Why do you, or don't you, take part in writing contests?

[Naomasa298]

This is not trying to judge anybody. We all have our reasons But if you do join in (and not just on this forum, but on other forums, or local/national competitions), then why do you? If not, why don't you?

Maybe you want to improve your writing. Maybe you don't have time (and I can sympathise with you on that one). Maybe you don't feel comfortable sharing your work in public (and I get that too). Maybe the prompts help spur you on towards a new story idea. Maybe the time pressure helps you focus, or hinders you. Whatever the case, I'm interested.

 

[DLC]

Because it's a challenge to write to a prompt that isn't what you usually want to write, but you do it anyway. I'd do it more if I had more time.

 

[Madman Starryteller]

I usually don't join in because I have an established universe I write and set most of my stories in. (Edit: I'm not saying I'm famous, just that someone who has read my threads may make the connection somewhat easily.) Also because I do not consider myself very skilled yet.

I have tried to enter contests in this community a few times with poor results for my stories, but I do it for fun, so I have no hard feelings about it.

So, the universe I write in is very large and I could very well set a story in it that still keeps me anonymous, but I'd be have to constantly remind myself that I am writing for a contest, and so limit myself. I do not like limiting myself when it comes to writing.

I must say, there is no lack of interesting prompts for the contests, I've often thought about certain prompts and they have spurred quick ideas of stories set in my universe. But I already have so much to work on that I want to focus what energy I have on my original ideas.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I contribute silly verse or flash fiction that I write on the spot if an occasion arises, but that's about all. Short fiction isn't something I write much anymore, and being a kind person, I spare the world my poetry.

 

[Heartlet Happer]

To get it out of the system. If there was a way to post more within established rules and no breach of honor system, I would.

I strongly believe that information as a part of universe lives under some metaphysical laws. Some of information appears inside me with no control, and I am afraid of breaking my own capacity limits. So, to survive I post.

 

[Homer Potvin]

I've disqualified myself as the owner. I used to like them a lot when the prompt hit me. I'd either see the whole story in 10 seconds or wouldn't bother. Kind of miss that. Maybe I'll amend that policy.

 

[Naomasa298]

I've disqualified myself as the owner. I used to like them a lot when the prompt hit me. I'd either see the whole story in 10 seconds or wouldn't bother. Kind of miss that. Maybe I'll amend that policy.

You should. I mean, we wouldn't know it's you... probably.

 

[Set2Stun]

I like writing for contest prompts because I don't come up with a lot of ideas out of the blue. But with a prompt, well they tend to get my creative juices flowing. Every single one of my publications have come from stories that were originally written to a contest prompt. They rarely stay at the contest word count, of course. Most end up being 1000-2000 words.

I just wrote a quick 650 word piece for the dot com contest this afternoon. A really bizarre prompt; "chickens eye me hungrily." So, I wrote a fun monster story called The Forbidden Voyage to Big Cock Island.

 

[Naomasa298]

As for me, I don't take part any more because I feel constrained by the word limit, and it's become really tough for me to fit stories into under 5000 words. I mean, I rewrote a contest story recently, cut and merged scenes, and it ballooned by 1000 words. And I also find it tough to plot and write in 15 days. The best I could do is probably produce a first draft, unless it's one of those that just flows.

Although I haven't entirely abandoned it, it just depends on how quickly an idea comes to me.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I've disqualified myself as the owner. I used to like them a lot when the prompt hit me. I'd either see the whole story in 10 seconds or wouldn't bother. Kind of miss that. Maybe I'll amend that policy.

You shouldn't dscriminate against yourself nor deprive yourself of fun and practice. It's not like you're offering big bucks or publication as rewards.

 

[Night Herald]

I don't join competitions very often, as I prefer working on novels and need to focus most of my writing time in that direction if I ever want to see those books finished. But I do enjoy writing shorts and competing.

