How to Write a Contest Winner

No I haven't "won a contest" but I was on the editorial team that picked a winner?

A few years ago I worked as an editor at a small literary journal that held an annual contest. Part of my job was to read submissions and vote on them with other team members until only the highest voted submissions remained for that top spot.

The whole process taught me a ton about what editors are looking for in literary journals, and what contest-winning writing looks like. Here's a spoiler: even if you do everything just right, it's still really hard to win a contest. There's so many submissions, so many good submissions, and at the end of the day, all writing is subjective. That's also my way of saying don't sue me if you follow this advice and don't win anyway.

Okay I'll quit beating around the bush. Here’s my main take-aways:

1.       It pushes the envelope

The biggest disappointment for me was learning that contests aren’t just looking for good writing. It’s not enough to just be a good writer—to win, you’re creating a piece that holds social, political, or cultural meaning.

This means it has some sort of point, some reason for existing. It tells something important and new about the world or is commenting on a real issue.

Writers tend to connect these real issues within society through personal experiences or stories, told in an artistic/creative style. Creative non-fiction (if applicable) is great for this, but you can imbue these themes in any type of writing.

2.       It has a clear point or theme

So, your first step should be to create your theme. What exactly are you saying about the world? What is it now, and what should it be? A theme is a stance, or an answer to a question--not the question itself. Your theme shouldn't be "should society increase surveillance for the safety of its citizens?", because the goal of your submission is to answer that question. So, your theme is what you think about surveillance vs. privacy.

All writing is political. Pieces that pose a question without answering it tend to come off as unclear, pointless, or indecisive. One could even go as far as to say 'wishy-washy'.

3.       It takes risks

This one is huge. Maybe I should have put it first on the list—consider this as a reward for getting this far in the post. Contest-winning writing does not (typically) look like traditionally published writing (this of course definitely depends where the contest is being held. It is true for many literary magazines, but may not be true everywhere. Double check what the formatting requirements are where you’re submitting). It can—but (in my experience) editors want to read something we haven’t seen before. I want to be surprised and delighted by the chances and risks you take.

An example of this is playing with the form or design of the writing. Play with the space on the page—don’t just stick to how books are typically formatted. Go for the themes that push a boundary, opt for the unsafe ending.

This is the other side to ‘pushing the envelope’, your writing should also push the envelope on how we write. Know the rules of the game and break them tactfully, and you’ve got a first placer.

4.       But it also follows the rules

Best way to lose a contest is to ignore or forget the guidelines/rules of the contest. If there’s a theme, adhere to the theme. If they want you to keep your name off your submission, make sure you do so. If they need every submission to be under 1000 words, yours better be 999 or under.

The guidelines are usually found where you submit your work and they are the key to having a shot at the contest. If your piece doesn’t adhere to the rules, you may not get a second chance. Don’t waste your time, and follow the guidelines!