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In this episode, Angela and Brian offer valuable advice on how to win writing contests, with a narrower focus on the best methods to win WritersWeekly’s Quarterly 24-Hour Short Story Contest. But first, in the “News From the Home Office” segment, listen to a run-in Brian had during a fishing trip. What would you do? Then, Angela and Brian explain how best to develop your short story for a writing contest. What are common mistakes people make? What are the most common themes that emerge when we review hundreds of stories that get submitted for each contest? Avoid those and YOUR story can stand out above the rest! Finally, listen to the 1st and 2nd place winning stories from the Spring 24-Hour Short Story Contest, read by Brian, complete with background music, and sound effects. If you love a good short story, you won’t want to miss this episode!
And, as always, we’d love to hear your comments and ideas!
Links referenced in this episode:
- 24HourShortStoryContest.com
- Male “Karens” and K9 Tornado Warnings – by Brian Whiddon, Managing Editor
- EPISODE 3: The Collapse of NaNoWriMo: What Went Wrong? (This links to YouTube. See Episode 3 further down on this page for the other platform links.)
- From WritersWeekly Short Story Contest Winner to Simon and Schuster Contract!
- Blue Lives Matter: The Heart Behind the Badge
- 1st Place! Steel Teeth by David Roberts
- 2nd Place! Intolerable Deception of the Beverage by Bobby Gass
- 3rd Place! Most Beautiful Egg in the World by Linda Fine Hunt
- Contact Brian about his horrible (British/Irish/Hackney?) accent! 😉
- All Past Contest Topics
- All Past Contest Winners along with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place stories for each contest
- “Can I use your 24-Hour Short Story writing prompts to create a book of short stories?”
- BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
- WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.
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COMMENT RECEIVED BY EMAIL:
Dear Angela,
Just want to express how much I enjoyed your podcast with Brian. I was lucky enough to win 2nd place with my story, Intolerable Deception of the Beverage, a title I worried might be too clunky at the time, but after listening to you and Brian discuss it, I feel better about it.
Brian’s reading of it was outstanding. I wrote the story with only a hazy thought of where it might be taking place, and it sounded sort of Scottish/British to me, too, so I thoroughly enjoyed Brian’s quasi-accents. The sound effects, the squeaking wheel – brilliant, and the music so enhanced it that I laughed out loud several times. I’ve never heard two people in the publishing/writing business dissect and discuss a story of mine before, and that, too, was so satisfying and rewarding, that I feel fully justified in proclaiming myself a writer.
Thank you, Angela, and thank you, Brian.
Bob Gass