The NOWW Flash Fiction Writing Contest is back!

​Challenge yourself with a little writing exercise, and you could win cash! The NOWW Flash Fiction Challenge is now accepting short short story entries of 500 words max. Quick and to the point! The top three stories will earn cash prizes and publication in our blog this fall.

Contest Rules
​

• Free entry (you have to be a NOWW member—sign up here, if you’re not a member: http://www.nowwwriters.ca/join-noww.html)

 

• One submission per person

 

• Your story must be 500 words maximum, not including title. Stories that go over the word count max will be disqualified.

​

• Stories can be submitted in Word format using 12-point font or Text format (such as with Microsoft Notepad). Please do not submit in PDF format.

 

• At the top of your entry, please include your name, email, phone number, title of your story, and word count (not including title). Then, include your title again and the story

​. You can view a sample entry below:


​

---

​​​

• Please do not include anything within your story like your name that would make you identifiable. 

​​

• Email to [email protected] with “Flash Fiction Contest” in the subject line (mailed submissions will not be accepted)

 

• NEW STORIES ONLY, please. Your submission must be:
  • Your own work
  • Unpublished

 

• Deadline is Sunday, September 22 at 11:59pm (Eastern Time)

Two members of the NOWW board will judge the contest.

What’s Flash Fiction? 

Flash fiction stories are, well, short. Sometimes called ‘micro-stories’, ‘postcard stories’ (if a postcard is part of the contest) or ‘short short stories’, flash fiction challenges the writer to fit a complete story into very few words. While there isn’t a paint-by-numbers formula for flash fiction, there is a certain art to it. It’s not about trying to squish a 3,000-word story into 500 words.

Here are a few links to help you get a better idea of the craft—and to get the creative juices flowing:

How To: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/14/how-to-write-flash-fiction(Another how-to written by David Gaffney)

More Tips:https://www.hysteriauk.co.uk/2017/04/07/starting-flash-alex-reece-abbott/ (A UK contest with tips from the judges about how to write flash fiction)

Some Examples:http://flashfictiononline.com/main/(Example pieces)
​
NOWW’s Flash Fiction Challenge is a great way to challenge yourself and get the creative juices flowing. 

By the way, this blog post is 379 words, so you have a little more room than this to write your beginning, middle, and end. Think you can do it? Let’s find out! Start writing today!