What’s the best thing a writer can do to get published? Write. Write. And write some more.
The best kind of writing is for a contest. It requires you to think about guidelines. It gives you something to focus on. And you get feedback on your writing. Sometimes.
Contests are great for writers. Contests have deadlines. It’s the perfect motivation for getting something down on paper.
Guidelines can also make it easier to write. Sometimes staring at a blank page can feel daunting. Having a topic to focus on will help you narrow down the possibilities.
So, what are some writing contests to try?
The 50 Precious Words International Writing Contest is the perfect place to start. Write a story for kids ages 12 and under, using only 50 words. It may seem easy, but it requires you to think about which words are actually important to your story. No superfluous words. This contest helps picture book writings trying to keep their word count low.
The First Line is a contest where everyone writes a story beginning with the same first line. They have four contests a year. Each season has a different line. You also have the option to write a story with a given last line.
The 53-Word Story Contest is a monthly contest. The deadline is the 15th of the month. Writers are given a prompt and write a story using exactly 53 words. Hyphenated words count as one word. You also need to craft your bio using exactly 53 words.
The Furious Fiction is the ultimate flash fiction challenge. One the first weekend of each month, you will get 55 hours to write your best 500 word story. This is a great contest to try if you are stumped and have writer’s block.
The Collaborature Contest is a monthly writing contest for friends. The submission must be written by more than one author. Submissions can be for prose or poetry.
The Mollie Savage Memorial Writing Contest is held twice a year. Writers have 2 days to write a short story based on the topic and word range.
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writing Contest is a quarterly contest for science fiction and fantasy writers.
Parsec Short Story Contest is a contest for speculative fiction writers. They welcome science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories. Just make sure to write to the theme.
These are just a few of the free writing contests out there. Choose a contest in your genre or test your skills and expand your mind by writing a different kind of story. But no matter what you decide to do, just keep writing!