The main appeal is the opportunity to take a break from my usual stuff and experiment with other genres, voices, styles and themes. Exploring other worlds and characters. I think it's easy to stagnate as a writer if you don't branch out occasionally, at least it feels like my mind works that way. I also enjoy the creative constriction from working with a prompt, and the way it forces me to think outside my personal box. I can get fairly paralyzed given total freedom, leading either to wild meandering or dithering. Doing the occasional short helps counteract that somewhat, sharpening discernment.

For the contest part of it, I like sharing my work. Although I write mainly for myself, it's so nice to see other people find entertainment and joy in what you do. Since I can get a bit experimental with my shorts, contests are also a nice little pointer for what works and what doesn't. And although I'm not hugely competitive, I like a close race as much as anyone. Plus I love reading all the great stuff everyone else has written, which I find more motivation to actually do if I also have a horse in the race; I love reading an entry that makes me go "damn, this is so good, it's gonna blow mine out of the water". What can I say, I thrive as the underdog.

 

[JT Woody]

I dont because i feel like its an added pressure on me. Like homework
I have participated in contets, on .com forum and the national Midnight whatchamacallit challenge where they put you in groups with the same prompt and then they pick the best prompt out of the group to move on tonthe next round where you are in another group with another prompt, and so on and so on.

For me.... i feel like it takes me away from what i WANT to write, and ends up with me procrastinating on finishing my WIPs.

And prompts...im not a fan. In general. I stopped going to that in-person writing meetup i mentioned because i realized that each session, they give the group a prompt, and we write it and then talk about it afterward (how did the prompt make you feel.... how did what you created embody the prompt.... etc).
I just want to write. I want to work on my projects. If there is time for feedback, id like feed back on what i wrote and i want to give feed back on their projects.

Prompts would be helpful in a creative dryspell for me, but that hasnt happened yet.

 

[Louanne Learning]

For me, it provides opportunities to write, and gives me a push to get some writing done. I am a hobbyist writer. I don't do it to get published or make money, solely for enjoyment, and the contests get me going.

 

[Naomasa298]

For me.... i feel like it takes me away from what i WANT to write, and ends up with me procrastinating on finishing my WIPs.

I'm a double procrastinator. I'll get around to procrastinating soon.

 

[Stuart Dren]

I would enter one if I thought I had a particularly unique take on a theme, but my priority is my project.

Frankly, they're for short story writers or poets. I think they're a diversion otherwise.

Contests are a fantastic way to inspire routine output of shorts. The 'winning' bragging rights and deadlines are the incentive, but the tangible reward is you've produced another thing that's already now a member of the library you're always building anyway for submission.

If I've no aim to output any short stories in the first place, then the only reward is ego enrichment. That's not even from winning, more the boost that comes from just being a participant in the first place. I am a writer, I created a thing and some other writers read it, possibly one even voted for it. That's reinforcement. Good, great. I need that sometimes.

However, I want to sell novels and novellas, perhaps even to a few people who don't write fiction themselves. Entering the next sixty contents won't take me any closer to that.

 

[Luxuria]

I have several reasons why I don't enter many contests.

1. I have limited amount of story ideas. I know you might say that's 'not true', but I don't just write everything that comes to mind. It has to be worthwhile. If none of the prompts are interesting, I just don't bother to write for them. I am very selective when it comes to what I put my time into writing. Because I also don't SWITCH stories easily.

2. The stories I might make out of a prompt might not be fit for the forum. Like, it could break forum rules and I don't want that to happen. So, if I get an idea from a prompt that I can't write for the contest, I don't bother. When I say things that break rules, I mean, I had a few prompts make me think, "oh, it would make an interesting short story set in Ancient Rome with these characters." But I am not going to shy away from historical events or characterization for the sake of making things forum friendly, such as historical incest, etc.

3. I get overly competitive. This is a big one. This one is the hardest. I get so competitive and I am HONESTLY a sore loser. And it's hard. For me, it's not, 'oh, I'll grow as a writer by doing this', I struggle with comparison and the need to be the best.

 

[Naomasa298]

2. The stories I might make out of a prompt might not be fit for the forum. Like, it could break forum rules and I don't want that to happen. So, if I get an idea from a prompt that I can't write for the contest, I don't bother. When I say things that break rules, I mean, I had a few prompts make me think, "oh, it would make an interesting short story set in Ancient Rome with these characters." But I am not going to shy away from historical events or characterization for the sake of making things forum friendly, such as historical incest, etc.

