The contest is OPEN!
2016 IWSG Anthology Details
Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.
Word count: 3000-6000
Genre: Fantasy
Theme: Hero Lost. It could be about a hero turned villain, a villain's redemption, a hero's lack of confidence, a hero's lack of smarts, etc. It can be about any kind of hero including superheroes, mythological heroes, unexpected or unlikely heroes, or a whole new kind of hero. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines. No erotica, R-rated language, or graphic violence.
Deadline: November 1st 2016
How to enter: Send your polished, formatted, previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your contact details and if you are part of the Blogging or Facebook IWSG group.
Formatting: Standard margins and tab. Font size 12 Times New Roman or Arial. Double spaced lines.
Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges.
Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.
We’re excited to see the creativity and enthusiasm that’s such a part of this group put into action. So don your creative caps and start writing. And spread the word!
Our amazing judges this year:
Elizabeth S. Craig writes cozy mystery series for Penguin Random House, Midnight Ink, and independently.
Richard Harland writes fantasy, SF, horror, and steampunk. He has won six Aurealis Awards, the A. Bertram Chandler Award in Australia, and the Tam Tam Je Bouquine Award in France.
Laura Maisano has an MA in Technical writing and is a Senior Editor at Anaiah Press for their YA/NA Christian Fiction.
Russell C. Connor has published 8 novels and 4 novellas in both paperback and eBook. He also designs books for clients and assists them with self-publishing endeavors.
Dawn Frederick is the founder of Red Sofa Literary, previously of Sebastian Literary Agency, and she brings a broad knowledge of the book business to the table.
Michelle L. Johnson is a literary agent, the founder of Inklings Literary Agency and has a business administration background.
Ion Newcombe is the editor and publisher of AntipodeanSF, Australia's longest running online speculative fiction magazine.
The
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a safe place for insecure writers.
Sign
up here: Alex J.
Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group
September's Question: How do you find the time to write in your busy day?
*You can answer this question in your IWSG post.
How to Increase Your Chances:
*You can answer this question in your IWSG post.
How to Increase Your Chances:
1. Pay
attention to the rules. (word count, genre/theme, deadline)
2. Write
a new, unique story. Don’t send something already published. And try to stay
away from clichés and the usual fictional tropes.
3. Follow
the rules of POV. Don’t head hop. Stay in one character’s POV. One POV is usually best
for flash fiction.
4. Create
a well-developed MC. Who is the MC? What is his/her conflict and goal? Describe the MC’s
appearance and personality. Make the MC real.
5. Reveal
the setting right away. Where is the story set? If it’s historical or set in
the future, what year is it?
6. Good
hook. Get the judges’ attentions fast!
7. Keep
up the pace, especially for a suspense story.
8. You
don’t have time to dawdle. Begin the story quickly.
9. Cut unnecessary
words, phrases, and scenes. Flash fiction shouldn't have padding. Get to the point
without the fluff.
10. End
the story with a happily-ever-after OR with a twist. Whichever your story
needs, but make it good, make it memorable.
11. Get a
beta reader or two. Fix any areas they see as problems and check the grammar and spelling.
12. Send
it with a cover letter containing details (word count, title, your author
name, a brief bio, contact info, and a short summary). For the IWSG Anthology, the short summary may not be necessary.
GOOD LUCK to all of the participants!
*Add your answer to this question your October IWSG Day post.
October's Question: When do you know your story is ready?
*Add your answer to this question your October IWSG Day post.
Hi Chrys ... you've lots going on -and what a great list of judges for the IWSG anthology ...
ReplyDeleteTime - always an essence for us all ... while as you say content is king ... take care and happy September - Hilary
Content is king, indeed. :)
DeleteI'm sure many ISWG MEMBER will rise to the occasion to enter.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
We hope so. :)
DeleteGood writing advice! I tend to write best when busy and pushed for deadline.
ReplyDeleteSome of us need that push.
Delete5-6000 words doesn't give one time to dwaddle with the story. Writers need to hit the ground running.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteI have never done flash fiction or short stories, so this will be something new for me. Great writing advice today!
