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Winning Ways
by Marie E. Cecchini
Contest competition can be stiff, and every entrant, from
novice to pro, wants to know the secrets of those who win
time and time again. Although there is no simple, perfect
answer, keeping the following suggestions in mind can help
your entry stand apart from the rest (in a good way) and
increase your chances of winning.
Preparation
Study the subject area of the contest you plan to enter.
Learn how other writers think themselves into the “mind set”
of this particular genre. Know what is being published today.
Preparation will help you know how your work stacks up
against the rest.
Guidelines
There are times in the normal process of submitting to
publishers that guidelines can be blurred and adjusted. Not
so with contest entries. Guidelines are established so entrants
enter the playing field at the same level and so judges will
be able to sift through the hundreds of entries more smoothly.
Chances are guideline “rebels” will be dismissed immediately.
Missing the deadline, veering from the theme, or simply not
following the rules, will most certainly hurt your chances of
placing.
Presentation
Handwritten, single spaced entries that make use of fancy fonts,
borders and such are out of the question. Trying to draw
attention to your entry in this way marks you as an amateur
rather than a professional. Generally entries are submitted in
12 pt standard Times New Roman or Arial font and they are double
spaced. Again, read the guidelines.
Originality
Even if the contest theme is quite ordinary, you want to strive
for an original approach. If an idea comes to mind too easily,
you might want to think again, as the same idea probably popped
into the minds of other entrants also. You not only need a
beginning, middle, and end, whether writing a story, essay, or
poem, but you also need a reason to write, colorful characters,
fresh language, and an innovative approach to the topic. Clever,
fun passages that are not filled with unnecessary adjectives and
are not long-winded are more apt to get the readers’ attention.
Although you may never know what particular judges are looking
for, you can bet something that is interesting, provocative, fun
to read, and entertaining will more likely get noticed.
Start and Finish
As with all writing, using the first sentence, first paragraph,
to pull the reader in immediately, is vital. The “hook” makes
the reader want to continue to the end. Judges read a tremendous
amount of material and just may walk away from anything that
doesn’t grab them from the get-go. Readers also want to be
satisfied when they finish a piece, so strive to create an
ending that does just that – satisfies by summing up the reason
you wrote the piece in the first place. Never leave the reader
hanging.
Edit
Edit, edit, edit. You know the drill, spelling, grammar, sentence
structure, and tight. Any piece not “picture perfect” will get
tossed in a New York minute. The only possible exception would
be the use of creative spelling, where necessary, to express the
dialogue of a particular character. Proofread your work,
preferably aloud, and make sure you read each word. Sometimes,
when we know what we were going to say, our brain simply fills
in words that are not actually typewritten. Read word for word.
Critique
Don’t depend solely on yourself to critique your work. Ask one
or more people, other writers if possible, to read it and tell
you honestly what they think. They probably can find editing or
story line missteps better than you because they are looking
at your work through fresh eyes.
Relationships
If you find that contesting is something you rather enjoy,
then keep submitting. Stay involved in the contest community.
This is one way to build a relationships with both the contest
providers and the judges. Somewhere down the road, when someone
needs a writer, your name might come to mind.
Winning a contest or two will certainly boost your moral, and
possibly increase your chances of being published a lot more.
The more your name is recognized, and the quality of your work
becomes known, the more you’ll earn. It’s a step-by-step process.
Follow the suggestions and you too will develop those winning ways.
Here are some sites that will get you started on your search for
contests to enter.
www.freelancewriting.com
www.fundsforwriters.com
www.winningwriters.com
www.writing.com
www.writingconference.com
www.writersdigest.com
www.writers-editors.com
www.writingforums.org
BIO
Marie writes informational material for writers, parents,
teachers, and children. She also loves poetry contests.
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