Short Fiction. Write it. Sell it. : WHODUNNIT? A MYSTERY CONTEST

Sunday, March 2, 2014

WHODUNNIT? A MYSTERY CONTEST

Although I am not a part of this group, I think this is great little contest. And fun. Pick out one of your best stories and send it in.  Preferably not a reject because the whole idea is to get feedback from authors who have sold to WW before you actually submit your story. Of course, it's never a sure thing with WW, but for $5 you may up the odds a bit by working out the wrinkles first.

                                          sponsored by
                                 SLEUTHS' INK MYSTERY WRITERS
                                            Springfield, MO

Join the ranks of mystery writers and try your hand at writing a mini-mystery. If you've never written this genre, we suggest you read Woman’s World magazine, which publishes a new mystery weekly. The mysteries are located near the back, are always 700 words, and a solution is provided.

These mysteries are fun and interactive. And who doesn’t like to solve a whodunnit? Put on a Columbo trench coat and try your hand at this genre.

Guidelines and Word Count:

Simply write a short "solve-it-yourself" mystery of 700 words. That count must include the narrative and the solution. Stories should be fun and entertaining with an ending that challenges to the reader to figure out whodunnit or howdunnit.

Submission information: Send your entry to Sleuthsink95 [at] gmail (dot) com. Write "Contest Submission" in the subject line.

Payment information: Include a $5 entry fee per entry. (You may enter as many times as you want, but you’ll need to mail $5 for each entry.)

You’ll need to mail your entry fee to:

Stephanie Jarkins
Sleuths' Ink Treasurer
6911 N. 23rd Street
Ozark, MO 65721

You will receive a confirmation once we’ve received your entry and your fee.
Cash Prizes for first, second and third place winners. Additionally, all entries will receive feedback by at least two published WW authors! What have you got to lose?

Deadline: May 31, 2014. (winners will be announced in early July)

Note: This is a contest sponsored by Sleuths' Ink Mystery Writers, and has no affiliation with Woman’s World Magazine. We do, however, encourage you to submit your finished story to WW. Remember, you are eligible to win cash prizes, plus your stories will be judged and critiqued by at least two published Woman’s World authors.

Questions? Email us at Sleuthsink95 [at] gmail (dot) com and good luck!

6 comments:

Tamara said...: Thanks, Jody.; March 2, 2014 at 3:55 PM
Chris said...: Thanks for including this, Jody. Are you going to give it a try before sending in your next m-m?; March 5, 2014 at 9:18 AM
Jody E. Lebel said...: @ Chris. Yes, I'll be sending in something. Last year I received Honorable Mention... Johnene still rejected it. But it's fun anyway to get the feedback and participate. I'm working on a story about identical triplets. I have a weary female detective, about ready to retire, and a brand new rookie who's jittery and so very excited to be on the job. I've used them once before in a story. Even tho that story got rejected, I like the characters.

Have you got one you want to submit?; March 5, 2014 at 9:31 AM
Tamara said...: I can't wait to read the triplets story; great idea. I hope I get to read it in the magazine and not on here.; March 5, 2014 at 11:02 AM
Jody E. Lebel said...: Sleuthsink has asked me to be one of the judges in this contest. I know what you're all thinking. Jody will be sooo hard on them. Actually, I'm a very good judge. I am always kind and take a lot of time to point out the positive things in their writing...right before I bring down the axe. Just kidding. When I judge writing contests I'm very gentle. People don't pay money to enter a contest to get slammed. They enter to get good feedback that will help them improve their work.; March 7, 2014 at 8:22 PM
Angela said...: Thank you for sharing the info about our contest on your blog. Creative Blessings!
Angela; March 11, 2014 at 4:20 PM

78 Pages full of tips. Click on cover for link. Only $1.99.

Viewers of this blog are from 105 countries and 6 of the 7 continents.

United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordon, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, , Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar [Burma], Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

Want help with your story?

My day job puts me in contact with real cops, detectives, FBI agents and DEA guys. I have worked thousands of cases from the homeless guy on the Metrorail who got arrested for jumping the turnstile -- that’s right, arrested for not having a quarter -- to the Tamiami Strangler, a serial killer who strangled hookers along the famous trail in Miami. I produce court transcripts for a living.

Who better to look at your mystery stories to see if the police procedures are true, the clues are solid and the whole thing works? I will not hesitate to point out the good, the bad and the ugly in your story. Both of my WW mysteries made it to Johnene. From there? Cross your fingers.

The line-by-line edit, which also includes grammar, spelling and proofing, will offer suggestions on how to improve problem spots. The cost is $29 payable by PayPal. 72-hour turn around time.

