A burning question many aspiring writers often torture themselves with is: Do I have the necessary talent required to be a writer?
I believe everyone who has a genuine desire to write has the raw ingredients to be a writer. The difficult part is recognising your creative potential.
Writing is an art and a craft. If you want to write a novel or screenplay that other people are going to want to read, you have to learn how to craft your story from beginning to end.
The most important scene in a story is the first one, the most important page is the the first and again the most important sentence is the first.
In fiction, particularly commercial fiction, the most important thing is to keep your reader turning the pages. This is what the art and craft of writing fiction is all about.
If a story doesn’t create dramatic tension from page one, then most agents, publishers and general readers will quickly lose interest. Actually making it happen on the page is the big challenge.
Every writer needs to find their unique voice and what it is about their story that makes it stand out.
Your story will have its best chance of finding its audience if you are aware of what genre your story fits into and what your readers’ expectations are. Bearing in mind, the fiction world is divided into roughly two segments: literary fiction and commercial/genre fiction.
Congratulations to our Prize Winners and to all those who entered.
We were thrilled with both the quality and number of entries we received.
Our Judge, Zahid Gamieldien has awarded the top 3 entries as per below.
Congratulations, William, Brid & Alexander.
Our Annual Short Story Competition for 2023 is now open for entries!
Please read all instructions before submitting an Entry.
– Entries must be between 1500 words and a maximum of 2500 words.
– Short Story Theme: Open
Deadline: 5pm on Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Listed below are upcoming competitions that you might like to enter. They are listed by submission closing date, not when the competition is open.
Please read all instructions and entry requirements.
Congratulations to our Prize Winners and to all those who entered.
We were thrilled with both the quality and number of entries we received.
Our Judge, Zahid Gamieldien has awarded the top 3 entries as per below.
Congratulations, Zachary, Cassie & Laura.
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