Their have been many free writing competitions and each of them has winners who are awarded differently. Most people always focus on the good work done by the author and forget that before the writing got recognised, it had to undergo through a lot of changes. All in all, no one is perfect when it comes to writing and that why you need to take keen lessons from the errors made by previous writers so that you don’t end up repeating them. If it your first time participating in any competitions, it doesn’t mean you have to wait for the organisers to point out your mistakes. You can always research on these mistakes and try correct them before you can join any competitions. Below is a list of the common mistakes committed that you should avoid;
- Never ignore the word requirements
Most people have read articles and wondered why they are that short and precise? The reality is that when you are awarded a task of writing, you need to know how many words you are supposed to write. You can write a whole page and all they needed was just a short article of 500 words. This may automatically disqualify you from most free writing contests. You need to know how many words are required and which format the work should be in. Some competitions may require you to use a specific font and size. Keep this in mind. If you can’t then there is no point of taking part in the competition.
- Never lose the story
The other mistake that people have committed before and you should avoid is the whole aspect of writing something that isn’t related to the topic or theme given. If you are going to write, then you need to ensure that you stick to the instructions given. Other than that, you also need to make sure that you are straight to the point. It will pointless for you to write a lot of sentences that don’t clearly paint the picture in the readers’ minds. Participating in any of these free writing contests requires you to know that the quickest way to your readers is by going straight to the action while still encompassing the theme of the event.
- Deadline
The other mistake you should never do is ignore then deadlines. Most of the free writing competitions have deadlines on when you should register and also when you should submit your work. This means that you don’t have to wait until the last day of registration to do it. If you know you are interested, then you should do your registration as early as possible. Basically, you need to avoid working on the same day as the deadline since it will put a lot of pressure on you. Thus, you may not produce quality work.
