Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Marketing

Calling all writers… Calling all writers… 

Come in writers! 

Jenn’s blog has been interrupted this afternoon to bring you some breaking news. 

For the first time in history, Jamie Crawford, Grand Prize winner of Wordclay’s Single Poem Contest, has agreed to answer our Interview questions. 

Blogger Justin Dimos is on the literary scene and reports: 

Justin: How did you feel entering the contest?
Jamie: I felt a bit apprehensive because I’d never participated in a national writing competition before and realized this would mean a higher caliber of writing would be considered. 

Justin: How did you react when you found out that you had won?
Jamie: I didn’t process it. I thought maybe a mistake had been made. Finally, though, I realized that I had legitimately won the single poem contest. It was an exhilarating and uplifting feeling to be recognized in this way. 

Justin: What did you know about Wordclay before you entered the contest?
Jamie : I knew next to nothing, just that it was a self-publishing Web site. 

Justin: How did you learn about the contest?
Jamie: After scrolling through the site a bit, I found a link to the contest and figured it was worth a shot. It seemed easy and stress-free to enter. 

Justin: Is this your first time entering a writing contest? If so, what can you tell us about your experience?
Jamie:­ This is the first time I’ve entered a writing contest, and I guess it’s an encouraging signal to continue writing. It was fairly hassle-free and enjoyable to enter this contest. 

Justin: When did you start writing? What is your experience with writing poetry?
Jamie: I’ve been writing since high school, and my passion has only gained momentum since then. I’ve taken many classes in high school and currently in college with different genres, and so far I’d say that poetry is the most condensed form of language and emotion that exists in the world of writing. Its complexity exists in the concentration and successful conveyance of a message. Other genres of writing strive to transcend our emotions with different methods. 

Justin: What is your writing process? How does your work come to you?
Jamie: I don’t really have a writing process. Sometimes I’m inspired, and sometimes I’m not. Sometimes I feel I can successfully articulate a situation, and other times I just don’t have the ability to render the emotions real enough on paper. It’s an inconsistent process. 

Justin: What was the inspiration for “Redemption”?
Jamie: I titled my poem “Redemption” because as I wrote it, I was thinking about all those things in life that give us salvation and create our anchors in life, without which we’d be lost. I was wondering if anything can truly redeem our actions, and if so, how are these things classified and why do they exist? 

Justin: Did you meet any difficulties while writing “Redemption”?
Jamie: I didn’t really have difficulty writing the original draft, but editing it became very time consuming. I wrote the poem in a very stream-of-thought manner, so some of it became meandering and almost directionless. My edit of the poem hopefully made the writing more cohesive and resonant with the listener than the original copy. 

Justin: Have you published any other work? And how do you feel about your work being published through Wordclay?
Jamie: I’ve published other work only through school literary magazines, in high school, and currently at college. I feel grateful to have work published through Wordclay as it’s a fine, dynamic Web site. 

Justin: What are your five favorite books?
Jamie: I could go on about this question for a while, because it’s so hard for me to choose favorites! I’ve read a lot of books in my lifetime, so my selections run a spectrum of genre and style. I’d say my most favorite would be Blindness by Jose Saramago. It’s really an amazing, painfully beautiful book that I can’t even begin to summarize. ‘Night Mother by Marsha Norman is actually a script for a play, and it’s such a powerful dialogue that it has kindled an interest in me for playwriting. My third favorite piece would be Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer because he writes about the intriguing topic of idealism and how it misguided one young adult. Fourth, I’d say Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes because of his approach to mortality and its repercussions in this poignant novel. Lastly, I really enjoyed reading Grendel by John Gardner. It’s an understated book, but a very powerful perspective on the story of Beowulf.  

Justin: Do you have any advice or tips for other emerging writers?
Jamie: Read! Read different styles, genres and material that you enjoy! That way, when you write, you have a notable palette for creating and honing your own individual style.  

Jamie Crawford’s poem “Redemption” appears in Wordclay’s Best Modern Voices, Volume 1: A Poetry Anthology, which is currently available for order at the Wordclay Bookstore. Check out Crawford’s poem as well as the other poetry finalist in this superb, new collection.  

But maybe poetry isn’t your forte. What then?  

Don’t worry – the Wordclay Team thought of that, too. Wordclay will continue to publish the Best Modern Voices series after each contest, collecting and binding the best writing our judges come across.

It may please readers to know that our current contests (the Single Short Story and the Short Story Collection) are both free to enter and require no previous publishing experience, not to mention the fact we’re accepting submissions through May 31, 2008. Interested writers can visit Wordclay’s Contest Connection page for submission guidelines, winning prize information and other details. 

Though we no longer require registration during contest participation, I personally recommend you become a member of the Wordclay community. Just like the contest, registration is free, and submitting your contact information to our secure database will definitely ensure that we can reach you should you win.

You wouldn’t want to miss out on your cash, nor your publishing prizes, now would you? 

This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.