It’s been a year and a day since calebbreakey.com hit the web. I’ve loved our dialogue, encouragement, and shared passion to get better at this craft of writing. It’s been a crazy 12 months.

Now, life’s throwing me some curveballs and I’m learning to adjust. While mentoring young writers will remain a priority at writers conferences, it will no longer take place at calebbreakey.com.

As most of you know, I’m pretty much obsessed with the faith, hope, and love that Jesus lived. And that obsession is moving me to think and write much about those topics. It’s my new direction. My new life’s mission.

Thank you so much to the teen writers who’ve made calebbreakey.com possible. Thank you to all the Breakians who’ve been with me every step of the way, making the site better, putting time and effort into encouraging comments, improving your craft, and building this community. It’s your passion and drive to write and write well that’s made this so fun.

I’m going to miss seeing your brilliant words and excellent attitudes. But I trust that the encouragement, passion, and skills that have been a constant pulse here will continue with you in your creative journey.

Please keep in touch. Let me know what’s happening in your writing life. Share your stories with me. You all are like family.

So to all you Rockstars, I part with a smile. Go make a difference with your writing. With your life. Today is the day.

Write on. Rock on.

Because of too few entries (writing is hard when school AND the sun are out!), the contest deadline has been extended.

New Deadline: August 8.

If you already submitted your entry (thank you!), feel free to resubmit.

I will be traveling to conferences for most of mid-August, so that will be a great time to feature contest entries!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxOou_FYxH0

SUBMISSION EXCERPT: As I broke the surface, I saw everyone surrounding the poolside. But the look of excitement and congratulations graced not one face that I saw. It was a look of horror.

What three adjectives best describe you?

“Opinionated, creative, and smart.”

What do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?

“I like to read young adult novels, especially ones with some sort of mystery of mythology in them. I don’t have a favorite author, but my favorite series are the Twilight Saga and the 39 Clues Series.”

Tell us about your writing. If you write fiction, which genre are you writing?

“I like realistic writing. My short stories are realistic fiction, often reflecting today’s major issues, such as abuse and depression. I also prefer science fiction and fantasy writing.”

Concerning writing, what do you hope to achieve in the next year?

“I hope to finish my current novel and have it published by next summer.”

How would your best friend describe you to someone who’s never met you?

“She would probably say that I am smart, creative, and a little eccentric.”

What is the strangest thing you’ve ever done?

“I don’t think I have ever done any strange things.”

What/Who inspires you?

“My mood at the time is often reflected in my writing. If I’m feeling a bit depressed while writing a chapter, I may make one of my characters depressed or go through a rough time.”

What are your special interests, hobbies, activities, volunteer work?

“I am in my drama club and mock trial team at school, and am a black belt in taekwondo. Whenever I have a chance to volunteer, I try to make the commitment.”

What are you passionate about? What would you like to teach others about?

“I’m passionate about my writing, as well as very critical. I’m not a very good teacher, so I doubt I would be of much help to others!

Synopsis: Reileen Pierce lives the model life: two lawyer parents, a house on a hill, all the money in the world, and the best swimmer this side of North Westchester. She only sees the black and white of her situation: become a lawyer, make parents happy, suffer till the end. But when new student Alexander Rossi rocks her world with a deadly town secret, coupled with his danegrous brother Salvatore, Reileen will see that her perfect world has a huge grey area, too.

Experiencing the Work of Evyr Rockstar

Executing the perfect double flip into the water, I did a fist pump as I swam back to the surface. I was almost positive that was a perfect score! I could imagine the crowd surrounding the pool, congratulating me for winning.

As I broke the surface, I saw everyone surrounding the poolside. But the look of excitement and congratulations graced not one face that I saw.

It was a look of horror.

I turned around, gasping as I took in the sight in front of me. Coach Palmer, the one other person who supported me, was on the ground. His head was at an unnatural angle, blood pouring out of one ear. His eyes stare coldly at me, as if he was trying to say something with them.

Everything else was a blur. I vaguely remember someone pulling me out of the pool, and wrapping me up in a towel. I couldn’t hear anything, not the sobbing of the coach’s wife, or Grams telling me to get dressed so we could go home. I was in absolute shock. In the span of a second, the man I looked up to was gone.

I walked into the house, passing by Mom and Dad, ignoring their questions, telling them I was fine. Grams would relay to them the news. I laid on my bed, staring into space, numb to my surroundings.

