Welcome to the REBIRTH Blogfest

The Blogfest runs from Tuesday, May 12 to Saturday, May 23, 2015! You don’t have to be from the Central Valley, California, though it would be nice if English is your first or second language. 🙂 It was my intent to shine a light on our local talent, but multiple circumstances have made our writers group extremely difficult to maintain our groupiness, so the blogfest is open to anyone who is interested. Click here to sign up!

The theme/writing prompt is REBIRTH. So whether you are a science-fiction, fantasy or horror writer, the possibilities are endless. Word limits are a minimum of 500 and maximum of 1500 words, so you may want to limit your piece to one or two characters and your main character’s moment of change/epiphany/awakening/resurrection.

We do have a few prizes worked out:

A signed copy of Prelude to Spiral Legion with exclusive Forsaken Stars sketch card;
A copy of the FSFW Anthology I Dreamed A Crooked Dream;
A $25 gift certificate from Simply McGhie Soaps

And there may be more to come!*

Stephen King equates the short story with “a kiss in the dark from a stranger.” Kurt Vonnegut said to “start your story as close to the end as possible.” Edgar Allan Poe is quoted, “A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.” So get reading and writing!

Bloghop Information, Rules and Restrictions

I adapted these Questions and Answers from What is a Bloghop Anyway? by Emily Murray from Blogaholic for the REBIRTH Project Blogfest:

“For seasoned bloggers blog hops/link ups are most likely second nature but for others who may be new to blogging blog hops may be uncharted territory leaving them with many questions. If you are unfamiliar with blog hops, they are basically a great way to meet other bloggers and gain followers.”

1) What is a blog hop? A blog hop, also called a link up, is basically a widget, called a linky, that allows bloggers to add their blog to a list. The list can be on multiple sites or may just be on the site of the blogger hosting the hop.

2) What is the purpose of a blog hop? Blog hops allow you to visit other blogs, follow blogs you like, and gain followers. This one will concentrate on Central Valley writers and past, present and future members of the Fresno Scifi and Fantasy Writers.

3) How do I participate in the REBIRTH Project Blogfest?

a. Come up with a story or vignette based on the writing prompt “rebirth” — what comes to mind when you think of the word rebirth? Is it an awakening? An enlightenment? A physical death and rebirth? Metaphorical? — the word limits are a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 1,500 words. The piece can be science-fiction, fantasy, horror or speculative fiction.

b. It is preferable if you have your own blog, but if you do not, you can submit your piece to myself at forsakenstars.com (forsakenstars AT gmail DOT com). We may set up a thread at fsfw.net to also host writers that don’t yet have their own blog, but still working out the details on that. In any case, email me or comment below that you would like to participate and I will create and update the link list as it grows. Deadline to join the list has been extended to the end of the blogfest: May 23, 2015! Though the sooner you join and write your piece, the sooner you have time to edit, revise and polish it! And the sooner people get to read and comment on it!

c. The REBIRTH Project blogfest will have a competitive component with awards and prizes. We will have a small panel of judges to decide on the “best” piece based on character, plot and theme, a “fan favorite” piece based on comments from the participants and public alike, and a “door prize” piece awarded at random to one of the participants and one of the [non-participant] public commenters.

d. It is our intention to collect the pieces into an FSFW anthology and make it available for purchase with the proceeds going to a central valley literacy program, so keep in mind that by participating this blogfest you are publishing your piece firstly on your blog and possibly secondly in our anthology for charity. So if you would like submit your piece elsewhere, know that most publishers have rules and limits regarding previously published works.

e. The actual blogfest will go live Tuesday, May 12, 2015 and run through Saturday, May 23, 2015. At the kickoff, you will post your hopefully final, polished piece on your blog, as well as the link list of all the other blogs participating. Then you will hop through each blog, read the other pieces and leave comments about what you think about the pieces. Be respectful! If you come across a blog you enjoy, feel free to follow it!

4) Why should I leave a comment? Leaving a comment allows the blogger to know that you are now following them. However, there are a few rules of etiquette:

Don’t spam bloggers
Don’t ask bloggers to visit your site and follow you
Try to leave a sincere comment. Comment on the post or their blog in general and then let them know you are stopping by from the blog hop. No need to ask them to stop by your blog, if they are participating they already know how it works.

5) How long is a blog hop? Blog hops typically last one day although some may last an entire weekend and specialty blog hops may last a week or more. Again, the REBIRTH Project Blogfest will last two weeks, going live Tuesday, May 12, 2015 and run through Saturday, May 23, 2015.

6) How many blogs should I visit? As many as you would like. Visiting blogs through blog hops takes time so you may not get to everyone on the list, so just do your best. The more you visit, the more likely they are to visit your blog.

7) How do I find the REBIRTH Project blogs? The list will be maintained here, below, so check back often! There will also be a blogfest badge you can post on your site below your story/piece/entry or in a sidebar at your blog/website.