Enter Our Dazzling Dogs
Writing Contest
If you love dogs and love to write, tell us your best dog story. Whether it's your dog or just a dog you know, dogs can be silly, inspiring, goofy, loyal, heartwarming, and fun. Every dog lover has a great story to tell. Maybe it's how your dog changed your life after you adopted him from an animal shelter. Or maybe it's something really outrageous that he does that stuns the neighbors. Whether your dog is "bad" like Marley (of Marley and Me fame), heroic like Lassie, or just your best friend in the whole world, write a story about it and get the chance to win free writing software and the opportunity to be published in a book!
It doesn't matter if you are a professional writer or not. Make us laugh, make us cry, or just make us love your story (and your dog).
We'll select approximately 20 winners from the entries we receive (depending on length). The authors of the stories that are selected receive a free license for our IdeaWeaver writing software (a $50 value) and a free copy of the book of dog stories when it is published.
Like our other pet books (Happy Hound and Happy Tabby), this book will be offered to animal shelters and humane groups for use as a fundraising tool. The absolute best story we receive also wins a $50 Grand Prize and will be written up as a case study on the IdeaWeaver site with a link back to your web site if you have one. (It's an opportunity for some great publicity if you're a freelance writer!)
How to Enter
Entering the contest is easy. Just follow these steps:
1. Download a trial copy of IdeaWeaver.
2. Use IdeaWeaver to write your story (or you can take an existing story and put it into IdeaWeaver). The main goal is that we want you to at least have checked out the program. If you haven't tried IdeaWeaver before, we strongly suggest you check out the free Getting Started video to get an idea of how it works. (The video is only 6 minutes long, but it gives you the basics.)
3. Drag your ideas into the outline pane, so they form a complete essay.
4. Export your outline to XML. From within IdeaWeaver, choose Project|Export to XML.IdeaWeaver prompts you for a file location. You can accept the default location in My Documents, or you can click the Browse button to choose a new location. Just be careful not to change the ".xml" file extension.
5. Upload the XML file using the form below (note that the form automatically associates your file with your contact info, so they stay together in our system):
That's it!
There is no entry fee, so what have you got to lose? We'll send you a thank you email so you know we got your submission. Winners will be notified on or around April 14.
Please be sure to read the Complete Contest Rules before you enter.
Good luck!
