Writing Critique (Open to All) Event & CONTEST DEADLINE

HALLOWEEN SHORT STORY CONTEST
We will be holding a short story contest on October 21st. Submissions will be made anonymous and read aloud so attendees may vote on a winner. Submission details:

• Deadline: October 7th, 2025
• Criteria: The story must be Halloween themed or of the horror genre and must not exceed 1,700 words in length.
• Submission instructions: Email your story to **heyjake@comcast.net** or hand Jake a printed copy of your story at the October 7th meeting. Please include your name, title, and word count. If you email your story, be sure to include "CyFair Writers Halloween Contest" in the subject line.

Meet other aspiring writers and participate in a group writing critique! Join us in LRNC 215 in the CyFair Library! Learn from others' efforts and, if you want, share some of your own work, whether it be a short story, poetry, or an excerpt of a longer-form story such as a novel or screenplay. Alternatively, feel free to attend just to hear what other writers are cooking up and lend some some constructive feedback.

RULES

• We read submissions in the order attendees arrive.
• Submissions should be less than 1,500 words (and not more than 1,700 words). If your submission is longer, it may be pushed to the end of the queue.
• Each submission is read aloud, usually by the meeting host, but volunteers are welcome.
• After each reading, we go around the room giving each attendee 1-2 minutes to describe honest reactions and give constructive feedback. Due to time constraints, we tend to avoid back and forth discussion.
• We try to make time for all submissions, but this may not be possible for large submission pools.

If you want to submit a work for feedback, here are some STRONG SUGGESTIONS:

• Print 6-10 copies of the work, double-spaced. Ideally there is one copy per attendee, but people can also share. In addition to helping listeners follow along, they can also write on these copies with notes, comments, or highlights to give written feedback.
• Add line numbers to your print outs. This is super helpful for attendees to give verbal feedback.
• In Microsoft Word, go to Format > Document > Layout > Line Numbers. Click "Add line numbering" and "Continuous"
• In Google Docs, go to Tools > Line Numbers, check the box for "Show line numbers" and select the options "Continue throughout document" and apply to "entire document."