writing contest

3 articles tagged as writing contest

Photo by Wally Gobetz, http://www.flickr.com/people/wallyg/

Last night I hit send on my fairy tale short story and sent it off to be critiqued. Maybe it will be selected as one of the short stories to make it into an anthology that will populate donated Kindles. Or maybe the judge will laugh at my writing and my idea and quote bits at cocktail parties as a big huge joke. But regardless of how it is received, I took a step towards being a real writer.

In truth, though, this is not the first thing I have submitted. I submitted a piece to a writing contest many, many years ago. And my short story was published. Only I was young and ignorant and, while they were supposed to pay me, they did not and I did not keep good track of the correspondence, so I was SOL. To rub salt in the wound, I couldn’t even get a copy of the published article.

Yesterday the fiance was asking me about the writing contest and like who would hold the rights to the work or how the work would be published, and, having learned from my mistakes many years ago, I was happy to actually knew the answers to his questions.

I don’t want to get all preachy and spout anti-trust sentiment, but if you decide to go down the writing contest road, be sure you know what you are getting yourself into. While I was happy to get published when I was in school, I should not have let the company shaft me on my fee. Also, had I done my research, I would have learned that they shafted other writers as well. No matter how desperate you are to be published, there are certain comprises you shouldn’t be willing to make. It is fine to have your work published for free, but only if that is the agreement you willingly enter into when you submit your work.

In short, writing contests are a great way to get your name out there and to practice your writing, but make sure you do your homework. And now to end things on a more positive note, here’s a link to the story I submitted, Once Upon a Cupcake.

P.S. Today is the Boston Marathon. I thought the photo of the finish line seemed fitting.

I recently read an article that said one of the best things you can do to help yourself get published is, well, to get published. Writing contests are a great way to get short stories out there which helps build a name for yourself and makes publishers feel a bit more comfortable about investing in your full book. Plus, stretching yourself to write a short story is a really good writing exercise. And for those of us who focus on full-length novels, a short story is a stretch, believe me.

I found a wonderful writing contest and am punching away at the keyboard to try to finish my submission before the April 15 deadline. This contest does not lead to any financial payout. And, if selected, your name will not be included on the published piece. But, the contest is for charity. And if I win, I can still list it as a publishing credit, even if my name is not on the published piece.

Kindle for Kids

The contest is to write a short story fairy tale to populate kindles that are going to be donated to a children’s hospital. Now, I don’t know if you’ve spent any time in a hospital, but I have. And boring doesn’t even begin to describe what a dull place hospitals can be. Now imagine being in a hospital as a child. Or imagine being that child’s parent, struggling to entertain your child while also trying to conquer your fear so your child doesn’t pick up on it. And in steps Kindles for Kids. By supplying Kindles to hospitals, children can have books to read or have their parents read to them while they wait for countless hours for all those scary hospital things. Who wouldn’t want to support this, right?

I’ll keep you posted on how the contest goes. And in case you were wondering about the title of this post, my short story is called Once Upon a Cupcake. I do love my cupcakes.

The New Year is rapidly approaching and, while I’m not usually one to make New Year’s Resolutions, I decided, why not make some writing resolutions this year.

I don’t consider finishing my book to be a proper resolution. This is something I work on all the time. In my mind, resolutions should be about trying something new. So this year, I am resolving to start entering writing contests.

Why writing contests?

I’ve resisted writing contests for a while. I thought they would distract me from my book. But then I got a new writing exercise book from my writing buddy, The Daily Writer: 366 Meditations to Cultivate a Productive and Meaningful Writing Life, by Fred White. The book has one exercise for every day of the year. Being the go-getter that I am, I thought I’d get a head start and check out the exercise for Jan. 1. And I found myself stumped.

The exercise asked me to write an allegory. I’ve never taken a creative writing class so I’ve never really had the opportunity to sit down and write an allegory. And I was a bit shocked to find that I had no clue where to start.

But what about the Writing Contests?

In thinking about how to complete this exercise, I realized that I was being forced to stretch my imagination, to look at stories in a way I don’t normally look at them. I may subconsciously think of things as being allegories, but thinking something is an allegory and trying to write your own allegory are two very different things. In thinking about this exercise, I also started thinking about my WIP in a different way. Instead of stifling my creative energy, the exercise was expanding it.

Writing contests are similar to this exercise. They give you parameters (even if it’s just a word count) and they give you a deadline. Both of these are good skills for someone looking to turn writing into something other than a hobby. And, if writing contests are anything like this exercise, they will help my creativity soar. Another good thing for a writer.

In addition to helping to foster new skills, writing contests also lead to exposure. I may not win any contests, but I will be getting my name out there and meeting others who are entering the same contests, or at least meeting their writing if they win. And if I do win a contest, all the better.

Back to my resolution

I don’t want to overwhelm myself. After all, I work a full-time job and am trying to finish my WIP. But I also don’t want to let myself off too easily. So this year I’m going to enter 3 writing contests. Why 3? Well, 4 seemed like too many and 2 seemed like too little, so 3 it is.

Now I just need to figure out which contests to enter. Maybe I’ll start with this Highlights Fiction Contest that I learned about over at MiG Writers

What do you think about writing contests? Have you ever entered one? Have you ever won?