It’s Inklings Book Contest season! While our amazing Inklings writers are busy discovering new characters, worlds, and stories of their own, we asked one of our favorite authors, Stacey Lee, author of Luck of the Titanic, for her advice about how to survive entering a contest (especially if this is your first!):
“Entering a contest is no small thing. What you do is, you open your heart, rip out a little piece and throw it out to the world, with no guarantee anyone will catch it. But isn’t that the beauty of storytelling? The world becomes a better place with the more truth and beauty we fill it with. Try, try, try again. We all win.”
Think you have it hard as a writer? Stacey shares, “I finished my first ‘novel’ when I was fourteen. These were pre-computer days, so I would write everything out by hand and then type out the story on our Smith-Corona typewriter. If you made a mistake, you’d have to use this white tape and retype the mistake onto the page to cover up the erroneous characters. It was all quite tedious, especially since I made a lot of mistakes. I still write out my ideas the old-fashioned way — with pen and paper. That’s how I learned to brainstorm and it still works for me!”
Don’t be afraid to share your story with the world, Inklings. There is no one else who can tell it quite like you.
Thank you for your encouragement, Stacey! Check out her website: staceyhlee.com
Stacey is an award-winning author of historical and contemporary young adult fiction. A native of southern California, she graduated from UCLA then got her law degree at UC Davis King Hall. She loves cold-brewed coffee, naps, and dancing, but not all at once. She plays classical piano, has perfect pitch, and through some mutant genes, can smell musical notes through her nose.
