Welcome to The VERB!

Hard to believe that five years ago this month (the 12th, to be exact), we published the very first VERB.

Where do the time goeth?

To celebrate this milestone, we're having a party throughout the month of May. Hope you'll join us because it wouldn't be much of a party without you. Picture it: a softly-lit stage with a microphone and a stool. To the right, a buffet and bar. To the left, a pile of gift-wrapped prizes. And above it all, the ivory whisper of a Steinway. All you need to bring is a tiny sample of your writing excellence.

That's right, it's a sentence soiree!

Beginning today, the Party Room is open for business. When you're ready, step up to the hot mic and unveil a sentence that you find especially dramatic, hilarious, frightening, innovative or any other adjective that refers to its awesomeness.  

Each day, we'll pick a winner.

On June 1, 2008, the daily winners will be tossed into our beloved straw hat for a blind draw. The winner of the draw receives a FREE Opinion, performed by yours truly. The Opinion covers any writing project up to 70,000 words. A $300 value!

Winner will be announced on this page in the June VERB.

Other prizes? All participating writers receive a free copy of the e-booklet Ask the Computer Guy and 30% OFF Opinions and Proofreads through July 1, 2008.  

The Rules

The sentence may be narrative or dialogue (if dialogue, include quotation marks) from an unpublished work of fiction or nonfiction. NO poetry.

Word count: unlimited. Quantity is irrelevant. Quality rules the day!

Only ONE sentence per writer, per 24-hour period. If your sentence is chosen as the winner of the day, you move to the dais and submit no more.

If your sentence is not chosen as the winner of the day, you may re-submit it up to seven times. After that, try a new one.

The sentence should be sent in a standard email in the following format:

BEGIN

The July sun fought off a multitude of little feathered clouds and drove them scuttling, but thunderheads looked over the western rim, armed with lightning and already mumbling to themselves.

END

- John Steinbeck

I do hereby avow, affirm, declare, maintain, attest and/or generally swear on the life of my manuscript that this sentence was written by me and no one else but me.

Subject: VERB party!
Submit here.

Be sure to stop by the Party Room daily to read the winning sentence as well as the ones submitted the previous day. You might want to add the page to your Favorites.

Feel free to link to our party on your blog, website, newsletter or forum. The more, the merrier!

And now, without further ado, let's get this party started!

Elizabeth Guy
Editor
 

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This issue 
was published 
under the musical 
influence of
HARRY CONNICK JR.
She