  Short Stories
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This newsletter is geared towards writers and readers of short stories of all stripes. This month's issue I thought I'd talk about expanding horizons through contests.
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Hello again everyone! ~jay here for another issue of the Short Stories Newsletter.
Last month I spent a little time talking about ways to make contest entries better. This month, I thought I'd talk a little bit about ways that contest entries can make you a better writer!
This advice might apply to almost any kind of writing, but since this is the Short Stories newsletter, I'm going to address a few of the specific classifications that would apply to short story writers. Assuming that you're already practicing the basics I mentioned last month, approaching even contests with deeply restrictive themes will make it easier to enter with confidence!
Many of the contests designed for short story authors here on Writing.Com follow a few distinct patterns, some of them overlapping. Most of the ones with some sort of restriction are based on restricting:
 time
 genre and/or prompt
 word count
Time restricted contests often work with a punishingly short deadline-- there are a number of daily flash fiction contests on here, for example. These contests usually have another theme or prompt to guide writing and to add some more restriction to the volume of entries. Most "speed" contests tend to value:
Originality
Detail
Adherence to a prompt, if given.
They tend to be a bit more forgiving of typographical errors or spelling and grammar mistakes. (Though, I can tell you as a onetime weekly judge on "The Writer's Cramp" [13+]-- quality can sometimes make or break an entry!)
Genre- and Prompt-limited contests are geared towards getting writers to fulfill an objective through writing. These tend to have a longer turnaround time (but not always, see above) and tend to rely on:
Quality (proofreading!)
Characterization and plot
Relevance of the given prompt or theme in the story
Good use of word count limit, if any
I would say a good rule of thumb for a limited contest like one of these is: the longer the contest runs, the more polished you should try to be sure your entry is. If it's a monthly event, don't stress out the judges by entering something you didn't bother to spell-check. (The red squiggly line in nearly every word processor... he is your friend and your enemy alike. Use him!)
Word-count limited contests are an interesting format; most of these are what I would class as "short-short" or "micro-fiction." Many of these are also timed, but the important thing is to keep the stories as tight as possible. Many of these will focus on:
Detail
Clarity (not much space for self expression here!)
Brevity (a given...)
These tend not to be as reliant on deep plot or characterization, but there might be a focus on genre or theme. The idea with these is to strip the writing down to its bare bones and see-- how *little* do you really need to tell a compelling tale? I would say that these are the ones I personally find the most challenging-- I never know what to leave OUT!
Overall, though-- there are a banquet of concepts out there just waiting to be had-- All presented specifically with the intention of inspiring you to push yourself further than you might get with any kind of prompt. This certainly isn't every type out there-- but many fall into one or more of these types.
This month's question:
Do you have a short story that came about as a result of a contest prompt that pushed you to really try something totally out of your element? Tell me about it: what made it "work" for you? If you still have the story, send in the link and I might feature it next month.
Until Next Month,
Take care and Write on!
~j
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This Month's Picks!
Some great time and length-limited challenges:
Some great genre-limited events:
(just the beginning-- check out "Writing Contests @ Writing.Com" for so many more!)
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From last month's editorial: "Be a Contender"
It seems like everyone had an opinion last month! I was really impressed with the volume and quality of feedback.
Danger Mouse writes:
Sometimes entering a contest is the only way to get feedback.
I've been on both sides of this. I've entered contests where I felt I had no chance, and judged contestants whose story is obviously too far below par to win.
I apreciate kind treatment and try to pass it on.
Hugs
I can certainly understand that perspective. The trap with getting contest feedback is that many times, the contest host is under a great deal of pressure to put out a volume of reviews. I am not totally sure that it's the only way, but it certainly does work in specific situations.
sarahreed writes:
Contests are challenges. There's no point in entering if you don't think you have a good shot at winning. And if you use that excuse at the end when you don't win, you're not doing yourself any good. You're not learning from the process. Sure, we're not going to win all the time, or even half the time, but it's the process that teaches us new things to improve ourselves. And like you said, polish, meeting the prompt and word limits are a must. If you don't do those, then really don't waste your time entering.
Exactly! I'm not saying "Never enter under any circumstances," I guess I might have phrased it better as "Write things you can be confident about entering!"
Leger~  writes:
Great newsletter ~j! I agree with your points about entering with confidence, including using the most of your allotted word count. Even if you go over and have to trim to enter, you still have the more flush copy in your portfolio. There's no rule that says you can't have an identical story in your port - one trimmed and one full write. And if an entrant isn't sure what didn't make their story a winner from the review, they shouldn't be afraid to ask. Leger~
Thanks so much, Leger! Yeah, it is really weird to me that there are some people who never consider even saving a copy to tinker with on their hard drive. I use Scrivener to organize all of my novels, and I have a whole "book" in Scrivener dedicated to contest entries for WdC and I would say most of those stories have at least 2 versions.
Ẃeβ࿚ẂỉԎḈĥ  writes:
Great Newsletter with sage advice, J. It relates to something we all need to remind ourselves of doing when considering entering one of our items in a contest. I, too, have done judging in many contests including the official site contest and can't agree more with your observations.
Regards,
Web~Witch
Thanks so much, Webby! I knew I couldn't be the only one out there so I figured it had to work as an editorial.
nomlet writes:
Winning isn't everything. It can be insightful to write to a contest prompt and then see what others have written. I suppose you don't have to enter your work if you don't think you will win, but contest entries often receive reviews, which can be more helpful than any official prize you might win.
True enough, I guess. One of the contingencies of "The Dialogue 500" is that all eligible entries get a review of 1000 characters or more, and for someone trying to learn dialogue, that can be helpful. I'm not trying to say that anyone WAS to win all the time-- it wouldn't mean anything to win then. What I'm saying is, make it tough for the judges by making sure that when you DO enter a contest, you can be confident that you entered great work! 
bigcityjunkie  submits the following:
"The Girl With Collider Scope Eyes" by bigcityjunkie
Hey! First story - wrote it to practice my dialogue. Curious to know if I should be a carpenter or a fisherman or desk jockey or anything instead of a writer!
Thanks
dean writes:
good advice.
Thanks, Dean!
Jeff  writes:
Great advice, J! I always think that the whole, "Well, I never expected to win anyway" justification is a way to protect the rejection that comes with not winning... but it always boggles my mind when someone says beforehand that they ran out of time, or cut corners, or just wanted to have something to submit even if they know it's not a good fit. As you said, why enter a contest if you don't expect to win? Even if the prizes are exorbitant, what's the use of entering if you know your entry isn't up to par?
Exactly; it doesn't make sense to me to be an "also-ran" in a contest when, like I said up above, it's easy to make it tough on the judges by writing stories that are, at the very least, well-crafted. The content, I can't help with quite so much. 
Doug Rainbow writes:
Some reasons for entering a contest but not expecting to win: (1) The review/feedback is good; (2) The competition is fun (sort of like running a track meet against a state champion); (3) You might be pleasantly surprised.
All valid points, but none of these refutes the core of my editorial, which was about ways to improve the work before you even enter it, to be sure that you're handing in your "A" game.
pruenella writes:
I don't know, I never really like or am satisfied with what I've written, so then I edit it to death until the entire storey is different.
I can relate with that! I am my own worst enemy when it comes to these kinds of things. The least I can do is make sure I write as tight as possible.
bertiebrite hoping for peace writes:
Excellent commentary. Really good advice, I enjoyed this months installment.
Thanks much! I hope you find this month to be helpful as well. 
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Short Stories: September 21, 2011 Issue [#4625]
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