A Final Farewell!

For several reasons, I'm moving to wordpress.

1. I like being able to tag my posts with more than 3 labels.
2. Their blog creator is more secure.
3. I like it better.

You can now find me at www.courtneydiles.wordpress.com, where I will be posting every day for the rest of the summer.

Thank you so much for your readership!

Southeastern Writers Workshop Contest!

All right, I have to take this chance to recommend to all aspiring writers out there, if you're in the south, the Southeastern Writers Workshop is an ideal place to start. That's where I began my journey, and it has given me the boosts I need. I didn't understand why I needed to go to conferences, honestly, and I got much more than I bargained for. On my record now are:

The SWA Juvenile Writing Award - 2nd place and $30
The Smith Moseley Poetry Award - 2nd place and $30
The M.L. Brown Award for YA Lit - 3rd place and $10 (2008) & 1st place and $50 (2009)!

So those cash prizes aren't extravagant, but the thing is those awards are perfect credentials for a query letter. If you want to be published, people, build them up!

I'm going to be posting every day for the rest of the summer and quite often after that. Hold me to it, please! I don't mind nagging. =)

~Courtney