Looking for a Contest Specific to Your Genre?

May 29, 2018May 25, 2018 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / Leave a comment

Reedsy Curated Contest Site

We all come across open themed or prompt contest, but what about contest specific to your genre? Well, the search is over. Reedsy is an excellent resource for finding the perfect contest for you.

What’s even better, is it’s free! I Reedsy is one of those jewels you come across within writing communities. It is resource stocked with free courses on writing resources, editing and publishing.

In the meantime, here are few to get you started.

1. Reedsy’s weekly writing prompt – Deadline: December 21st, 2018 • Genre: Fiction, Short Story; Entry Fee : Free. Top prize $50.
2. Remember in November Contest for Creative Nonfiction: Hippocampus Magazine; Memoir excerpts and personal essays up to 4,000 words; no theme. Deadline: July 15th, 2018 • Entry fee 💰: $12. Genre: Memoir, Non-fiction. Top prize – $1000.
3. Nowhere Magazine Spring 2018 Travel Writing Contest. Travel-specific pieces; Deadline: July 1st, 2018 • Entry fee 💰: $20. Genre: Fiction, Non-fiction. Top prize-$1000.
4. Emerging Writer’s contest – Ploughshares. Authors are considered “emerging” if they haven’t published or self-published a book. Deadline: May 15th, 2018 (Expired) • Entry fee 💰: $24. Genre: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story. Top prize – $2,000 for each genre and publication in the literary journal.
5. Jim Martin Memorial Story contest – Arizona Mystery Writers. Open to anyone. Deadline: June 1st, 2018 • Entry fee 💰: $15. Genre: Crime, Short Story. Top prize – $200.

With more than 256 contests, you have lots to choose from to stretch those writing muscles. So, check out their contest site, pick one from your genre, and jump in!

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.

What’s In a Name?

September 19, 2016October 22, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 8 Comments

Do you always name the characters in your stories?

I’m not talking about the character who passes through a story or scene, but main characters.

Although I have a couple of novels in the works; I also write flash fiction and on occasion my characters remain nameless.

Suzanne Vincent, the Editor-in-Chief at Flash Fiction Online, doesn’t like the idea of nameless characters. In fact, I think she said it made her roll her eyes – a language I understand well.

She made some good points, and her comments got me to thinking about my stories. I appreciate Ms. Vincent’s candor. It’s rather nice to have an editor share a perspective from the other side of submissions.

In her article from the Slushpile Avalanche: Why You SHOULD Name Your Main Character, she discusses why she rejects and dislikes a story with unnamed characters. You can read her post here.

“… not naming a main character in a story makes very little sense to me. And if you’re just doing it for the hell of it–if you don’t know WHY you’re doing it–you shouldn’t be doing it at all.” Suzanne Vincent

I imagine Ms. Vincent has most likely rejected one of my stories but does every editor feel the same way about names? Typically, I agree with what she had to say; especially with longer stories or novellas. But, what about flash fiction? Does the genre make a difference? For me, I think it does. I’ve written stories without naming the characters and I did so precisely because of the story.

For example, in one of my stories a serial killer preys on lonely women. I did not name either the killer or his victim and here’s why – the point of the story was the random act of a killer and his nameless prize. Here’s an excerpt from Maybe Next Time – you be the judge.

“He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Confidence and sexuality draped her curves like a second skin. Men flocked to her side, but she turned them away; it pleased him. He liked a discriminating woman. Maybe, this time could be different.

He waited for the perfect moment before making his move. There it was — the downward shift of downcast eyes. It didn’t take long for her to respond; it never did. He had his approach down to a science. The right suit, subtle cologne and brief penetrating eye contact worked every time.

A nervous smile parted her red lips. He stood as she slid from the stool and walked toward his table. Ever the perfect gentleman, he pulled out her chair and smiled. They always took the bait.

Like every fucking woman out to catch a first-class meal ticket, she thought he was hers; it’d be a crime to let her think otherwise.” From Maybe Next Time.

What do you think? Do you agree with the editor? Are there exceptions? Give me your thoughts. Do you always name your characters?

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. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

Stories to Share From the SmokeLong Quarterly

May 9, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 5 Comments

It’s time to get back on schedule, and one of my favorite things to do is to share stories from other writers.

The selection this week comes from the SmokeLong Quarterly – “an online literary magazine dedicated to flash fiction.”

An interesting fact about SmokeLong Quarterly is how they came up with the name.

Founded in 2003 by Dave Clapper, the name “Smoke-long” comes from the Chinese – “who noted that reading flash takes the same length of time to smoke a cigarette.” According to the staff, all the work they accept for publication is “precisely a smoke long.”

Never having smoked, the amount of time its takes to smoke a cigarette, is not a time frame familiar to me. So, I’ll stick to word counts. Whichever method you prefer, SmokeLong Quarterly publishes great stories. Here are three of my favorites:

Interested in submitting to SmokeLong?

They publish flash fiction of 1000 words or less. Never charge a reading fee, and submissions are open 365 days a year. You can check out the guidelines here.

Good luck and let me know what you think about today’s stories. More importantly, let the authors know what you thought – stories are meant to be shared.

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, and Contently.

The Fiery Hero

November 3, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 8 Comments

100WCGU: This week’s Prompt # 173: …as the flames leapt skyward…

Ten minutes after Kyle arrived at his dream job, the alarm sounded.

“Hey rookie, you’re gonna need this.” The Chief Officer tossed him his helmet.

“Thanks,” Kyle said, climbing in beside him.

“Flip the switch, kid.” Kyle’s heart thundered against his chest as the siren blared to life.

The Chief raced toward the destination as dispatch gave the coordinates.

“Any souls inside?” The chief asked the dispatcher.

“First responder says one.”

Kyle’s breath caught. Dammit, It was supposed to be abandoned. He stared as the flames leapt skyward. Collateral damage, the price you paid sometimes to become a hero.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.