Tips for Submision for the Young Writers Contest
1. Follow the guidelines precisely. If the guidelines aren't followed, your entry will be disqualified.
2. Print clearly so the judges can read your name, address and phone number.
3. Submit poetry in any form. Poems don't have to rhyme. However, poetry isn't simply words written down to look like a poem. A poem is dense. A lot of meaning is packed in a few words. Since each word is there for a purpose, 'extra' words should be edited. The best poetry helps a reader see something in a new way.
4. Write an essay, which can be a personal experience piece, so that readers experience an emotion. They should feel they are there. An essay often has an epiphany - an 'ah-ha' moment in which you were changed or learned something not realized before.
5. Use your senses in all types of writing, including your short story. Also, make sure you have a beginning, middle and end. Ask yourself, "Who is my story about?" "What is my main character's problem?" "What keeps him or her from solving it?" "How does my character resolve the problem?"
6. Rewrite your story. Published writers write their stories over and over. The first few times they may concentrate on telling their story and thinking about the characters. Then they work on other areas such as specific details.
7. Enter the contest as often as you like, but send only your best work.
8. Keep writing even if you don't win this contest. Every writer faces rejection. The first book Dr. Seuss wrote was rejected by publishers two dozen times. Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time was rejected twenty-nine times. These writers refused to give up. They kept learning their craft and they believed in their writing!
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