Writing Competitions

I found the first writing competiotion that I am going to enter. I really wasn't sure how to decide what to enter or even where to find something I thought was legitimate. Then I thought about the fact that I like Writer's Digest magazine and checked their website. I am happy to say that they have several different writing competitions to choose from: Popular Fiction, Short, Short Story, Poetry, Self-Published Books and Your Story.

Here is the link if anyone is interseted in entering any of the contests: http://www.writersdigest.com/competitions

I am going to enter the Popular Fiction contest. They have five categories to chooses from - Romance, Mystery/Crime Fiction, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Suspense and Horror. I can enter in all five categories or choose just one or two. I think that's pretty cool. I'm not sure which category I will enter. I'm going to write the story first and then enter under the approriate category. I can say in all certainty that I won't be entering anything under Horror or Science Fiction/Fantasy, though. I just know that I won't write anything that turns out to be a horror flick on paper. The likelihood that I'd write anything SciFi that I felt confident enough to turn in is pretty null, as well.

The deadline for this contest is November 1, 2010, which is plenty of time. Thank Goodness. The challenge in completing this story entry is that the maximum amount of words allowed is 4,000. I write novel-length stories! The one I just finished is 135,908 words. Granted, it needs some serious revision and editing, but still; you see the challenge 4,000 words presents me. I'm going to do it, though. I'm going to create a 4,000 word story that has a beginning, middle and end. I'm going to make sure it's solid and that I'm proud to put my name on it and make sure it's entered on time. I'm nervous about this but I'm excited about it, too.