Entering Writing Competitions? Here Are Six Quick Tips! by MaryChrisBradley
We look forward to this competition each year, the months of digging through entries, assigning them to our readers, waiting for them to winnow the list down to the top twenty, and then the real work begins for us as we read, judge, discuss, and debate, the top entries, and pick the winners. Sadly, not every entry can be a winner. Thinking about that fact, we decided to give the #amwriting audience a bit of an advantage by giving you some tips and tricks, in the hopes they will help hone your story—whether it’s for our competition, or a different one—into your own ‘best words’. HINT: All of these tips will also stand you in good stead when you are submitting a manuscript/story that isn’t part of a competition.
#1. First and foremost, follow the rules. I can’t tell you how many entries quickly find their way into the cyber version of the trashcan because they simply ignored the rules. I know that we are flooded each year with manuscripts and entries that look as if the writer simply didn’t read, or care to follow, our submission rules. Most competitions are pretty clear on what they are looking for in terms of format, word count, and accompanying material. Knowing that your story, the one you’ve slaved over, struggled with, is landing on a virtual desk along with dozens of others may mean you want your story to stand out, but when it comes to the competition rules, you truly don’t want to be the sore thumb. Don’t give our panel of readers an easy reason to disqualify your entry. In the case of Mystery Times, keep it relatively clean, gratuitous sex or violence, is one reason a story gets booted.
#2. Make your opening killer. Of course, our competition is for mystery short stories, but this tip goes regardless of what your theme/genre is. If you don’t grab the reader in the first few lines, it’s doubtful that they will read beyond the first page before relegating you to the discards. This is especially true in a short story competition where every word counts. You have to make every sentence work towards that end.
#3. And that brings us to that ending, tie up all those loose ends and make it memorable. You know that great beginning you just crafted? Well, now make sure your story ends on an equally solid note. Oh, and while we’re at it, please, please, please, don’t let your storyline get bogged down and meander around like a lost soul in the middle of your story. Otherwise we’ll never get to that dynamite ending you wrote.
#4. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention spelling and grammar. If you’re unsure, get help, and we don’t mean just using the spelling and grammar check on your computer. We mean a human being who is well-versed in both. This eliminates your mother or neighbor unless they are editors for the New York Times. Never do your own proofreading! I don’t care how great you are at finding errors in the writing of others; you will miss them in your own work.
#5. Characters—yes we know you have some, but do care about them? Are they real to us? Do they act, talk, and think the way we expect real people to? Are they engaging? Do they move the story along? Make them people we can empathize with, see ourselves in their shoes, no matter how strange the locale or theme may be. Are they alive? Do their thoughts, words, and actions make us want to know more about them, about what happens to them next, or what they do next? Your theme may be wild, but if your characters ring true—even if they are evil—then your story has a better chance of being a winner.
#6. Show, don’t tell. Nothing kills my interest in a story faster than writing that bogs down into a detailed description of a character, location, or scene. Don’t fill the first three sentences of a paragraph introducing a character or scene with details that aren’t necessary, or interesting. The reader doesn’t need to know the characters exact height, unless it’s integral to the outcome of the story. Relate your character to their setting, and the setting to the characters. Is the room a mess? Fine, say that, but please don’t enumerate the ten million cobwebs, dirty dishes, etc. Let the character trip over the stack of books on the floor, or smell the rotting zucchini under the car seat. Show, don’t tell.
Our two final pieces of advice: Butt in chair, write, and of course, submit, submit, submit.
Still need some guidance? Here are several links to additional advice:
Writing Contest Tips; How do contest judges pick the winners?; and 20 Tips for Winning Writing Contests
Now that you know what to do, and how to do it, we can’t wait to see your entry in our Mystery Times 2013 competition!