Time seemed to move slowly. I heard the TV from downstairs; my parents were watching the news, no doubt. I caught bits and pieces of the story; it seemed that Coach’s death was a mystery, there was no wound or any problems with his brain. It was as if God just decided to take him off the earth: no warning, no time to get things in order.

So we’re juggling the way we do submissions. From now on, we will post writer interviews/features on Mondays and Tuesdays, and post video critiques on Thursdays and Fridays (with the ‘backup’ days being Saturday and Sunday, if I’m swamped). Sound good? =D Two featured writers per week. (This is reflected on the START HERE page as well).

Write on, Rock on!

“I hope you guys like contests! If not … this will be awkward. Our next contest is what I call the What Just Happened Contest. More specifically, the topic is your hero (or heroine) waking up in your villain’s body, and vice versa.

You have 400 words (no more) to tell us what happens. Same rules as always: no swearing, no inappropriate romantic content, no using God’s name in vain, you actually had to write it, etc. etc. etc.

Submissions will appear anonymous until the winners are announced, and winners will be decided by voting on calebbreakey.com. (First vote, three points; second vote, two points; third vote, one point).

First place chooses their grand prize, and the runners-up will receive rewards in the form of ladder jumps. Grand Prize: 1) Jumping to the top of the Page Critique or Breakian Ladder; 2) Posting 1,000 words of work on the site over a two-day period.

Start writing, guys! Can’t wait to see your submissions! Send to Secretary.CalebBreakey@gmail.com by July 27th at 6 p.m. PST.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFh8OaIFk5I

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LrRG1gB-f8

SUBMISSION EXCERPT: Your just paranoid, I told myself. We picked our seats and listened as the man tested the microphone. It seemed like everything was normal, so I calmed down for a minute, and listened to my heartbeat…

GETTING TO KNOW TEEN WRITER ALY B. ROCKSTAR

What three adjectives best describe you? Funny, Talkative, and Stubborn

What do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?I enjoy reading Horror. It gives me chills up my spine. I love the thrill and excitement it gives me without even leaving the safety of my home.
Favorite Authors: Mary Downing Hahn, Margaret Peterson Haddix, and Kathryn Lasky.

Tell us about your writing. If you write fiction, which genre are you writing? I like to write horror as much as I like reading it. I love writing fiction because it lets my creativity flow. The sky is the limit!
My dreams inspire me to write. If I have a nightmare that scares me enough, I’ll be writing about it!

Concerning writing, what do you hope to achieve in the next year? I just hope to become a better writer and to finish a lot of my book.

How would your best friend describe you to someone who’s never met you? They would describe me as a person with loads of imagination and knows how to use it.

What is the strangest thing you’ve ever done? There are too many strange things to count! If I must name one, I guess it would be the time I ate a dog biscuit.

What/Who inspires you? My sister, Cati, was the one who started my writing and inspired me into doing it. She even showed me this website.

What are your special interests, hobbies, activities, volunteer work? I’m in FCCLA, FFA, and Art Club. If I knew about Book Club during sign-ups, I’d be in it.

What are you passionate about? What would you like to teach others about? I’m pashionate about my writing and my artwork. I love to draw. I’d like to help others learn how to write, and teach people how to draw.

EXPERIENCING TEEN WRITER ALY B. ROCKSTAR’S WORK

Prologue

I was a relatively normal kid before the accident. I would get up, go to school, and go to bed. this went on for the first and last 15 years of my life. I had a mother, a father, and for a short period of time I had a brother, but he died in childbirth. I was in school the day before the accident. Thats when my best friend John walked up to me with the worst idea in the world.

He asked me if I wanted to go to the lab in downtown Darwinten with him. He said, “They are giving away cash to use us for their latest experiment in the lab, fifty bucks a person.” We decided that we would go to the lab after school and check it out, and if one thing looked weird or if one suspicious thing went on, we would leave there and not come back.

When we got to the lab, I was all but sweating through my shirt and all my being told me to leave and go home, but my body overruled my mind and I went inside. It was darker than I expected, and for a second I thought I could here faint screaming in the background. Your just paranoid, I told myself. We picked our seats and listened as the man tested the microphone. It seemed like everything was normal, so I calmed down for a minute, and listened to my heartbeat…

I must of dozed off because the next thing I know John elbowed me in the side. “Wake up, Anya. It’s over. They’re going to take us to the experiment now!” I must of still been drowsy because I didn’t say anything on my way inside.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa6cGfvXJjQ