It's that time of year again...

It's hard to believe that it is already time for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). If you're unfamiliar with the event, each November participating writers from around the world spend the month working to complete the rough draft of a 50,000-word novel. It sounds like a lot of work, but it is basically writing a little more than 1,600 words each day, which is very doable if you are motivated. Good things can come out of NaNoWriMo. I personally know a few authors who completed novels during the month and went on to have them published. Others broke out of their longstanding writer's block to find that they are capable of writing a full-length novel. There is even a NaNoWriMo for young writers.

Are you participating? Let us know by leaving a comment.

Creative Inspiration from 1001 Inventions

Abbas ibn Firnas

 

 

Unfortunately, I did not find out about the Creative Story Writing Competition taking place at 1001 Inventions until after the deadline for participation had passed, but the guidelines are worth taking a look at anyway, especially if you are a teacher, a homeschooling parent, or a writer who simply needs a burst of creativity. The guidelines provide you with a list of eleven figures from the Golden Age of Muslim civilization. The idea is to choose one and write a 5,000-word story that includes the character. Historical accuracy is encouraged, but the rules also allow for some artistic license. I can definitely see a story like this making a nifty book for kids or even turning into a full-length novel.

Did you participate in this competition?

If so, tell us about it by leaving a comment below.

NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The goal is to start (and finish) a 50,000 word novel by November 30th. This year, I know of several Muslims who will participate. I am personally tempted to join the fun but think I will be too busy with my regular freelance commitments. Nevertheless, I have signed up under the user name precisiontext. What about you? Let us know in the comments section below.

Deadline Extended!

Back in May, I mentioned that the deadline for the The Islamic Foundation Writing Contest would soon be drawing to a close. I just checked the website again, however, and found that the deadline has been extended to December 31, 2009! This is great news for people interested in entering this exciting competition, which has a little something for everyone, even illustrators.

Another good thing about the competition is that it is open to people of all ages, children and teenagers included.

Star Writers

If you're looking for something to do with the kids this summer, it seems like this would make a great family project. You might even start by introducing them to Star Writers, by Sister Amatullah Al-Marwani. Star Writers is a wonderful workbook for Muslim children that introduces them to the world of writing creative stories with Islamic themes. Although it is for children, I, too, am benefiting from the book and learning how to write more creatively.

In any case, check out the guidelines for the The Islamic Foundation Writing Contest.

BBC Ramadan Writing Activities for Kids

As part of its school section, the BBC has a couple of writing worksheets that may be of interest to Muslim families:

Writing a Newspaper Article on Ramadan

Using the Five Senses to Write about Eid Al-Fitr

Book Fairs at Islamic Schools

Have you ever thought of doing a book fair at your local Islamic school? What about a creative writing contest?

Linda D. Delgado (Sister Widad) of Muslim Writers Publishing gives you the tools and incentives to take on these projects.

Read more here.

Note: Muslim Writers Publishing will donate $100 worth of books to your school library if your fundraising efforts reach a minimum of $400.

NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The goal is to start (and finish) a 50,000 word novel by November 30th. In 2006, more than 79,000 people participated in this global event that places emphasis on quantity versus quality. I know of a few Muslims who will participate this year, including Echoes novelist Jamilah Kolocotronis. I expect she will be blogging about the experience.

Read more about NaNoWriMo here.

Deadline Extended

The submissions deadline for Widad's Cookbook has been extended to September 30, 2007!

Call for Submissions: Recipes, Poems and Short Stories

Back in 2002, Linda D. Delgado (Sis Widad) began collecting recipes from friends around the world as well as original short stories, poems, and scriptural references to food. The result was Halal Food, Fun and Laughter, a delightful cookbook that was published early last year.

Sis Widad is compiling a second volume for charity, and she needs new submissions of recipes, short stories, and poetry. This is what she told me she is looking for:

Recipes: original, never been published before. List ingredients and method for making the recipe. If any unusual ingredient is used (something native to their country), please explain below the recipe in a footnote and suggest something similiar that could be used.

Funny food short stories: a funny story that is about eating or preparing food. We all have such cute stories we can think of when cooking with our kids or making a big goof when trying a recipe! Maximum of 500 words. I will edit for spelling and punctuation but won't change the written story.

Funny food poetry: light-hearted poetry about food. A maximum of 32 lines. Any style acceptable.

Contributor Info: The contributor should include their name/city/state and/or country. If they have a website and/or blog, they can include this. This informationwill be included in the book crediting their contribution.

Deadline: August 15th is the deadline for submissions. I will respond to each contributor and advise if I have chosen his/her work for inclusion.

Contributions to the volume are volunteer submissions, and all profits will go to a Muslim food bank. Contributors will receive a volume of the book their work is published in. Send all submissions and queries directly to Sis Widad.

Learn Comedy Writing with Preacher Moss

An annual event called MuslimFest is taking place this August 11th in Mississauga, Ontario (Canada). Sponsored by Sound Vision, Young Muslims Canada, and DawaNet, this event has been organized by "experts in various fields such as media relations, marketing, television and radio production, writing, web development, event planning, project management, sales, scholarship, fine arts, technical arts, drama, academic research, law, medicine, and engineering."

Among the many activities and workshops that are scheduled for this year is an interactive workshop on writing comedy with Preacher Moss of the "Allah Made Me Funny" comedy team.

You can read more details about the workshop here.

Creative Writers Needed

One Islam Productions is an Australia-based Muslim film company in need of creative writers for children's programming.

Read more about this opportunity here.