First writing competition

Last October I decided to enter my first writing competition. It was for River Styx, a small print journal which publishes fiction and poetry and is based in St. Louis. They ran a micro fiction contest which means it is for stories of less than 500 words. That's pretty short. First prize was some money, I think $1,000, and a crate of beer. My story, Auntie Maim, came third which didn't get me any money or beer, but got my story published. Since then I have entered a number of other competitions none of which have one anything yet. 

Entering that contest was very important for me. Getting that first entry published was a huge boost to my confidence and helped me push through and finish Ramona. It also means that now when I write to agents and publishers, I can say "my short story, Auntie Maim, was recently published in the River Styx journal". I think it counts for a lot to put something like that in a covering letter or email, especially for me because I'm new to all this and otherwise wouldn't have anything else I could put in there as a writing credential.

Since then I sent off some stories to a few other magazines, Glimmer Train and Narrative. They were also for competitions which have prize money and publish the winners. I didn't win and I had to pay a few dollars to enter the competitions so it wasn't much of a success. But I have no sent the same story to RTE Radio in Ireland for a competition they're running, and sent a short play to the Prague Post for a theatre competition they're running. 

I think these competitions are important for aspiring young writers for two reasons:

1. You might win, which gets you published and looks good in letters and emails to agents and publishers.

2. They keep you writing. The competitions have deadlines that you have to meet and these give you small targets to meet and ensure that you keep behind the keyboard and get a few stories or other pieces completed every couple of months. 

So if you're just getting started like me, check out the Poets & Writers website which has a list of upcoming contests and get a few entries in. It can't hurt and getting published like this can do a lot for your confidence and reputation.