Want to Win Mentoring?

Personal Essays and a Competition

Hi, Kelly Eden here from Medium,

I have a new competition to announce, but first…Personal Essays—why should we care?

As non-fiction writers we can get a bit jealous of fiction writers. How many of us started out wanting to be novelists? I know I did! Novelists seem like REAL writers.

Not many kids dream of being article writers when they grow up.

When people find out I’m a writer, I feel obliged to add, “just articles and stuff—not novels.” I mean, no-one’s asking me to sign anything or do a live reading.

But we can get excited about non-fiction! I’ve made it my career for 12 years and I love it.

I particularly enjoy personal essays. Personal essays are an incredibly creative form of writing. They give us non-fiction writers a chance to play with all the fun fiction techniques, such as dialogue, plot, character development, scene setting…

In many ways they are more freeing than fiction.

They allow us to "think on the page" as we expose our doubts, work through our emotions, and process our experiences. They let us chat with our readers and engage in a conversation (even if it’s often a one-sided one!).

In fact, I’m so excited about personal essays that this week I launched a personal essay contest. I’d love for you to give it a go.

There are three prizes categories: for experienced, new writers, and a popular vote. Prizes include a one-year professional subscription to ProWritingAid, a mention in The Writing Cooperative’s Podcast, and a mentoring session with me. (Plus it’s fun!)

The deadline for entries is July 24. Check it out:

Personal Essay Contest

Feel free to spread the news to your writing friends: