Writing Contests

Secret: I really want to start a new blog. But since I’ve already cut projects, it would be ridiculous for me to start a new one, even if it was a short blog post every day or so . . . right?

Anyway, I ended up sending in “The Bar” to the Mayhew contest instead of “As Prescribed,” which didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. (I’ll probably work on it in the future, just not the near future.) In case I haven’t mentioned it, “The Bar” is a [very] short story I wrote last semester—it’s an LDS allegory, and my first one at that. I tried to hit more of a literary curve with the piece, doing the whole symbolism and repetition thing and what not. Using that story, I had to enter the specialty and not the general category. The two times I entered general I placed. Last year I entered specialty and I didn’t. :O So this will be interesting. If any of you are BYU students, the Mayhew contest is open until Friday, and they’re doing electronic submissions this year.

I also entered the Ann Doty Fiction contest for the first time—another BYU one. Ann Doty lets you submit chapters of novels, so I sent in the prologue and first chapter of “Circus Soul Heiress.” Even if my writing in that book were fantastic, I don’t know how well it would do—there’s gore and a curse word in it, and that kind of stuff doesn’t kosh* well with BYU. Again, we’ll have to see what happens. I wouldn’t be shocked if I didn’t place in either contest (I suppose a ego-ripping is always healthy), but it’s good practice, if nothing else.

I feel like I should have a catchy phrase to end my posts. Oh well.



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*Kosh is derived from kosher. It’s a made up verb that magically formed in my vocabulary.