|
WRITING
CONTESTS: A FOOT IN THE DOOR
by Richelle Putnam
As a writer, do you lack discipline in completing and mailing out stories
and articles to publishers? When you finally do submit, do you receive
rejection after rejection and become frustrated and disappointed?
Discover the wonderful world of writing contests and your life might change
the way mine did. After years of struggling, I am now a published
author in both print and electronic publications. I conduct writing
workshops, teach creative writing at a local college, and work as an editor
for Gotta Write Network. I have obtained agent representation for
picture books. And just recently, a well-known publisher read a query
letter I sent and requested my young adult manuscript.
Did writing competitions accomplish all that? No, my writing
did. But contests opened a door that had previously been locked and
got my manuscript into professional hands without a long writing-related
résumé or extensive publishing credentials.
Preparing for contests has forced me into a strict writing schedule in order
to meet deadlines. I would never have written many of my short stories
if I hadn't had specific contests in mind. One nice thing--you don't
have to win to achieve victory. Finishing a story is a reward in
itself. If you should win or place, so much the better. Even an
honorable mention becomes an addition to your résumé.
There are hundreds of writing competitions. As in other areas of life,
there are the good, the bad, and the ugly. Choose contests carefully
and enter based on the awards, the reputation, the length of time a contest
(or publication) has been in existence, and the rights they request.
If your entry is to be published, the contest sponsor may claim specific
rights ("First North American Serial Rights" and the option to
include your piece in an anthology are among the most common), but it's
rarely wise to relinquish everything. If you give all rights to
someone else, understand that they--not you--now own that particular piece
and you cannot touch it again without their permission.
Here are some tips on researching contests:
1. Look for competition announcements on websites and in ezines, magazines,
and books. Save potential targets in a "Competition File."
Choose contests that are offered by well-known magazines, publishers, or
organizations. After entering, jot down the story name and where you
sent it. Keep track of the information in a "Contests
Entered" file. Maintain a tracking sheet for the individual manuscript
as well as a master tracking sheet for all pieces out for consideration. On
your calendar, mark the dates that results will be announced so you can
follow up.
2. Compare entry fees to the prize. A contest with a $50 prize should not
have a $10 entry fee. I don't usually enter contests that have a prize
less than $100 or an entry fee over $10, unless it includes a membership or
subscription or is a well-known publication like By-Line Magazine. Prizes
can be cash, publication, or both. Of course, the bigger the
prize, the stiffer the competition. Feel free to ask questions (via email or
snail mail) about the competition before you enter.
3. Put contests that include publication at the top of the list. Many
literary magazines have writing competitions that offer not only cash prizes
but publication as well. This can be a great way for writers without
credits or credentials to get valuable exposure and start building a
resume.
4. Enter every free competition you can. What do you have to
lose? (Again, do keep an eye on what rights they acquire if you win.)
5. Study guidelines. Many good stories are discarded because of failure to
follow the rules. Make a list and check off each item before mailing
your entry. Some guidelines read, "No work is eligible for submission
if AT THE TIME OF ENTRY, it has won an award or been published or accepted
for publication." Key phrase: "at the time of entry." Some
competitions, like the Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition, have
stricter standards and say, "All entries must be original, unpublished,
and NOT SUBMITTED ELSEWHERE UNTIL THE WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED." Every
competition is different. Make sure you know what each contest requires and
you'll reduce the chances of your story being disqualified.
6. Be bold. Don't be afraid that your writing isn't good enough. How
will you ever discover your literary potential if you don't release it to
the world? At the same time, send your best work. Polish your
story till it shines. Proofread it yourself and pass it on to others
with good grammar, punctuation, and spelling skills. When you're sure it's
the best you can make it, send it off and start looking for the next contest
to enter.
7. Request contest results. If winning entries are published on a
website, in a magazine, or in an anthology, read and analyze those entries.
Look at the different elements of fiction (subject, voice, dialog, etc.) and
determine how their use made the story stand out.
