Entering a writing competition is on my list of New Things to do this year. I have been looking for the past few months for a competition that interested me. I was looking for something that would either suit a piece I had already written or would be a topic that I would like to write something new about, but I couldn’t find anything.
On one Sunday afternoon, I was checking my twitter feed and came across a tweet about The Shortest Short Story Competition this side of Australia http://www.writerscentre.com.au/shortstorycomp/enter.html#enterhere
The competition was up to its third and final round and was due to close that day, 21 July 2013 at 11.49pm. The competition required the submission of a short story, less than 49 words and must contain the signature word ‘Apple’.
The competition sparked my interest, but I had other plans, so I went about the rest of my day. It wasn’t unit 11.30pm that night, that I thought maybe I should enter the competition, it’s only 49 words. After a brief hesitation, I entered.
My piece wasn’t special. I didn’t win, which was no surprise. I’m not a brilliant creative writer and I need to work on my grammar, but it was enough for me to enter. It made me feel inspired. This is my little piece.
I dream of something more, I can’t wait anymore.
My bag is packed, an apple in my hand, I’m on my way.
I journey into the unknown.
I can’t see where I am going and that is okay.
Life is an adventure and I’m going for it.
If I had my time again, my story would be different. I had fun entering and I enjoyed reading some of the finalist’s pieces. I learnt a lot by reading other entries and the judge’s comments. I will enter another short story competition at some stage. Hopefully I will give myself more time to respond and perhaps create a story that is a little longer.