I’ll also take a second look once you’ve revamped your story, but this time I’ll only look for glaring errors assuming all the details you chose to put in you want to stay in.

Send your story as a Word e-mail attachment to ladyrprter at aol dot com, and the fee to PayPal using ladyrprter at aol dot com for the payee

I'm looking forward to rummaging through your story's drawers...heh heh.

WW Mystery Writing Tips

Not every crime has to be intentional. An accidental killing is manslaughter as opposed to murder.

Long gone are the days when fiction was meant to instruct us. Today, fiction must entertain. If you bore the reader, you lose a fan. Keep losing fans and you will not have a writing career, you will have a hobby. Take a hard look at your WIP (work in progress). Here are four areas where your story might be lagging.
http://iuindia.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e7e93e9b465b4920d300061bc&id=0afe02a531&e=75c2fed65f

Your tag line is the hook that gets someone interested in reading your work. It's one of the most important lines of your story. Take time to make it sparkle.

Criminals don't always think the crime through--especially if the crime is one of passion or revenge--but don't have them make stupid or stilly mistakes just to get your story written. Make the mistakes something that you just normally don't think about. Like the pruning skin in this story.

You don't always have to have crime scene details to make a mystery story work. Cozy mysteries sell well if you make the characters interesting.

Don't be fuzzy with your clues. Make up good ones and own them.

I've noticed that WW loves female cops and really loves little old ladies.

Once again WW chose a story with a female cop and little old ladies. Just remember to use the proper words for the crimes and before you say things like, he jimmied the lock, understand just what that is.

You've only got 700 words. Make them count. Don't waste words on things that don't matter. And NEVER give a clue and then later in the solution change it to the opposite. That's not fair. Just how is the reader supposed to figure it out then?

There are many ways to lay out the solve-it-yourself story. You don't always have to have the reader guess who the perp is. This week's story was presented with a fresh angle. We knew who did it. The question was did she cover her tracks well enough to fool the police?

As writers we often ask the reader to suspend disbelief a bit, but don't overdo it. Keep it as real as you can or you'll lose the reader.

If you have four suspects, have four good motives. Otherwise what's the point in having four suspects? It is almost a sin to have four suspects and not have even one decent red herring in the bunch. That's just a waste of words.

When the reader expects one situation, and gets another, that's really a form of a red herring. I expected a tired old theory and was given the surprise of a fresh twist. As the reader I was tricked...and that's a good thing.

When you reuse characters be sure to make them interesting and likable. Being cranky is not the same as being interesting. Be careful to not let one of them become mean. It's hard to like someone who calls people names and teases them about their not so glorious past.

Don't introduce a main character too late in the story. The reader feels cheated.

You don't always have to have police involved for a mystery to work. Be realistic if you are going to use animals in your story. Lassie wasn't real.

Write in more than one good motive. Two or three people could have done it, but only one has the means and opportunity to go with that motive.

I realize you only have 700 words to get in your story, but use every one of those words wisely. Don't repeat to fill the space. If your story is really done in 350 words, your story is too simple.

Try not to use the same old tired solutions. We're writers. Come up with something new and interesting. Treat the readers to a challenge. If I see one more muddy footprint on a white carpet...I'm going to hurt somebody.

Readers like to follow the same characters. Once you sell a mystery to WW, try building up a following by using the same police characters in future stories. Do us all a favor though... make them likable.

I know I'm repeating myself (talk about deja vu) but please try your very best to come up with a fresh twist or interesting solution that hasn't been done before. We want WW readers to LOVE this mystery page...not become bored with it.

Don't use too many names in your story. It just confuses the reader. The story this week handled this extremely well. You knew who you were reading about from the character's description. It all flowed well and never pulled the reader out of the story.

A short story is really just a very short novel. The same rules apply. Give us characters we will love and care about. Don't have them doing silly things.

Once again we have someone not acting right. Check your facts. Check your facts. Check your facts. Did I mention you should ALWAYS check your facts? Getting the details right should just be a given.

Make sure the solution makes sense. Common sense. Put yourself in their shoes. What would you do? Think? How would you act? Don't throw in a rotten fish just for smell.

Know the proper use of words. Men don't leer at each other -- generally. lol. Don't make up a silly details to fit your story line. Make sure everything works and people act in character.

Short Fiction. Write it. Sell it.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

WHODUNNIT? A MYSTERY CONTEST

6 comments:

labels

Book Art

Followers

Do you submit? Do you Duotrope?

Interesting Sites to Visit