8. If you enter a contest and don't win or even make the honorable mention
list, evaluate your piece. Judges look for good opening lines, active
verbs, strong believable characters, and flowing dialog. They also expect a
professional-looking manuscript. If you slipped up in any of these areas,
study writing books and magazines to see how you can improve. Then
revise your piece and enter another competition.
I once read an article by a writer who refused to enter contests because
winners were based on one judge's opinion. That may be so, but
publication is often based on one editor's opinion.
Entering contests can train you to set and meet goals, to develop a
disciplined writing schedule, and to constantly strive to improve the
quality of your work.
WEBSITES THAT OFFER CONTESTS:
- chopeclark.com
- klockepresents.com
- inscriptionsmagazine.com
- wordweaving.com
- bylinemag.com
- coffeehouseforwriters.com
- scbeginnings.com
- writingcorner.com
- writingworld.com
WEBSITES THAT OFFER CONTESTS WITH PUBLICATION:
- worldwidewriters.com (World Wide Writers)
- glimmertrain.com (Glimmertrain)
- all-story.com (Zoetrope)
- interhop.net/~amethyst/ (The Amethyst Review)
- bgsu.edu/studentlife/organizations/midamericanreview/ (Mid-American
Review)
- writersdigest.com (Writer's Digest)
BOOKS THAT LIST CONTESTS (UPDATED ANNUALLY):
- Writer's Market (http://www.writersmarket.com/)
(Writer's Digest Books)
- Novel & Short Story Writer's Market (Writer's Digest Books)
- The Best of the Magazine Markets (Longridge Writing Group)
WEBSITES THAT LIST SCAMS AND CAUTIONS:
- sfwa.org/beware
- sfwa.org/prededitors
DEVELOPING CHARACTER EMOTIONS
By Richelle Putnam
Even the most remarkable plot pales and fades away without character
emotions. Plot goads characters, but it’s emotions that drive them.
What makes a man rush into a burning building to save a child?
What makes a woman murder her lover, or abandon her children?
What drives a secret agent to betrayal?
Emotion, pure and simple, and without it your story is as dull as your
characters.
So how do writers create vivid emotions? They observe and analyze, realizing
that people, whether in real life or fiction, act and react according to who
they are, where they've been, and how they arrived to where they are now.
Anger can enrage to the point of murder, but it can also provide strength to
say no to a destructive relationship. Creators must reveal the difference.
Here is an excerpt from V. C. Andrews, Ice, Pocket Books, Copyright 2001,
ISBN 0-671-03994-6:
========
Almost as if she knew she would be facing unhappiness when she woke, Mama
stubbornly clung to sleep as I shook her. I shook her again and called
her and shook her until finally her eyelids fluttered, closed, and then
snapped open.
“What?” she practically screamed at me.
“Daddy’s been shot,” I said.
She stared up at me a moment and then she sat up so quickly and firmly, I
stepped back.
“What?”
“Mike Tooey is outside waiting to take us to the hospital in the company
car,” I said. “Daddy stopped a robbery.”
“Oh, Jesus,” she muttered. “Oh, Jesus, Jesus.”
She rose and began to get dressed. I hurried back to my room to do the
same. Less than ten minutes later, I was ready, but Mama was still
brushing her hair.
“I look a mess,” she moaned at her own image in the mirror.
“I don’t think that matters at the moment, Mama,” I said dryly.
She paused and looked at me as if I had gone crazy.
“It always matters, child. You think I want your father looking at a
hag when I get there. The better I look, the better he’s going to
feel,” she predicted, finished her hair, and then joined me at the
door. “I shoulda bought that wig the other day,” she muttered as
we hurried out. “You got a wig, you just throw it on and don’t
worry. I should have bought it.”
========
And from William Armstrong’s, Sounder, Scholastic Books, copyright 1969,
ISBN 0-590-47834-6.
========
He carried in wood for the night before the sun began to weaken. Then
he looked out of the window again to where his mother would appear.
Finally he saw a speck moving on the road. He watched it grow.
“She’s coming,” he said to the younger children, and they crowded
around him and pushed their faces against the window. “She’s been gone
long enough to walk and town and more,” he added.
