July 2019: Competition Monthly
17 July 2019
Eye catching beginnings and anonymous characters
My first tip for short story competitions this month is true of all short stories, and that is to start with the action. There isn’t time in a piece of fiction that might be, on average, around 2,500, or even as short as 500 words, to do a page of scene setting or character description. The reader has to know straight away that there’s a problem and what that might be.
Notes I made on a competition I judged a few years ago highlighted the problem of many entries opening with descriptive narratives. Some of the main characters also started their stories engaged in some activity that wasn’t relevant to the plot. An example of this was an entry where the first two or three pages described a plane trip. It had nothing to do with the main conflict in the story, which came in about half way through. Needless to say it didn’t make it to the longlist.
Another problem I found in a couple of stories was that I had no idea the main characters were women until the second page. For some stories that might be done on purpose to provide a twist, but that wasn’t the case with these entries, where I suspect the authors simply forgot to give us any clues. This meant that as a reader I couldn’t picture them so couldn’t engage with the story. Likewise, main characters often remain accidentally unnamed, especially if the story is in first person. This is easy to remedy if there is another character talking to them who can use their name.
Whether you have a go at some of the many short fiction competitions this month, or the two novel competitions, good luck. And don’t forget to let us know of any successes.
Click May 2019 and June 2019 to check competitions detailed in past blog posts that are still open.
*
Rolling Competitions
Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition
Theme: Open. 1,000 – 3,000 words
Prize: £300 / £150 / £100
Closing date: Rolling
Entry: Subscribers £3 / Non Subscribers £6
September Competitions
Stroud Book Festival Flash Fiction Competition
Theme: Open. 500 words max
Prize: £500 / £250 / £100
Closing date: 22 September
Entry: £5
Retreat West Flash Fiction Competition
Theme: Water. 500 words max
Prize: £200 / 2 x £100
Closing date: 29 September
Entry: £8
The Galley Beggar Short Story Prize
Theme: Open. 6,000 words max
Prize: £2,000 / Shortlisted £150 / Longlisted £50 book vouchers
Closing date: 29 September
Entry: £10
The Short Story Competition
Theme: Open. 1,000 – 5,000 words
Prize: £500 / £100
Closing date: 30 September
Entry: £8
Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition
Theme: Open. 500 words max
Prize: £300 / £200 / £100
Closing date: 30 September
Entry: £5
October Competitions
The Virginia Prize for Fiction
Theme: Open. Completed, unpublished novels for Adults or YA, at least 45,000 words.
Prize: Finalists will receive editorial guidance and conditional publishing deal from Aurora Metro books
Closing date: 1 October
Entry: US$20
Mighty River Short Story Contest
Theme: Open. 30 pages max
Prize: US$1,000 plus publication in magazine
Closing date: 1 October
Entry: US$20
Moon City Short Fiction Award
Theme: Open. Collection of short fiction, 30,000 – 65,000 words in total
Prize: US$1,000 plus publication by Moon City Press. Ten finalists will also be considered for publication.
Closing date: 1 October
Entry: US$25
Wilda Hearne Flash Fiction Contest
Theme: Open. 500 words max
Prize: US$500 plus publication in the magazine.
Closing date: 1 October
Entry: US$15
The Raven Short Story Contest (opens 1 September)
Theme: Open. 250 – 2,500 words
Prize: Can$300 plus publication in the magazine
Closing date: 15 October
Entry: Can$20 ($15 before 15 Sept)
Ibiza Quills Black and White Compilation Competition
Theme: Ibiza. 2,500 words max
Prize: €100 / €50 / €25
Closing date: 21 October
Entry: €12
Tulip Tree Genre Story Contest
Theme: Open. 10,000 words max
Prize: US$1,000
Closing date: 23 October
Entry: US$20
Retreat West Short Story Prize
Theme: Open. 1,500 – 5,000
Prize: £400 / £250 / £150 / shortlisted £20
Closing date: 27 October
Entry: £10
Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competition
Theme: Opening chapter up to 3,000 words plus a one page synopsis
Prize: £500 / £200
Closing date: 31 October
Entry: £10
*
Francesca Capaldi Burgess has been placed or shortlisted in a number of competitions including Winchester Writers’ Conference, Twyford Writers, Chorley & District Writer’s Circle, Retreat West, Cordelia.net, Meridian Writing, Flash a Famous Phrase, Wells Festival, Writing Magazine and The People’s Friend serial competition. She’s had stories and a serial published in magazines worldwide. Her first book, Danger for Daisy, was published by My Weekly Pocket Novels at the end of 2018. Apart from the RNA, she’s also a member of the Society for Women Writers and Journalists. Francesca runs a writing blog along with RNA member Elaine Roberts called Write Minds.
