Often, but not always, it is stated in competition guidelines that only a certain genre of writing is to be accepted. It could be sci-fi and fantasy for example. If the genre requested is not your usual style

‘Could have benefited from another read through.’ ‘Needs more work.’ Competition judges often use both of these phrases. In fact, I don’t think that

When a competition is announced it can be tempting for writers, especially new ones, to simply flick through their supply of stories and select one that seems to fit the requirements. Then, with little more than a cursory re-read, they put it in an envelope and send it off.

Follow the guidelines – This sounds like a really basic statement, and in reality it is, but I expect most readers would be shocked if they heard just how many stories don’t get put in front of a judge purely because this point is ignored.

It occurred to me yesterday that since I’m holding the 2011 ‘First Line’ short story writing competition, with it’s deadline in June, now might be a great time to cover some writing tips relevant to entering competitions.