Jodi Whitehurst

I am relatively new to entering writing contests. For a while, they left a bad taste in my mouth. Why would I want to offer up my precious prose to scrutiny? And doesn’t it cheapen the act of composing if it is only done for a contest?

Yes, I was that writer. But I have changed my ways, and my perception of writing contests has evolved. Now I enjoy writing for contests. For one, it challenges me to write in new genres. For example, I won the first place “Fib Award” at the 2023 White County Writer’s Conference. No, not that kind of fib; it is short for Fibonacci, a type of poem that is characterized by six lines and 20 syllables. Before electing to enter the Fib Poetry Contest, I was unfamiliar with this form in poetry. There is an opportunity to learn.

In addition to exposing writers to unfamiliar genres or forms, contests also challenge us to stretch beyond our own writing topic ideas. Contests are typically accompanied by a prompt or other specific criteria. This presents an opportunity to flex the writing muscles. At times. contests can provide valuable feedback. I will provide an embarrassing example of this. I entered a children’s book writing contest sponsored by a publishing company with a rhyming book titled Such Marvelous Places His Mind Liked to Go. Before they read the contest results, the sponsor from the publishing company went into a long explication of reasons to avoid rhyming in children’s books. Ouch. That one hurt, but there was also a valuable lesson for me as a writer. Mistakes lead to growth.

Finally, writing contests simply increase motivation to write. Let’s be honest. Writing is often pushed to the side to make way for more pressing matters. Contest deadlines hold us accountable; they are the nudge to finish one of the twenty short story drafts living in our files.

I’ll end with a note of concern about writing contests. I do think some writing contests are simply money-making ventures. I would advise against pricy entry fees. In my list of March/April writing contests, I have only included those with minimal or no entry fees. Let me know if you end up entering or even winning in one of these. Keep writing, friends!

Writing Contests