To win short story competitions, you need to pay attention to character development. Make your characters relatable and complex. Also, polish your writing style to make it clear and vivid.
One popular one is the Young Writers' Award. It offers great opportunities for YA writers to showcase their talent. There's also the Teen Ink Contest, which gets a lot of entries each year. Both provide good platforms for young writers to get noticed.
As someone who loves reading novels, I don't have any real-time updates to answer your questions about the short story contest. However, you can follow the relevant novel websites or social media accounts to find out if they are holding a short story competition or essay contest and participating. Some novel websites would also regularly publish essay questions and competition requirements. You could read them carefully and participate in the competition if you met the requirements.
Start with a unique and captivating idea. Make your characters relatable and the plot engaging. Pay attention to the language and keep it concise and vivid.
The short story might focus on the challenges that teenagers face in society. For example, they could be dealing with problems at school like bullying or academic stress, and at home with family expectations. These combined issues can lead to a feeling of being lost, just like in a wasteland.
There was a boy named Tom and a girl named Lily in high school. They sat next to each other in math class. One day, Tom helped Lily with a difficult math problem. After that, they started to talk more and more. They would share their lunches, walk home together sometimes. They both liked reading, so they often went to the library on weekends. However, when Lily's family had to move to another city, they were heartbroken. But they promised to keep in touch and their first love remained a beautiful memory in their teenage years.
It could be about the struggles and adventures of teenagers in a desolate or challenging environment. Maybe it involves friendship, self-discovery, or facing difficult choices.
The story centers around the adolescent journey of characters in a somewhat desolate or chaotic setting. It examines their internal conflicts, relationships, and efforts to grow and overcome the odds.