Do You Enjoy Writing Competitions? Here’s How to Wow the Judges When Entering

Writing competitions are some of the most challenging and fun activities in which a writer can participate, and our essential tips will help you impress those judges. Perhaps you have tried in the past to enter writing competitions without any success. This is bound to happen, as most people who enter will not win. If you are looking to challenge yourself and give the judges what they are seeking, however, then our advice can help shape you into a more efficient writer (and even claim that winner's title) when entering written contests.

Choose the Right Kind of Writing Competitions

No two writers have the same set of skills. Some are superb at short stories and specific genres, others enjoy long-form novels and essays, and then there are the poets who all favour various forms of poetry. When choosing writing competitions in which to enter, you can play it safe and decide only to enter contests that play to your strengths and preferences. That said, if you want to challenge yourself, you can stretch your comfort zone and enter competitions that help you explore new ways of writing and approaching your creative process.

Never Ignore or Adjust the Rules

Most writing competitions in South Africa include rules and guidelines that frustrate the creative process of writers, who would often rather put pen to paper without any restriction. Instead of seeing these rules as something that bogs you down, you can view them as a dare to confront, and a call to improve your skills despite being limited, which will inevitably only benefit you. Keeping to the rules and guidelines is also important because failure to do so may result in your work being disqualified or overlooked by the judges.

Give Yourself Enough Time to Write Creatively

As the saying goes, you cannot pour from an empty cup. If you are pressed for time, stressed, or overwhelmed, you will not produce work of exceptional quality. Creativity flows when one is given time to explore the things that inspire them most. If you have hit a blank when it comes to the piece you wish to enter, take some time to do things you enjoy, like listening to music, spending time out in nature, or speaking to interesting people. Once your mind is refreshed, come back to your work and pick up where you left off.

Start Rough and Organise as You Go

Whe n writing, one should never fear imperfection, and yet, this is precisely why so many poets, authors, and wordsmiths fail to proceed with their work. It is important to remember that a blank page can do no harm and that no matter how imperfect that first draft may seem, it is always possible to go back and refine your piece. Even if you write down random thoughts and concepts as they come trickling into your mind, you are still making much more progress than writing nothing at all. Eventually, just by spilling out your thoughts and ideas onto a page, you will have enough content to refine, manipulate, and organise into a coherent final piece.

Ensure Clean and Pristine Work

The reason why professional authors and published writers all make good use of editors is that a superb written piece must be free from all errors. It’s not just about grammar, spelling mistakes, and formatting issues, though. Sometimes, writers and poets, as creative as they are, have trouble containing themselves and formulating ideas in a way that is clear to the reader. Editors, with their objectivity and a sharp eye for small details, help writers perfect their ideas. If you feel that your piece may have a few errors or seems to be missing something, ask someone you trust (with the skills to do so) to look over your piece and edit it. For extra tips on how to edit your own work, click here.

Use Your Voice As Only You Can

The only thing that sets you apart from other writers, is you. Your perception of the world, your values, how you think about things, what you feel about specific topics – these are all traits unique to you. You can, and should, utilise this “you-ness” to inform your writing because it is how you develop a style distinct from other writers. Judges know how to pick up on fresh, unique voices that have something meaningful to say.

To learn more about our writing competition and what it’s all about, click here or contact us today.