Contests: Writers’ Playground

I’ve been doing Writers’ Playground’s short story contest for a couple years now. I really enjoy the contest for two reasons. One–it’s genre agnostic. Many contests assign genres as part of their prompts, but WP is open, meaning you can write in any genre you like–from litfit to horror to scifi to romance–with no preference from the judges. Secondly, the prompts are choose-your-own-adventure.

You are given a small pool of characters and settings, and you must choose one of each to feature in your story. There is also an object that must appear–this one is the same for everyone. It’s a prompted contest that allows for flexibility, which is pretty unique.

In addition, every submission gets personalized, detailed feedback, so even if you don’t place, you get your money’s worth.

Last year, I placed 3rd in the Third Playground Challenge with a little speculative romance called “Waiting in the Everafter.”

This year, I chose a waterfall as my setting and a veteran as my character. Every story must include a scroll. I ended up in 10th place with my story “Barberry for Atonement.” The General in this story is a war-weary witch with a unique gift. I kind of love her. Hope you do too!

If you get a chance, also take a look at my friend Charlie Roger‘s story – “Men and Other Disappearances” which took 9th place. We’ve been writing buddies for a number of years now, and I love seeing his work out in the world!