Just for Fun
It feels great to reach a personal goal, and it's also nice when someone else recognizes your accomplishment. Motivation is key to achievement of any kind. Here are some contests and activities that could be motivating, fun and potentially lucrative!
Writing Contests
Teen Ink Contests
Teen Ink is a national teen magazine, book, and website featuring teen writing, information, art, photos, poetry, teen issues, and more. Everything is written by teenage authors! Teen Ink sponsors 11 different contests to give young authors and artists a chance to shine. No deadlines; entries are accepted throughout the year.
Other Word Play
SAT Vocabulary Quiz
Brush up on SAT vocabulary words with this free online quiz. Play as a guest or register to see your name on the high scores honor roll.
More SAT Vocabulary Practice
Race the clock to drop and drag synonyms until all the words disappear.
Manga On Manga!
Take a look at Wired magazine's ten-page manga on — manga! This history of manga was written by Jason Thompson, a former manga editor, and is presented in Japanese page and panel order. Read it online or download a pdf and learn about how and why manga is so popular around the world. Deadline: N/A.
And if you want to help your teacher understand manga, this Comics in the Classroom interview with Jason Thompson will explain just what these Japanese comics are.
Fun & Games from GSN.com
Check out an assortment of online word games, including Ultimate Word Challenge, Chain Reaction, and Lingo. Deadline: N/A.
Speak Your Mind and Get Free Books
Lots of publishers offer free books and advance reader's copies — just for telling them what you think. Check out the opportunities for teens to read and review:
Fun with Technology
Create Your Own Comic Strips
With Bitstrips free software, kids can design their own characters and develop their own storylines to create original comic strips.
Creative Writing Comes to MySpace
HarperTeen's MySpace page has an all-new profile featuring a creative writing challenge, message boards so you can share your favorite books and authors with other MySpace users, and a new-and-improved blog with posts from HarperTeen authors and writing tips from the HarperTeen editorial team.
P is for Podcast
P is also for Pullman, Paolini, Pierce — authors Philip Pullman, Christopher Paolini, and Tamora Pierce that is. Listen to what they have to say about their characters and their influences and inspiration.
