Category Archives: Writing Contests

Kickstarting success!

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UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011: I actually ended up raising a total of $130, thanks to a few last-minute backers. Sweet!

It worked! After hustling friends, family and total strangers for a little over a week, I am proud to say I’ve reached my modest $120 goal with my Kickstarter fund, and will be officially participating in this year’s 3-Day Novel Contest.

The Arthur Dent Method, not to be confused with the Lester Dent Method (photo by Laurie Sparham, © Touchstone Pictures, via IMDb)

As mentioned in my previous post, the goal was to see if I could raise enough money to pay for the contest’s entry fee ($55), as well as a bit of additional cash to pay for my writing fuel (i.e. food and drinks with plenty of caffeine) over this 3-day novel-writing marathon. I’ve officially raised the $120 I asked for, so my project is going to be funded as of August 31. Of course, if you still want to support my dirty, filthy writing habit — as well as pin down a chance to name one of the characters in my story! — you can still donate any amount to the cause. $25 pledges net you a character name, while $5 pledges will get you access to my behind-the-scenes blog that will be updated during the contest.

Thanks to each and every one of my backers, who’ve made this crazy dream possible. While $120 may not seem like a lot of money, I’m really impressed by the people who read my description of the novel I intend to write and decided to back it. Not everyone wants to take a chance on art, you know? And while there are tons of different campaigns on Kickstarter (and IndieGoGo, and lots of other fundraising sites popping up daily), I’m happy to know that my campaign managed to catch the eye of a few people who don’t even know me, who were willing to help fund to a total stranger’s goal. That, to me, is the greatest thing about Kickstarter and other fundraising websites.

Now that my 3-Day Novel’s funding is secured, it’s time to write up an outline! As mentioned in my Fuel Your Writing piece, “The 3-Day Novel Contest: One Writer’s Experience,” outlines are invaluable to the 3-Day Novelist — even though they’ll most likely fall by the wayside once you get started. I’ve been reading an excellent article on the subject of outlining genre fiction (“How to Write a Book in 3 Days: Lessons from Michael Moorcock”), and plan to use the Lester Dent method (not to be confused with the Arthur Dent method…) this year to keep things moving forward at a steady pace. Mad props to Hugo Vaillancourt for recommending this piece!

New writing contests featured at Black Heart

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For those looking for writing contests, there’s a doozy of a revenge fiction contest up now at Spinetingler. I’ve decided to add a new section to Black Heart entitled “Writing Contest of the Week” to gather up some of my faves, and they’re the first victims of my enthusiasm, so g’wan and check it out already.

And, if you’re so inclined, remember there’s a Dzanc Books Creative Writing Sessions special on now, with writing critiques for the broke-ass ($20 for 1 hour = amazing!). If you tell ‘em Black Heart Magazine sent ya, we’ll get one free hour to share with our readers and you’ll be entered in the draw. So tell ‘em! And then tell us!

I’ll be posting new contests every Monday morning over at Black Heart, to help all my writing pals kick the week off right, so ready your button-tapping fingers, your keyboard and your coffee machine of choice. And, for even MORE writing contests and related news, be sure to sign up for my newsletter, the next installment of which is poised to go out later this week.

2010: Time for a Short Story Challenge

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I’m constantly debating with myself whether or not it’s worthwhile to enter writing contests, since I hate paying the entry fees when I have no idea how many potential contestants I’m actually up against. It seems a bit unfair not to know your odds. I mean, even people playing the lottery can at least envision their one-in-10-million chances and decide for themselves whether it’s worth the buck or two to just go for it. Should short story writers not receive the same courtesy when they’re gambling?

Anyway, mostly I guess it comes down to two things: the cost of the entry fee and the amount of potential prize money. While NYC Midnight’s Short Story Challenge 2010 is a bit costly to enter ($49 US), it does offer a potentially meaty prize of $1,250 for the first place winner, plus $500 for second, $250 for third and $100 for fourth. Not bad, right? You could at the very least double your money if you took fourth place, so that seems pretty good. It’s just too bad they don’t offer you some kind of a freebie for signing up, so at least you could get something positive out of the experience if you lose. Y’know, a nice “How to Write Short Stories” e-book or some such? All the cool kids are doing it, after all. Just look at the recent Funds For Writers annual contest, where contestants could choose between NO entry fee or a $5 fee with the potential to win some helpful Tweetebooks. Now that’s news you can use.

But back to the NYC Midnight contest: If you’re interested in signing up, the deadline to mail in your payment is coming up fast. Wednesday, January 13 is the last day to register, and there are plenty of rules you’ll have to read too, so get cracking!