HOW TO ENTER

Below are sketches of 3 characters. To enter the competition you should choose ONE (only) of the 3 characters as the starting-point for your own piece of writing. It’s probably a good idea to write about the character that instantly appeals to you.
Once you have chosen your character, then choose which form (or kind of writing) you are going to use. There are 4 kinds of writing you can choose from (click here for support). Only do one of these!

1. Write a short story about your character, or in the voice of your character. It should have a beginning, middle and end.  
In total - up to 400 words.

2. You can write a poem about your character, or in the voice of your character. Any kind of poem – rhyming, unrhyming, monologue - or even a sequence of a few short poems.
In total – up to 40 lines.

3. Write a letter (or letters) from your character, including replies if you want to. This could be in the style of email(s) if you want to.
In total - up to 400 words.

4. Write a diary entry (or entries), as if written by your character - or about your character. The entries could stretch over just one or two days, or with gaps of weeks or years between entries.
In total - up to 400 words.

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Guidelines

COMPETITION DEADLINE
Closing date for entry is September 12th, 2008.

Entry is FREE.

You should be 13-18 at the time of sending your work and living in South Yorkshire or Derbyshire. Please put your name, address and date of birth clearly on the back of your entry, along with your telephone number and email if possible (for notifying winners).

All prize winners will be notified.

For more support with your writing and ideas, click here

Click here to send typed up entries online or send to the address opposite.

WriterAway is supported by
Cube Magazine, Sheffield Young Writers, Signposts and Arts Council England

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Click here to enter or
send your entry to:

Matt Black,
Write Away Competition,
Signposts Writing Project,
3rd Floor, The Circle,
33 Rockingham Lane,
Sheffield S1 4FW


Characters

CHARACTER 1

Jamie. Age 11. Has 1 sister, age 8, who he mostly gets on with well. Has a step-dad who he doesn’t know very well, and his Mum, who tries to be kind but doesn’t really understand Jamie. His Mum is 4 months pregnant. Jamie is in Year 6 of an inner-city primary school somewhere in the UK. He is quite shy, loves football, and is a bit nervous of moving up to big school. He loves his Granddad who lives somewhere in Scotland. He has recently been reading a lot of adventure stories.

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CHARACTER 2

Frances, aged 17. Visiting her French pen friend Madeline Choillez for the first time. The Choillez family lives on the outskirts of Paris in a much larger house than Frances’ home in Sheffield. They are confident and wealthy and Frances feels a little out of her depth. Madame Choillez senses this and takes Frances under her wing. Madeline’s 2 younger brothers speak too quickly for her to keep up and, she suspects, make jokes at her expense – though not in front of their rather stern father. Frances is feeling nervous about a trip to the family’s
summer house in Brittany. 

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CHARACTER 3

Mia is coming up to her 15th birthday.  She can’t wait to be more grown up.  She’s allowed to stay over at her friend Kate’s house sometimes and the girls often sneak out late.  They plan to do this on Mia’s birthday. Mia doesn’t get on with her mum because she feels she treats her like a little girl all the time. Mia loves to dance and her mum is always encouraging her to enter competitions although now she is getting older she’s distracted by other things. Mia is an only child and misses her dad who’s more relaxed and lives far from their London home in Yorkshire with his new family. Mia dreams of living with her dad sometimes.

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Writing forms

Writing a poem
Poems come in lots of different forms. Some of them rhyme and some of them don’t.
Rhyme
If you want to rhyme your poem, think carefully about the rhythm; like songs, rhyming poems usually have a regular beat. Look on the web or in poetry books for examples.
Free verse
Free verse allows you to really say what you want to say, without the restriction of rhyme. Think about techniques like alliteration to make your poem more powerful.  Again look on the web for support if you wish.

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Writing short stories
You will need to say a lot in a small space. You might want to:
Think of a small idea that can be contained in a short space.
Go straight into the action.
Set up a question right at the beginning to provide intrigue.
Try to use just one powerful image to set the scene.
Keep the reader guessing until right at the end and finish with a surprising twist.
Too many words? Go through your writing and take out some of the adverbs and adjectives. Use unusual, precise verbs like sauntered instead of walked.

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Writing Diaries and Letters

This is a chance to write in someone’s voice, using how they speak to show their character. Little clues can show whether they are mean, kind, sad, happy, hopeful etc..
You can also use the way people actually speak in your writing here to make it sound real. Writing in someone’s voice gives you lots of chance to explore how they think and how they feel.

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Click here to send typed up entries online or send to the address above.