Writing Prompts That Could Make You Money

It's the start of a new month and here's some ideas to get your creative juices flowing. None of these writing contests require an entry fee. Even if you don't win, at least you have a new piece of work  that could be the start of your next novel.

If you are not ready to submit this month, keep the contests in mind for next year as all are yearly contests.

Real Simple’s sixth annual Life Lessons Essay Contest - You could have your essay published in Real Simple and receive a prize of $3,000. That’s a prize that can get your attention! Topic: What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done? 1,500 words maximum, preferably in a Microsoft Word document.  Deadline September 19, 2013. All submitted essays must be nonfiction. Details at realsimple.com

The Family Circle 2013 Fiction Writing Contest ends September 16, 2013 Entries must be postmarked on or before September 16, 2013 and received by Sponsor by September 23, 2013. Short story of no more than 2,500 words. Total ARV of all prizes: $2,880.00.  Details at www.familycircle.com/fc/search/results.jsp?searchType=content&searchString=2012+Family+Circle+Fiction+Contest+winners

Past Loves Day Story Contest - "Nearly everyone has memories of a former sweetheart. Write your true story of an earlier love, in no more than 700 words. Tell us about someone whose memory brings a smile or a tear, or both....Your story may be heart-warming or humorous. Just tell about your earlier sweetheart as if you were talking to your best friend." Cash prizes will be awarded: $100/$75/$50. "Winning stories will be posted (anonymously, if requested by author) on this website." http://www.ourpastloves.com/contest  Deadline: September 17, 2013

Glimmer Train Stories – Stories not to exceed 12,000 words.(No minimum, though it's rare for a piece under 500 words to read as a full story.) Deadline: September 30.  $700, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 10 copies of that issue http://www.glimmertrain.com/writguid1.html

On The Premises – Prizes from $40 $180. The Current Contest: Theme - INSTRUCTIONS
A set of instructions, or just one instruction, must be an important element of your story. The instruction(s) can be written, spoken, or transmitted in any other way you can make believable.
All of that is up to you. Your challenge: In at least 1,000 but no more than 5,000 words, write a creative, compelling, and well-crafted story that is clearly built around the premise. If you have questions, ask us at Questions@OnThePremises.com. Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Friday, September 27, 2013. http://www.onthepremises.com/current_contest.html

Jeremy Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing. Applicants are invited from anywhere in the world. They can be published or unpublished authors, but the entry itself must be previously unpublished. Your short story should be up to 2500 words in total in English and have a food and drink theme at its heart. Entries should be submitted by email as a Word document to the mogfordprize@oxfordliteraryfestival.org by October 1, 2013 (one submission per person and not previously published). The winning entry will be announced at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival in March 2014. The winner will receive £7500.

And the Winner Is... My Favorite Writing Contests

Do you need writing motivation? Do you want a weekly writing prompt? I know I do especially when I need to walk away from a current writing project for a break. I do that by entering writing contests. The contests I chose to enter never have entry fees and always have a reward of some sort - cash is a favorite of mine.

Personally, I just entered a short story contest that will be judged by voting. It's the James Patterson contest called "The Kiss." You have to write a max of 500 words about star crossed lovers. Would you please take a moment to vote? All you need to do is use the link below and click on the heart icon to vote for me. http://figment.com/books/545799-Tainted-Love-A-Day-of-Promises

If you still want to enter "The Kiss Contest" yourself, you better do it quick. The deadline is 2/26 and when you click on my link above, the top of the page will show you the other upcoming contests as well. 

Here's another one that I find amusing and am in the editing stage on my story. The details are...

The story must include a cat and a Rottweiler who is not a mean dog. The cat and Rottweiler can belong to the same person or have different owners. Somewhere in the story must be the phrase "it was a dark and stormy night." The word count must be at least 2,000 words and no more than
7,000 words. Deadline is April 1. The contest link is http://www.blacklilackitty.com/

And one more that sounds intriguing but I just can't do one more contest right now. The theme is -- "Darkness and light... one cannot exist without the other." Here's a short version of the details... Our imaginations are as limitless as darkness and light, so allow it to carry you to places you have never explored before; we would be delighted to take the journey with you. Stories must center around the theme “Darkness and Light”. There is no limit to the amount of entries you may submit into the competition. Deadline is 2/27 so get writing! http://www.storiesspace.com/competitions/