NYC Midnight- Flash Fiction Challenge
- Berti Walker
- Nov 20, 2015
- 2 min read
I participated in my first (and thus far only) writing contest this year. It started in August and it ended for me this month. I say for me because for others it ended last month, and others are still participating. Confused? Let me explain.
The flash fiction contest is a writing contest in which you write flash fiction. Makes sense.
What is flash fiction? In this case, it is a short story of 1,000 words or less.
Starting in August, they place you in a group of about 40 people. Each group gets a genre, location, and object assigned. You have 48 hours to write a story that features these three things. After you get the okay, you can post your story in the forums for peer review. I recommend you do this. After all, you are paying for this contest, and the feedback you get from the judges is not going to be as thorough and generally echoes what you hear on the forums.
The first round is in two parts. The top 15 in each part will be scored. If your combined score is one of the top 5, you move on to round two. After that, there are no more points. If your story in round two is one of the top 5, you move on to round three. If your story in round three is top 5, you move on to round 4 (which, alas, I did not, but I did make it to three).
Each story that you get to submit will get feedback from the judges. Well, judge, really. But the forums is where you will get the most help, so don't skip that part.
Also, if you don't advance to the next round, don't be a whiny little bitch about it. It's a contest. There is no participation trophy. Either you advance or you don't. Just because you get a zero or low score in the first part of round one doesn't mean you should pout and give up, either. There are those who don't place in the first part of round one that do killer in round two and advance. Even if you don't, you paid for this, so get the most out of it. Again, use the forums. Get feedback. Become a better writer. Listen, learn, grow, try again. Make friends.
Also, just because you don't win the contest doesn't mean you won't find a home for your story somewhere else. Use the critiques and advice given, edit your story, and start submitting.
Let's sum it all up now: use the forums, don't be a little bitch, revise and submit.
Would I recommend this contest to friends? Yep and have.
They also do screenplay contests and short story contests if those are more your thing.
If you're around for the short story contest, you'll be seeing me. Bertiwalker is my screen name. Stop by and say hi.
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