Bits & Pieces: Gayle's Giveaway, Voice Recognition, Contest Updates

Winners of Gayle's Comments Contest!

On Monday, we held a random drawing for those that commented on Gayle's book launch interview. I took all the names from the comments, put them in a hat (well, actually a bag), and picked two winners. Congratulations goes to Cheri and Carrie! Hmmm...that rhymed, how odd. ;) To redeem your prize, email Gayle with your snail-mail addy at: gd830@hotmail.com

Follow up to Gayle's post about voice recognition software:

I asked Gayle about what type of voice recognition software she has and this is what she wrote: "As for the voice recognition software, it's just part of Word. I discovered it pretty much by accident. To see if you have it (and you should, my version of Word is 2003), open Word. Click on Tools in the Toolbar and you'll see Speech. Then your computer will take you through "speech recognition training." It takes about 15 minutes. It's really cool. For me, when I'm stuck on a writing project, it helps to talk it out. In the case I mentioned in the blog, it didn't work out great, but it did work. I think if I used it more often, it might work better. Let me know if you give it a try!"

Waaaaa!! Here's the part where I cry. I have a Mac with Word 2004, and it doesn't have this capability, or at least, not that I can find. It has speech software, which I use all the time to hear my work read aloud, but not voice recognition. Does anybody know of a good program to use with Mac?

Contest updates:

Summer: I know many of you are anxious to find out the results of the Summer Flash Fiction Contest. We have NOT sent out any announcements yet, and are still in final-round judging. So, sit tight. It should be any day now.

Spring Prize-packs: The Spring prize packs are almost ready to be sent out. Thank you for being patient. We are once again waiting for one thing to be printed--tees! You're going to love these ones. They're better than last season's. So, please know that your prizes are coming very, very soon. We also received a bunch of prizes for our Summer Contestants already, so when we find out the winners, those will be expedited pronto.

Today's Writing Quotes:

Here are some quotes to inspire and motivate you!

"Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer."
~ Barbara Kingsolver

"You can't say, I won't write today because that excuse will extend into several days, then several months, then...you are not a writer anymore, just someone who dreams about being a writer."
~ Dorothy C. Fontana

"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."
~ Stephen King

"Never let inexperience get in the way of ambition."
~ Terry Josephson

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PS. Visit Gayle Trent today at Whole Latte Life! The second stop of Gayle's blog tour. See you there!