Stephanie writes young adult contemporary novels and is the creator of GoTeenWriters.com. Her novels include The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series (Revell) and the Ellie Sweet books (Playlist). You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and check out samples of her work on her author website.
We thought it'd be fun to start 2014 with a classic, 100 word Go Teen Writers contest!
Your prompt sentence is: Every word he spoke was a lie.
Here's how the game is played:
1. The prompt sentence must be the first sentence of your paragraph. It cannot be altered. You cannot insert words or change the punctuation.
2. Your paragraph must be NO MORE THAN 107 words (the prompt sentence + 100 words.) That means your entry can be 105 words or 99 words or 87 words, but not 108 or more.
3. Your paragraph should read like the opening of a story, which means it should do the same things you want the first paragraph of a novel to do.
4. You must be 21 or younger to enter. One entry per person.
5. Your paragraph must be turned in by Friday , January 10th. That's THIS Friday.
Entries are judged using this form.
Finalists will be announced the following week, and then the three winners will be announced several days after that. Those in the top three will receive Go Teen Writers rewards points as their prize.
You enter by using the below form. Important: Entries are anonymous. The judge will not see names on any of the entries they read. We only use your name and email address to return your feedback to you and, if you final, to list your name on the website.
Ooooooh, so exciting! Can't wait to start on this. Uh, after school...and violin practice...of course. :)
ReplyDeleteI started following Go Teen Writers at the second ever 100 word prompt contest. This blog as grown so much since then! Love it.
ReplyDelete~Sarah Faulkner
inklinedwriters.blogpsot.com
Thanks so much. Sounds interesting
ReplyDeleteOoh, cool. One of my goals for this year is to enter more writing contests, so I'll have to give this one a try.
ReplyDeleteGreat writing promt! Will definately enter. I love these contests, thank you Stephanie and Jill.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I'll definitely try to enter!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to get writing!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!! I've actually been in a writing mood lately. The prompt sentence is AMAZING. Oh my gosh I can't wait to get started.
ReplyDeleteSo excited. The wheels are already turning in my head!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be super fun. :D
ReplyDeleteOhh, this is going to be really fun!
ReplyDeleteTabby (http://tabbys-corner.blogspot.com/)
I joined Go Teen Writers in the middle of the last contest (seems like a long time ago) so I've never had a chance to do one. Can't wait to try!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like fun, and I definitely have some time on my hands, considering school was snowed out!
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ReplyDelete*Misspell in last comment, sorry!*
ReplyDeleteHello Stephanie and Jill!
I've been reading your blog for a year, or so, now. It is awesome! I want to thank you for all the help you've given me. I'm a teen writer (by age, and, I guess by what I write), but aspire to be a published author. Hoping for fame too :) Haha.
Thanks for the contest, I hope you liked my entry. I absolutely love contests! It helps me know how I'm doing and gives me ideas for books (like this one). All in all, a huge THANK YOU.
So glad to see so much enthusiasm!
ReplyDeleteI was asked about who the judges are, which is fair since I usually post that information! This time it's me and Jill. In the past we've avoided that. Partially because you get us and our big mouths all the time, and we like to introduce you to other authors and their thoughts.
It was also because the entries were emailed to me, and I couldn't avoid seeing who wrote what. With the Google form, however, we can keep it completely anonymous until we need to contact people, so now that's no longer an issue.
Also, Jill and I are preparing for a BIG contest once we hit 1,000 followers on the blog so we're trying to save our judges for that :)
Happy writing, everyone!
That's so cool!!!!!!!! Thanks for everything you do!
DeleteAWESOME!!! I can't believe how close you guys are to 1000! That's amazing! ;D
DeleteI entered! :) I'm so excited! Thank you so much for doing this, Stephanie and Jill!!!
Good luck everyone!!! :D You can do it!!! ;D
TW Wright
ravensandwriting.blogspot.com
Just entered! :) Can't wait to see the winners!
ReplyDeleteIs it changing punctuation adding quotes around the sentence?
