Flash 500 long lists #amwriting

Long Lists 

The long lists are now up for the first quarter of 2015. You can find the titles of the flash fiction long list here and the titles of the last ever humour verse long list here.

 

Resources Page

Our page of useful sites for writers attracts hundreds of visitors each month. There are many links listed which could be of benefit, regardless of whether you write prose or poetry. If you know of a site you feel should be included, please let us know. Don't forget to share this page with your writing friends: Writers' Resources

For all of you who have made the first quarter 2015 long lists, congratulations and good luck with the next stage of judging.

 

For more information on our competition categories, visit the Flash 500 Homepage.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lorraine

Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Humour Verse
and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions

Flash 500 Humour Verse Announcement

Special Announcement

 

The humour verse category has, since its inception in 2011, been run by my husband, Derek Mace. Sadly, Derek recently passed away and I have decided to close the humour verse category at the end of this quarter.

 

This means we are only accepting entries up to and including 31st March 2015, but thereafter the category will no longer be open.

 

The winning entries will be posted as usual six weeks after the close of this quarter. They will, together with all past winning poems, remain on the website indefinitely as a memorial to a wonderful man who worked so hard to make the humour verse competition a success. 

 

The flash fiction and novel opening categories remain unchanged.

 

You can enter this final quarter of the humour verse competition here and enter the flash fiction category here.

 

For more information on all three of our competition categories, visit the Flash 500 Homepage.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lorraine




Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Humour Verse
and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions

Flash fiction and humour verse comps #amwriting

The Flash 500 quarterly competitions are set to close for entries at the end of this month. You have two days left to send off your masterpieces for the flash fiction and humour verse categories.

Flash Fiction Webpage
Humour Verse Webpage

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and send my best wishes for a successful 2015.

Lorraine





Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Humour Verse
and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions

And the winners are ...

Winning Entries - Flash Fiction and Humour Verse

 

The winning entries in both Flash 500  quarterly categories 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. We receive hundreds of entries in both categories and the standard is high.

The two quarterly categories of flash fiction and humour verse are already attracting entries. I think people are trying to make sure they don't forget to send in their submissions in the countdown to Christmas. However, you have until 31 December to polish your stories and poems.

Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis - long list now up

 

I'm delighted to announce the long list of titles can be found here. Keep checking back as the shortlist and winnings entries will be announced over the next few weeks. If you didn't enter this year, the novel opening chapter and synopsis competition will be running again next year from the beginning of May.

 

For more information on everything to do with all three competitions, please visit the website: Flash 500 Home Page.

 

Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Humour Verse
and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions

Flash 500 Competition Deadlines

Entries close at midnight (UK time) 3oth June

 

With the entry deadlines fast approaching, you only have just over a week left to polish up those stories and poems. Don't miss out as the Flash Fiction and Humour Verse categories both close at the end of this month.

Novel Opening and Synopsis Category

 

This category is open for entries until the end of October.

 

The judges this year will be (once again) the senior editors at Crooked Cat Publishing, who are the publishers for my own (writing as Frances di Plino) D.I. Paolo Storey series of crime novels, Bad Moon Rising, Someday Never Comes, Call It Pretending and Looking for a Reason (due out in October).

 

Crooked Cat Publishing cover a wide range of genres, from chick lit to horror, which is why they are the ideal judges for the competition.

 

Full details of all three competition categories can be found on the Flash 500 Home Page.

 

Hints from the Judges

No.4 – The Ending

 

The conclusion of any competition submission is the perfect opportunity to create a lasting impression with the judge.

 

Surprise is always likely to be a winner, providing it is relevant to the theme of the work and not farfetched. Such an ending requires great care in the development section of the work; whilst the judges should not have seen it coming, they must, on reflection, admire how you led up to it.

 

If you choose to finish your entry with a conclusion drawn from what has gone before, be sure that it is stated in an original way and, unless for a particular purpose, avoids mere repetition.

 

Good luck with all your writing endeavours.

 

Kind regards, 

 

Lorraine

Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Humour Verse
and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions

Flash 500 Winners

Winners Announced

The winning entries have now been posted for the first quarter of 2014. You can find the titles and links to the flash fiction winning stories here and the titles and links to the winning humour verse entries here.

