There was the one life-changing teacher in high school and then the-rock-and-the-foundation writing teacher I had in college. Both pushed me to explo… - Liz Chase

I love the concept of writers being presented with a blind challenge rather than simply submitting previously-completed work for judging. It puts us all on an even playing field, so anything goes. And I like competing against writers of all walks of life and with all levels of experience.

Don't forget to get up every once and a while and do some stretching and exercises. Don't let your body atrophy in front of the computer.

Remember – if you're not healthy, you won't feel good enough to write! But after you've had your vitamins and have done your yoga, write as much as you can as often as you can, even if you spend a lot of time staring at a blank page. If you just hang in there, you will succeed!