Stretch Your Writing Muscles With These Contests

March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 7 Comments

Want to stretch your writing muscles? Increase your publication portfolio? Submit to these upcoming contests (list compliments of Hope Clark’s Fund for Writers, Narrative, WOW).

Institute For Writers Sci-Fi First Pages Contest – $19 Entry Fee. Deadline March 31, 2018. First prize $650. Second prize $350. Third prize $100. Fourth prize $100. Fifth prize $100. 750 Word Limit.
First Pages Prize –$25 Entry Fee. Deadline – March 13, 2018. Submit your first five pages of a fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry manuscript.
Narrative – The Winter Story Contest. Deadline: Saturday, March 31, at midnight, PDT. $2,500 First Prize; $1,000 Second Prize; $500 Third Prize; Ten finalists receive $100 each.
Wow – Spring 2018 Quarterly Flash Fiction Contest –Open prompt. Maximum Word count 750. Deadline – May 31st, 11:59 PM. ENTRY FEE: $10.00.First Place: $400.00 cash prize; $25 Amazon Gift Certificate; Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog. Second Place –$300.00 cash prize; $25 Amazon Gift Certificate; Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog. Third Place – $200.00 cash prize; $25 Amazon Gift Certificate; Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog. 7 Runners Up: $25 Amazon Gift Certificate; Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog.
WOW – Quarterly Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest. Open topic. Maximum word count-1000; Deadline– April 30th, 11:59 PM; First Place: $500.00 cash prize; Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog. Second Place: $300.00 cash prize; Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog.Third Place: $200.00 cash prize; Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog. 7 Runners Up: $25 Amazon Gift Certificate.

A Checklist Before You Submit:

Know your Judge and the journal – A little extra time in research will pay big dividends. Find out the genre, style, and preferred content before making a submission. Reading previous winners is an excellent way to get a feel for what the editors are looking for.
Be sure to follow the guidelines! Sounds obvious, but editors say submissions which fail to follow the guidelines are their number one beef!
Proofread! – Careless grammar and punctuation errors can sink your submission.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. I’m all ears and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

A Curated List of Creative Writing Competitions, Contests and Awards

January 13, 2017August 14, 2017 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / Leave a comment

Thanks to the Almond Press for this comprehensive list of writing competitions and contest. Start 2017 off right by checking these out and making a submission. This is a list of international and local creative writing competitions, contests, and awards. Opportunities for experienced and aspiring writers to get published.

To see the complete lists, with dates, submission guidelines, deadline, prizes, and word count, click the link below.

Source: A Curated List of Creative Writing Competitions, Contests and Awards.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Join the conversation. Talk to me or tell me your story. I’m all ears.

Do You Find The Submission Process Stressful?

July 11, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 13 Comments

I don’t know about you but submitting my work has become very time-consuming, confusing, and stressful. The sheer number of journals, magazines, and contests from which to choose is overwhelming. Where to start? Which one is the best fit for me?

In the past, I’ve used Duotrope, NewPages, and The Review Review to help narrow my selections, but hell, by the time I get through reading and researching, I’ve missed the deadlines. And, it seems I’m not alone feeling so frustrated with the process.

In the June issue of the Literary Hub, Erika Dreifus discusses the submission process and provides a list of 13 questions to ask before submitting to any literary journal. You can read her article and the questions, here.

Want a way to stay up to date? Get the details on awards, contests, general submissions, and deadlines? Now you can.

Download your free copy of the 2016 Literary Calendar from The Master’s Review. Click to Tweet.

What methodology or resources do you use when deciding where to submit? Share your pointers with us.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram.

Recycling From The Fail Pile

May 17, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 2 Comments

Do you have a pile of old stories or a manuscript gathering dust? Don’t throw the away – repurchase them.

Bare Knuckle Writer

Not Pictured: That Manuscript. This is a completely different one.

I wrote a scene for a book ten years ago.

Shit. Writing that sentence was the first time I stopped to do that particular math. Fuck. That was longer ago than I thought.

Anyway, this was my first finished book. It sucked. I mean, it’s not spectacularly bad– it doesn’t physically hurt me to read it, like some of my earlier, unfinished stories–but it still sucks. It will remain in cold storage indefinitely, or until the sun explodes and burns us all to a crisp.

But there was this one scene. I liked it. I still like it. Not the way it was written, because, dude, I was just starting out then. I had spent the previous six years writing academic papers. My fiction writing was not great, to say the least. I could over-explain like a boss, though.

But…

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