I am a storyteller, building worlds, creating characters who cry and laugh. I cut words, agonize over punctuation, and labor for hours to find just the right (optimum, perfect) word. Until finally, I triumphantly type “The End,” only to file my story away, afraid to share it with anyone.

I needed to get my stories out into the world and decided to send them to writing contests. Sometimes I would stumble upon a contest announcement in a newsletter or a writing-friend would mention a contest that they have seen or entered. 

Some had a theme or specific subject and I would say to myself, “Self, that story you wrote about ‘the person with the thing in the place,’ could work for this contest.” If it was a contest that provided a specific prompt I created new characters and places, a whole new story.

I needed to “get used to” nonacceptance letters, also known as NALs. (I refuse to use the word rejection ) I needed to “get used to” my writing being not quite ready, not quite right for that publication, or not quite [insert your own word here….but be positive].

I have sent stories to many, many contests and magazines over the past couple of years and I have received many, many NALs. To my dismay, I have not become “used to” receiving the NALs. They still sting; they will always sting. But I have learned a few things.

1. Writing contests come with deadlines

Be prepared to concentrate all your efforts on that story. You may have to set aside your other writing, especially 1-2 weeks/days/hours before the deadline. 

For one of my first contest submissions, I rushed to finish a story, submitting just minutes before the deadline. But alas, I clicked on the wrong file. I didn’t just send them the wrong version of the correct story, I sent the first draft of a different, unfinished manuscript. 

When I realized what I had done a few weeks later, it was too late to make any changes. (I am sure they appreciated my $$ donation to their association.)

I learned I needed a personal deadline, 1 or 2 days before the actual submission date. If there is time, I set the completed story aside for a few days and then come back and read it with fresh eyes. Some contests are not conducive to this, such as the NYC Midnight Challenges. They give you a prompt and a brisk turnaround time.

(FYI: Deadlines also apply to articles. For instance, I did not have enough time to submit this article to my support group. I know it would have been a much better article if they could have reviewed it with me. Which leads me to item #2…)

2. Support/Critique Groups

Use them! Let them know you have a deadline coming up. Ask them to read your story. Be sure that you give them ample time to provide proper feedback that you can implement.

During the last NYC Challenge I entered, I met with three other participants two days after we had received our prompts. We spent 15 minutes brainstorming each other’s ideas. Then, I submitted a draft of the “finished” story to my critique group, revised it from their feedback, then resubmitted, twice, to ONE person (from the same critique group), revised from the feedback, and FINALLY submitted to the contest. 

I did this over an eight-day time frame. It was extremely stressful and very rewarding. (I am still awaiting the results.) I cannot say enough about creating a great support system.

3. Read the formatting requirements carefully

Contest judges read many, many stories. No matter how good your story may be if they must squint or reformat your story, you are already at a disadvantage. Make sure that they can relax and enjoy your story. If you send it incorrectly spaced, with spelling errors or incorrect fonts, it could quickly be tossed into the digital trash can. 

Make sure your tenses are correct and you don’t slip out of the correct POV. One of the members of my support system is excellent at noticing this.

Watch the word count, maximum and minimum. I keep the number at the top of my manuscript. It is okay to be over the word count in the first couple of drafts. In fact, I recommend it. I find it way easier to reduce words than add them in. But for the final version, stick to the word count.

4. Enter writing contests that give feedback

It is very important to have a good critique group, but they know you and love you. They have read a lot of your stories and sometimes it is hard for them to be unbiased.

Some writing contests will give small critiques as an included perk. Other contests offer the service for a small reading fee. I have found feedback from someone who does not know my writing to be very insightful and eye-opening. 

A word to the wise: With all critiques, keep an open mind and use what works for you and your story.

5. Do not give up when you don’t win

I wrote a short story during a DIY MFA program and had it critiqued through the program, eventually filing it away and working on other projects. Then I stumbled upon a contest. “Self,” I said, “that story you wrote about Clara and the Savoy and a cat would work for this contest.” 

I opened the file, blew the virtual dust motes off, and rewrote it. I sent it to my critique group. We spent uncountable hours cutting and adding words, deleting characters, and changing locations.

