Writing Contest: Bedtime Story
March 17, 2010 by Lillie
One of the best ways to get your creative juices flowing is to use a a picture, a situation, or an opening line as the starting point for a story or essay. Aggie Villanueva at Visual Arts Junction has created a writing contest that invites you to look at Bedtime Story, the photo art on the left, and write a 500 word story or essay inspired by it.
Aggie has asked me to be a judge, and I’m looking forward to reading lots of creative entries. There are Professional and Amateur categories, so whether you’re a beginning or seasoned writer, you can enter.
Visit the contest page for complete rules and a list of prizes. You can win some great books and exposure on a number of Web sites/blogs. Each judge will tell you what she liked best about your entry and what she thought could be improved, valuable feedback for any writer.
You have two weeks to write and polish your entry. I am eager to read your story.
Added 3/18/10 in response to a comment: The contest is open to writers, both amateur and professional, anywhere in the world.
Our daughter is a Journalism student so I might have her submit an entry. And even her Dad (shameless plug) had some writing skills as the Sports Editor of the oldest college newspaper in the US (The Miami Student…Miami University Oxford, Ohio)
Ed,
Hope to see entries from both you and your daughter.
Sounds like a fun contest. And that’s a very interesting picture. I love the lamp, quite unusual.
Helen
Straight From Hel
.-= Helen Ginger@writer editor´s last blog ..Diary of a Confessions Queen =-.
Helen,
I hope the picture will inspire lots of good stories.
Thank you, Helen. I took that photo in my living room.
Talking of the Bedtime stories i like the Alice in the wonderland which is know became a reality to a marvelous film. I will try for the contest too and not concerned by the outcome it is a fun way to relax.
Gilroy,
Looking forward to reading your entry.
What a very cool contest! I actually have an idea for a story to enter, based on something from real life involving that particular book in the picture!
I will be happy to spread the word about this contest. Please e-mail me the info. Have fun judging entries. It is an interesting experience.
Dawn,
All the information is in the link above, but I’ll e-mail it to you as well. I look forward to reading your entry.
I’ve judged the EPIC contest for years. I usually read and judge 10 to 20 books every year. We are required to read the entire book, which, of course, I’m glad to do because I love to read and I always volunteer for categories in genres I enjoy. But it does take time—the judging period is usually only about 6 weeks. However, we don’t have to give critiques, just rate the books on a scale.
And I’ve judged the New Voices contest for teen writers since the beginning–in fact I originated the contest for EPIC. Those are short entries, but we do have to give critiques as well as scores.
This contest will be easy to judge because the entries are only 500 words. But I always struggle with critiques, even though we only have to give one thing we liked and one thing we think could be improved.
Yeey, Lillie, this seems like a great opportunity for all those closet writers out there (including myself).
I do have one question that I didn’t found an answer to on the rules page and that is: is this contest open to writers outside US? I’m from Romania..:(
Either way, I hadn’t had time to check your blog lately, but I honestly can say that I missed you.
Btw, I’m not going to leave any more links in my comments, since I no longer work at that company. I finally had enough courage to quit and try to do something with my life, a thing I’ve been trying to do for a while. Start fresh. Open up a blog and a small company, start writing (seriously) and be more in touch with my friends and family. Easter time seemed like a good time to start!
Jenny,
I’m checking with Aggie Villanueva about international entries and will include the answer as an addendum to this post.
Congratulations on making the decision to follow your dream. Best wishes!
Jenny,
Good news! The contest is open anywhere in the world. So I’m looking forward to reading your entry.
Wow, this is so exciting. I am going to check out the rules now. This is such an exciting opportunity for writers indeed.
Ron,
I think it will be a fun contest. Look forward to your entry.
Maybe its just me, but I see a scary bedtime story in that picture. As a fan of horror movies and books, I will check the rules and sit to write my little story.
.-= Dekel @ No-Money-Down-Home-Loans.com´s last blog ..No Money down Home Mortgage =-.
Dekel,
I would never come up with a horror story from that picture … but then I’d never come up a horror story about anything.
That’s one of the neat things about something like this—seeing all the different ways writers perceive the picture.
Sounds like a great contest and a good opportunity for young writers to get feedback and exposure.
Michaela,
As the post states, there are both Amateur and Professional categories. While young writers are welcome to enter, it is by no means a contest for young writers.
[...] Not long ago, I mentioned that I would be a judge for the Visual Arts Junction Writing Contest. [...]
I am not a writer but it is a good idea to use a a picture, a situation, or an opening line as the starting point for a story or essay. I am going to give this a try with my grand daughter.
Dale,
A writing prompt like a photo or the other things you mention can be very helpful to get someone started writing. The interesting thing is that if you have 20 people write a story using the same writing prompt, you will end up with 20 very different stories.
They say the mind works in many different ways and it is true to say that there will be many different interpretations of the picture you have provided. The imagination is a wonderful thing and sometimes I wonder what wave length people are on. That is the beauty of the human mind!
.-= Sophie @ Adult Alice Costume´s last blog ..Disclaimer =-.
Sophie,
It’s always interesting to see how different people interpret photos or any kind of writing prompt.