What is it about writing contests that can really get you revved up or those creative gears turning? And you really want to make sure your contest submission is executed and polished to the best of your abilities. I mean, really, we should always aim for that with our writing. But isn't there something that just feels a little different when it's a contest? I've entered quite a few writing contests this year. All my submissions are still pending, but I don't expect to win. So, why did I enter these contests? Why do I want to enter more? I curious to what others think is the appeal of writing contests. There are all sorts of writing contests, but I think the reasons for entering them and their appeal are quite similar, no? Thoughts?
It's the exhilirating feel that you may win something. I believe it might be similar to playing the lottery, with the exception that you can influence the outcome more through quality writing. So a bit like gambling? That plays with the brain a bit. This may explain why I don't often do contests, I am no fan of gambling either. It's also because I do not think my writing is of any great quality, yet. Writing in general, if you seek to become a known writer, is a bit of a contest in the regard that there is so much stuff out there competing with each other. You should aim to write the best you can every day you write, even if it is just a first draft. In my opninion, of course.
I've entered quite a few short story contests here, on this site. My motivation was not necessarily to win, although of course that would be great. Heck, if I get even one vote, I am thrilled. My motivation is simply that I want to write a story. The contests are a good facilitator of that. The deadline keeps you on it, and the prospect that it will be read by a few people makes you want to do the best you can do. Internal motivation combined with external motivation increases overall motivation!
I've never been a gambler either, but I can see the connection you're making. I don't think I'm really going to win any of the contests I entered, but I do like the idea of having a chance. And I worked super hard on my "lottery tickets." I think the biggest difference between writing contests and just seeking publication or success in general is that someone out of the people that enter a given contest is going to win. And with a contest, as funny as it sounds, there is probably less competition. I mean, you're not up against everyone. You're up against just the people and the specific stories entered. So, maybe it's less of a gamble in a way? I don't know. You said you don't often enter writing contests, but when you have what was it that made you enter either those specific contests or the specific stories you used to submit? For me, I feel like I've been so unlucky in life lately that I deserve some sort of a win. Again, not that I think I'll actually win any of these contests. I think that's just what I said to myself to justify the hefty entry fees.
I entered on this site a long time ago. Did it because I wanted to see how my writing would fare and to get eyes on it. I got more than one vote, but lost. In the end, getting more than one vote was a small boost for me. I entered another story here some years later, and it got 0 votes. I think the main reason I enter contests is to try out how my writing will fare in the face of competition.
These are good points. A contest can me great motivation to write something, and the deadline is motivation to finish it. Also, I agree that with any contest you're hoping your work is the best you can make it. Yes, there is something about a contest that seems to push me in a good way. Even if I don't win, the work I've put into the stories I've entered with is some sort of win itself. I've never done any of the contests on this site, but are you saying you know how many votes you got? Do you also know who casts those votes? I think it would suck not to get any votes, but I imagine that's something that happens. Is there usually a pretty clear winner? The contests I've entered recently are for big prize money and publication. The only writing contest I've entered with some consistency is the Raymond Carver short story competition. With that and the others I've tried, I've never even been a finalist or anything. I guess that's probably the equivalent of getting no votes. One of the contests I entered few months back said that they were going to start rejecting the definite no's in January and have their finalist selected by the end of February. According to Duotrope and looking at the recent rejections for this contest, I might have passed this first set of cuts based on how long my story has been with them and where they are rejecting now. And it would be super cool to be a finalist even. I guess that would feel similar to getting a vote or two here which is pretty cool to have anyone think that maybe you should win. What made you first decide you give writing contests a shot? Have you entered other writing contests besides the forum ones?
I think part of it is the knowledge that many people will see it. I know I always did my best drawing when it was for somebody else, like when people would ask me to draw something for them. Something kicks in, an understanding that this is similar to getting professional work, and that it will be seen by a lot of eyes, so you'd better put your best foot forward. It's a chance to really show off what you're capable of. But another factor is competition. It brings out the best in us. Good honest competition is how we determine who is the best (among those who entered of course), so again we all know we need to put forth our best work. A huge part of what drove my friend and I to get better at drawing when we were young is that we'd meet once a week and each get out the drawings we had done since the last time. At first it wasn't supposed to be a contest, we were just showing them to each other, but it quickly became a contest. And, at least for good long while, we were both very fair about judging each other's (and our own) work. If I did something really good he would admit it, and I'd do the same when he did. And it feels really good to be told you did a great job. It also spurs you to learn and study and try to improve so you can consistenly do better work. I used to call it competition/camaraderie, because it wasn't nasty cut-throat competition, it was in the spirit of achievement and accomplishment, and it inspired us both to do better. There's also a toxic form of competition, that happens when people decide they just want to win by whatever means (cheating), rather than by actually working on yourself and your skills. That kind of course isn't helpful. A fixed race doesn't inspire anybody to push themselves to their ultimate.