I submitted the story to twelve writing contests and magazines. Some said, “no thank-you,” others told me they liked the story, but it was not a fit “at this time.” (What does that even mean?!) 

I got wonderful feedback from the contests. I paid for some; some were unsolicited. I received 11 NALs and they all stung. (Obviously something you never “get used to”) 

Never, ever give up.

One contest that I entered was the Writer’s Digest Short Story contest. It received an honorable mention. They did not wad my story into a tiny little ball and toss it in the trash. Someone liked it, maybe they didn’t love it, but they liked it.

Now what?!? I’m glad you asked. Carol Van Den Hende wrote a wonderful article that helps answer this very question.

Brenda loves writing short fiction and is working on her first novel. 2023 is the third year of her monthly newsletter – Thru the Window.

All her life she wanted to be a veterinarian and took all the right science classes in high school. But, her favorite class was English 300. The teacher was a poet, who loved Shakespeare, and gave funky, fun assignments for creative writing. She struggled through first-year university, her grades in organic chemistry were less than stellar, but her marks in Canadian Lit were awesome. It was suggested that she pursue an English degree and be a teacher. She quit university.

Fast forward. She signed up for a snail-mail writing course and wrote on and off, mostly stories about pets that had crossed the rainbow bridge. She got married, had two children and ran a successful consulting business with her husband.

Fast forward again. During a monster house move she wrote a blog with photos to send to people who wanted to know how the relocation was going. She found a Canadian self-directed writing course and then signed up for their mentored course.

Fast forward some more. She found DIY MFA 101 run by the awesome Gabriela Pereria and her team. She finished the self-directed course DIY MFA 101, signed up for P2P, and completed two sessions of the Small Group Coaching. She is a loyal “Word Nerd.”

Find more info on her website, or check out her newsletter.

The post #5onFri: Five Things I Learned by Entering Writing Contests appeared first on DIY MFA.

We’re four women who’ve never met and possibly never will. (Secretly we hope this will change.) Two live in Canada, one in the USA, and one in Morocco. We share three husbands, four ex-husbands, seven children, two grandchildren, and five dogs.

Yet we have nothing in common.

Brenda writes Canadiana literary fiction and speculative short stories. Liz writes speculative fiction and fantasy rooted in hope and community. Soleah writes contemporary fantasy full of legends and folklore. Janet writes short stories and social justice romance novels.

Discovering our Writing Identities

Brenda’s origin story:

I wanted to be a veterinarian. First year calculus changed that dream in short order. A counselor suggested I switch to Canadian Literature. I asked what career this would get me and was told I could be a teacher (HARD PASS). I was not informed about other options: advertising, journalism, or writing. 

I quit the university. 

I became a licensed optician, got married, had children, and adopted many, many pets. My husband and I are partners in a successful consulting business. While my children were little, I took a snail-mail writing course. It was cumbersome and slow; I never finished. I started writing pet obituaries and sent them to friends and family. 

Unknowingly, I had created my first blog. I wrote my second blog to keep folks informed when we moved our house. This was so well received, I signed up and completed a self-directed writing course, then did a mentored course with the same group. I learned a lot but found this writing community too “Zen.” I wanted a more vibrant and fun writing community. 

Liz’s origin story:

I’ve always loved stories, whether words on a page or pictures on a screen. My grandparents hugely impacted my tastes, from folktales and mythologies to watching hours of Perry Mason and Murder She Wrote. 

I blame my love of science fiction and androids on my dad, a fan of Star Trek and Star Wars. My interest in writing began when I saw Where the Red Fern Grows in first grade. It was so sad that I rewrote it and added a girl like me. Next, Edgar Allan Poe caught my young heart. Poetry became my next adventure well into college. 

Then all my words dried up. I dove into painting, theater, black-and-white photography, and even stained glass. My double degree in International Communication and Spanish led me to Spain, then back to California. In a twist of fate, I used both degrees as an intern at E! Entertainment Television. I worked in the industry for five years, writing and producing for television. 

This reignited my love of writing. In my spare time while having a family, I’d find myself writing bits and pieces of stories. After years of starts and stops, I finally finished my first novel.

