Share Your Quit Smoking Story - A Contest
Thursday January 6, 2005
Are you interested in sharing your personal journey with smoking cessation? The following contest is presently being offered by Michael Rabinoff D.O. Ph.D. He is collecting compelling quit smoking stories to use on a web site devoted to smoking cessation and the illness tobacco use causes. If you're interested in submitting your story, read on.
From Michael Rabinoff: I am a psychiatrist who is interested in issues about smoking cessation. While I work at Kaiser Permanente as an adult psychiatrist 4 days a week, I also am continuing research at UCLA on the genetics of smoking behavior and smoking cessation, and on the treatment of nicotine dependence. I am working on professional and lay public writing, and a website, on smoking cessation issues and on the massive amount of illness and death in the world caused by smoking. For the general public writing I am working on, I want to intersperse some interesting stories that will help people within the middle of more dry discussion of scientific findings (so that the readers won't get bored, and will be motivated to take action to stop smoking). To help collect these stories, I am having a contest to collect the best motivational, inspirational, heart rending, emotionally touching stories about people's experiences with smoking cessation and what smoking cessation has meant to them.
Some possible ideas for writing your story follow, but these ideas aren't meant to limit your story: smoking cessation for love, a parent helping children and teens stop smoking, teaching others (i.e. stories about how to guide others to smoking cessation, without causing arguments), overcoming obstacles, changing perspectives to help with smoking cessation, changing attitudes to help with smoking cessation (i.e. stories of determination, never giving up, it's never too late, etc.), the effects on family of illness and death from smoking and/or the effects of smoking cessation on families (i.e. stories of support and family healing), smoking cessation and aging, smoking cessation as your dream or to live your dream, and wisdom, spiritual and psychological tips about smoking cessation provided through stories. The stories should generate emotion in the reader. They can elicit excitement, sadness, be funny, they can make the reader cry, laugh or get goose bumps (the good kind). The story may start with action. It can include a problem, issue or situation. It may include dialogue, and the character(s) can express their feelings through the conflict of the situation. It should end in a result, such as a lesson learned, a positive change, or some pay-off. Your story can open the heart and rekindle the spirit. It may be a simple inter-denominational living art piece that touches the soul of the readers, and helps them discover basic principles they can use in their own lives. Your story can be filled with emotion and drama. The story may be filled with vivid images created by using the five senses. Your story may make the reader feel they are in the story with the characters. Your story should come from your heart. It is important.
The grand prize winner will be paid $500. for the best story selected by a committee for exclusive publication in a book smoking cessation issues. The second place winner will be paid $300. The third place winner will be paid $100. The winners will be notified by mail or e-mail, and payment will be sent after permission to publish the story is granted. The winners' names will be published along with their story. Other submitted stories, if found interesting to the committee of reviewers, will be selected for publication, with a payment provided. In addition, if you don't have a story of your own, but would like to help motivate people to stop smoking, you can send in a pre-published favorite story, or a story or quote written by someone else. In that case, please include the author, source, etc. The stories should be 250 to 1500 words long and should be non-fiction. Please be sure to type the author's full name and contact information at the beginning of the story. Contact information should include e-mail address (and may also include address and phone number). Send stories to m_rabinoff@yahoo.com .
The deadline for story submission is June 1, 2005. Winners will be announced by August 1, 2005.
From Michael Rabinoff: I am a psychiatrist who is interested in issues about smoking cessation. While I work at Kaiser Permanente as an adult psychiatrist 4 days a week, I also am continuing research at UCLA on the genetics of smoking behavior and smoking cessation, and on the treatment of nicotine dependence. I am working on professional and lay public writing, and a website, on smoking cessation issues and on the massive amount of illness and death in the world caused by smoking. For the general public writing I am working on, I want to intersperse some interesting stories that will help people within the middle of more dry discussion of scientific findings (so that the readers won't get bored, and will be motivated to take action to stop smoking). To help collect these stories, I am having a contest to collect the best motivational, inspirational, heart rending, emotionally touching stories about people's experiences with smoking cessation and what smoking cessation has meant to them.
Some possible ideas for writing your story follow, but these ideas aren't meant to limit your story: smoking cessation for love, a parent helping children and teens stop smoking, teaching others (i.e. stories about how to guide others to smoking cessation, without causing arguments), overcoming obstacles, changing perspectives to help with smoking cessation, changing attitudes to help with smoking cessation (i.e. stories of determination, never giving up, it's never too late, etc.), the effects on family of illness and death from smoking and/or the effects of smoking cessation on families (i.e. stories of support and family healing), smoking cessation and aging, smoking cessation as your dream or to live your dream, and wisdom, spiritual and psychological tips about smoking cessation provided through stories. The stories should generate emotion in the reader. They can elicit excitement, sadness, be funny, they can make the reader cry, laugh or get goose bumps (the good kind). The story may start with action. It can include a problem, issue or situation. It may include dialogue, and the character(s) can express their feelings through the conflict of the situation. It should end in a result, such as a lesson learned, a positive change, or some pay-off. Your story can open the heart and rekindle the spirit. It may be a simple inter-denominational living art piece that touches the soul of the readers, and helps them discover basic principles they can use in their own lives. Your story can be filled with emotion and drama. The story may be filled with vivid images created by using the five senses. Your story may make the reader feel they are in the story with the characters. Your story should come from your heart. It is important.
The grand prize winner will be paid $500. for the best story selected by a committee for exclusive publication in a book smoking cessation issues. The second place winner will be paid $300. The third place winner will be paid $100. The winners will be notified by mail or e-mail, and payment will be sent after permission to publish the story is granted. The winners' names will be published along with their story. Other submitted stories, if found interesting to the committee of reviewers, will be selected for publication, with a payment provided. In addition, if you don't have a story of your own, but would like to help motivate people to stop smoking, you can send in a pre-published favorite story, or a story or quote written by someone else. In that case, please include the author, source, etc. The stories should be 250 to 1500 words long and should be non-fiction. Please be sure to type the author's full name and contact information at the beginning of the story. Contact information should include e-mail address (and may also include address and phone number). Send stories to m_rabinoff@yahoo.com .
The deadline for story submission is June 1, 2005. Winners will be announced by August 1, 2005.
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