Short Story Contest Reading

Short Story Contest Reading

I recently volunteered to be a reader for a short story contest run by the San Diego Writers Organization (SDW). This is my first time being a reader, and I was interested in learning more about how such contests are run. SDW is one of the largest writer's organizations in San Diego, and their contest drew a huge number of responses. There were several categories, but I chose to read for the prose category of short stories (max 3,000 words). There were no other restrictions. The winners of the competition would get their work published in an anthology.

I received the first of two sets of manuscripts for review late last week. There were fourteen manuscripts. I finished reading them all on Monday, 23 September. The genres ranged from straight fiction to fairytale fantasy. I was expecting at least a few thrillers, CSI type stories, mysteries, and maybe some vampire and undead entries. To my surprise, none of those genres appeared in any of these fourteen stories.

I enjoyed reading the stories, whether good or not so good. Readers were not asked to give full critiques. My role as a "first reader" was to provide short feedback so that the second readers could focus on the better entries. Condensed down, I gave my opinion on whether a story was worth consideration for the anthology, and why or why not.

Out of the fourteen stories I reviewed, none of them jumped out and grabbed me, but there were two that warranted a second look. The other twelve stories, no matter the genre or subject matter, had very common failings. They were, sadly, boring to read. Very little happens, conflict is lacking, and many of the stories simply end without any resolution.

Since the contest is ongoing I won't specifically discuss the two stories that caught my eye. I liked one of them because the writer really had something to say, and the story is one of those where you root for the main characters, but are afraid that the end is not going to turn out well for them. The other one I liked went into fairyland with tongue firmly in cheek in a very entertaining way. It was very short, too, which in filling an anthology could help it land a spot.

I got confirmation that the Read and Critique package I'd sent had been received. The day and time of the meeting is still TBD. Everything is on track for the conference.