"Oh, You Don't Have a Chance..."
January 16, 2023
My 11-year-old daughter read my entry and thought it was great, and then she asked how many people entered the #writing competition. "More than 5,400," I replied, at which point she laughed and said, "Oh, you don't have a chance dad!" You know what, she was right.
I first heard about the NYC Midnight writing challenges from a post on LinkedIn. At the time, I was heavily engaged in my first semester at St. Mary's University. I had transferred there to complete a degree in English Communication and had plenty to write, so the thought of squeezing another writing assignment in between commuting to and from my kids' respective schools — and my own, the supper time - bath time - bedtime routine, and my writing assignments seemed a bridge too far. However, the more I read about the challenge, my thoughts were steered from sleep deprivation to winning my first writing challenge.
By any account, the pros outweighed the cons, and 250 words, really? I put more words than that in my second compulsory discussion post last night, and besides, I do want to be a writer, and writers write, right? "Be careful what you wish for," I reminded myself, and grabbed my credit card to register. The fees are nominal, but I don't want to mis-quote them or have them change with the new year, so I would encourage you to go to their website for respective challenge entry fees. With that said, my fee for the 250-word microfiction challenge cost about as much as a fast-food meal.
I registered and then anxiously awaited midnight on the day of the competition. Nine o'clock, ten o'clock, eleven o'clock... midnight! I'd like to say we were off to the races; however, it was midnight, and coincidentally, I had a driven about 6 hours that very afternoon. If accuracy still has merit, then I would describe my start to this midnight challenge as more of a stutter-step. By 1:30am, I had hit the backspace button more times than I can to admit and was exactly nowhere with my store — and the clock was ticking.
The basic design of the competition is that they release a few details for your assignment that must be incorporated into your story for whatever round of the challenge you are in at the time round. These include genre, a specific word, and an action. For example, if your word was "pickle," you would have to have pickle in your story. You wouldn't get credit for pickles or pickled, or any other variation, but pickle juice would be just fine. If your action was "being clumsy," you couldn't just say something like Mike was being clumsy, but you could have someone tripping on an otherwise stable surface or dropping their baby. Okay, that might be an extreme example; maybe just dropping their coffee cup on an expensive rug. It's pretty straight forward, really; tell an assigned type of story in English, with a specific word, and incorporate a specific action. Oh, and do it in less than 250 words.
I mentioned the clock but failed to explain the deadline. For the first round, competitors have exactly 24 hours to submit their story, so scratching my head for 30 minutes, blasting the white letters off of my backspace button, and sleeping off my drive hour for hour, left me with about 16 hours to get something drafted, proofread, edited, and submitted. The good news was that I felt refreshed and knew what didn't work from my early morning attempts at writing. I reverified my assigned group story requirements and got to work.
My requirements were:
genre - fairytale/fantasy
word - "prefer"
action - becoming fatigued.
One of the things that intrigued me most about this writing challenge is that they provide judges feedback for each entry you submit. Of course, I was interested in the feedback of others as well, so I let my wife read it. She offered some solid and constructive criticism. My daughter read it on the way back from school one day. She smiled, and even chuckled at one point, and asked a question about the story when she had finished it. I clarified and then she laughed again. "What'd you think about it, babe? Did you like it," I asked. She said that she loved it and thought it was "really really good." Then she asked about how many people I was up against. "More than 5,400," I said. At which point she laughed and said, "Oh, you don't have a chance dad! That's way too many to beat!" And as I've said, she was right.
Before I share the judge's feedback, I thought you might like to read my round one entry. It's short; 250 words, exactly. Reading this before you continue, will provide context to the judge's feedback. If you have more of a trolling style, feel free to skip to the criticism at the bottom.
For those of us who are writers, aspiring authors, or living the writer’s life now, I hope you enjoy my micro-fiction, "Backspaces."
"Backspaces"
“Yes, my Lord!”
The young squire was scared as the shadow grew larger with each pass. He wondered if the beast’s wings were blocking out enough sunlight to cool the hot air.
“My lance,” the knight roared. His arm was locked rearward, but his gaze remained fixed on the skyborne scourge.
He hated being cold but shuddered at the thoughts which crept into his mind. I wonder if he’ll burn him or eat him? Another shudder. “He’s right,” the squire mumbled, “This is not for me.”
“He’s returning! My lance!” dot dot dot
“He’s turning around, you idiot!” dot dot dot
The knight broke his gaze and looked back enraged. “Where’s my lance you worthless fool?” dot dot dot
Keys broke the silence of late night. Fast thuds and snaps and the familiar dot dot dot of the backspace. His chicken pecking had improved, but the frequent backspaces were a reminder that his typing remained wanting.
Exhausted from another writing assignment, he slumped in the uncomfortable chair. Random thoughts plagued him.
How do they make each key sound the same and yet, different? They sound like little bones knocking. I’d prefer grilled chicken tomorrow night, but Chezarae doesn’t like chicken.
“You’re worse than the damned squire,” he said seething. “Go back to school, be a writer.”
YEAH RIGHT, he typed. dot dot dot
The knight’s armor was blinding, but the shadow was back, and the squire saw the beast’s mouth growing larger.
“Gods curse you! My lance!” dot dot dot
WHAT THE JUDGES LIKED ABOUT YOUR STORY -
{J1} You have an original setting and intriguing protagonists. I particularly enjoy the parallels of the squire story with the hesitation in the writing, as it makes us curious about what will happen to these characters in the end.
{J2} Story is told in an interesting way. Powerful verbs employed throughout.
{J3} I like the interactions between the knight and the squire. It has a fun energy to it, and the story is well paced.
WHAT THE JUDGES FEEL NEEDS WORK -
{J1} I suggest you further develop your characters' goals to immerse us deeper in their stories. Make us care deeper for them by showing us what they want to achieve and why. This could help you create a stronger ending.
{J2} Although I enjoyed the tale, I did find it difficult to discern what was actually happening. There are two stories here, I think--that of the knight and a beast (and several cowards), and that of the people typing it out. If you could clarify what is happening with the writers, it would strengthen the story immensely.
{J3} The backspace idea isn't too clear. Try to develop it further so the story makes a bit more sense for the reader. Right now, it just feels a bit random.
The positive feedback is encouraging, and the critical feedback is invaluable. My daughter's feedback... Well, that was grounding, and yet motivating at the same time. If I want to compete in a field of more than 5,000 writers, I have to listen, continue to improve, and maintain an indomitable spirit. This challenge helped with all three, and I'm looking forward to next year's challenge, and hopefully, proving my daughter wrong! If you want to BE a writer, then you have to find something you love to write, find people who love to read it, and keep writing. This challenge, and my daughter, helped me with all three of those as well.
If you're interested in more information about the challenge I participated in, or entering a NYC Midnight challenge of your own, please check out their website below. They have a short story challenge which begins within the week (I believe you're allowed much more time to write and submit), and others throughout the year. Past winners and their works are available for your reading pleasure and are just that, a pleasure.
DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with NYC Midnight in any way, nor do I claim to present information about their writing challenges that is up to date. This article was written by myself and is intended to represent my experience, and mine alone. I have tried to be factually accurate but do apologize if any information is erroneously presented. Please refer to NYC Midnight's website for challenge details, dates, and participation rules. - JAC
Note: This article was originally published on my LinkedIn page on January 16, 2023.
Great and useful feedback. Not sure how you'd do those changes and stay within the word count limit. Do you have a revised version?