“What will she bring?” one of the children asked.
“She’ll bring nothin’, but maybe things to eat. She won’t
bring no stick candy. Don’t ask her for none. Don’t ask her
for nothin’.”
Several times during the day the boy had said to himself, “Maybe they’ll
let him come home if she takes back the stuff. Some people might, but
some won’t.” But his father was not with her.
“I gave the stuff back,” she said when she got to the cabin.
=========
You can easily see the difference in the mothers in Ice and Sounder. Through
child’s eyes, you discover their mothers have different personalities,
circumstances, settings, and lives.
Here are seven steps that I use in developing character emotions:
(1) Reminisce. I try to remember how it felt to be jilted,
cursed, rejected, complimented, encouraged, and loved? Did my stomach
lurch? Did my skin turn clammy? Did I stutter? Reliving powerful
emotions through words will transform lifeless characters into lifelike
characters.
(2) Analyze. Can you recognize someone who is insecure? Fearful?
Prideful? Actions and reactions speak loudly. An independent woman
tackles a job with little hesitation, while a dependant woman shies away,
happy to disappear into the background. An indigent man reacts to a
stale piece of bread much differently than a wealthy man.
(3) Watch movies and plays. Award winning movies and plays all have one
thing in common—-inspiring characters. In STEEL MAGNOLIAS, when
Sally Field grieved the loss of her daughter, she cried, "I just want
to hit something." My chest ached from crying. But when Olivia Dukakis
yanked Shirley MacLaine into the forefront, and said, "Here hit this.
Go on. Hit her hard," I laughed so much I didn't know if my tears were
from laughing or crying. Through actions and reactions, these actors
revealed who and what they are.
(4) Create histories. Your characters must have a past, but please not
all on one page. Spread it into different scenes so it’ll blend in and not
sit on top like curdled milk. Lifestyle, environment, education (or
lack of it), and upbringing will form views, dislikes, fears, aspirations,
etc., and these long-term feelings won’t change in a day. Introverts
may gain confidence, but don’t miraculously become extroverts because they
overcame an obstacle. Keep emotions true to a character’s nature.
(5) Forget generic words.
"She was so mad. How could he have done that to her?"
Madness can be silent, loud, violent, or vengeful. So which is it?
"She clenched her fists, holding back from slapping his face. How could
he have done that to her?"
OR
"She clamped her jaw shut and turned away, determined not to look
back."
See the difference? Showing, not telling, allow readers to experience
with characters.
(6) Become an analyst. When your character says, "I'm angry," know
them well enough to answer, "You are angry because your old-fashioned
husband doesn't appreciate your preparing three meals a day, washing load
after load of dirty clothes, and caring for two toddlers. You long to run
away to a world without expectations. Your insides churn like a blender
crushing ice, while, on the outside, you force smiles and placid
words." Only you have the power to reveal your characters to
others.
(7) Learn from, but don’t copy the greats. Discover your own
greatness. Don’t try to recreate William Faulkner, Toni Morrison,
Ernest Hemingway, and other prize-winning authors. Research
them. What makes their characters stand out? Use a highlighter
and mark emotions and descriptions that stirred you. Practice
rewriting a scene, using different names, setting, circumstances, and
emotions. Here’s a rewrite of the above William Armstrong scene:
She took out the trashcan as the sun dropped in the sky, and returned it to
its place under the kitchen sink. She glanced at her watch wondering
when her father would arrive. Finally, after minutes of pacing, she
heard the worn muffler of his ’68 Cutlass. It grew louder and
louder.
“He’s coming,” she whispered, and pushed her face against the cold
windowpane. “He’s coming back for good,” she added. “I just
know it.”
She ran to the front door and flung it open. I won’t ask him for
nothing, she thought. Not a thing. I’ll wrap my arms around
him and squeeze him so tight, he’ll never want to leave again.
(8) Trust yourself and your characters. It takes time to build any
relationship, even a fictitious one, so be patient. Then, you'll have
no problem developing characters that readers are not likely to forget.
Copyright 2001 Richelle Putnam (richput@netdoor.com) |