Oct
30

Every Writing Milestone Needs Celebrating

A lovely shot of encouragement for me this week with one of my novel manuscripts being long-listed in a major UK children’s writing competition.

I’m a great believer in celebrating each and every writing milestone. Even the smaller stepping stones.

They give me, firstly, delight that a forward shift is happening and a great excuse to break out the bubbly.  Plus they encourage me that publication of this novel might not be too far away. Secondly, competition awards and short/long-listings add to the CV and help build my writing credits, hopefully enhancing future submissions to agents and/or publishers. Thirdly, such milestones give me something to blog about.

I was glad I stuck to domestic bubbly when I found out the $43 Aust post charge to send the full manuscript to the UK. I wouldn’t want to do that every day, but it will be worth every cent if the manuscript is short-listed.

No matter whether it goes forward to a short-listing, I’m thrilled for the validation of this one, that is close to my heart, and I passionately believe is a great story.

Meanwhile, my fingers, toes, eye brows and everything are crossed for the next stage. Roll on December.

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macdibble" alt="macdibble">

macdibble

Yay! Postage is so expensive out of Australia, isn’t it? Makes one only want to enter email contests. Good luck for the next selection round… and more bubbly!

October 30, 2012 at 9:29 pm
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Ann Dawson

Yeah,

I’m very excited for you. I’ll keep my fingers crossed even if you really don’t need it.

October 30, 2012 at 10:07 pm
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Dale Harcombe" alt="Dale Harcombe">

Dale Harcombe

Good for you for entering Chris and celebrating what you’ve achieved so far. Ouch! expensive though. Let’s hope it’s worth it.

October 31, 2012 at 8:16 am
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katswhiskers" alt="katswhiskers">

katswhiskers

Yay for wonderful news, Chris. Cheering you on here, too. xx

October 31, 2012 at 1:20 pm
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Robyn Opie Parnell" alt="Robyn Opie Parnell">

Robyn Opie Parnell

Congratulations, Chris. Wonderful news!
I agree with you. I think it’s important to celebrate every milestone. Life isn’t always easy. Okay, life is rarely easy. So we need to reward ourselves for our achievements.
My fingers and toes are crossed for you. I look forward to hearing more wonderful news with this manuscript.
Love and Light,
Robyn 🙂

October 31, 2012 at 3:11 pm
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catupover" alt="catupover">

catupover

Hi Chris, yes we do need to celebrate every little milestone…there are such a lot of mountains to climb over along the way. Wishing you luck.

October 31, 2012 at 7:11 pm
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Corinne fenton" alt="Corinne fenton">

Corinne fenton

Second try at replying to this. Absolutely have a glass of champagne . . . Now!
Congratulations.

November 5, 2012 at 8:41 am
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Categories: Musing on writerly topics My writing journey News Writing Competitions

Tags: Writing Journey

Praise for No Small Shame

Christine Bell’s No Small Shame is impossible to put down. Her writing is wonderful, wise and empathetic. No Small Shame is a masterful debut novel, and an excellent addition to Australia’s historical fiction genre. Full review.

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Compelling and addictive. … a rich and absorbing experience. Full Review.

- Angela Wauchop: Backstory History Journal

What distinguishes the novel is its rich characterization. Each character in this carefully drawn work lifts off the page, evoking our enduring interest and empathy.

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