A month ago, I signed up for the 2015 NYC Midnight Short Story Competition, for my second year. This is a fun, three-round elimination contest under pressure, which I love. In 2014, I didn't make it past Round One, although I did get an Honorable Mention for my assigned category of Historical Fiction (Subject: Sworn Enemies, Char: Widow), so I was pleased with that result.
This year, I completely spaced on the starting date of the first round! Luckily there are eight days to write the 2500 word story, and I can be fast. Instead of starting at 9pm Thursday Jan. 15th, I began at midnight the following Thursday. I cranked out the first draft before 4am, and sent it to a few friends for feedback. I tweaked it Saturday an hour before deadline and got it in 30 minutes early. Whew!
Now, I have to wait until results are announced around March 10th. I had a lot of fun with this one, because I was given Sci-fi - yay! - which is easier for me, having been raised on Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Night Gallery, Tales From the Crypt, Tales From the Darkside, Star Trek, etc. My assigned subject was "retirement" and my character was "receptionist." We'll see what happens with the contest, but I will definitely find a home for this story. It got several laughs and a good response from both readers and the listeners in my writers group. Always nice, especially since I've not been writing much funny this past year.
Now, I must admit that this post is a bit of a procrastination tactic - I need to be writing more memoir essays, and that darn sixth draft of HISMZA that I've been putting off. I also have several things to edit for other writers, so I'm signing off.
Happy Writing!
No comments:
Post a Comment