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Story competition for me, low confidence though.
I am so tempeted. I just clicked back into this site recently and on the off chance clicked opportunites and my local writing group (bridgend) has a competition going!
Wow!
I have low confidence however because I've only recently picked up the pace on my writing and re-written some stories. I'm sure they'll be better more experience writers than me who havn't been lazy or mentally enagaged elsewhere for years. (anxiety issues, work stress)
But I'm excited as it's local to me.
Advice appreciated, no doubt some here will enter?
Saying that I don't want to win the first prize, can't get there.
Comments
OK, the chances of you winning aren't great as lots of other people will enter, but does that matter? Getting an entry together and sending it in is a good goal.
(and good luck)
Good luck, Jen.
You've got to be in it to win it.
Not only that but
any spur to get you writing is good, and all those other writers are probably just as self-effacing, or perhaps they're all too busy to enter.
SO DO IT! and good luck. x
[-X
Competitions are good for the same reason they are bad - you never get to hear why you didn't reach the long/shortlist or win a prize. On the positive side, you don't have to read why somebody thought the story wasn't good enough, which can really dent your confidence. On the downside, you don't get to hear what area(s) you need to work on to stand a better chance next time.
The hidden benefit of competitions (and, I suppose, any kind of submission) is that your story is taken away for a few weeks or months. You should use this time to work on something else, and try not to even think about the story that's 'out there' (certainly don't look at it while the judging's taking place). Once the results are announced, even if you haven't scored a result, chances are you'll be much better placed to see the story in a new light, and you'll have a far better idea of how to improve it.
Never, ever give up.
I sense that you are excited about having a go. There's absolutely nothing stopping you dipping your toe back into the water.Treat it as an exercise -and when the judging is over, have a look at the winning piece and use it positively as an example to emulate next time. You can always hone your original version to make it better and resubmit somewhere else.
But, you never know, you might get shortlisted or even walk away with first prize. Go on... Do it!