Can a Randomer Win the Shorty Award for Literature?

UPDATE: I came 3rd in the Shorty Awards. More info on my blog and at the Shorty Awards page.

Hi everyone. I may need to introduce myself. My name is Rebecca Woodhead and this is my blog. I'll wait for you to stop saying 'eh? Who is this randomer?' Finished? Jolly good. It has been a while since I posted here, because I wanted to hand over the stage to some other word nerds.

They've done such wonderful work. I love the diversity of opinion and expression on this blog. It is not an easy thing to hand over your blog to others with little more than the guidelines 'try to keep it legal and I won't edit' but I am glad that I have taken that approach because I find it such an interesting place to visit.

The Word Nerd Army is growing. It is not kept in one place - the membership is fluid and diverse. People calling themselves 'word nerds' are cropping up all over the place on Twitter and elsewhere. I want to bring attention back to the 11 issues that started this whole thing off. There is an election due to happen in the UK in the next few months so now might be a good time to raise some of these issues. At the top of the column is a link to how the Word Nerd Army came about. If you click on that you will find the 11 issues. I'd love to hear which of these matter most to you and then invite the Word Nerd Knights to blog about the ones that affect them the most. As ever, I am happy for them to mention their own projects but I would like the issue/s to be the central theme. This will give me something with which to approach the politicians. As votes are the important thing to campaigning political types, they need to see that Word Nerd Army has influence, so I have held off until we have some decent numbers. It is a shame that these numbers don't show up in one place though, as this would have a bigger impact on the people who change policy.

One way to help would be to spread the word about the blog and/or Twitter account: twitter.com/wordnerdarmy and ask people to follow visibly. Another would be for me, or one of the Word Nerd Knights to win the Shorty Award (Twitter Oscar) for Literature.

At the moment, I am beating Neil Gaiman and am in third place but I need help to stay where I am or do better. If I won this, the Word Nerd Army would get much more attention. Since the Word Nerd Army developed in a Twitter contest - Ms Twitter UK - it would be poetic if it found its voice in another contest - The Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts and Sciences Award for Literature The short link for the literature section is: tiny.cc/TheRandomer and for my own page is: tiny.cc/therandomer

Any help you can give - by speaking to your own followers on blogs, Twitter or Facebook for instance - would help. Publishers are not that impressed with contests and I may yet choose to self-publish, so winning this may not benefit me in any substantial way but what it will do is give me a platform from which to discuss the 11 issues on which Word Nerd Army is based, and I would welcome that opportunity.

If you still don't feel you know me, here's a vid:

Many thanks,

Rebecca

rebeccawoodhead.com

Calling all Word Nerds!

Welcome to the BlogWhen I was running for Ms Twitter UK under the slogan 'the pen is mightier than the pin-up', I gave my word that I would use the publicity if I won to bring attention to a number of issues. Setting up this blog is my attempt to keep my word. The more people who blog about these issues and/or tweet them up, the more visibility they will have. It is only a small contribution but hopefully it will help.

Looking forward to hearing about your ideas. Make yourself at home. Please respect copyright - especially of the lovely pictures my husband drew for the blog. If you quote me, please link back.

Thank you.

Rebecca Woodhead

Word Nerd & Ms Twitter UK
http://rebeccawoodhead.com/

So the Pen is Mightier than the Pin-up. Now What?

The shared ideas that emerged from my campaign to win Ms Twitter with the slogan 'The Pen is Mightier than the Pin-up'. To comment on any of these ideas, please click on the URL and go to the relevant post. You can use the memorable URLs to deep-link from Tweets or blog posts about these subjects. General comments on Ms Twitter or the idea of Word Nerd Army can be left below. Thanks...

1. Millions of people don't read, because they can't read. More money needs to go into schemes to give word skills and confidence http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-1
2. Millions of people don't read, because they are not inclined to read. Being a 'word nerd' needs to be seen as a good thing. http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-2
3. Libraries are variously under-funded or under-attended. More effort needs to go into reconnecting societies with libraries. http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-3
4. Many people are not aware of the benefits of using libraries during a recession (free books, cheap DVDs & music, free net access etc.) This needs to change. http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-4
5. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a pin-up. There is everything wrong with thinking that is your only option. Choice is crucial. http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-5
6. Men and women can work together towards a common goal - as can different cultures - on twitter. Twitter has a positive part to play. http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-6
7. The online book community is very motivated & incredibly supportive of new & established talent. Reading and writing are solitary activities. Twitter brings in a social element regardless of location or physical mobility. http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-7
8. Illness, bad fortune and/or poverty need not be a significant barrier to success. Web 2.0 can re-enable people facing hardship. http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-8
9. Books give you access to great minds. http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-9
10. Stories are important. http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-10
11. A large number of people in UK prisons (around 3 in 5 according to one prison librarian) have reading problems or dyslexia. There needs to be research into the connection between difficulties with literacy and eventual crime to help people before they resort to crime. Access to good help with reading and communication difficulties needs to be a priority. Wouldn't it be great if by addressing this issue, we could build more libraries and fewer prisons? http://tinyurl.com/wordnerd-11

Point 11 is a big issue and we, as a group, didn't have the necessary information to suggest anything. It may be coincidence but it's got to be worth a look.

This Blog exists in the first instance to promote the above ideas. They all need research, probably a bit of re-wording will happen as we discover more. It would be great if the literary blogging community did battle with some of these concepts and reported back. I'd love to be able to link to lots of great, well researched, blogs about ideas and actions sparked off by this campaign.

If you link to this blog, please write a post about us or about one or other of the aims to help spread the Word Nerd word and support words and books through a really tricky financial time.

I've put this elsewhere but please feel free to promote your books, literacy programmes, libraries etc and link to interesting news and developments in publishing etc. Don't make it a constant advert though or your posts will be removed and you may be blocked. If your comment is specifically about something you've found that directly relates to the goals of the Word Nerd Army then put it in the body of the comment. If you want to comment on one of my posts though, just put it under your name.

Bring on the dancing blog-posts!

Rebecca