How to Write a Short Story for a Contest
Quick answer: Cut everything before the trouble starts, connect your scenes with therefore and but rather than and then, and write an ending that answers the question your opening asked. Then revise against the rubric your contest will score you on. Writory publishes its five-dimension rubric in full and returns a scored certificate to every entrant.
Not general craft advice: contest advice, keyed to the rubric that will score the entry. What earns points in each of the five judged dimensions, what loses a judge on page one, and how to turn a published scorecard into a revision plan.
The published rubric, 100 points
- Storytelling & Structure (25 points): Does every scene cause the next, and does the ending pay off the opening?
- Character & Emotional Impact (25 points): Do we want something with your character, and does the story make us feel it?
- Language & Craft (20 points): Clean, deliberate prose: rhythm, precision, and nothing wasted.
- Originality & Voice (20 points): The angle only you could write, told in a voice that sounds like nobody else.
- Theme & Resonance (10 points): What the story leaves behind after the last line.
How it works
Submit an original story of 100 to 2,000 words by the 25th of the month, 11:59 PM IST. Every story is judged blind against the rubric above, and results arrive by the 30th: every entrant receives a certificate with their name and a score out of 100. Writers keep all rights. Monthly winners earn free entry to the next round. Enter at https://writoryofficial.com/submit-story.
Common questions
What does a judge notice in the first minute?
Whether the story has started. A judge reading in bulk decides early if there is a question worth following, so an opening that begins inside the disturbance outperforms one that describes the town first. Clean mechanics matter too: errors in the first paragraph make everything after read like a draft.
How long should a contest story be?
The length its shape needs, inside the rules. Writory accepts 100 to 2,000 words and never scores length. A lean 800-word story beats the same story padded to the cap, and cutting to fit almost always improves the draft anyway.
Can I submit the same story to other contests or magazines at the same time?
From this side, yes. Entering Writory claims no exclusivity, so simultaneous submission is your call. Do check the other market's rules before you send; some magazines refuse work under consideration elsewhere.
Should I write toward what the judges seem to prefer?
No, and the rubric makes chasing taste a losing strategy. Originality & Voice carries 20 of the 100 points, and it measures exactly the thing imitation erases. Write the story only you could write, then revise it hard; the rubric rewards command, not conformity.
How many drafts before I enter?
At least two beyond the first: one pass for structure, one for language, in that order, since there is no point polishing a scene you are about to cut. With a deadline every month there is no reason to over-hold a story. Enter when the ending lands.
More story contest pages
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 31 countries have entered, readers come from over 150 countries, and every submitted poem is judged and scored out of 100 across five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme. Every entrant receives a certificate; winners receive cash prizes and are published by name. Entries close on the 25th of each month and results are announced on the 30th. Writory is listed by Duotrope, Poetry Kit, Christopher Fielden's competition list and Creative Writing NZ, among other organisations. Past results are public at past winners and the leaderboard.