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The Contest Conundrum: What Are Flash Fiction Contest Judges Looking For?
By LuAnn Schindler
If you've ever entered one of our contests or are thinking about entering, this article takes you behind the scenes of a flash fiction critique. With the permission of a flash fiction writer, we share a sample story and walk you through the critique process. You'll see how judges score entries, examine content components such as universal story pattern, and what they look for in technical aspects. Learn by example from this article, and then get to work crafting your flash fiction! READ MORE>>
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Fresh News Daily From The Muffin |  |
Tuesdays are contest winner interview days! Learn from other flash fiction writers and find out what inspires their stories. Visit The Muffin for daily writing inspiration.
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Deadline: June 8th!
Enter your first three chapters here.
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The results are in!
WINTER 2011 FLASH FICTION CONTEST WINNERS |
Greetings!
We're pleased to announce the results of the Winter 2011 Flash Fiction Contest!
For those of you who have been waiting on pins and needles, we appreciate your patience. What a pleasure it's been to read the stories of so many talented writers. Our guest judges did not have an easy time. The diversity of the stories in style, genre, and structure led to careful deliberation.
This season was particularly hard to judge. Every story on the winners' page scored a "15," which is our highest score. We even had many other 15s that didn't make the cut, so if you receive a critique that says you scored a 15, that's not a mistake. Your story was that good. Unfortunately, we could only have 20 stories place.
A big thank you goes to our guest judge, literary agent Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency, for her time and effort spent choosing this season's top winners.
Results: So, without further ado, let's read the winning stories! Visit the Winter 2011 Flash Fiction Contest Winners' Page.
Critiques: If you purchased a critique for the Winter '11 contest, you should receive an email with your critique attached as a Microsoft Word .doc before the end of the month (within a week and a half). They are being sent out one at a time by our contest manager, Anne, anne@wow-womenonwriting.com.
Spring 2011 Contest: Don't forget the Spring 2011 Flash Fiction Contest ends this month, May 31st. So dig out those stories and send them on in! We're only 1/3 full, so your chances are excellent.
Enjoy!
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Winter 2011 Flash Fiction Contest Winners Announced!
Drum roll...  Congratulations goes to everyone who entered the Winter '11 Flash Fiction Contest. All of your entries were incredible this round, and our esteemed guest judge, literary agent Elaine Spencer, did not have an easy job! But with her expertise, she dutifully picked the winners.
I know you've all been waiting patiently, so here's the results!
- 1st Place Winner: Other and Together by Caroline Trent-Gurbuz
- 2nd Place Winner: The Unexpected Burden of Hope by D.L. Diener
- 3rd Place Winner: Chance Encounters by Judy Beaston
7 Runners Up (in no particular order):
- The Search by Dana Leipold
- Cropping by Christine Sandoval
- The Burr Oak by Molly Van Norman
- Unnamed by Gayle Beveridge
- Pink Lipsticked Lips by Serena Helriot
- Pigeon Poo-etry by Tiffany Carboni
- The Anniversary Waltz by Jeff Cohen
Read the Top 10 Winners' stories in our contest feature!
10 Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):
- Things I Think About in the Afternoon by Sonja Vitow
- A Girl in the Gibbous Moon by Grier Jewell
- The Triumph of Pasta by Sabine Sur
- Watching, Waiting by Jan Berkeley
- Ripe by Kim Haas
- Butterfly Woman by Michael G. Robertson
- Searching for a Unicorn by A.W. Gryphon
- Sheep Boy by Karen Wojcik Berner
- The Secret by Patricia J. Warren
- The 7:33 to Grand Central by Erica Bauman
Congratulations to all the winners! And congratulations to everyone who hit the send button. We know it's not easy, but each season provides a rebirth of opportunity!
So, go on already! Read the stories here.
Notes: As we mentioned above, if you purchased a critique for the Winter '11 contest, you will receive your critique before the end of the month. If you haven't received your critique in a couple of weeks (make sure you check your bulk mail), please send us an e-mail and we'll resend.
Prizes: All prizes this season are digital, so we will be sending gift cards, e-books, and cash prizes electronically next week. Thank you!
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Spring 2011 Flash Fiction Contest
 Deadline: May 31, 2011 (Midnight, Pacific Time)
Guest Judge: Literary Agent Sarah Lapolla
About Sarah: Sarah Lapolla began at Curtis Brown in 2008, working with Dave Barbor and Peter Ginsberg. Sarah is interested in literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, science fiction, literary horror, and young adult fiction. She loves complex characters, coming-of-age stories, and strong narrators. Sarah graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Writing and English, and went on to receive her MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She is always on the lookout for debut authors and welcomes email submissions.
To learn more about the Curtis Brown agency, please visit www.curtisbrown.com.
Open Prompt
Word Count: 750 Max; 250 Min
Limit: 300 Entries
Note: We are only 1/3 full! We need more entries to make this a competition.
Don't wait until the last minute! Enter today. Visit the Contest Page and download the terms & conditions ebook (PDF). Good luck!
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We hope you enjoy reading all the wonderful stories that these ladies put their hearts into writing. Congratulations goes out to each and every one of you.
Whatever you do, never give up. Follow your dreams and go for the writing gold!
Write on!
Angela, Anne & Team WOW!
WOW! Women On Writing
Writer's Digest 101 Best Sites for Writers 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
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