 Short Stories: May 09, 2018 Issue [#8891] |
  Short Stories
This week: Enter Contests and Follow Rules Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Short Stories Newsletter by Dawn
Talking about contests, entries and the rules. |
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This is more of a call to action than a listen to me spout in a few paragraphs about a subject. It's not easy to host a contest on this site but they are very handy when it comes to inspiration for short stories. However, without entries, it's hard to warrant having a contest open and unfortunately this leads to a decline in available options.
A few of the contests I used to enter back when I was writing more and entering on the site, for example, have either closed or gone on vacation. That or they get very few entries. While I know as a writer it's hard to balance things like life offline or other writing goals. I write novels and want to publish them but writing short fiction can distract from such. Still, the contests available on this site are very helpful.
But they need our help. They need us to write stories and submit them.
So, this is my challenge: look at the contests with open rounds. Pick one or two, write a story and enter it. You will gain a story and the one running the contest will gain an entry. Win - Win
Oh and minor reminder...
Remember: Follow the Rules
This might seem a bit obvious but trust me, it's a common issue that arises for judges of contests. There are particular rules for reasons and usually, if you don't follow the rules of the contest then the entry is not valid and won't be eligible. For the contestant, you still have a story but the drive behind it and the posting in the forum to showcase the contest will be affected by the mistake.
As a judge, it can be disappointing or make things difficult because there aren't always very many entries. While there is a moment of "oh dear goodness" when having to judge over 20 entries, it's also a boost because that's 20 stories people worked to produce and activity on the site. However, on the flip side there is a slight disappointment when you want to rank top ten but out of 15 entries 6 get disqualified for not following the rules. Or in other contests when you only get two entries it's an even harder blow as there was already limited chance for giving out prizes without considering the disregard to things like prompts and listed requirements.
I know at times some rules can be very limiting. I've liked contests but not been able to enter because the judge didn't want a particular set of characters which are what I write. So, I didn't write for that contest though I did promote it for others that might want to enter. I followed the rules. It's all part of the process when it comes to submitting, whether it's a contest here one WDC or for a publication. Trust me, it helps to follow those rules.
Now, check the rules, consider the prompts and go write!
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Is there a contest you want to enter or have you entered one recently?
It has been a long time since I've written for this particular newsletter. Way back in August I discussed word count goals and limits, which are related to this week's topic too because following the word count rules is important when entering short story contests here on WDC.
I'm always looking out for contests to feature in various newsletters along with stories entered in contests. If you know of any in particular, let me know.
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