*Breaking News!!! New Prize added thanks to grammar goddess June Casagrande!*
EDIT: Slight changes in Mechanics, thanks to a comment from Pinay Mommy. Made me realize something crucial to this contest: ease of joining. Thanks Mommy!

If the title strikes you as a bit too enthusiastic, it’s because I am.
I’m seriously stoked now that it’s less than a month before my birthday comes around. Instead of waiting for you people to send me presents, though, I guess this is a very good chance for me to give back to …

I’ve been out of touch this past weekend thanks to a combination of back pain and the installation of the entire Sims 2 collection on my Mac. It took me weeks to finally get the installation done (thanks to a random list of things I’d rather not discuss), and back pain had rendered me completely immobile for days.
Anyway, I’ll leave you with this strip from xkcd.com to think about. I’ve said time and again that writing is not a science. There’s no point forcing it to conform …

I have a bit of an OC complex, as you may have noticed by now, and I keep an eye out for this blog’s statistics.
“Obsessed” is an understatement, really.
This morning, when I noticed that my Technorati authority had gone up a few points, I immediately clicked the widget to see what made it so. I was in for a big surprise.
Apparently, Kat S., a good online friend from my LJ days, found this website useful enough to nominate me one of the Top Ten Emerging Influential Bloggers of 2008.
Surprise!
First …

Top 5 Picks
About Writing
Miss Write - “Rethink These Writing Myths”
Gargantua Stormcaller - “Ten Pitfalls of Fanfiction”
Tammy Searles - “Writers who are also photographers”

Fiction
Jenn - “An Unexpected Independence Day Celebration”

Poetry
Matthew S. Urdan - “Circles”
BROUGHT TO YOU BY PLOTDOG PRESS FEATURING:
A Novel Approach Series - DRAFT NOVEL - Intervention Chapter 1

PlotDog Press WOOF Contest: Presenting the finest of the writer’s blogs by the bloggers who write them. Highlighting the top 5 posts as chosen by the June 20, 2008 WOOF Contest participants. Want in to join the next WOOF? The next contest ends July 4. Submit a link to your best writing post of the week using the form at the bottom of this page. Participants, repost the link list below within a week and you’re all set.
Top 5 Picks
About Writing
Darcy Pattison - Novel Revision for Lovers
Miss Write - …

I was out sick over the weekend, hence the delay in posts. No worries, though, because here is a list of the past week’s top writing posts, brought to you by Plotdog.Com. Enjoy!
PlotDog Press WOOF
Presenting the finest of the writer’s blogs by the bloggers who write them. Highlighting the top 5 posts as chosen by the June 6, 2008 WOOF Contest participants. Want in to join the next WOOF? Submit a link to your best writing post of the week using this form. Participants, repost the link list …

Oh well, you can’t keep a girl from trying.
It’s a little bit like gambling, this addiction to contests, only I don’t have to spend any of my hard-earned money. As I mentioned a while back, contests are the way to go if you want to generate a lot of feedback. As The Net Fool’s recent contest proved, you can really earn a lot of traffic, popularity and readers through prizes.
Lots and lots of prizes.
Now that everyone’s cooking up contests just to beat the competition, what’s a blogger to …

You might have noticed two prominent additions to this website this week.
First, I posted an entry on my inclusion in the W.O.O.F. Contest newsletter of sorts as hosted by Plotdog.Com. Unlike most contests you find in the blogosphere today, WOOF doesn’t actually promise you any of those grand prizes we’ve come to know (and love, of course). What it does, though, is that it allows writers to submit their best articles and creative writing projects for inclusion in a specific week’s newsletter (of sorts). Fellow writers vote …

My entry made it! Check out the past week’s top five posts from PlotDog Press WOOF.
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Presenting the finest of the writer’s blogs by the bloggers who write them. Highlighting the top 5 posts as chosen by the 05/30/08 WOOF Contest participants. Want in to join the next WOOF? Submit a link to your best writing post of the week using this form. Participants, repost the link list within a week and you’re all set.
Top 5 Picks
About Writing
* I’m Like a Trash Can Holding all the Information
* Don’t Write …

Just like in the real world, giving away free stuff can be a pretty good motivator to make people sit up and listen. Freebies, prizes and rewards never fail, be it online or offline. There’s something about human beings that makes us light up whenever the word “free” comes around.
That said, a contest is a very good way to get more traffic to your site. Just ask The Net Fool, host of this month’s biggest online contest. He’s giving away cash and online freebies; can you …