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Friday 14 October 2016

Tips For Submit Short Stories Contest

By Peter Wilson


Learning how to write a novel begins with writing short stories. This is because they do not require as much time and space as the novels do. A typical story is between 200 to 6000 words while a novel is more than this. The more time you spend on a piece of prose, the more you deviate from the short story concept. It should not take you more than 50 hours to submit short stories for a competition.

The first thing you should write about is the premise. The premise is a line or two that kicks off what the writer wants to write about. If the premise is not lengthy and yet succeeds in informing the reader the major lesson in the writing, then the writer is likely to win in his contest. The idea in the premise should be consistent especially with the end of the prose.

Before you start writing your prose, it is important to get your materials ready. Your pencil, note book, biros, dictionary, a comfortable table, chair and anything else to make you comfortable. Organize your ideas and get to work as soon as you can.

Ideas to your story may not come the time you want it. Actually, inspirations for your short story can be gotten anytime. Once your mind is made up to do this, you are encouraged to carry along a pen and jotter where you can note any idea that comes your way. By having many of them, you can come up with a summarized writing that can win a prize.

Another thing to bear in mind is the characters of the story. Choose your characters and define them by their actions. When defining the characters, it is not good to give them roles that counter their underlying premise. For example, if you have initially defined a character as one that fights corruption, it will be wrong to give him a role that shows he takes bribe without remorse.

When you write a small story with several scenes, you are already plotting your own failure. The events in this kind of story should take place within a limited period. It may be about what happened in the winter season or how a girl succeeded in her final year exams.

Also think about the narrator of the story. Narrators of stories may be first person, second person or third person. In first person narration, the writer of the story is the narrator who gives a breakdown of events while in the second person style, the reader is considered as one of the characters. Third person narration enables the writer to explore the thoughts of his characters even though this is also risky if done improperly as the reader may not know the character to focus on at the point where he becomes confused.

It is awkward to let your fears prevent you from writing. Every expert once had the same experience of not knowing how to start and the only way they overcame was by writing something down even if it meant editing it later. Only make sure your first line can grab attention and the rest of the matter becomes easier.




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