Are You a Winner?

Winning Entries for the Flash 500 Competitions

The winning entries in both competitions are now up on the website. To find out who won and who was placed in the flash fiction category, click here. For the results of the humour verse competition, click here.

Congratulations to the winners and runners-up. 

I would also like to extend the heartiest congratulations to everyone who made the long and short lists. As both judges pointed out, the standard is incredibly high, with entries coming in from all over the world.

Our two quarterly categories, flash fiction and humour verse, are open for entries, but the novel opening chapter and synopsis competition is closed and the entries are currently being judged. For more information on everything to do with all three competitions, please visit the website: Flash 500 Home Page.

Hints from the Judges 

No.1 – Titles

The importance of the title for any submitted work is often overlooked. It is the first sight the judge has of your entry and therefore merits careful consideration.

 

Titles must always be relevant to the theme of the work and should arouse the judge’s immediate interest without being too explicit and giving away the ending of a story or punch line of a poem.

A title that works on more than one level shows the author has given time and thought to the process and has not picked the first thing that came to mind.

Things to avoid:

• Long-winded titles.
• Sub-headings giving further information relevant to the theme. (Your entry should say it all – remember that judges also tend to keep up with current news and trends!)
• Being too clever. (Whilst apt originality is a major plus, obscure connections to the theme will work against you.)

A really good title will still stay in the judge’s mind long after reading your entry.

An Invitation to another Online Party

To celebrate the release of the third in my crime thriller series written as Frances di Plino, Call it Pretending, my publisher has arranged an online party on 18th December. Whether you pop in for a few minutes, or stay for a few hours, you will be made very welcome. More details can be found here.

There will be a special draw on launch day to win a paperback copy of Call It Pretending. All you have to do to enter is sign up for the free newsletter by following this link: Frances di Plino Newsletter

Kind regards,

Lorraine

Critique Service for Writers

Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Humour Verse
and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions