Writing contests

For a long time, I refused to go anywhere near fanfic-writing contests in the ponyfic world. (Or anywhere else, for that matter.) Part of it was that I was nervous of the competition, part of it was that a lot of them didn't seem very well thought out, part of it was that a lot more of them ended up with two or three entries if you were lucky. So I wrote my stories, put them up on Fimfiction and just generally cruised along. I didn't really give any thought to the idea that I might start entering any fic-writing competitions myself.

And then, last summer, there was the EQD "Outside Insight" contest, whose prompt ("Write a story about ponies from a non-pony's perspective") caught my interest. And so I wrote We Who with Songs Beguile, which ended up making the final. I was very pleased by that, especially considering the quality of the opposition I was up against. And, since then, I've entered several more, albeit on a much smaller scale. I've even managed to win one: It Doesn't Matter Now took the honours in a small contest organised by UK of Equestria.

I'm still not a full-on contest enterer. I completely missed the original "Most Dangerous Game" contest, which is a shame as I'd probably have tried that one. (Its sequel was of much less interest, unfortunately.) And before anyone mentions them: yes, I know about the Writeoff Association's write-offs (guys, what's with the non-agreeing hyphenation?), but they really seem to demand more time than I tend to have available. I need competitions which are pretty much write story, submit story, wait for results!

So, I suspect that I'll continue in much the same vein as I do now: entering the occasional contest simply because the setup catches my eye. Whether I'll ever win another one, who knows, but I think I would encourage other fanfic authors to give the thrill of competition a go from time to time. Just don't worry too much if it all goes horribly wrong: The Light that Ignites in the Dark was one of nine entries for a contest. It came, er, "lower than seventh" along with a fic by a guy named JMac. You may have heard of him. :P

Maybe one of these days I might even try to set up a small-scale contest myself. That sounds like it might be quite a train-wreck fun, actually. Especially as then I wouldn't have to think of anything to write for it! :P