ReplyDeleteWe'd love for you to give it a shot. :)
DeletePaying attention to the rules and following them makes it easier on the judges and gives you a leg up on a lot of the competition. Plus, it's an easy thing to do! :)
ReplyDeleteSo much easier on the judges. And rule-breakers won't be able to move forward, so following the rules is important.
DeleteI thinking about it, the only question I have is about formatting. What kind of formatting? Standard margins, TimesNewRoman 12, double spaced? Do we use headers with our names and the title? Just what kind of formatting is being required?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question. Alex and Diane never said. Standard formatting is the best way to go. TNR or Arial size 12, and double spaced is always easier to read.
DeleteThanks!
DeleteYou're welcome! :D
DeleteThat's an awesome theme for the contest! I must try to think of a story this year. As for knowing when my story is done, I rely on my critique partners to tell me to stop picking at it! :)
ReplyDeleteWe'd love to get a story from your Christine. (And knowing when the story is done is the question for next month.) ;)
DeleteIt takes a ton of editing for a story to be ready. Thankfully, reading over a 6000 word story is a lot easier than one 106K long. Plus I get my husband to read it over. He is good at catching typos I miss.
ReplyDeleteYes! Editing is essential. Luckily, as you said, editing a flash fiction piece is much easier. And will be easier to get beta readers for it, too. Way to go for your husband. Husband of the Century Award right there. ;)
DeleteGreat tips! One of the things I've been pondering is differentiating between what's useful description to evoke a mood, scene etc. vs. fluff in a short story.
ReplyDeleteThings that advance the story or reveal important information about the character aren't need, such as short scenes that do nothing. Things that evoke a mood or scene are needed. :)
DeleteSure with such a word count you have to go go go from the get go indeed.
ReplyDeleteYes, indeedy!
DeleteWhat a great contest and terrific line up of judges. When do you have time to write, Chrys? ;) Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteLately, not often. haha I start two new projects this year but stopped the one when I realized it's a much bigger project than I thought. Since May I've been struggling to write. I think it's because I have so much more to do, but I usually do my best writing after dinner before 8:00pm. :)
DeleteI'm getting nervous just thinking about it. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Good nerves I'm sure. :)
DeleteI might be entering this time. The theme does seem to resonate somewhere in the back of my mind. :-D
ReplyDeleteAwesome! We really hope you do. :D
DeleteThat's a great theme. There will many an amazing story entered, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteThat's what we're counting on. :D
DeleteI just might give this a shot this year--sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteWe sure hope you do! :D
DeleteThanks for all of this information. I'll see if I can come up with something.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
DeleteThis is an excellent list, Chrys. Thanks for this. I'm sending it out to my network. Happy IWSG Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joylene! :)
DeleteGreat pointers. I know a story is finished when it's been through edits, and when there's nothing left that niggles at me. Sometimes I'll just know on a re-read that the ending isn't quite right. I've never been wrong when I've thought that.
ReplyDeleteYou can add that answer to your October post. :)
DeleteAwesome advice, Chrys. I'm stoked about the contest and wish everyone who enters all the best! Meantime, I'll be in the thick of a book release.
ReplyDeleteAnd I CAN'T wait for your book release!!!!
DeleteI will be very impressed with any fantasy writer who can keep to this word count. Oh, that's a great joke...
ReplyDeleteI will be very excited to see how this all works out. I'd wager it will be the best fantasy anthology of the year.
Last year we did sci-fi with this word count and the authors managed brilliantly. :) Thanks, Ryan.
DeleteI'll tell my local writers' group about the contest. I've also told them about IWSG a few times, but I'm not sure if any of them have actually signed up and begun participating.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to come to a place where we're confident a story is as perfect and good as it'll ever be. Too much editing and revising might radically alter its very nature, and too many critiquers can make us second-guess ourselves. Sometimes a story gets to the point where pretty much everyone loves it, and then all of a sudden, a new person declares it needs all these changes, and doesn't like the exact things everyone else praised.
They'd have to at least join our FB book to be eligible. We'd love to get submissions from your local writers' group.
DeleteSpoken beautifully.
Thanks for the tip list. That was great. Looking forward to the anthology.
