5 Strategies You Need to Win Any Writing Contest

Welcome back, my inklings.  I hope you’re all doing well.  It’s Good Friday already and the contest deadlines we discussed last week are fast approaching.  There’s quite a lot of strategies you can employ to get a better chance of winning a writing contest, many of which are only applicable to certain types of competitions.

I was considering this while I narrowed down for you the five best strategies that have helped me win in the past.  I wanted to provide you with tips that should work for absolutely any writing competition you come across, strategies that without which you’re almost guaranteed to lose.  I can’t promise you victory, but I can certainly put you on the path that leads to it.

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Blinded By The Fire: A Lyrical Poem

When they look out into the sky
blinded by their own light,
do the stars above us ever know
what it looks like at night?

Burning in the blackness
they must feel so alone
but we see them in their billions
admiring their glow

If you feel yourself burn
And you’re blinded by the fire
know that you are not alone
You’re a star up in the sky

When you feel yourself burn
And you feel like you could die
You’re not suffering alone
I am with you in this fight

If I tried to count them all
It would take me all my years
and there would still be more
aflame in their own fears

Of one thing I am certain
Our pain is only now
One day we’ll pull back the curtain
We will make it out somehow

And if your memories
are haunting you tonight
you’re not hurting by yourself
cause I am with you in this fight

If you feel yourself burn
And you’re blinded by the fire
know that you are not alone
You’re a star up in the sky

When you feel yourself burn
And you feel like you could die
You’re not suffering alone
I am with you in this fight

There’s still beauty in your life
I am with you in this fight.
One day you’ll see the starry night.

~Robert JV Christensen

I won another Short Story Contest! Wanna read it?

Good afternoon, my inklings!  I have the most delightful news for you.  I have another free short story to share and this time it’s another contest winner.  I have been honored as the winner of the first ever “Short Story Showcase” over at Kara Piazza’s blog, “The Writing Piazza”.

I’m just grateful to God that I was given another story that somebody really liked.  I hope you’ll like it too.  The story is called MadWorm.  It’s a web savvy futuristic adventure with laughs, intrigue and maybe even a little danger.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. 😉

You can read the full story right here on H2WLAO.

Please add MadWorm to your reading list and let me know what you thought about it!  You can comment to me here or over at Kara’s place.

   See, my inklings?  Good things can happen if you keep working hard, keep putting your stuff out there and give yourself a chance.  I believe in you guys.  Stay creative!

Robert JV Christensen

8 Quick Tips For Great Short Stories | Writamins: Vitamin S |

8 Short Story Quick Tips to get you writing great new material!

Welcome, my inklings, to Writamins!  Writing Vitamins or “Writamins” is my new article series designed to get you pumped, get you thinking about your craft and get you writing with my very own brand of condensed writing nutrition.

If you’re like me you have a million ideas for books with new ones popping up almost daily, but how do you narrow them down?  It’s going to take a lot of time and effort to write an entire book, so how can you know that your concept and characters are going to excite people and really connect with your readers?  Take some Vitamin S, of course!

Blue Ribbon Octopus

Boy do I have news for you, my inklings.

All I can say is wow.  I just got home last night from an impromptu trip to Lincoln, NE to the fabulous Constellation VI sci-fi convention.  Hosted by the charming and hilarious toastmistress Sabrina Sumsion.  If you are in the area come check it out, the people are fantastic and there’s a wonderful atmosphere of fun and community permeating the event.  “But why,” you might ask, “was the octopus at a sci-fi convention?”

Fighting with a Project? Don’t Give Up!

I’ll be absolutely honest.  I’ve been having a difficult time with my time travel piece.  It’s in part because I haven’t made the time to sit down with it, and also because the rest of my life has been running me down like I’m a tunnel digging prison escapee.

At the moment I’m hiding in a metaphorical ditch while life shines its spotlights across the marsh from only a few feet away.  The slightest breath and I might have to go be an adult and do life things.  So let’s make the most of this time together before life finds me and throws me back in the clink.