I’ve been recently using writing contests to finish short stories. I’ve always got a dozen or so half-finished stories rattling around in my laptop. And yes, that is my hard drive, and I am happy to be writing.
Choosing a half-written story to enter into a contest is a great way to get some closure. I finished two short stories recently to enter into this contest I told you about. They were micro-fiction stories I wrote for an event at a local Chicagland public library. I was invited to write to some paintings as artistic prompts for the event. I wrote two micro-fiction stories and one poem. I liked the two mini-stories enough that I expanded them from micro-fiction to fuller stories, but I left both under 1000 words to fit the contest rules. And really, how much more can I write about talking peaches in one of the stories? I could only enter once, so I chose the talking peach story to enter. Duh! There’s still time for you to submit a story. Under 1000 words. Just sayin’.
Anyway, both stories are now in good shape to include in my next collection of short stories. But my first self-published collection of short stories remains unfinished in my mind. It has been only available in digital form and has never been printed. Well, I am determined that the second edition will be available in print. A writing acquaintance advised me that a print version is vital to the success of a book. So, I am re-editing all 16 stories prior to formatting for a printed second edition, including a fantasy story set in a dystopian future.
In parallel, I stumbled across this contest.
Yes, it is that L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology. Do I still want my fantasy story included in that collection? Yes, please. Take a look at over 2000 reasons.
The odds of me winning a cash prize are slim, although I do really like the story I will submit. The real prize for me is the re-edit of the story for a second edition of my book. It gets me one story closer to being finished and ready to print.
Here’s the website for the quarterly contest. This quarter’s contest is here. Click here for full rules. Finally, enter here. Whew! Exhausting.
I did some research on Scientology to make sure my story would not be summarily rejected. There is some light profanity in my story, but it turns out that Scientologists are cool with cursing. Hell, yeah! And my story also references doctors and healers, but it turns out that Scientologists are accepting of most medical practices outside of psychiatry and psychology. So, don’t let the Scientology affiliation keep you from entering. Dust off an old sci-fi/fantasy story or write a new one, and Cruise on over to the web links provided above and get entered.
Jim Flanigan Looks at the World 