3rd Annual NOVELWritingSite Student Writing Contest

Have you begun writing stories of your own? They may not be novels yet, but they could be the start of something big. How do you know if you’re on the right track?

Almost all professional writers have a critique group–people they trust to read their early drafts, comment on what’s good, and offer ideas for making the story even better.

That’s why we host the Annual NOVELWritingSite.com Student Writing Contest!

Here are the rules:

  • Only readers subscribed by email or RSS Feed are eligible, but subscribing is easy. Just follow the directions in the left side bar under “Subscribe.” While you’re at it, why not register as a fellow Novel Writer? That way you can leave comments, ask questions, or submit short samples in the comment section following each lesson.
  • Regular readers will have until 11:59 pm, May 31, 2012 to submit the first 5 pages of a story they have written independently.
  • Your submission should be typed, double-spaced with 1″ margins, in Times New Roman font (11 pitch size) and saved as a Word document in Rich Text format. Please use a header to show the title of your story, your name, and age (if teen, or just say “adult”). If you know the genre of your story, you may include that information also.
  • Email your entry as an attachment to yoursbecausehis@gmail.com. In the body of your email, please be sure to tell us your name and the name of your story. If you could tell us your age, something about yourself, how far along you are in your story, or how long you’ve been writing, that would be interesting as well.
  • Entries will be critiqued by one or more of our contributors.
  • Categories will depend somewhat on how many entries we receive from writers of various ages in each genre. All entrants will receive a letter of appreciation and feedback on their submission. Winning entrants in each category will receive a book on the craft of writing.

So be looking through your stories to decide which one you’d like to polish over the next few months, and don’t forget to subscribe to receive this blog regularly!

Winning Entries – 2011 NOVELWritingSite Contest

First Place – Cassandra’s Curse by Sonja Hutchinson

Second Place – The Remnant by Angela Bell

Third Place (Tie) – Like a Jasmine by Jan Cline and Watch Over Me by Donna Stone

Winning Entries – 2010 NOVELWritingSite Contest

Adult category – Dead on the Vine by Sonja Hutchinson

Student category – Minoru by Angela Bell

Our thanks to all who entered! Every entry showed promise and demonstrated imagination, effort, and a love of storytelling!