How To Win A Writing Competition

Or at least stand a chance. Having been the curator and administrator of several writing competitions over the last few years I understand what comp organisers mean when they ask for ‘new voices’ or ‘new ideas’ or ‘fresh perspectives’. What they are politely saying is please don’t send us any more stories on death, divorce, dementia, aged parents, losing children, losing your mind, nostalgia, what you did at school, how the old days were better and absolutely nothing that involves the wearing of rose tinted glasses. Sometimes the old adage write what you know is not necessarily a good thing. The list above is of course a list of life events but does everyone need to read about yours? Or if they do, can you write it in a different way? Can you step out of your comfort zone and write something set in the future for example? Or, if you are sci-fi writer, write an historical piece?

If you enter a lot of competitions but seem to get nowhere, there has to be a reason, right? Do you read previous winners and runner-ups? Can you see the difference in what the winner has written and your entry? Do you have a favourite piece of your own work that you enter in many comps but get nowhere with? Dare I say there has to be a reason for that. I know, brutal, and after all, one judge’s opinion is just that, their opinion – because they didn’t choose you doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t like your work, they just liked someone else’s more. But there is a good chance that it failed at the first hurdle because the subject chosen was commonplace and there could be fifteen other entries written on the same subject. Do not be so in love with your story that you can’t see its flaws.

A long time ago I read a winning short story about a wake. Oh here we go, I thought. Same old same old. But no. The setting was Belfast in the 1970s and a bomb exploded just outside where the wake was taking place. Consequently nearly all the action of the story took place from a child’s perspective as they hid from the chaos underneath the bier. The story stuck with me because I pre-judged it as being the usual death/funeral story with the usual mourners with no doubt a stereotypical end. And it wasn’t any of those. If the writer is still out there and reading this – your work worked! I can still recall it now, many years later.

I’ve entered a few competitions in the last few months and not reached any longlists, let alone short lists. But it always serves as a good shake to my writing. Simply, write better! I know what I must do.

Tips!

1. Always read previous winners. How many include the life events mentioned earlier? If none, and yours does, maybe think twice before sending it in.

2. Buy anthologies – good ones. Professional writers’ groups and small publishers will print their winning collections and they are a good place to start.

3. Spare a thought for the organisers, readers and judges receiving your work. They are not therapists! Yes, your work can be emotive, but don’t slip into self-indulgence or melancholy.

4. Choose a subject different from your usual choice. Used to be a teacher so feel compelled to write a school-based story? Or a dentist, just itching to write about customers and their teeth? Stand back, take a deep breath, and walk the other way.

5. Ask for beta readers. Ask me, if you like!

6. Here’s a prompt for you: You are in Peru. You see a small artefact on the ground and pick it up. What happens next? 800-1000 words; no life events!

7. Check out unconscious bias – you might surprise yourself.