Can You Write a Winning Short Story in 3 Hours?

Listen up, writers, scribblers, and overall storytellers. Registration is open for the 3-Hour Short Story Contest.

Writers can register to participate in the contest at one of the four Okanagan College (OC) campuses: Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton, and Salmon Arm. Any Okanagan College student or grade 11 or 12 student can participate.

Writer will have three hours, 180 minutes, to start and finish a short story at one of the designated locations. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 1, writers will use OC computers to write their stories. They're not allowed any pre-written material or online access. There's also a “secret phrase” that has to be included in the story. This phrase won't be revealed until the moment the contest starts, meaning that writers can't begin writing their stories in advance.

During last year's contest, more than 70 students participated in the challenge. The winner was OC student Mary Bevan from Kelowna with her story, “The Use in Usefulness”. “The surprise phrase and the three-hour time limit meant no one was more prepared than anyone else,” says Bevan. “We were all starting with a blank sheet.”

Each campus winner will get a $250 tuition credit. Of those four, the grand prize winner will receive an additional $250 tuition credit. Their story will also be printed by Kalamalka Press in a limited fine-print edition.

Short stories are increasingly popular in the literary world. Canadian short story writer Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature last year for her work. Additionally, the 2013 winner of the prestigious Giller Prize was Lynn Coady for Hellgoing, a book of short stories.

“There’s a lot of talk these days about the short story being a more relevant form for the digital age, since information and entertainment are moving steadily towards shorter texts, videos, and sound bites that can be easily consumed and enjoyed in one sitting,” says Okanagan College English Professor and event organizer Corinna Chong.

“Short stories are also the best way for a writer to learn and practice the fundamental principles of narrative before they move onto longer forms like the novel,” she says.

Space is limited for this extremely popular event, so make sure that you register early on the Okanagan College website. The entry deadline is noon on Friday, October 31.