How to Choose the Writing Contest You WILL WIN

How to Choose the Writing Contest for You

You can read many informative articles on this subject and those articles will tell you how to choose viable writing contests. Read that here: http://www.writing-world.com/basics/win.shtml

I'm going to share experience.

Step 1: Search google for "writing contests year genre location" For example: writing contests 2012 poetry canada. Add "online submission" if you want - see how that changes your results. The more you match your writing to the contest, the better chance you have of winning. For example: Live in Winniville, Winnipeg? Try a local contest instead of competing against the highly populated US of A.

Step 2: Scroll down and eyeball the results. If you see a list of contests, open that in a new tab within the browser window. For individual contests that match your search, open them in new tabs as well.

Step 3: Check the list of contests. Open all that seem to match your style (what you have written and are ready to submit) and that have deadlines that are not expired yet.

Results of the above search includes

The Vancouvers Writers Fest 14th Annual Poetry & Short Story Contest http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/writingcontest

This contest closes in Oct 2012, but does not have online submission.

If I feel I have a chance and the winning pot is worth it ($500),

I will drive to the post office.

Step 4: Start reading through each contest and decide which ones you will submit to. Close the tabs of those you are not interested in.

Step 5: When all of the contests you are going to submit to are one Window's tabs, use your "tools" > "Internet Options" feature to make the window your "home page tabs" (use current). This is your back up for when the doorbell rings, the children begin wrestling near your fine china, or your mother calls. As writers, you will be interrupted, so you need to have a backup plan. Also, having the contests imbedded in your window tabs means the next time you open your browser, the first thing you'll see is NOT facebook, NOT MSN, but what you really need to spend your time on... your writing.

Step 6: Keep the list, make a plan to free up time for submitting before deadlines are over.

How to submit is coming up soon in a blog near you :)

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