Over to you

Do you have any writing news?

Do you know any market news? Have you heard about any free to enter writing competitions? Or come across calls for submissions or other opportunities?

Are you researching, writing, subbing? Had any acceptances or rejections? Still waiting to hear back on outstanding submissions? Do you have a question? Can you offer tips or encouragement to other writers?

Any other writing related news, questions and comments are also welcome and appreciated. As well as allowing us all to share information, help and encourage each other, comments show editors, competition organisers and others that the blog is read and will therefore be more likely to answer my questions, or provide information for me to share with you.

Feel free to use these photos as picture prompts. If you'd like written writing prompts, short exercises and story/scene suggestions then you might find this book useful.

Thanks to Sharon Boothroyd for letting me know Best are again running their Christmas short story competition.

I squinted at the small print and couldn't see the rights grab clause they used for the last one. Hopefully that was just a blip.

Tuesday Top Tip

If you don't have one already, you might like to create an email address just for writing stuff. Make it something 'sensible' and clearly connected to you (to avoid confusion). If your writing name isn't available on its own, perhaps add something like writer, author, fiction etc.

Those people with websites will probably have the option to create an associated email, which can be reserved just for contacts via the site, or more generally.

At one time I worked in a recruitment agency. People sometimes applied for jobs with email addresses such as 'sexybabe' or 'weedsmoker'. It didn't fill us with confidence! A silly email address is unlikely get your work rejected, but why take the risk? An editor / agent / publisher is more likely to take you seriously if it looks as though you behave like a professional. A straightforward email address looks better on business cards too.

This tip came from Patsy Collins  who writes short stories and cosy crime novels. You can buy all of her books, or read them through kindle unlimited, here.

Yet more free entry writing competitions!

Blue iris today, instead of poppies. Other flower colours are available. Maybe you'll get them next week.

Free entry competitions

Thanks to Alyson for this short story competition, which has €100 in book tokens as a prize. She says 'Free to enter but look at t's and c's on right to publish... ' It looks OK to me, but that caution is always good advice.

Alyson also reminded me about the latest OTP competition. It's for flash fiction and has a $35 prize.

Thanks to Vivienne Moles for this flash fiction / short story competition with a 400BGN prize (that's Bulgarian lev, as if you didn't know!) If you can't write, don't bother with this one, as AI isn't allowed.

Free entry competition result

Earlier this year, this blog ran a competition to win a book cover design. That was won by Elizabeth McGinty who has been in touch to show me the finished result. Isn't it pretty?

Elizabeth says, "I thought you and your followers might want to how it worked out. Needless to say I am absolutely delighted with it and hope to use it on my self published my book."

Tuesday top (guest) tip

Start small; aim high!

It’s easy to feel you need to meet the needs of others - your family, your friends – before you can make time for yourself. 

But, if you are anything like me, being creative makes you tick. So, it’s important to recognise, and encourage others to recognise, that writing is an important part of your life.

Start small: tap into opportunities to meet and write with other writers. Join online write-ins. Just for an hour. Enjoy quality time with other writers. Doing what you want to do: write! And, aim to do that every day?

Aim high: imagine escaping for a weekend to attend a writers’ retreat. By the sea …

Writing and writing and writing, in beautiful surroundings. 

Discussing the writing process, and gaining a greater understanding of how other writers write (while enjoying the view!). 

Sharing your writing and listening to that of others, and giving and receiving helpful feedback (while enjoying a cream tea!). 

Meeting new writers and forging friendship that can help your writing to progress.

Just once a year? Start small, but aim high …

This tip came from Anne Rainbow AKA ScrivenerVirgin who hosts (free) daily RedPen Write-Ins, the Wednesday Writers Creative Writing online workshops and the Hope Cove Writers’ Retreat 14-17 November 2024. 

Three free entry writing competitions

Ooops. I nearly forgot to post today - the novel I'm currently editing really is that engrossing! (It's the third in my cosy mystery series.)

Free entry writing competitions

If you're over 18 and a commonwealth citizen you can enter the commonwealth short story competition and be in with the chance of winning £2,500 if you're a regional winner or £5,000 if you're overall winner. 
I know it can see as though we'd have no chance with these big competitions, but people really do win. I've had tea and cake a couple of times with one of the previous regional winners (and also have several other very tenuous claims to fame!) 

Here's a playwriting competition with a £20,000 prize! 

The Writer's and Artists Yearbook short story competition offers and Arvon course worth £850 as its prize.

My news

I'm editing! I'm happy with how it's going, except that it's taking longer than I'd anticipated. That happens to me a lot.

I'm taking part in another of those promotions which offer readers free books, stories etc in return for signing up to the author's newsletters. This will, almost certainly, be the last one of this precise form of promotion I do.

Tuesday Top Tip!

My top tip regarding formatting, is to do as little of it as possible! Of course if the submission guidelines or competition rules request any kind of formatting, then you should do as you're asked. Other than that, just type out your work using the standard settings on for whatever word processing system you use (Word, Libre Office etc)

Anything 'fancy' you add will make the story stand out for the wrong reasons, and most likely have to be taken out again if the story is published. Editors won't thank you for the added work. There's also the risk of introducing incompatibility issues, making your work harder, or impossible to read. For example, if you pick a font which the other person's system doesn't recognise.

Oh, and don't put two spaces after a full stop!

This tip came from Patsy Collins who writes short stories and cosy crime novels. If you'd like to know more about her and her writing, take a look at her website.

Free entry writing competitions.

 Free entry competition news

Thanks to Alyson for sharing the link to this free poetry competition. There's a £100 top prize.

And thanks to Aly Rhodes for this one. As she says, it's very specific – but if you're a Green Knowe fan, that's to your advantage. Are you? I admit I'd never heard of it.

The link is a Facebook one, so in case you can't access it They're looking for a story in which Tobysmouse has an adventure. To enter: Write your story (length: any, up to 2000 words maximum)

Email your story to diana_boston@hotmail.com by 24th October 2024

Thanks to Vivienne Moles for the link to the Weird Christmas competition. It's for flash fiction up to 350 words and offers $50 for three different categories.
I've never come anywhere with this, but I like to have a try. Sometimes weird is good.

Tuesday Top Tip

Read current work in your genre

I think it's important to read the kind of thing we intend to write. Not so that we can copy it, but so we know what readers (and editors, agents, publishers etc) expect. So we know what's been overdone, where there are gaps in the market, which boundaries might be becoming more flexible.

If you wish to write for magazines, buy the issue which is in the shops now – not the one you found wrapped around Granny's china in the loft. Things change! (The image is from the October issue of Take a Break's Fiction Feast) If you want to write a book, look what at what Amazon are offering in that genre, or what's piled high just inside the bookshop door. You get the idea.

This tip came from Patsy Collins (me!) who writes short stories and cosy crime novels. If you'd like to know more about her and her writing, sign up for her newsletter here, and get a free ebook.