The Number One Reason

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The #1 Reason to Enter a Writing Contest
By Graham Strong

What’s the number one reason to enter a writing contest?
 
The first thing you might think is that it gives you a chance to win a prize. After all, prizes are nice – a bit of money and a bit of recognition, not to mention a boost of self-confidence. It’s also a way to get some feedback, even if it’s in a pass/fail kind of way.
 
But that’s not the biggest reason. Personally, I’ve found that the number one reason is that entering a writing contest gets you to write. Seem obvious? Perhaps – but it’s no small thing. We all live busy lives and writing can quickly slip down our priority list, despite our best intentions.
 
Committing to entering a writing contest, on the other hand:

• Gives you a deadline (for the NOWW Writing Contest, that’s March 31, 2017)
• Allows you to make writing a priority in order to meet that deadline
• Gives you a sense of purpose in your writing by giving you a concrete place to submit
• Gives you motivation and inspiration to get the work done
• Forces you to become creative on demand

 
There’s nothing like a hard deadline to focus the mind and keep us on track.
 
The 19th Annual NOWW Writing Contest: http://www.nowwwriters.ca/19th-annual-noww-writing-contest.html is an excellent contest (if we do say so ourselves) that is open to writers in English from around the globe. We’re excited to have five world-class judges on our panel in the following categories: Ann-Marie MacDonald judging the Short Fiction category, Jane Urquhart judging the Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose, Stephen Kimber judging the Creative Nonfiction category, Jayne Barnard judging the Novel category (this year’s theme is Speculative Fiction), and Liz Howard, recent winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize, judging the Poetry category.
 
Writers can win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in all categories except for the Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Fiction) which awards one prize only. This special memorial award is named in memory of the prolific Silver Islet and Thunder Bay author—and beloved NOWW member—who passed away in 2014.
 
Find out more about the NOWW writing contest including full submission details at:
 
http://www.nowwwriters.ca/19th-annual-noww-writing-contest.html
 

Then, get writing! 

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Graham Strong  is a full-time freelance marketing writer, journalist, and ghostwriter and has been a writer his entire life. Graham is a former Editor-in-Chief of Argus, the Student Newspaper of Lakehead University, and helped transition it into one of the first digitally produced newspapers in North America. Graham won an Honourable Mention in NOWW’s first writing contest in 1998 for his short story Hat Trick. Professionally, Graham provides marketing writing services to businesses and organizations around the world. He also writes for several news outlets including the Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal and the Northern Ontario Medical Journal, and has written for Canadian Press. In his spare time he is writing his first novel. Graham lives in Thunder Bay with local potter Noël Keag and their three incredible sons. His favourite writers are Paul Quarrington, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Hunter S. Thompson.

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