I’m super excited to announce that another 100-word contest starts (and ends!) today!

Here’s how these contests work:

Your entry is the prompt sentence + 100 words. The prompt for this contest is:

Seeing an unfamiliar vehicle pull into the driveway next door filled me with dread.

This should be the first sentence of your entry, and what you write next should sound like the opening paragraph of a story. Your job is draw us in, same as you would in a novel or short story. (This is NOT intended to be a full story like flash fiction.)

You can submit your entry using the form below. The contest closes TODAY, Monday, May 4th, 2020 at 10pm Central Time. 

You might be wondering why such a short time frame when we usually keep our contests open for at least a week. We thought it would be interesting to try this style of contest a couple ways. One where we limit the entry time, forcing you to submit your “first thoughts” rather than stewing. Then we’ll do one where we extend the entry time. Won’t it be interesting to see the difference?

Our final round judge this time is Olivia Smit! I was SO excited when Olivia said yes, because once upon a time she was a contest participant! Olivia has been hanging around the Go Teen Writers community for years and just released her debut YA novel with WhiteFire Publishing. Here’s a bit about Seeing Voices:

Skylar Brady has a pretty good idea of how her life is going to turn out, and getting in a car accident the summer before twelfth grade isn’t supposed to be part of the plan. Although Skylar escapes mostly unharmed, the accident has stolen more than just her hearing from her: she’s also lost the close bond she used to have with her brother.

When her parents decide to take a house-sitting job halfway across the province, it’s just one more thing that isn’t going according to plan. As the summer progresses, Skylar begins to gain confidence in herself, but as she tries to mend her relationship with her brother, she stumbles upon another hidden trauma. Suddenly, she’s keeping as many secrets as she’s struggling to uncover, and creating more problems than she could ever hope to solve.

Learn more about Olivia on her website and check out Seeing Voices on Amazon.com.

Here’s what happens after you submit your entry:

When all the entries have been submitted, the names are removed so they can be judged anonymously. First round judges pick their 15 favorites and provide feedback for all entries using this form.

The list of the top 15 will be posted here on the site. Those who did not make the final 15 will receive emails with their feedback, so make sure the email address you give us is accurate!

The final round judge will then read the 15 entries and pick their 4 favorites. Those winning entries will all be published on the website.

Other rules and important details:

This is an all-ages contest for writers who are unpublished in fiction. This means if you have traditionally or self-published a novel or a short story collection, this contest is not open to you. If, however, you’re published in a genre like poetry or you’ve been paid for articles you’ve written for magazines, you may still participate. You also may participate if you’ve had flash fiction or short stories published in magazines. If you have questions about your specific situation, please email me: Stephanie(at)GoTeenWriters.com

You must use the prompt exactly as it is and exactly as directed. In this case, as the first sentence. No adding or subtracting words from it or changing punctuation. You may add quotes around it, if you’d like.

Entries may be less than the prompt + 100 words, but they may not be more. If your entry exceeds prompt + 100 words, it’ll be disqualified.

You are only allowed one entry per contest.

There are no prizes (other than our deep respect and admiration) outside of feedback on your writing from published authors.

We advise that you keep your entry PG-rated.