Go Teen Writers: SHOW ME Contest

Shannon Dittemore is the author of the Angel Eyes trilogy. She has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a focus on youth and young adult ministry. For more about Shan, check out her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Today, we're going to stretch our SHOWING skills. We've talked a little about the difference between showing and telling on Go Teen Writers, but here's a crash course.

In our stories, it is important to SHOW the reader what's going on. Sure, we do that by penning words, but those words are best used to paint a picture and not simply to list things that happen. The farther we get from painting pictures the closer we get to TELLING.

Showing is something we are always striving to get better at. It's part of the craft we never, ever have completely figured out. And there are all sorts of disclaimers because sometimes it's perfectly okay to simply get it out and tell the reader.

But what makes a story unputdownable is a writer's ability to climb inside a reader's brain and SHOW them something. Something beautiful maybe. Something terrifying. Something new. Something that matters.

Novels, as a whole, should show a story. And it's fairly easy to know when that's happened. It's a little harder to fine-tune your sentences and paragraphs. It's harder to SHOW a character is angry or hurt or happy without just flat out saying it. It takes effort and that's just what we're going to do today.

SO! Here it is. The contest.

Your character is EXHAUSTED.

SHOW ME. 

Do not TELL me. Do not say, Elias is exhausted. Do not say, Elias is super tired. 

Be creative in this. Your character can be exhausted for whatever reason your genius brain can come up with. 

Just show it to me.

Contest specifics:

1. Your contest entry must be no longer than 150 words. It can be 149 words, but it CANNOT be 151 words. No exceptions.

2. You must be 21 or younger to enter. One entry per person. Your entry must be in English but writers from all countries are invited to participate.

4. Your entry must be submitted by Monday, April 20th.

5. Finalists will be announced Friday, May 1st and winners will be announced Friday, May 22nd. The top three winners will have their entries posted on the blog (if they'd like).

6. Entries will be judged using this form.

After the entries are narrowed to the finalists, the top three winners will be selected by the teen writers in my mentoring class who are also working on their craft. This is a great opportunity to receive feedback and have your writing looked at by your peers.

You enter by using the form below. Important: Entries are anonymous. The judges 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. Yes, you may use a pen name.

If you make a mistake on your entry, it is possible to resubmit, but please type the words DUPLICATE ENTRY at the top of the form.

Did I cover everything? I hope so!

NOW, crack those knuckles and SHOW ME some exhaustion!