Caption It! Contest at How is Bradley?

Long-time followers know I love a good writercize accompanied by an image. Pictures are not only powerful communication tools - they are great fun to inspire captions and stories!

Today I ran across a post by a true to life friend that I wanted to share with all of you. He is starting up a weekly "Caption It" contest on his "How is Bradley?" blog. 

The blog in general is an invaluable resource for anyone struggling with bipolar disorder or weight loss - he is an honest and perceptive voice - but, the Caption It contest is all about humor. Brad is a really funny guy, and I always appreciate his unique ability to laugh in the face of adversity. 

I am fortunate to not face bipolar disorder or weight loss in my own life, but I certainly have family and friends whom I love and adore who deal with one or the other, and that portion of his blog helps me gain a deeper understanding of what they are dealing with.

Beyond that, I hope you will join me every Wednesday for a little humor with Brad as we find out what in the world he may ask us to caption. I won't totally give this week's photo away, because I want you to see it for yourself, but let's just say there is booty shaking and grumpy old men. Now, go. Have fun with it! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

#5MinuteFiction Finalist at Leah Petersen's Write Me

I take a break from writercize to let you know about a really cool weekly contest over at Leah Petersen's Write Me blog.  She gives a prompt and you have fifteen minutes to submit a piece of flash fiction, any style, any genre.  It takes place every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time.

This week I'm a finalist and would love it if you check it out.  And while you're there ... vote for someone!

Note - some responses may not be family friendly - there is often a mix of swearing, violence and adult content in the flash fiction, so fair warning for underagers!

Another writercize prompt is on its way tonight so check in later!  Thanks for indulging me in this quick break.

Drum Roll Please ...

and the winners of the pizza contest are .........

Michelle L. with her Whoopie Pie Pizza

and 

Dawn M. Hamsher with the Hurricane Pizza

Congratulations to both of you!  

I will be in touch to get you your prizes!!

I am starving and impressed by all of the wonderful feedback! It was so difficult to pick a winner, but ...

Starbucks Gift Card goes to Dawn Hamsher with the very timely Hurricane Pizza, which not only sounds delicious but seconds as an visually artistic rendering of its name!

Fresh Brothers Family Meal goes to Michelle L. with the uber-sensuous Whoopie Pizza Pie. Sounds like the perfect dessert to top off that main course of Hurricane.

Excellent, excellent writing all - thank you for your participation and I look forward to seeing your entries in future contests!!!

It's a Pizza! - writercize (to win a prize) #100

In honor of my 100^th writercize, (streamers, confetti, hoorahs) I thought we could all use a little celebration, so I’m turning to everyone’s favorite party food – the pizza – for inspiration!

I don’t know about you, but when I’m eating out, I like to have fun with my food.  Sure I want it to taste good and be healthy, but give me an interior with a bit of whimsy, a plate with a little something fancy on it, or a menu that will keep me entertained.  I want something out of the ordinary from my real-life cooking experience at home from kitchen to dining room table. 

Since this blog is not about interior design and websites don’t come with taste buds (too bad!), let’s go with the menu and have a little fun writing.  There are four foods that I would identify as inspiring the best names on menus across the country: burgers, salads, wings and pizza.  In the spirit of party staples that can be delivered at home while blogging in front of a computer screen, we'll stick with the pizza.

I see a lot of pizza menus that play with local landmarks, current events, movie or book characters or double entendres to describe their pizzas.  They have fun names like Say Cheese!, No Kiss Tonight, or Popeye and Olive Oil.  Descriptive and creative, rolled into one.

For today’s writercize, since it's an anniversary of sorts, I’m throwing in a contest.  Not only will the winner(s) have eternal bragging rights for winning a writercize challenge, but s/he will be eligible to win a free pizza family meal donated by a very hip, very popular local pizza chain!   

(Eligibility nitty-gritty:  Must live in L.A. for the pizza prize - I'll pick one local winner and one out-of-towner.  Out-of-towners - you're competing for a $5.00 gift card from Starbucks.)  

Here comes the challenge.

writercize:  Imagine a delicious pizza pie sitting on the counter in front of you.  Smell the aroma.  See the colors.  Taste the first bite.  Now pick your toppings and name that pizza.  Be as creative as you like.  Any ingredient you can fit on top of stretched out dough goes. Any theme is yours for the picking.  

Leave your entry as a comment - remember to name the pizza and describe the toppings, and be sure to tell me where you live and how to contact you if you are a winner.

