3 International Writing Contests to Kickstart 2022
And tips to win!
Hi writing family, Kelly Eden here.
I just returned from my vacation in Wellington, New Zealand.
I wouldn’t call it relaxing with 3 kids in a busy city…
but it was invigorating!
We visited several museums and art galleries, a planetarium, and old buildings. It left me feeling quite inspired.
Here I am, looking way too squinty in the bright sunshine, outside Wellington’s old museum.
I saved this great quote for you that I found in the planetarium:
“A man does not live for himself alone: he has duties to perform to his fellow men. He does not live for himself, he must have a care for the future.” — Charles Rooking Carter.
I like to think writing is a duty we perform for our fellow citizens of the world.
(Also, I just like great quotes from dead people. It’s like time traveling a little bit and who doesn’t fantasize about time travel?)
Another thing I’ve found invigorating for the start of 2022…
Writing contests!
If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll know how much I love writing competitions!
I just know how much they push our writing to the limits, challenge us, and force us to do some hard core editing!
Here are three to get you started for the year:
1. Henshaw Press Short Story Contest
Deadline end of March.
There’s an entry fee of 6GBP and prizes of 200, 100 and 50 pounds.
Fiction stories up to 2000 words.
What I like about this one is they also offer critique if you want it.
2. Crime Writer’s Association Contest
The Margery Allingham Short mystery contest
Deadline end of February.
There’s an entry fee of 12GBP and a prize of 500 pounds plus tickets to CrimeFest.
Crime and mystery fiction up to 3,500 words.
3. Oxford Flash Fiction Prize
Deadline end of January. (Get moving!)
Entry fee of 8GBP and a prize of 1000 pounds.
Fiction under 1000 words.
How do you up your chances of winning?
I’ve entered, won, and judged several contests. It’s actually not as hard as you think.
The majority of entries will be remarkably below average in any writing contest. People rush, they don’t edit, they don’t get feedback on their work.
There will be a lot of nice stories. “Nice” is not something you want your story to be!
Then, there’ll be a handful of exceptional stories.
What makes yours stand out?
An interesting topic—spend time thinking about this. Is it relevant? Is it interesting? Is it different? Trust me, they will get 100 entries about cancer, affairs, surprise twist endings—what makes yours unique?
Use dialogue if it fits. “Dialogue is interesting to read,” says Kelly.
Use very specific, vivid descriptions. Make the man’s hair lice-filled and crawling, not just brown. The details are what makes it pop!
Work hard on the first and last line—make them punch the judges in the face.
Read it out loud. Then read it out loud three more times.
Use Grammarly, Prowriting Aid, or some other basic mistake checker.
Get others to read it and give you honest feedback. What was boring? What dragged? What left them confused?
Finally, go over it line-by-line and cut out any unnecessary words you can. Replace boring words with interesting ones. Line edit hard until it’s perfect!
Then smile. Pat yourself on your back for improving your writing craft so much. Send it in and forget all about it.
Would you like me to run a contest too? Let me know in the comments.
Kelly xxx