Gemini Rising

I got a thrill today!

I was so tickled pink. When I checked my WDC inbox today I found out that I won SECOND place in the

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contest! for my story,

The Watch Tower  (18+) Honorable Mention Winner in the 77th Writer's Digest Competition. #1304009 by StephBee - House Targaryen

So I just want to thank Erika and all the JUDGES of the Stake & Garlic Contest for all the hard work they do. They've got a great contest with great prizes and it's well worth considering entering.

Mind you, I don't have much time to write for contests these days, but I know I have to simply because it helps to keep you sharp as a writer and it helps you to improve on what you've learned and it you build on what you've learned. I don't think I could have written "THE WATCH TOWER" a year ago. I didn't quite have the chops then.

One thing that's important to writing is the RESEARCH. I did a bunch of internet research on the topic & prompt which was to write about Dracula's castle being on sale. I downloaded pictures of the castle so I could see what it looked like and visualize it in the writing. I took a chance making my main character a famous gothic vampire writer, because I thought that would be the best character fit for the story. I was surprised what my research about the building uncovered and I tried to incorporate that into the writing.

Writing the story was fun and I was glad I wasn't on a word count restriction but I did try to be long enough to tell the complete story. Word count restrictions can be very challenging. Sometimes 3000 words isn't enough. It took me about a good 3 week to get the story together. Once I wrote it, it took about two weeks to EDIT it before I felt it was ready for the contest. So short story writing can be time consuming for me.

Anyone else want to share a good contest they've entered lately or the steps they take to put together a story? & ((hugs))

Steph