Let's Talk Writing Archives -

I’m in the middle of the summer Writing Battle nanofiction competition. So, I thought it would be a good time to talk about writing competitions. My experience is limited as I haven’t entered a variety of competitions. I got started writing through the Rooglewood Fairytale contest, and started participating in writing battle in autumn of last year. So, I can’t speak to different kinds of writing contests, but I did want to talk about the benefits of writing contests.

Some people are hesitant to join writing contests because it costs money, and chances are you won’t win. But, if you look at it as a method of improving your writing skills, you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Writing contests vary greatly in most aspects, but the two constants are a time and word limits. Having a specific time limit to submit a story forces you to write fast. Though stressful at the time, the pressure is great for forcing you out of writer’s block. The word limit reallly makes you think about every word, and trains you to look for unnecessary words and to pick strong words. This habit then carries over to revisions in your other writing.

Most writing contests will also provide feedback. Critique groups are wonderful because you get to know each other’s writing. But, writing contests give you the opportunity to get feedback from people who are judging solely on that piece of writing. They don’t know if this is your first time trying a new point of view, or genre. They don’t know if your description is much better than it was six months ago. You also don’t have a personal relationship with them that could color their opinions.

Writing Battle is unique in that participants are also judges. So you give and get ten pieces of peer feedback. I find that giving the feedback is just as beneficial as receiving it. When I look closely at others writing, I often find myself critiquing errors I make myself. Knowing peers will be looking at it makes me look at my writing and think about what I would say about it. Again, that carries over to my other writing.

So you think your ready to join a writing contest? Here are some you might find of interest:

Writing Battle

Twist in the Tale – Writing Competitions

Writers’ Playground (writersplaygroundllc.com)

nycmidnight

Nicole’s Nook is primarily a book blog. But, I also want to occasionally include some writing “talk”. I’m going to start out today by talking about the importance of finding writing groups.

By nature, writing is a solo activity. That’s why it’s so important to find your writing people. When I started writing, I didn’t talk about it. Then, I got an honorable mention in a writing contest, and told people close to me. After that, my mom spotted a sign at Barnes & Noble about a writing group. That then lead me to two other local writing groups. It’s very hard to make that first leap and put yourself out there. But it’s worth it. Here are some of the reasons aspiring writers should consider joining a writing group.

accountablility– it is very easy to find ways to procrastinate, but if you know you’re going to be meeting with other people who will ask how you’re writing is going, you’re much more likely to write
critiques– it’s one thing to have family and friends read your writing, but if they’re not writers themselves, it’s hard to get quality feedback. Fellow writers want you to improve and aren’t worried about hurting your feelings, like friends and family.
resources: other writers are great “resources for resources”, they can recommend classes, conferences, books, magazines and web sites to improve your writing.
presentations: most writing groups have guest speakers. They may not always apply to your writing, but it still expands your knowledge.

In conclusion, if you are interested in writing, finding other writers is essential. If there aren’t any writing groups in your area, there are plenty of forums and resources online as well.

Category: Let’s Talk Writing

Let’s Talk Writing: Competitions

Let’s Talk Writing: Find Your Group