as possible.

You can comment more than once on a story, however, you cannot fight with yourself...meaning, you cannot follow one of your own comments...someone else needs to comment before you can comment again. Have fun.

2) Over the weekend (March 9th and 10th) blog owners need to wrap up their story with one last comment. Make sure the ending is satisfying. It should feel like the story is defnitely concluded. Flex those creative writing chops.

3) There will be 2 prizes. One prize will go to the "Most Food Flung", meaning the person who commented/participated the most. Another prize will be given to the owner of the blog with "Best Story Overall" to be decided on by our judges.  You MUST be a Follower of this Blog to be eligible for prizes.

* A special note to Blog Participants, please keep the comments portion of your blogs clear of any comments that do not add to the story.  Its nice when people comment with praise or encouragement, but for the sake of the "flow", please delete these comments.



FOOD FIGHT Participant Stories:

 



FOOD FIGHT!: Start Your Stories

It's here!  The Write Routine's First Annual FOOD FIGHT! in celebration of World Read Aloud Day.

So what do you do?

If you have a blog, create a post in which you start a story. This story should have a clear setting and at least one clear character. Set the scene. Be creative. It can be anywhere and anything.

There is no word minimum or maximum.  But remember, I am a kidlit writer...so let's keep it clean (until we start throwing food, of course).

Write the story up to the moment when a food fight breaks out. And then stop.

Publish your post, enter the link below...and then sit back.

If you don't have a blog, relax...your participation will be needed too.  Read full FOOD FIGHT instructions for participation here.

Remember, you MUST be a Follower of this blog to be eligible for prizes, including FREE registration in the Picture Book Academy's self-paced e-course "Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Books." 

FOOD FIGHT! Participant Stories: