If you’ve earned more than £300 from a short story don’t read on….
Seriously, don’t.
Nottingham Writers Club Short Story Competition is not for you. It’s for anyone who’s thought: I don’t stand a chance because only experienced writers will win.
Nottingham Writers Club want to encourage new writers to ‘have a go’ so they are saying very clearly they don’t want to hear from professionals. And by professionals they mean anyone who has earned £300 or more from short story writing up to and including 2016.
Nothing fuzzy about that – no need to ponder, do I/don’t I fit in?
I like Nottingham Writers Club already. I like them even more because they will give a few lines of feedback on each entry.
That is gold dust.
That is what you pay mentors for and why you enrol in creative writing courses. Someone you don’t know and, even better, you won’t even have to meet face-t0-face, will give their opinion. In other words, they don’t have to be nice.
So…what if you enter and Nottingham Writers Club tell you politely (I expect them to be polite. Everything I know about them tells me they are good people; they are not out to destroy you), that your story stinks.
You can
a) decide that their opinion isn’t worth the paper an email isn’t printed on: they are simply wrong. Plenty of writers and artists have ignored expert opinion and gone on to produce works of sheer genius. It’s what happens if you break outside of the box – those of us still in the box think you are crazy
b) Absorb it. Take Samuel Beckett’s words to heart: fail, fail again, fail better and accept the criticism as part of your writing apprenticeship. Plenty of writers and artists have suffered severe criticism, leaned valuable lessons from it and went on to produce works of sheer genius.
Another reason I like Nottingham Writers Club is the theme they have set: Food and Drink. So many stories are told across a dinner table…so many relationships defined by the number of roast potatoes on a plate…or glimpses of family life captured by the food in the freezer from Co-Op own brand fish fingers to a pair of grouse left over from last season (do you freeze grouse?)
And that’s before we even start on drink…
The story must contain no more than 2,000 words (excluding the title).
Fees:
Postal Entries: £5 for one entry, £10 for two and £4 each for three or more entries. There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit but each one must be accompanied by its own entry form. Fees to be paid by cheque or postal order, made payable to ‘Nottingham Writers’ Club’. Please don’t send cash.
Online Entries: £6 for one, £12 for two and £5 each for three or more. Fees to be paid by credit/debit card or PayPal. (The additional charge covers the cost of transaction fees and printing.)
Prizes:
£200, £100 and £50 – plus five runners up prizes.
The competition opens today, February 1st 2017, and the last day for entries is February 28th 2017.
For more details click here.
Good luck and keep writing.
4 comments on “If you’ve earned more than £300 from a short story don’t read on….”
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Reblogged this on Kate McClelland.
Thanks Kate
Pingback: A short story competition for new writers | The Proof Angel
Reblogged this on lorettalivingstone and commented:
A short story competiton for you. This seems well worth a look.