Monday, April 02, 2007

The April Write-Away Contest

Alaskan UluThe sun was up before I was today--the light is growing and here in Alaska we've finally left the darkness of winter behind. From now until October I'll have more than enough sun to make up for the months I had to live without it.

So I'm starting to think of my garden and the plans I have for it this year. Should I rip out those delphiniums that have given me so much trouble and replace them with aconite? Should I put in another peony? Will my kiwi vine flower? How many jars of raspberry jam will I get this year? Given my thoughts it should surprise no one that this month's Write-Away Contest theme is growing.

Growth in your garden, personal growth, growth of loved ones, growth of your blog, mold growing on your bathroom tile, you decide how to tackle the subject but once again here are the rules:

1. Write a post or find one in your archives about growth or growing. Submit your post's permalink to me via email at: scribbit at gmail.com before Sunday April 15th (that means the deadline is midnight on Saturday April 14th).

2. Link to the contest page here at Scribbit in either your entry post or in a separate post.

3. Check back here on Tuesday April 17th when I will post a complete list of the entries along with the Write-Away Winner.

As stated before, if you fail to meet the April 14th deadline I will still gladly publish the link to your post but your post will not be judged. I have to cut it off at some point or else I'd never be able to get anyone to judge this thing. When I list the winner and all the entries I always list them in the order they were received so the sooner you get your entry in, the closer to the top of the list you will be.

Our guest judge this month is Jeanna at Days to Come who will judge the submissions based on the quality of writing, applicability to the topic and overall ability to engage the reader. This will be a blind judging, she will know neither the entrants' names nor the names of their blogs, but will see only the text and title of each post. And as a final caution, I reserve the right to reject any entries that do not fit the topic or have objectionable content. Sorry to be sticky about it but there it is.

If you are new to the Write-Away Contest you may be interested in reading this post where I give several tips on entering. But when in doubt, take a peak at Jeanna's blog and see what kinds of things might gain her affection--as I've mentioned before, she's a funny lady so be prepared. I leave it up to each guest judge to decide if they wish to award second place, third place or honorable mentions. So far each has chosen to do this and this month it will be left up to Jeanna's discretion; however, please be aware that only the 1st place winner will be awarded a prize.

The prize for which you'll be writing is a genuine Alaskan birch-handled ulu (pronounced "oo'-loo") with a stand and wooden chopping bowl. You don't know what an ulu is? Well it's curved-blade knife used by Alaska Natives that comes in handy when you wish to skin a beaver, clean a whale, or scrape a caribou hide. For you city folk it also works for chopping herbs and vegetables. Ulus are a bit of Alaskan cultural heritage that are popular here and, as well as being rather fun, are a helpful kitchen gadget no matter where you live.

Additionally, the winner will be given the code for the Write-Away Winner button that they can display on their sidebar if they choose. They're the latest and greatest accessory, everyone wants one.

So get busy and get writing--may the best post win.

Write-Away ContestTechnorati tags:

20 comments:

mod*mom said...

hi scribbit! LoVE your blog!
your garden will be lovely!
i'm don't write much on my blog.
it's mostly pictures, but i hope you'll take a look + enter my giveaways. i lurk on your blog. i'm a chbm too.

Michelle Alley said...

Loved the specific directions for those of us who have just found your site! This is such a great idea and I am glad you have so many people who are getting into this.
Thanks from one who hopes to enter!
Happy Gardening!

Anonymous said...

Hmm. Very interesting write-away.

BTW, I still don't get how you can live without sun for months. Must be something great about Alaska, huh?


Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/

An Ordinary Mom said...

Growth, huh? Maybe I can write about growing to learn how to say no so I am not trying to accomplish too many things :)!!

I need more sun ... it fuels my happiness.

M said...

While I already own an ulu, courtesy of my Anchorage-residing sister, I don't have a Write-Away button! Oh, we can always dream.

Looking forward to this month's contest.

M.

Chris said...

Interesting. I have to think hard about this. Thanks for visiting my blog. :)

Anonymous said...

from one alaskan to another alaskan, i really got a kick out of how you described what folks could do with an ulo. thanks for the laugh.

Anonymous said...

hmmm I have never participated, rather enjoyed from the sidelines ... but this month's theme intrigues me :) Maybe I will have time before the deadline!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for a fun contest for spring. Love the topic. My entry is here: http://www.susiej.com/index.php/seasons-piling-up/

PunditMom said...

I LOVE my ulu, given to me by my late Alaska friend. Unfortunately, Mr. PunditMom ended up on the wrong end of that extremely sharp blade when he was cooking a couple of weeks ago.

Goslyn said...

Cool theme for the contest. And yes, add another Peony. One can never have too many peonies. They are my favorite flower.

Maybe a nice dark red. They look so pretty in a vase mixed with white ones.

Jenny said...

I don't think my writing skills will measure up to all those great bloggers out there, but growth?! Now, there's a subject I can harp on!! But, since this particular "growth spurt" began 3 years ago, I'll just submit a teeny-tiny discertation that happened this week. I'll email it ya.
Well, on second thought, can I enter more than one. I have a garden, too!

Unknown said...

Woot! I just entered!

Sweet and simple :-)

SusieJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Entry: Seasons

Alana, Author of Domestically Challenged said...

Hi there,

Well, I will be blogging about this tomorrow - what a great idea. Great blog too. I especially like the blogging tips.

Keep up the good work!

Alana
http://www.DCTheBlog.com
http://www.Book-Bits.com

The Tour Marm said...

I have directed people to your April Write-Away site.

I was given an Ulu by my Alaskan school in Anchirage, but my former roommate put both the wooden cutting board and the ulu into the dishwasher and it split the wood!

By the way, where did you all celebrate Easter?

wishy the writer said...

This contest is such a great idea! Thanks for visiting my blog, thanks for hosting the contest and thanks for inspiring me to write my entry!

I want that ulu!

Giggles,

Wishy

Gattina said...

This will be the first time I participate to the contest ! and I very much like the idea !
I even didn't have to think about the subject very much, because "growing" had been quite a problem in my life ! (but a good problem, lol)

Gattina said...

I came today to see the winner (here it's already wednesday 18) but don't see anything new. I am probably too early it's still tuesday in your part of the world !