Soleah’s origin story: 

When I was eight, I started dabbling in poetry. I thought in rhymes and wrote in French. My father, my number one fan, was so proud that he got one of my poems, “Coquillage,” published in a Moroccan national newspaper. At eleven, I wrote fairy tales, long gone now, except for two. At thirteen, I started a romance novel. I loved Kathleen E. Woodiwiss; I read all her books. The only way to get more was to write one. A family friend was even ready to publish it. 

Unfortunately, my manuscript didn’t go further than two chapters. It still lies in a drawer—the only regret of my life. I replaced fiction with academic articles…until a low point in life forced me to pour my broken heart onto paper. 

My first (therapeutic) four-hundred-page novel was born. I found it brilliant. It was a mess. An editor loved the premise but hated the writing. Although the publishing company passed on my manuscript, it did have potential. This time, I didn’t give up.

Janet’s origin story:

In 2^nd grade I had to write a poem and was blown away that the stuff in books could come from me. My 5^th grade teacher mimeographed my mysteries for the class. I was torn between being a writer or a lawyer like Nancy Drew’s father. In 6^th grade, I wrote the first of three mystery “novels.” In 9^th grade, my mother gave me a Smith Corona typewriter with instructions to practice for an office job. 

I used it to start a gothic novel. 

Then I quit writing to chase boys. In early college, I wrote poetry when I was sad, but I’d long lost any self-identification as writer. I dropped out of school and worked as a receptionist. I met the most magical invention, a Selectric typewriter, on which I had to type 50 copies of the same letter every week (truthfully, 150, my typing sucked). Otherwise, I could do what I wanted. I’d just discovered Plath and Sexton and used the Selectric to write reams of terrible poetry. I still have it. It stinks, but it gifted me a writer identity again.

Becoming A Discovery of Writers

Four independent writers surfed the internet and discovered Gabriella Pereira’s fabulous community, DIY MFA. We variously participated in 101, P2P, The HUB, and WordNerdsUnite. 

Small Group Coaching came next. 

The first iteration of SGC put Liz, Safiya, and Janet in one cohort and Brenda in another, all coached by the talented Jeanette Smith. When our three months were up, Janet, Safiya, and Liz remained tight, meeting weekly. Janet, Safiya, and Brenda reenlisted for another session, becoming a second trio that kept meeting weekly when the program ended.

3+3=4

Two weekly critique meetings for Janet and Safiya were cumbersome. Remembering who read what when, was next to impossible. We decided to amalgamate and never looked back. We meet almost weekly, or suffer withdrawal issues. The meetings vary, some short-ish, some hours long. Sometimes we critique; sometimes we brainstorm. Sometimes we scrap everything and just talk. 

Finding Trust and Confidence

We each brought our own insecurities and imposter syndrome to the critique sessions. Were we really writers if we’d only published one story? Or a poem? What if we’d never published anything? How could we stop comparing ourselves to others?

We found trust in each other, then in ourselves. As our ideas and writing were validated, we began to have faith in letting our voices live on the page. We became confident in our ability to tell a story. We finished first drafts, entered short story competitions, began our next novels. 

With confidence came the courage to push past our comfort zones and self-imposed barriers, to take up the banner of writer and pronounce it to the world—even on days we still weren’t sure we deserved the title.

We write different genres. Our backgrounds vary widely. We’re even based in different countries. But our love of writing and perhaps our differences make us stronger as a team.

That’s what we are. A team. 

Becoming good friends makes it that much better. We’re cheerleaders for each other and our critique group. The input we share makes us all better writers, better storytellers. The path of a writer is never-ending, but it’s a lot more pleasant when you have good company on that journey.

What’s your origin story? When did you identify as a writer? Who helps strengthen that identity? 

A Discovery of Writers is made up of four DIY MFA Small-Group Book Coaching graduates who were partnered in the program in 2020, stayed together after our terms ended, and have turned into a tight, very effective writing support group. We love how we work together and would like to explore/share our experience with the Word Nerd community. For more about us individually you can find us here.

The post The Gathering: Our Origin Story appeared first on DIY MFA.