Enter Writing Contests Online
© Roxianne Moore
Lately, I've been in a real writing slump. Maybe it's the summer heat, and the fact that my computer's actually been overheating (I need air-conditioning!). Or maybe it's having my six-year old son home all day. So I started looking for inspiration. None of the many books awaiting review fired my imagination. Then I started thinking: contests!
Monthly contests with a wide variety of themes are sponsored by many magazines, newsletters and other organizations. Some of them just might spark an idea. And even if you don't enter the contest, you're writing something new. And, in the end, that's all that matters.
Inscriptions, a free newsletter for writers, sponsors a monthly contest with varying themes. The top prize is a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com. The July contest that just ended had a humor theme. The Website also lists writing contests sponsored by various magazines.
Writer's Market.com sponsors 24-Hour Short Story contests. You enter ahead of time, then on the day of the contest, you're e-mailed the topic. You've got 24 hours to come up with an award-winning short story. The first prize is $100, plus a one-year subscription to The Write Markets Report, a one-year deluxe membership in the Freelance Writer's National Network, and publication of winning story on the National Writer's Monthly website.. Even if you don't win one of the top three prizes, door prizes such as books and software are awarded to randomly selected entrants. Entry fee is $5.
Inkspot.com has an extensive list of short fiction and poetry contests.
The True Wit Writing Contest page lists contests of a very different nature. Here, you'll find quirky essay contests with prizes like video games, $50 gift certificates, and T-shirts. If you believe you can write about absolutely anything - from ecology to creative uses for polystyrene packaging - these contests might be right up your alley.
More essay contests can be found at The Virtually Yours Guide to Essay Contests. Some of the prizes here are truly impressive. How about a 36 acre farm in Lancaster County, PA? Several of the contests offer homes, cars and even businesses, all for writing an essay. Of course, the entry fees are higher than your usual $5 per entry. Most run $100 to $150, though some specify that most of the fee will be returned if not enough entries are received.
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