by David Aaron White

Created on: July 09, 2007   Last Updated: July 29, 2008

Tips for short story contest participants

When entering a story contest you may feel slightly overwhelmed by the competition. Never fear, for by following these simple steps, you will have more confidence and more of a chance of winning the contest. Confidence will play a large role in winning anything.

* Read the Rules. There is nothing more heartbreaking and embarrassing than having a story rejected because it conflicts with the rules. Make sure your story is long enough. Do they want at least 2,000 words or at least 200 words? Pay close attention to all of this and double check it. Does your story have to have a certain format or be about a certain subject? Look that up in the contest's rules so you can make the appropriate changes.

* Commit yourself. You will need to put a fair amount of hard work and effort into the contest. If you are writing a story, make sure you can work enough hours of each day so you will not have to rush to write your story at the last minute. Put all distraction aside, and set yourself up to write for a large part of the day.

* Only allow other people to read your story when you are finished. Printing out a half-finished story and having your friends criticize it will destroy your confidence. Print out the story when you are finished and take a few critical hits from your buddies. At least you have already finished writing, and you will not need to think up of anything new. And who knows? Maybe one of your friends actually has a good, small idea.

* Read your own story, but forget that you wrote it. See if it looks like a professional story. If you cannot recognize that you wrote the story the instant you put your eyes on it, then you will feel confident that someone else will like it.

If you make yourself a checklist of the rules and tips, you will feel confident with your finished product. Is it long enough? Yes! Do I like it? Yes! Did I write it? My mother couldn't tell! Am I confident? YES!

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