Are you following this little blog of mine? I hope you are because I’m super stoked about the writing contest that is blossoming here! I will be posting tips and submission guidelines and a little bit of inspiration here and there as we go. You won’t want to miss it!
Thanks to all of you who took my poll about adding a teensy little fee ($2) which would up the prize amount $$$ and add a smaller amount for two runners up. Since I didn’t have nearly as many people take the poll as the number that visited the post, I’d love it if you would hop over to that post and take the poll really quick so I know where most of you stand on the issue. Money could be paid by either check or Paypal. Details of how to submit the money (if I go that route) AND how precisely to submit your entry will be given later this week so stay tuned!
Did you know that you can receive a free eBook when you sign up for my newsletter? That eBook, The Asylum, was my non-winning attempt at one of 
Rooglewood Publisher’s fairytale retellings–for Beauty and the Beast–entitled Five Enchanted Roses.
That novella was my first attempt at a contest (which rather hooked me on such pursuits, though my trilogy would push out any opportunity to enter any other just-for-fun contests until this year). Although I didn’t win, I received great feedback from the judge which helped me improve as a writer. If I can find that feedback sheet, I’ll share it in another post and you can get a feel for what to expect!
I thought I would take time today to give you a few tips on entering writing contests in general–of which mine is a very small fish in a big pond (aka a safe place to start!).
- Commit! Sometimes our insecurities can mask themselves as justification for “Maybe I’ll try it…we’ll see.” We hope some AH-MAZ-ING idea will swallow our brain or go off like fireworks and, when it doesn’t, we shrug off the effort it takes to sit down and TRY. Now, I know that life can surprise us, derail us, and be unkind, so I’m not saying this to beat anyone up for their legit reasons. But I know I have made many an excuse for not sitting down and writing. It’s normal! Nike had the right idea when they extolled all of us couch potatoes to “JUST DO IT!”
- Think out of the box! Examine the possible angles you can take with your story. If time permits, give each idea a go and see if your imagination is sparked by one in particular. I personally enjoy mentally chewing on ideas as I do mindless tasks like driving or doing dishes.
Ask yourself questions about the contest photo (or whatever subject you may be challenged with, depending on the contest) and see if you can come up with something surprising, unique, or unconventional. How would the uncle tell the story (from the quote that goes with the sketch)? How would the girl tell the story? How would her elderly grandmother or BFF tell it? Consider a new perspective from the first one that springs to mind (but don’t discount that one either!).
Mr. Linden’s Library
“He had warned her about the book. Now it was too late.” - Give yourself your own deadline for your first draft! The deadline for this contest is March 31st at 11:59 PST (sounds so official!). YOU DO NOT WANT TO TURN IN A ROUGH DRAFT FOR A CONTEST. That *should* go without saying but I want to give total newbies a heads up! Make the rough draft deadline a week or more before the actual deadline and give yourself time to proofread SEVERAL times. I highly recommend reading your manuscript out loud or having someone read it to you. You’ll be SHOCKED at what you catch in this way–things that somehow get glossed over when you read it in your mind or under your breath. Reading aloud is the best way to catch the sneaky sentences that make a reader stumble or the bad grammar that sounded normal in your headspace. *You’ll thank me once you try this!* 😉 Also, make sure you are adhering to the guidelines (which will be posted this week) when you turn in your document. You don’t want your hard work disqualified because you single spaced instead of double spaced (hint, hint!).
So…those are my little getting started tips! I’ll be putting together a more official submission guideline post this week, as I said.
If you’ve entered some contests before, what are some tips that you would add to these three? If you’re new to this contest business, let me know in the comments if you have any questions and I will do my best to address them.
Don’t forget to take my poll! And remember to share about the contest that now has grown to 100 possible contestants!