ReplyDeleteQuotes around the sentence is a fine addition :)
DeleteI could kiss your feet. ::muah::
ReplyDeleteThat was fun! And hard. :)
ReplyDeleteYeeaaaaaaaahhh!!!! So ready for this!
ReplyDeleteI entered!! Can't wait until the results and good luck to everyone :)
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say thank you for putting this out there! This was the first time I have honestly written anything in awhile, and I really appreciate the opportunity to write my very first fictional response in 2014! Thank you! Good luck everyone!
ReplyDeleteWill everyone get feedback, even if they don't win?
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteThanks. I really appreciate this.
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ReplyDeleteI entered! :) Good luck everybody! :D
ReplyDeleteOhh, the 10th can't come fast enough. I can hardly sit still through my school work. And being homeschooled in this situation doesn't help. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting this on, Jill and Steph!
I know the feeling! I keep checking back every few minutes. Lol, good luck
DeleteYou guys are so funny :) We won't announce finalists until next week, so you can relax a bit.
DeleteThank you :) I'll try! Haha
DeleteI know. But this is my first writing contest ever, and I've never been the very patient type. Lol
DeleteThanks! You too Parker! Even if we don't win, do you want to share our entries? We could give each other tips. I would like to see what others have written.
Lol, I know the feeling. (Again)
DeleteYou betcha, thank you! I think it would be cool! We'll see. I would too, I like to see writers in progress :D
I don't know how long my entry is- my writing software says 107 but I counted it and. Got only 104.
ReplyDeleteEither way, that'll be fine :)
DeleteI've entered! Thanks for the great contest, Stephanie and Jill :)
ReplyDeleteI am so excited you are doing another contest! They are some of my favorite things to do!
ReplyDeleteI decided to write this contest in the same world as my last one for the 150 "I never was the type…" contest. Super excited for this! I love these competitions so much!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for this contest. The prompt sentence allowed me to create a story idea I think is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteComment by Angie
Awesome to hear! I was the same way :) I began just for fun and then this cool idea came up. Goes to show how fellow writers help each other huh.
DeleteOoh! I think I've created a new story too!! ;) You guys know how to get a brain brainstorming! ;)
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ReplyDeleteCan two people (different names and stories) enter from the same e-mail?
ReplyDeleteYep!
DeleteAaaah, can't wait to see who wins! Question for you, though: will we get to see the winning paragraphs, as well as hear what made them stand out to you?
ReplyDeleteIf the winners grant us permission to share them, yes.
DeleteDo a and the count as words?
ReplyDeleteI'm struggling a little bit with getting under a hundred and seven ;)
If you're struggling to keep your word count low, try using contractions. :) Turn "I am" into "I'm," "we are" into "we're," etc. (Also, if you're using adverbs--quickly, quietly, sneakily, etc.--try turning the adverb and the verb you're modifying into one word. For example, "quickly walked" turns into "jogged" or "ran," "quietly spoke" turns into "muttered" or "whispered.") Hope this helps! :)
DeleteYes!! Thank you so much! That really helps!
DeleteGreat tip, Violinist!
DeleteWow, Magic Violinist, those are some great tips! :)
DeleteSetting a word limit is a great exercise in practicing concision :)
DeleteThanks, everyone! :)
Delete@Hannah Barta Definitely! I find that Twitter is good practice with that. ;)
Ohhh, I'm so excited! Last time I didn't get to enter and I can't wait till Friday now! This was a great prompt sentence which I was able to make some pretty cool stories around (if I may say so myself). I wrote 5 different versions before deciding on one. Can't wait to see the results! Thank you so much for this contest.
ReplyDeleteHP
Do we have a choice on whether we receive feedback or not? I know I need to get over this, but I have a phobia of feedback and I'm pretty sure I didn't do very well on this one. . . . I didn't spend a lot of time on it. . . .
ReplyDeleteI have feedback phobia too, if it makes you feel better. We keep that in mind when we give feedback, but if you choose not to read it, that's totally up to you :-)
DeleteOkay :) Thanks!
DeleteAh I'm a day late :( I usually only blog saturdays so didn't see the contest til today. :b
ReplyDeleteBummer :( Our next one will be open longer!
DeleteGreat!!!!!
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