(Yes, I did steal this post title from my dear friend Lilah. What can I say? She is creative like that.)
I love, love, love blogfests. I think I may be addicted to them; I wonder if there is some sort of 12-step program for BlogFest Addicts. BAA or something (which, let’s face it, would be an awesome group to start just for the fact that when people told others they were in BAA they would sound like sheep).
So, given my love of blogfests, it is only fitting that today’s Two For Tuesday is all about blogfest fun!
1. Announcing my first blogfest: Beach Scene BlogFest!
That’s right, I am taking the plunge. After participating in a few blogfests (and eagerly anticipating a few more), I have decided that it is time to host my own. So, in keeping with my theme of holycrapisitsummeryet–whyohwhydoIliveinthelandofeternalwinter? I am launching:
On June 5th, I will be hosting the Beach Scene BlogFest. Here’s how it works:
- Sign up in the form below.
- On June 5th, post a beach scene on your blog.
- Come back to the original sign-up form and read everyone’s entries!
Easy peasy.
Your beach scene can be from one of your works-in-progress or it can be something brand-spankin’-new you wrote just for the fest. The only requirement is the beach! Personally, I would try to keep your entry under 1,000 words, but no one will send the Word Count Police after you if you post more than that.
But wait! There’s more…
Because I like prizes, and I like giving out prizes, there will be prizes!!!
I don’t know what the prizes will be yet, but they will be fun. Perhaps a new book (Sisters Red comes out that week–just sayin’), some fun little craft (perhaps you should see the origami swan I made for a wedding cake topper), baked goods, or maybe some of my time (for manuscript critiques or whatever). Whatever it is: it is a prize. And really, when it is free, can it be bad? 
Here’s how the prize selection will work:
- Everyone who signs up below gets one entry in the drawing. Yes, you have to actually post your scene–no points for signing up and not following through.
- Spreading the news earns more entries! You can earn extra entries by:
- Putting my BlogFest Banner on your blog (+5)
- Butting my BlogFest Button in your sidebar (+2)
To make things easy for you, I have provided the code for the banner (above) and the button:
(Banners and buttons must go up before and stay up through June 5th for them to count for extra entries–I will be checking. 
Also…I have been informed that this code doesn’t play well with Blogger. I don’t know what the problem is, as it is written in W3C compliant code. Sorry if this makes things harder for you.)
Now, finally! On to the sign-up:
(oh right…this is a Two For Tuesday…okay)
2. ABC
I used to link to blogfests and contests in my sidebar, but there I are just so many these days that I can’t keep up with them over here. So I gave them their very own page! You can view upcoming blogfests and contests (along with links to my previous blogfest entries) on my Anticipated Blogfests & Contests page.
Happy BlogFesting everyone!
35 Comments
Kewl. FYI there is a blogfest June 4th and 9th, although my dream sequence is about the beach so maybe I can combine the two…
I like the graphics BTW.
Someone suggested I make an icon for my blogfest so I’m passing that suggestion on to you.
Yeah, I am definitely doing the blogfests on the 4th and the 9th. I am excited for them.
How do I subscribe to comment replies?
I don’t know how comment subscriptions got deactivated! It should be fixed now. Thanks for giving me a heads up.
Yay for blogfests!! I will of course sign up. I love them!!
Me too! Aren’t they so fun?
I’ve never done one before, so I think yours will be my first. There are no beach scenes in my WIP, but since I live near the beach (and am impatiently awaiting the water to warm up enough to go), this one will be so much fun to write!
And a ms critique sounds like an awesome prize!
Yay! I am glad you are playing along. And still incredibly jealous of where you live.
I must be trying to procrastinate my wip big time!
I sure love blog fests though. I’ll have to come up with something new for this one. That’s a good thing. Yay!
Yay! I am glad you signed up. I am working on this WIP right now that I pretty much started as a break from my other writing. I love it and intend to write a full novel with it, but since I don’t know where it is going yet, I work my Blogfest posts into it…it’s a ton of fun!
I just tried to add your button to my sidebar and it didn’t quite workout the way I think you intended. Unless the code up there was just for wordpress. For my blogger site, I had to add a picture gadget, paste the picture address, and add a link from the pic to your post. Just so ya know.
And I can’t guarantee how long I will be able to stand it where it is. It sort of clashes w the rest of the site. But I did add ya to my BLOGinFESTation page.
Thanks for the heads up! I checked it out and I can’t for the life of me figure out what the problem is. The code is not just for WordPress–it is standard HTML that follows all the W3C guidelines….which pretty much means it should work anywhere you can put HTML. I don’t know what Blogger’s problem is with it.
This looks fun. I’d post the image thing in my blog but I have blogger and am tech-challenged. So, I might give it a try some but will have to wait and see cause it if takes a lot of effort there is no way it’ll get on there.
Good idea for a blogfest.
Thanks! If you just copy the image to your computer and then upload it into your blog, that is good enough, even if it doesn’t link back. I have no idea what blogger’s problem with my code is.
Great idea for a blogfest! I’ll see if I can come up with a beach scene in time. I’ve also added your blogfest to my list of blogfests (http://timeguardiansaga.com/blog/?p=786).
Hey thanks, Bryan!
Hi, I fiddled with the code a bit and the following now works as html widget for blogger:
hope it works for other people too…
oops the code didn’t show up on my post… hmm
TESTING
Nope, sorry, can’t post the code. Let me know if you want it mailed to you…
That would be GREAT! Thank you.
Ok I’ve mailed you the code if it doesn’t get there send me an email at tessaconte(at)gmail.com
Just signed up!
yay! I am excited to read your beach scene.
I have never done a blogfest before, and I am excited for this to be my first! I just wrote a novella for my writing class that takes place entirely at the lake so I have a beach scene all picked out!
Sweet! I am glad you decided to play along.
Just came across this at Sangu’s blog. I linked you in my sidebar.
Hey thanks!
Came over from a link on Courtney Reese’s blog. I have the perfect beach scene for this! I am SO in.
Yay! I am excited to read your scene!
I’m in for the beachscene blogfest as of course, for me, life is a beach and I should be able to unearth some refs in my WIPs. Came over from a link on Tessa’s blog. Can’t post the widgets though…
Yeah…there have been some problems with the buttons if you are running blogger. It is insanely frustrating!
Jeesh, I am so techno. I couln’t get blogger to accept the code for your button, so I saved it into my pics, then copied. Rocket science? Nah, but I have it up on my blog. Haven’t time to write, must rush to work to pay the bills…be back on the 5th with some excruciating-wonderful beachy prose…lol
Yay! I am excited to read your scene. Hmmm…maybe I should get mine written!
I’m in! But, I’m scheduling my post for June 7th, so that the post for the blogfest on June 5th will be up for a couple of days first.
I’m signing up for this on the eve of the blogfest itself because I just now remembered I actually have a beach scene in my WIP! It’s not your standard beach scene, but it’ll do. See y’all tomorrow!