And there is always going to be competition when it comes to writing even when it's not an actual contest. A writer friend of mine said to pay attention to contests that extend their deadline. This can mean they got a low number of entries and/or those entries are not the winning story they're looking for. But someone still has to win so they push the deadline out, hoping to attract more submissions.
At the close of the contest, there is a voting thread. Any member can read the stories and cast their vote. Once you vote, the total tally appears. If you chose, you can give an explanation for your vote in the thread, hidden as a spoiler. I should mention, all stories are posted anonymous, so no-one knows who wrote what story. Only if that person replies to the thread with a spoiler. But also, once a winner is announced, some people come forward and say things like, "You got my vote! I loved it!" No, sometimes we need a tie-breaker, but not that often. The best results is when everyone gets at least one vote.
Do you guys like contests better that have a prompt or are more general? All the contests I've entered are open without a theme or anything like that. I have submitted work to publications that are doing a themed issue and things like that, but those aren't really contests. I think themes and prompts for an issue or anthology can be fun and they don't cost $20 to submit. But I think I prefer an actual contest to be more general so I can submit whatever I think is my best work even though it's never actually worked out for me.
I love having a prompt to get me started. I brainstorm it and come up with all sorts of different ideas before settling on one.
I know I'm not quite skilled enough to be entering contests with paid entries. To answer a related rats question in a different thread, for most of my stories I'm thinking, "Probably most people will like this? I know I'd like to read something like this. Maybe?" I can count on one hand how many make me think, "Holy shit, I really nailed this one. No doubt." So, I'm not at that point in my writing journey where I'd pay to enter. For the non-paying contests here and on the .com site, yeah for sure I enjoy entering. I love to see what others think about my stories, even if the feedback isn't exactly what I wanted to hear. It's valuable input. The prompts are important for me, as it's rare for me to come up with ideas on my own. When I do, it's typically for novels, not for short stories. I'm pretty sure the only reason I'm even writing short stories is because of the forum contests. I'm hoping some publishing credits might help with my future novel queries.
Don't get me wrong, I'm probably not at a point where I should be paying to enter contests either. I'm not exactly sure what came over me in the last few months. It's certainly not a confidence thing. I am fully prepared to lose all of the contests I've entered and probably any I will enter in the future. I guess I just needed to waste money on something even though truth be told I'm not really in a place to be doing that. I think that maybe it takes more confidence to enter a competition where your entry is online and anyone can judge of comment. Sure, it's not costing any money, but with the contests I've entered my stories don't go up for anyone to see and I've never gotten any feedback. I get to secretly suck. And I've come to realize I don't actually like getting feedback. When I sell a story I can deal with any of the editor's comments and edits which isn't always easy, but I know the process always improve my work. Outside of working with an editor I don't think I really want to know what people think of my stories. I've been through that at university and then grad school. I was in a writers group before and I've traded stories for feedback with a lot of people. All of that tends to give me anxiety and question myself probably more than I should. I also get anxiety when I have something published. I can't help but think I'm making a fool of myself and that somehow the editors didn't realize that I suck. I think it's probably a good thing that, for the most part, I never know what readers think. What do you think is the most valuable part of getting feedback? There have definitely been times when feedback has helped me, but it's also made me feel embarrassed and insecure at times. And I'm not always sure that the person giving the feedback is always right even (or especially) when it's coming from an editor who is rejecting my story. I think I've come to realize I just don't like putting myself through that. I've also always struggled with prompts. When I was in school we would get a lot of these kind of assignments. I struggle with prompts, but at the same time I have written some good stories because of them and I do like the mental challenge. They're just not easy for me. They're probably not supposed to be. But I have been paying more attention to themed issues or prompt like calls from publishers that are not contests. And the deadline does help me finish or call something finished in a relatively short amount of time. I do try and be prolific in general, but sometimes it helps to have that extra push.
For me, I like competing because it's a way to know how well I'm doing. It always brings me a lot of happiness to submit an entry here in this site and watch it gain attention. People vote for my story because they feel its the one that should win, which is crazy because I am the one they choose. How weird is that? The contests here are mostly prompt-based. It was a bit hard when I first started but making a story out of a prompt has become second-nature to me. And I prefer it, honestly. I feel like everyone writing to a prompt allows the overall competition to be more balanced because everyone starts from the same place. I actually wasn't really into short stories before I came to this site. I only liked novels but competing and reading stories here made me appreciate the form, especially with how hard a short story is to write! It's all in good fun.
