Contests and Challenges
Have you ever submitted a piece of your writing to a contest? Or entered a challenge such as NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) or the National Poetry month? And if you have, what came of the effort? Entering a contest or challenge can motivate you to keep writing.
My first two poetry publications happened because of a contest. A third poem took honourable mention and was published in another anthology. Those were exciting moments when I was a relatively new writer. It let me know that someone appreciated my poetic voice. Still another contest brought me to the top 60 of the entries in a postcard story contest. It took courage to submit, and it was encouraging to receive those new credits and notes.
What if you enter but don’t win? Is it worth the risk? Of course it’s worth it. When you didn’t see your name on the winner’s list or you didn’t see your story published, did you realize there’s room to improve? Perhaps,after the initial disappointment, it increased your motivation to keep working at the craft.
It doesn’t mean you have to enter every contest or challenge that comes along. There are websites where you can seek out reputable contests, such as in
Canadian Writers’ Contest Calendar and
Writer’s Digest.
Writers’ organizations will sometimes host a contest looking for new voices. The website for Canadian Writer’s Contest Calendar states: “A number of the awards programs exist for publishers, not authors, to submit their books for competition. These contests usually have prestige and cash attached to them.”
Payment will often be involved, but not always. Judges who believe in a contest need compensation for their time. But be wary of a fraudulent letter that requires you to pay for a book with your poem in it, or a plaque with your poem on it, and also to appear on a stage somewhere to read it. Most contests will not request such things. Always check the source.
In the 2022 July/August edition of Writer’s Digest, you can read the winning poem, “The Old Ones,” by Julie Novak-McSweeney, along with a short interview with the author. The interviewer asked the poet, “Has anything changed for you as a writer since winning the award? The winner claimed it had, that now she’s taking her writing much more seriously. “Winning the award motivated me to work again on my first book of poems and to submit to contests and publications.”
Sometimes publication is the only reward, but that’s worth the effort. Whether you win or not, you’re sharing your work, and that by itself can motivate you to keep writing. Consider contests and challenges, fine tune your story or poem, then submit exactly as the instructions require.
Best wishes and keep on writing!
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