Writing contests are a great way to get your name out there and make some extra cash. From small, free contests to big ones that cost money to enter, these competitions give writers a great chance to show off their skills and win prizes. However, ensure you know how to do engaging writing and win them through before entering. If you don’t, all your work and chances will be for nothing. Here are some helpful tips on how you can win a writing contest.
Still, it will be hard to stand out because making something new gets a little extra time and thought. But if you follow these tips, you’ll have the most excellent chance of finding something special—best of luck.
1- The contest’s goal should be kept in mind
No matter how the competition works or the rules, it’s essential to know what you’re getting into. So, This means you need to take the time to read the contest’s rules carefully and think about what they mean for your writing career.
If the prize is a large amount of money, something extra like a book launch or a guest post on a blog, or something sneakier like a guaranteed publishing contract, the rewards need to be in line with your career goals. If your goal is to start a freelance writing business that makes a steady income, an overall winner might be exciting. Still, you need to ask yourself if the money would be enough to support your lifestyle and your business launch in the future. If you want to win a literary prize that will get people to read your work, you might do better in engaging writing to enter a small contest with less money but more exposure.
2- Clear up your narrative
It is related to step 2. Yes, you can write a short story that takes place at two different times, has five scene changes, and has three characters’ points of view in only 1,500 words. But you should? Maybe, maybe not.
When you have a small number of words to work with, making your story too complicated can quickly confuse your readers. Therefore, by opting for urban book publishers, you can make sure that your transitions are smooth.
It can be hard to tell what is confusing in your writing, so have someone else read your story before you send it in.
3- Good writing sample
You wouldn’t want to send a possible client something you wrote when you were a teen, would you? So if you registered and posted on Tumblr, Commaful, or any other platform, look through your accounts and see which posts got the most attention. You might think you’re the best writer in the world, but even if you have ego problems, you must admit that your early works don’t show how good you are now. But your old job can still help you write sample pieces that will help you win more writing contests.
Read over something you wrote in the past and pull out the best parts. Make some notes about how you wrote engaging writing at the time. It can help you figure out what you were trying to do, what happened, and how you felt about the results. There’s a tension between learning where you did well and where you can improve and notice that stress in your older writing can motivate you to take your current script to the next level.
4- First lines hook readers (and judges)
Your chance to make a great first impression is in the first sentence of your story. A strong, surprising, and engaging first line will immediately grab the judges’ attention and make them want to read more. Judges of writing contests have to scan a lot of stories. So make sure that your first line makes them want to read more.
5- Start with the action
You can’t write long world-building passages or pages of backstory in a 1,500-word story. And that’s not even the most exciting part.
Don’t start the story by describing the setting for three paragraphs. Instead, start your engaging writing when things stop being “normal.” What’s the first sign something is wrong? The first sign that something about today will be different? What is the event that starts everything? Don’t waste time with a long introduction. Just create your story there.
6- Write an exciting story to enter a contest
If you’re writing a story for a contest, make the judges and people who read it wonder how it will end. Increase the tension when your main character is paralyzed by her choices or brought down by how weak she is. Try to make readers care about your characters by giving them attractive emotional growth. Watching people fight as they deal with their own and each other’s moods and feelings is the best way to get to the scary unknown that could happen at any time and turn your small story into an epic journey. Use all of your writing skills to make something great. At this stage, you should pay attention to the account, not the grammar.
7- Edit and correct
You have characters, a plot outline, detailed information about the setting and a conclusion drawn. Your first draft flows pretty well, but now it’s time to make your contest entry shine. Among the steps for revising and editing, you can use the following: Delete needless words. When you fix your Engaging Writing, you can eliminate these crutches, like starting a sentence with a character’s name or the word “very.” Next, put in all the necessary commas, periods, and other marks. Make sure to use them right, though.
Check your openings and cut down on the ones that give too much information. The first sentence or paragraph should provide enough information to interest the reader, but not so much that they get bored. Instead, use details to move the story along.
Take care to proofread your work thoroughly to eliminate the possibility of mistakes and spelling errors. Use a late-night version of your chosen font and print when checking for mistakes. Also, don’t leave too much white space, even if the margins are justified. You might not think that neat formatting is essential, but judges won’t know what to think about you as a writer if it isn’t.
Conclusion
A credible contest will have clear rules and submission instructions. Follow the contest’s instructions to the letter. Don’t quit halfway. To win an engaging writing contest, do whatever the judge says immediately. If unsure, consult the contest organizer. Ask for last year’s winning tale to see what they enjoy. Don’t double-check or request extensions after submitting. The organizer will believe you’re careless or unsure. Follow the rules and deadlines, or don’t enter. Knowing where to find chances and how to use them helps you become a better writer and create a profession. Then what? Find writing competitions and enter.