In my experience, feedback has been very valuable. Sometimes it confirms what I already suspected, and sometimes it gives me a new perspective that I missed. I am very open to constructive criticism. My usual response is a lot of gratitude, and a renewed enthusiasm to continue. It's all for the sake of the story!
I think I trust myself as a writer usually more than someone giving me feedback on something I've written. Maybe I'm not always right to do that, and there are some exceptions. I will make just about any and every change and edit an editor who is buying my work suggests leading up to publication. I think I'm a pretty easy writer to work with in that regard. But I don't give so much weight to an editor who gives me feedback when they are rejecting my work. Sure, I'll consider it, but most of the time I ignore it, and it's usually not all that helpful to begin with. I am a big believer that no one likes to read first drafts. When I have gotten feedback in various settings from different sorts of people it's usually on what I consider my final draft of a piece. And at that point I'm probably looking to entertain and impress a little more than anything else. I used to feel like I needed to get feedback on everything I wrote before I sent it out for submission and probably (especially) before entering a contest. But my newer stuff that's out there now hasn't been read by anyone but me. It would be nice to know what someone thinks of my work before sending it out, but the truth is I just don't have anyone like that right now. Like you mention having someone else confirm something (like this is a good story) can help with confidence. But unlike you, I don't really want criticism. I also would not feel okay showing someone work that I thought had any real problems. I've always been that way when workshopping or anything like that. I've always wanted to share my best work. Sure, in the past things have been pointed out to me that were helpful and I've never been opposed to making big changes. And also like you if someone takes the time to read my work and offer feedback, I am extremely grateful and I don't necessarily dismiss what they are saying. However, negative feedback can really get to me and bring me down. And at times (maybe rightfully so) it has led me to abandon works, just feeling too discouraged. I also don't need someone to just tell me I'm great, but the best feedback that has had the biggest impact on me as a writer and my work has been the feedback that is encouraging. Let me ask, do you think you are a better writer because of the feedback you've received? Do you feel like it's a necessary part of your process? What if you didn't have feedback or people reviewing your work?
I know I am. I haven't posted a story or a flash to the Workshop in quite a while, but earlier on, I got all sorts of valuable advice. I absorbed it like water. I remember in particular a flash I posted in my first month here. I got a very encouraging review from @Catriona Grace, and something she said still guides me - less pontificating, more astonishment - and I took that advice to heart and I know it has made my stories better. I learned that things have to happen in a story that astonish the reader - things have to happen - that includes always including a climax. So, thank you, Catriona! There's other examples, too. I love hearing readers' takes on my stories. Another pair of eyes, another perspective, can only enrich my creation. I mean, I still rely on my own intuition. I can tell if the feedback is something that makes sense to me. I don't just accept everyone else's opinion, but if I see what they saw, too, that's a sign to listen.
This is the most valuable thing I've taken away from feedback. A second pair of eyes can reveal things you'd never have considered. Sometimes it can even be a palm to forehead moment, like, "How did I not think of that??" Of course, sometimes you can receive, "Meh" advice, like maybe someone clearly just posting for credits, or even bad advice from people who simply did not "get" your piece at all. That sort of stuff doesn't really bother me. But that's the minority, I find. Usually I receive thoughtful comments that get my brain ticking a bit, whether I end up agreeing with them or not. Writers are big consumers of writing, so I think their feedback is worth receiving - though I should add that writers don't represent your average consumer. Those people paying money are unlikely to read the material they are consuming for pleasure using "Writer's Brain." Just have to keep that in mind.
You know, it's funny, but I've never understood the difference between reading for pleasure and reading like a writer or even what that means really. I've always just read. I also don't understand the difference between a writer reading and the so-called average consumer reading. I'm just not sure there's really a difference. Of course, I've heard these things said before, but they don't exactly register with me.
I think that's because you're a completely intuitive writer (at least from what you've said in here it sounds like you are). You don't pay attention to things like character arcs, plot points, acts, inciting incidents, etc. At least not consciously, though you may be doing all of that without realizing it or knowing what it's called.
i do maybe 1 contest every few years. I dont think its worth it to continue. Its like gambling at the casino (i went once and it was not fun). each publication is a a dollar here and there and it makes you feel good. so you put more money into the machine and aim for that big prize/win and then nothing... I'd rather not keep putting money into the pot. I'll stick with my dollar prizes. but every now and again, i do try the scratch-offs just to say I've at least tried for the million dollars.
