Musings on a $20,000 Writing Contest
A grandma can dream
The César Egido Serrano Foundation is organizing a flash fiction contest with $20,000 for the first prize (link at the end). All you have to do is write 100 words that people will vote for. There are no other constraints. Except for the deadline (end of September).
As Albert Einstein didn’t say, “Freedom is like riding a bicycle. Without the physical constraints, there’s no balance.”
In other words, I find it hard to approach a writing contest without constraint. If I can write about anything, I end up writing about nothing.
But Matthew Clapham came to my rescue and shared one of last year’s winning entries in the comments to my article.
I can’t believe someone as old as me didn’t think of searching the archives. How silly can I be?!
It was the obvious thing to do.
It gave me a frame to work with. I found the four winning stories (link below) all touch on similar topics. It’s hard to put in words, but each time, I felt like there was something bigger in the background.
Human condition or something like that!
Very inspiring.
I would challenge their choice of winner, “Fly.” A bit too easy. Although, I think the translation might not do it justice. The Spanish version seems more poetic (but that might be my limited Spanish speaking).
The same goes for “Where Do You Think You’re Going?!” Too predictable.
“Woodpecker” was very original and well executed. That would have been my first choice.
“Pink” comes in a close second, but call it translation or execution — something was missing for me. Although, the more I read it, the more I like it.
You can read the winner and its three accesits below. Don’t forget to clap for my article before you go! And come back to tell me which one was your favorite!
If you prefer to stay on Medium, I recommend you to read this story — written by Matthew. Food for thought.