Please take this the right way.

I think you worry far too much about that. Readers aren't really going to bat an eyelid about historical incest. If you want to write a story about Oedipus and his mum, we all know it, and it simply doesn't land as "incest". It lands as "mythology". Real, historical cases will land as "history". Watch HBO/BBC's Rome. Octavian (Augustus) is seduced by his sister, and that was primetime TV. The only pushback you ever really get is nationalist pushback when you say something "disrespectful" towards one country's cherished historical figure, like, I dunno, turn Vera Lynn into a transgender dominatrix or something.

I've seen the mythological Gemini twins in a same-sex incestuous relationship.

I can't speak for them, obviously, but what seems to bother the mods most is explicit erotica, doesn't matter if it's Zeus and Hera, or Peter and Jane. You can always PM them and ask, or send them the story to see if it breaks the rules. I suspect you'd be surprised.

 

[Homer Potvin]

can't speak for them, obviously, but what seems to bother the mods most is explicitly erotica, doesn't matter if it's Zeus and Hera, or Peter and Jane. You can always PM them and ask, or send them the story to see if it breaks the rules. I suspect you'd be surprised.

More or less. It's more about being overly gratuitous than anything else. Sex, violence, suicide, and incest are all fine subject matter within reason, but don't make it a masturbatory thing, like you're jacking off while writing it. Can't help you if you don't the difference between tasteful literature and self-indulgent fantasy.

Essentially, anything that breaks forum rules is probably self-serving garbage anyway. Aside from erotica which is intentionally pornographic and gratuitous.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

The contests in old town got me writing. Before joining, I had maybe two stories completed and needed some kind of structure to get my head around what to do next. I entered a lot of them and ended up with a few stories that I still like and still gather rejections. Entering was daunting initially, but the anonymity and voting gave a sense of what hit and what didn't without the inclination to not cause offence that can be prevalent in workshop, which is also a valuable portion of the forum. I won a couple and scored zero on others. Some of the ones that fared poorly are the ones I stand by. Go figure.

The contests are a core element of what keeps me coming here. They are competitive and sometimes the standard is exceptional, but run with good humour and acknowledgement that the results aren't all that important in the grand scheme and certainly not more important than participation, support and encouragement. They are also an opportunity to try out different things, bend it up a bit without spending years on a novel that no-one understands. I also like the short story format, even if some of mine don't qualify as stories.

I find it confusing, sometimes frustrating, that the voting pages didn't get a lot of response, though that has improved significantly in the new forum. I've said all that before and won't repeat here.

Particularly for someone starting out, trying different things, managing structure, show and tell, hide and tell, build momentum and all the other stuff that goes into writing a story, the contest give ample opportunity to get it going.

I've disqualified myself as the owner

Nonsense! Get involved. Mod contributions to contests and workshop tend to raise the standard. That's not a bad thing. Ye often draw a crowd. And that's not a bad thing neither.

3. I get overly competitive. This is a big one. This one is the hardest. I get so competitive and I am HONESTLY a sore loser. And it's hard. For me, it's not, 'oh, I'll grow as a writer by doing this', I struggle with comparison and the need to be the best.

Like with magazine rejections, the trick is to lay blame squarely on the readers...
More seriously, the slowest snail race in history that comprises the voting page allows you all the time you need to get over yourself. As far as content is concerned, dark and twisted might not score with everyone, but you might be surprised by tolerance levels. You could check a few scenes with mods to get a fuller sense of how close you are to the limit.

 

[Seven Crowns]

I wish I could, haha. I've got all kinds of funny, forlorn, and shocking stories in me. I've been writing a lot lately. Thousands and thousands of words. My pace is accelerating as I'm gearing up for something big!

Yeah, I lost my Qaddafi medals from the last board. They're gone.
This is how it felt. I looked like Dio. I had a jaunty hat, rad ribbons, golden ninja stars, a little doily (apparently). Now . . . nothing.