Last month I mentioned that I entered a writing contest, my first one. I opted to enter this particular contest simply because it would not require a great deal of time or effort.
It’s not that I’m lazy. It’s that if it required writing a short story or essay, I would be hardpressed to invest several hours needed to craft the ideal submission. However, in this case, the requirement was a mere 25 words. Yeah, that’s right, 25 words, slightly longer than one of my weekly tweets.
For this contest, we were provided a photo and tasked with producing the opening sentence for a story based on it. I, along with a thousand or so others, did so. Not surprising, I was not picked as one of the top ten entries.
Check out the photo and the top ten submissions. I must admit that many of these submissions are much more creative than mine, but there are also a few that I don’t think are as good. Of course, I’m not a fiction writer, either, so what do I know?
After you’ve checked out the top ten, here is my submission:
Bored with the leisurely drive and desperate to capture Michael’s attention, Jessica thrust her arms upward and screamed loudly as if riding a plunging rollercoaster.
In retrospect, I think I creatively captured the photo but failed at penning a compelling opening for a short story.
By the way, I just entered another contest. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
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Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.