Follow up to ‘Busy Times Ahead…’
“The winners of the 2011 Muskoka Novel Marathon will also be announced at the wrap. This year, I feel zero pressure as I flopped out at the marathon. I just did NOT feel in the zone at all while writing this year’s novel. That’s Me in the Corner might just be a shelved work in progress. I keep starting and stopping on the process of completing the first draft, so we’ll see.”
I wrote that passage in my last blog post. So, you could imagine my surprise when they announced ME as the winner of the BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL AWARD. I was so ready to just dump that novel. Now, I have the opportunity to have it cross the desk of an acquisitions editor on the staff of a Canadian publisher. I now have until November 1st to complete the first draft of THAT’S ME IN THE CORNER and run through edits. When (if) this is done, I will send it off to the MNM organizers and they will forward the manuscript to Lobster Press. At any rate, I am going to try to tackle this manuscript that I have not yet found a passion for…I will listen to it and try to make it mine. It deserves that, at the very least.
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON WEBSITE
Congratulations to my fellow Best Novel Award winners!
Susan Blakeney won for Best Juvenile Fiction & Pat Flewwelling won for Best Adult Fiction.
I was thrilled to see two people who constantly inspired me throughout the marathon take home trophies on Saturday!
Lori Twining (Click on her picture above to be taken to her blog!) won the coveted BUM IN CHAIR award. She was an inspiration on this front…nose to the grindstone does not begin to describe her dedication! She also won the ROCKSTAR award…for second highest word count. The most important award was also snagged by Lori. The REMY award is for the person who raises the most funds for the Muskoka Literacy Council. That’s what the Muskoka Novel Marathon is all about…raising funds for literacy. We will ALL have to give Lori a run for her money next year on this front!
Susan Blakeney (Click on her picture above to be taken to her site!) had an incredibly hard task at the marathon. Yes, yes…she did write an entire novel. But that was no big deal, really. Her task was to write that novel while carrying me on her back. I was a whining moaning wreck at this year’s marathon. “I can’t do it!” “I don’t know what I’m doing!” “I don’t wanna do this!” The complaints went on and on…and she talked me down from so many ledges that I still can’t figure out how she had time to write a novel. I gave her my vote for the SPIRIT award. Apparently she was a MARATHON SAINT to more than just little ole me…because she received enough votes to win the trophy! (Maybe the others voted for her because she stopped the whining?!) Boy, does she have spirit! Below is a full list of the peer-nominated award winners (taken from the announcement linked above).
And congratulations to the winners of the peer-nominated awards:
Lori Twining – Bum-In-Chair, Rockstar (for 2nd highest word count) and Remy (most funds raised) Awards
Alison Doucette – Rookie and Techie Awards
Susan Blakeney – Spirit Award
Pat Flewwelling – Most Prolific Writer Award
KEVIN CRAIG 