Part One.
by Annette Young
I’ve been a writing competition judge for many years, even before I started up the Creative Competitor and we have been going strong for 10 years now. During this time, I, along with the CC team, have judged hundreds of contests and so, I guess what I am saying is that I know a thing or two about what makes for a good writing competition submission.
With this in mind, I’m writing this series to help you power up your submissions so that you think about key aspects of the creative writing process and make practical changes that will hopefully, increase your chances of winning.
On the Creative Competitor alone, we provide a wide variety of writing competitions, many with lucrative cash prizes and so, it makes sense to fine-tune your submissions so that you can really make an impact. I’m not saying that you should worry so much about the submission that you never enter any contests because the very act of entering means you are learning and honing your craft, but, just think about your submission carefully before sending it.
In part one of this new series, I want to discuss the importance of engaging the reader. In the first instance, that will be the competition judges and eventually, the winning submission must then impress and engage the readers. We often have feedback from readers saying how much they enjoyed the winning story or poem on our website and so, when you write your fiction, always consider the reader. How can you connect with them?
Try to always have a character that seems real and who the readers can engage with and understand. This may mean similarities when it comes to the situation they are in or, it may be that the character acts in a way that the reader fully understands or endorses. Character traits are important too, they need to feel the emotional angst or reality of a conflicting situation.
No-one wants to read about a character that doesn’t feel anything, doesn’t do anything and doesn’t care about anything. Your aim is to make the reader bond with your character, throw the character in at the deep end if you need to and make them swim. It doesn’t matter if your story has funny elements, or is serious, sad or just filled with drama, you have to ensure readers can relate to these circumstances.
If you can do this and as judges, we are able to see that you have mastered this element, believe me, that’s a wonderful tick in the box.
Inspired? Ready to start crafting your winning submission? CLICK HERE
Want to writing competitions enter for FREE? Wow! Click HERE
Join me soon for Part Two.