ReplyDeleteJuneta @ Writer's Gambit
You're welcome, Juneta! :)
DeleteThose are good tips. Hopefully everyone follows them. Although that will make it really difficult to decide...
ReplyDeleteHa! But at least we could be 200% sure all of the stories selected are truly amazing. ;)
DeleteThis is great advice! A lot of people I've met assume it's easy to write a good short story, but it isn't. Telling a compelling story with great characters in a short word count is a challenge, but I think it's a challenge well worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteIt is far from easy to write short fiction. I think it takes more discipline.
DeleteGreat tips, Chrys!
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that we'll have loads of entries.
Happy IWSG Day!
So do I. YAY!!! :D
DeleteSo glad you provided more on the guidelines and some wonderful tips! It's certainly an interesting genre and I may just have something in the works ;-) Thanks, lady Chrys!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do, Diedre!
DeleteYou're welcome!
I find bribing the judges with $100,000 each works every time. Sigh. It's having the money to do that which is the hard part! :-)
ReplyDeleteI will enter, of course. I will lose, of course. I never do well in these things. But that removes the pressure; I will just do the best I can.
Your suggestions were great ones, Chrys. I will endeavor to make you proud. Have fun with life, Roland
Exactly. No money here. :P
DeleteHey, don't say that. You never know! Doing your best, though, is exactly what you should do. Good luck!!!
Thanks for the tips! I would love to enter the contest...once I think of a story idea...
ReplyDeleteI hope you do think of a story. :D
DeleteGreat tips Chrys. The contest sounds fun and I look forward to reading the winning entry. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be a great anthology. That's for sure. I wonder which one will be the winning entry. :)
DeleteThese are some great tips Chrys. All the best to every entrant.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sheena!
DeleteExcellent tips, Chrys! I would love to enter the anthology contest, but I know I won't be finished with my current manuscript in time. If only I wrote faster...
ReplyDeleteVR Barkowski
Aw. Shucks. Well, maybe the next anthology will be better timing for you.
DeleteFlash fiction? I thought flash fiction was much shorter than 5000 words. Good tips, though.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to get technical, it would be a short story. Regardless, my tips still apply for stories that are 5000 words as it still doesn't give you much room to build.
DeleteThe new anthology is exciting. Good luck to everyone.
ReplyDeleteVery exciting. :)
DeleteGreat tips for the contest! Best of luck to anyone entering. (Wish I could!)
ReplyDeleteI wish I could, too. I hadn't realized admins couldn't, but I realize it would be a conflict of interest.
DeleteAll the best for all who enters. You gave some excellent tips Chrys.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Olivia!
DeleteThese are excellent reminders for any writer even if we're not going to enter the contest. So, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAll the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
Thanks, Pat!
DeleteFantastic advice! This sounds like a killer contest with a great list of judges. Good luck to all who enter!
ReplyDelete(We are not man enough... well, mostly we just don't have enough time with working on our current project)
Maybe next time you'll have more time. :)
DeleteHi Chrys. This new contest sounds great. I think there needs to be more time between the announcement and the close of submissions. Just saying. Not a long time to imagine, edit and polish a new story.
ReplyDeleteThe October question is interesting. Simple answer: It's never going to be ready, LOL!
The announcement and deadline dates weren't my decision.
DeleteSo true!
Hi, Chyrs,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the guidelines and the great tips. I've been in bit of a writer's slump, so I think this will be the perfect vehicle for my next story. I LOVE fantasy and I am a proud member of the IWSG since its inception. So I am going to do my very best to submit something amazing and worthy of the honor.
That's great! I know you'll make us proud. :)
DeleteGreat tips on raising those chances. They also apply to submitting short stories elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThey do. :) All short story writers should take notice.
DeleteMmmph! Good tips. I'm looking at this contest and I might seriously need to do it. ><
ReplyDeleteWe hope you do!
DeleteGreat tips to increase our chances. And for applying to other writing pieces. Fantasy, hhmm? I might submit something.
ReplyDeleteThat would be awesome!
DeleteI love the theme! I'll have to see if I can come up with something. Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteGreat! You're welcome!
Delete