In one week, I will personally select two winners among the entries - one local and one out of town.  The winner will be selected on two merits: creativity in the title, and imaginary taste sensation from the combination of ingredients.   If it’s just too close to call, I’ll throw the best of the best in a hat and pull one out.  Multiple entries accepted. Deadline - midnight Pacific time, Tuesday, September 13.

The local Los Angeles area winner will receive a FREE family meal donated by Fresh Brothers.  The prize includes an extra-large thin crust two topping pizza, 20 buffalo wings and a farmer's market salad or Greek salad.  Wow, that's a lot of good food!

Fresh Brothers is a local pizza chain with six restaurants in the Los Angeles area run by husband and wife entrepreneurs and social do-gooders Adam and Debbie Goldberg.  They are completely plugged into what is current in LA, and offer customers healthy, homemade pizza choices for every diet.  Gluten sensitivity?  They have a crust for that.  Vegan?  They have a cheese for that.  Picky kids?  They have a sauce with hidden veggies for that.  The ads are cool, their social media is impressive, the food is good and their community involvement rocks. 

When taking a break from running a successful business, Debbie writes a blog called Manhattan Beach Momma and has a blast exploring all that LA has to offer with her twin children.

Do I have your attention?

Now get writing writercizers!  

No sample writercize today - it's all on you guys! 

Slogan Contest Reminder - FREE blog logo design to winner

With any luck, by tonight I'll have landed in LAX and be back home, perhaps posting in real time again, but just in case, I want to remind everyone to enter the contest to get a FREE logo for your blog by writing a slogan for Garrigues Graphics, a design company.  

Here's the link to enter.  Write your suggested slogan as a comment for writercize #35 and be sure to include your facebook or blog so that I can contact you if you are the winner (selected by owner of Garrigues Graphics).

The contest ends TONIGHT at midnight, Pacific time, and the prize value of the logo is $150.  (May 17 writercizer edit:  CONTEST EXTENDED due to blogger site difficulties over past week.  Garrigues Graphics will select a winner on Saturday, May 28.  Deadline to enter now MAY 27!!)

Good luck!!

Slogan Contest (winner=free logo design) - writercize #35 (A to Z 19)

Just Do It!  The Ultimate Driving Machine.  Taste the Rainbow.  

The three slogans above are examples of highly successful slogans that have become as popular and recognizable as the companies themselves.

When writing a slogan, think of three goals.  Make it memorable.  Make it simple.  Make sure it relates to the product.  (Keep this in mind while you're reading - in the end you'll be challenged to write a slogan, and the winner, selected by the business owner, will receive some free design work!)

Nike's Just Do It calls to mind a fierce competitor who recognizes that without trying, there can be no success, no progress.  It calls athletes to get up off the couch, out the door and engage in the world of sports.

BMW's The Ultimate Driving Machine is simple and conveys an image of a car that is attractive, luxurious and mechanically sound.  With slogans, superlatives are acceptable.  In this case, the word "ultimate" may be in the eyes of the beholder, but an advertiser or PR writer would not be called into question for its use.

Skittles' Taste the Rainbow sounds like a fun, playful, colorful eating experience.  It sounds light and airy and happy.

I recently penned a slogan for a local women's clothing resale shop in Torrance, CA called Second Time Around.  The owner wanted to highlight her commitment to being earth-friendly, so I came up with "Reduce.  ReDRESS.  Recycle."  (The company below designed the logo; I penned the slogan.  Good teamwork!)

Today's writercize focuses on a company called Garrigues Graphics, a freelance graphic design business owned by none other than my sister.  She is looking for a slogan for her company to put on her website, business cards, postcards and online advertising and will gift the winner of the challenge with a new blog logo.  Deadline to enter is Monday, May 16 at midnight, Pacific time.  (Ed note May 17 - Deadline extended due to blogger site difficulties past week.  New deadline is Friday, May 27!!  Winner will be selected on May 28.)  Winner will be notified by writercize, so include a link to your blog so that I can get in touch with you!  

writing exercise:  Write a slogan for Garrigues Graphics.  I highly recommend looking through the website first so that you can get an idea of what the work conveys.  Multiple entries accepted from each applicant.

Below is some additional information from Garrigues Graphics to help you with the challenge.

Target audience(s):  Established / New Business Owners.  (logos, business cards, document creation)

Moms / Brides-to-be. (holiday announcements, invitations)

Unique business qualities:  Passion.  Accessible to clients.  Affordable.  "Young, new" outlook on design.

No writercizer sample response this post - it's all up to you!  Good luck!