Submissions are invited for the Gotham Writers Stories Everywhere Contest. Submit your entries by February 29, 2024, on ‘Cabin Fever’!

About Gotham Writers

Established in 1993, Gotham soon became a New York City institution, then a virtual home to writers from almost every country in the world.

Two enterprising young men begin teaching writing classes using a rented space in a church. They do it really well, and soon there are too many students for the church, so they rent more space elsewhere and hire more teachers and the next thing you know they’ve got a school called Gotham Writers Workshop.

About the GW Stories Everywhere Contest

Each month Gotham Writers invites you to post a story on Twitter using #GWstorieseverywhere for a chance to win a free class. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag #GWstorieseverywhere. Your stories (which can be true or made up) will be inspired by what you see, know, or do, and they should relate in some way to these monthly “themes”.

February Theme

Cabin fever.

What Makes a Good Entry for GW Stories Everywhere?

  1. Make sure it’s no more than 25 words. They count.
  2. Make sure you include the Twitter hashtag #GWStoriesEverywhere or they won’t see it. You don’t have to tweet at them and you don’t have to include the theme for that month in your tweet.
  3. Proofread. A misspelt word or comma splice is enough to cause an otherwise worthy entry to be passed over.

Now, let’s get into the tips and tricks of building a good entry:

  1. Do not include the theme in your entry. For instance, if the theme is “This pie I had,” don’t start your story with “This pie I had was so good that it…” and so on. It often leads to automatically being looked over. They want the theme to resonate within the story without you having to remind them that it does.
  2. Make sure that your entry is actually a story. Using the pie theme, if your entry is, “This pie I had was so good that I enjoyed it,” you aren’t going to win. That’s not a story, it’s a statement. However, if your entry talks about the first pie you ever had at your grandmother’s house and how every time you catch a whiff of blueberries baking, you’re transported to the seat in her dining room with the photos of you as a child on the wall… that’s pretty good. Now just make that into a cohesive story that stays under the word limit and you’ve got a great chance.
  3. It doesn’t have to sound fancy. They don’t need big words to be impressed by your storytelling capabilities. Use smart, sensible words that tell the story but don’t draw attention to your excessive vocabulary.
  4. That said, make sure it sounds good. Sometimes the best stories have a lyrical component. Through the use of such tools as alliteration (so long as it isn’t forced), you can help your story rise above the pack by simply making it a pleasant-sounding story. Words are instruments to be wielded by you, the writer. Don’t just toss them on the page. Give them some melody and rhythm.
  5. A sense of humour always helps. Being able to get a smile from the judges to pair with the depth of your story is never going to hurt your odds.
  6. Lastly, it really does pay to look at the winning entries and see what made them so special. You can do that here.

Click here to read the official guidelines of the Gotham Writers Stories Everywhere Contest [#GWstorieseverywhere; Theme for February is ‘Cabin Fever’].

Image taken from here.