 

Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Category Now Open

Entries opened on 1st May and will close at midnight (UK time) on 31st October 2014.  Once again, the judges for this competition will be the senior editors at Crooked Cat Publishing.

Prizes: £500 first prize, plus a runner’s up prize of £200

 

More details can be found here.

 

For more information on all three categories, visit the Flash 500 Homepage.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lorraine

Critique Service for Writers

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

Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition

The long list is now up for the Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition. Check to see if your entry made it through the first round of judging by clicking here.

The Flash 500 competitions continue to go from strength to strength, with more entries coming in than ever before for the two quarterly categories of Flash Fiction and Humour Verse. This year we introduced the Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis category and we are delighted to say that the response was so good we will definitely be running it again next year. So, if you were too late to enter this year, or you entered, but your novel isn't on the long list, don't despair, polish that prose and enter next year's competition.

Congratulations to all those who made it to the long list - good luck with the next stage of judging.

Critique Service for Writers

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

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

Flash 500 short lists announced

Short lists for flash fiction and humour verse

The short lists are up for the third quarter 2013. You can find the titles of the flash fiction short list here and the titles of the humour verse short list here.

Competition for novelists exceeded expectations

We had a wonderful response to the new category which closed at the end of October. The entries are currently being judged. When we have a long list, the titles will appear here.

Reminder of the competition judges for the final quarter of the year

We have been fortunate enough to attract the services of a top notch crime writer for the final quarter of the year. Sheila Bugler (remember the name, insiders say she is going to be a massive success) will be judging the flash fiction category. Barbara Scott-Emmett has agreed to judge the humour verse entries once again.

Resource page

Don't forget to share this page with your writing friends: Writers' Resources

For all of you who have made the third quarter 2013 short lists, congratulations and good luck with the final stage of judging.

If you missed out this time, here’s hoping you make it through in the final quarter this year. Both categories are open for entries. For more information on everything to do with both competitions, visit the websites: Flash 500 Flash Fiction and Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition.

Critique Service for Writers

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

A few hours left to enter

Server Down

The Flash 500 server has been down on and off for the last two days. This means many people would not have been able to send in entries.

 

Some were fortunate enough to get online at a time when the server was up and running, but the email system wasn't working properly and (although we received emails) we were unable to reply.

 

We have now been promised by the service provider that all issues have been resolved. However, if anyone managed to get through and submit an entry, but hasn't received a thank you email in response to your payment and entry, please let us know so that we can acknowledge receipt.

 

For those of you who were unable to get through, there are still a few hours left to enter. The Flash Fiction and Humour Verse competitions both close tonight (30th September) at midnight UK time.

 

Novel Competition

Don't forget the Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competition only closes at the end of October, so you still have a full month to get those entries in.

 

Full details of all three categories can be found on the Flash 500 Home Page.

 

Good luck with all your entries.

 

Kind regards, 

 

Lorraine

Critique Service for Writers

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

Long Lists for Flash 500 Competitions

Long Lists 

The long lists are up for the second quarter 2013. You can find the titles of the flash fiction long list here and the titles of the humour verse long list here.

Great Judges for the Third Quarter Competitions

We have best-selling author, Rachel Abbott, judging the flash fiction category and a welcome return by Sarah Willans for the humour verse entries.

New Entries on Resource Page

Once again, our page of useful sites for writers has been updated. There are many links listed which could be of benefit, regardless of whether you write prose or poetry. Don't forget to share this page with your writing friends: Writers' Resources

Slight Change to Highly Commended Prize for Flash Fiction

I have received many emails asking if a paperback of Bad Moon Rising could be offered in place of the e-book. I'm more than happy to comply and will send a signed copy to the highly commended author if that is the preferred choice of books.

For all of you who have made the second quarter 2013 long lists, congratulations and good luck with the next stage of judging.

If you missed out this time, here’s hoping you make it through in one of the other quarters this year. Both categories are now open for entries. For more information on everything to do with both competitions, visit the websites: Flash 500 Flash Fiction and Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition.

Don't Miss Out on our Annual Competition for Novelists

Unlike the flash fiction and humour verse competitions, this is NOT run on a quarterly basis, but is an annual competition with a six month entry period, which opened on the first of May and will close at the end of October each year. Information regarding prize money, judges and rules can be found on the website: Novel Opening and Synopsis Competition

Kind regards,

Lorraine

Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition
Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition