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S46E5 – Formatting for a Writing Contest

It’s important to note that guidelines may vary a little based on who you talk to or what you read, but by following the ones stated… you will make sure your manuscript looks clean, easy to read, and won’t get rejected because of sloppy formatting. – Brian A Klems

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S46E4 – Editing for a Short Story Contest

Many writers are paralyzed by the thought that they are competing with everybody else who is trying to write and presumably doing it better…. Forget the competition and go at your own pace. Your only contest is with yourself. – William Zinsser

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S46E3 – Writing for Short Story Contests

Write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter. – Neil Gaiman

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S46E2 – Finding the Right Writing Contest

I always try to use my medium, and if I get into a normal sitcom-writing contest with normal sitcom writers, I’m going to lose. – Dan Harmon

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S46E1 – Different Types of Writing Contests

Writers often wrestle with the written word alone, but competitions can be a way to connect with a larger community. After all, stories can benefit others, and judges of writing contests want to celebrate success. – Audrey Wick

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S45E9 – The Editor’s Toolkit

Let’s face it: The ‘genius’ stuff happens in the editing process. – Jeff Goins

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S44E6 – During Act II: The Interior Plot

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. – Helen Keller

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S44E1 – Plot: Before Act 1

Once I came to really understand the mechanics of three-act structure, my life got a great deal easier. It doesn’t tell you how to write your book, but it helps you understand why things aren’t working, or what kind of beat needs to come next. – Marcus Sakey

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S43E9 – Characters: Inanimate Objects

The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of men are easily corrupted. And the ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur, to his death. And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, the ring ensnared a new bearer. – Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings

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S43 Bonus – Successes and Failure of the Characters

Success and failure. We think of them as opposites, but they’re really not. They’re companions – the hero and the sidekick. – Laurence Shames

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