For
anyone who needs a deadline to push them, there's this.
And for those too lazy to click a link:
The 16th Annual Short Story Challenge is a creative writing competition open to writers around the world. There are 4 rounds of competition. In the 1st Round (January 14-22, 2022), writers are placed randomly in groups and are assigned a genre, subject, and character assignment. Writers have 8 days to write an original story no longer than 2,500 words.
The judges choose a top 5 in each group to advance to the 2nd Round (April 7-10, 2022) where writers receive new assignments, only this time they have 3 days to write a short story no longer than 2,000 words. The judges again choose a top 5 in each group to advance to the 3rd Round (May 20-22, 2022) where writers receive new assignments and have 2 days to write a short story no longer than 1,500 words.
Judges select finalists and the remaining writers are challenged to write a story no longer than 1,250 words in just 24 hours (June 24-25, 2022) in the fourth and final round of the competition. Feedback from the judges is provided for every submission and there are thousands in cash and prizes for the winners. Sound like fun? Join the competition below and get ready for January 14th!
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Oh wait. Never mind. I just read the fine print: there's a $59 entry fee.