Best Start

Guidelines for the BEST START fiction category:

Best Start is meant to encourage new writers to tackle that story!

This category is different from our others in that the piece should be an engaging and coherent narrative, but it does not need to be a complete story; it needs to be an important part of a story in progress. You could think of it as a writing sample, but we hope you'll feel free to reach a bit. Maybe you're experimenting with a new voice, developing a character, working on clarity in a complex bit of plot or trying to make your dialogue believable and significant. You could be playing with point of view, working to build tension, or looking for a satisfying ending. Or you might be two pages into something brand new.

What we want is to read is an engaging slice of a story you're excited about writing.

All pieces should be original fiction and not have appeared in a print publication.
No fiction for children, please.
It's fine to submit more than one piece.

To make a submission: Please send your work via our new online submission procedure. It's easy, will save you postage and paper, and is much easier on the environment. Just click the yellow Submissions button above to get started!

Dates: The category will be open to submissions for one full month, from the first day through midnight (Pacific time) of the last day of the month. Results will be posted at www.glimmertrain.org.

September. Results will be posted on November 30 and announced in the December bulletin.

Reading fee:

$10 per piece.

Prizes:

The 50 most engaging pieces will each win $50 and make Glimmer Train's Best Start list, which will be announced in our bulletin and in a number of other online publications.

Other considerations:

Please be SURE that your complete contact info at the site is correct so, if you make the Best Start list, you'll get your check. (Log in and click on Contact Preferences, update as needed, and scroll down to confirm any changes.) We never, ever share your contact info with others.
Word count not to exceed 1,000.
Open to any writer whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed print publication with a circulation over 3,000.

We look forward to reading your work!