I just wanted to share some more writing contest information I received from Writer’s Market. 

THREE JUNE WRITING CONTESTS

WritersMarket.com lists more than 600 contests & awards. Here are three with June deadlines:

Annual Dream Grant is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in potential; it is a “no-strings attached” award in support of writers’ dreams. Deadline is June 1. There’s a $20 processing fee, and the winner receives up to $800.

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is offered quarterly—with the next deadline as June 30—for unpublished speculative fiction. There is no entry fee, and the winners receive prizes of $1,000, $750, and $500 quarterly with a grand prize for the year of $5,000.

Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse seeks poems in traditional verse forms, such as sonnets. Both published and unpublished work accepted. Deadline is June 30. There is a $7 reading fee for every 25 lines of poetry, and 1st through 4th place prizes of $3,000, $1,000, $400, $250.

For more information follow the links or visit www.writersmarket.com

I was reading a few tweets from a friend and mentor of mine, and one of his writing tips reminded me of a acting technique I used to say to students.  When they were having trouble “finding” the character, I would tell them to list the items in the top drawer of the character’s nightstand.  Well, the truth is that tip really isn’t an acting one, but it helped them; it was a really a writing tip for character development.  So, as I read his tweet, this thought came to mind. 

Developing characters can be difficult.   A well develped character provides more to the reader in subtle ways, and the only way to present these subtleties in your writing is take make sure that you know the character well, which is where the writing tip comes  in.  To know your character well, list the items in his/her top drawer of the night stand.  It doesn’t matter whether or not those things make it into the story.  The importance is that those items enter your knowledge of the character, and if they are in the back of your mind, the characters will develop easier for you. 

My mentor’s advice, “Writing tip #25: Could you apply for loan/job as your characters? Then maybe you don’t know them well enough to tell their stories,” follows the same idea.  A good character doesn’t fall onto the page.  A good character takes labor.

I wanted to pass along this information about the Writer’s Digest Contest.  For writers who are seeking to be published, winning a contest is great ways to get noticed.  

According to their email, here are the categories:

The deadline for entry is June 1, 2009.   Depending on your genre costs range from $15 to $20.  First place prize is $3,000 and the chance to meet with editors and agents in New York. 

For more information on this contest, please visit the following link: http://www.writersdigest.com/annual

Knowing the audience of your writing is important, especially when submitting the work.  When you have spent many laborious hours crafting you work, don’t waste time sending it to the wrong people.  The key is research. 

I mentioned in one my last postings that one of the largest reasons for a manuscript being rejected is being sent to the wrong place.  If the agent specializes in horror, a romance novel will be rejected.  The same goes for magazines or newspapers.  If the style or content doesn’t match the publication, your article will be rejected no matter how well written it is.   Remember, publishing is a money making business.  Each publisher is looking to market their products to certain segments of the population.   When you work is read, the primary driving factor will be whether or not the material be marketed to their customer base.

Here are some steps to get to know your audience.

• Read all the submission guidelines.  Don’t just skim over them.  Most of them offer detailed information that will help you understand the audience.  Most agencies or publishing house will list genres they focus on in this area.
• Read a couple of issues of the magazine or newspaper.  Take note of what kind of articles you find.  Ask yourself questions about the style.  Use this information to figure out who the audience is.  Teen magazines have different styles than women’s magazines or men’s magazines. 
• If you are researching an agent or publisher, then find out what books they have represented or published.  Either read through a few of them or read enough to understand the style, genres or subject matter they want.

What if I want to write to a specific audience?

Again, research is the key.  Look at what that segment of the population reads or watches.  Talk to people in that demographic.  Both will help you write to that particular audience.