October 2019: Competition Monthly
14 October 2019
Francesca looks at point of view in short story entries
It’s easy to accidentally switch point of view in the middle of a scene when using third person. This was something I made a note of when judging a short story competition several years ago. Also known as head hopping, it can confuse the reader. If that reader happens to be the competition judge, they may simply give up on the story. When using more than one point of view (and in a short story there generally aren’t any more than two), it’s better to change them from scene to scene, not every few lines. And if the story is from the point of view of ‘Jane’, then we can’t possibly know what ‘John’ is thinking (unless Jane is a mind reader in a fantasy, of course!). Beware of using an omniscient (all knowing) viewpoint, which has to be done consistently and needs great skill, but is also a little old fashioned nowadays.
Good luck in your endeavours. Do let me know of any successes via Twitter or Facebook (below).
Click August 2019 and September 2019 for posts detailing further competitions closing in November and December.
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Rolling/Frequent Competitions
Writers’ Forum Short Story Contest
Theme: Open, 1,000 – 3,000
Prize: £300 / £150 / £100
Closing date: Rolling
Entry: £6 / £3 subscribers
November Competitions
Writing Magazine 500 word Flash Competition
Theme: Open
Prize: £200 / £50
Closing date: 15 November 2019
Entry: £6 / £4 subscribers
December Competitions
Writing Magazine Epistolary Short Story Competition
Theme: Using different documentary methods to tell a story, 1,500 – 1,700 words
Prize: £200 / £50
Closing date: 15 December 2019
Entry: £6 / £4
January 2020 Competitions
James Knudsen Prize for Fiction
Theme: Open, 7,500 words max
Prize: $1,000
Closing date: 1 January 2020
Entry: $20
St Martin’s Minotaur / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel
Theme: Unpublished novelists (or self published if novel already published isn’t entered), novels no less than 66,000 words
Prize: Publication and advance of $10,000
Closing date: 3 January 2020
Entry: Free
Bath Novella-in-Flash Award
Theme: Novella in a series of flash fictions, 6,000 – 18,000 words in total
Prize: £300 / 2 x £100
Closing date: January 12 2020
Entry: £16
The Mogford Food and Drink Short Story Prize
Theme: Food and drink, 2,500 words max
Prize: £10,000 / 3 x £250
Closing date: 13 January 2020
Entry: £10
The Breakwater Fiction Contest
Theme: Open, 1,000 – 1,500 words
Prize: $1,000
Closing date: 15 January 2020
Entry: $10
Cranked Anvil Short Story Competition
Theme: Open, 1,500 words max
Prize: £150 / £75 / £30
Closing date: 31 January 2020
Entry: £5
Retreat West First Chapter Competition
Theme: First chapter of a novel up to 3,500 words
Prize: Submission package review and feedback from agent Carrie Plitt / Submission package and review from Amanda Saint, editor at Retreat West Books
Closing date: 26 January 2020
Entry: £10
Cúirt New Writing Prize
Theme: Short fiction, 2,000 words max (also poetry)
Prize: €500
Closing date: 31 January 2020, 5pm
Entry: €10
Lancashire Authors Association Open Flash Fiction Competition
Theme: Exactly 100 words
Prize: £150
Closing date: 31 January 2020
Entry: £2
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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 next Pocket Novel, That’s Amore , will be published by People’s Friend on 31st October. 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.
