| Where are you writing today? A walk on the beach with a rising sun and a lively incoming tide. Crisp and cold and worthy of January on the East Anglian coast of the UK. A great start to the working week. I find these walks with the dog to be useful thinking time and often a phrase or a character, situation or idea floats through my mind and I write it down as soon as I get home. I always carry a notebook but it is hard to write wearing six layers plus sheepskin mittens. In the summer I will write outside; in the park or on the beach on dry days, but my favourite place to write is cafes. Wherever you are, get the diary out and put in some Short Story Competitions for 2014. Now is the time to develop those characters situations and ideas whilst you are sitting in your favourite writing place. | 
It is easier to write out of doors in a warm climate
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2014′s Moth Short Story Prize
Prizes of €3,000, €1,000 and a week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France (including €250 travel expenses). The prize is open to anyone, as long as the work is their own and previously unpublished. Word limit 6,000. The closing date is 30 June 2014.
http://shortstops.info/2014/01/24/the-moth-international-short-story-prize-2014/
The Bristol Short Story Prize
an annual international writing competition open to all published and unpublished, UK and non-UK based
writers. Publishes an annual anthology of the winning stories as well as presenting cash prizes.
Stories can be entered online or by post. The closing date for entries is midnight (BST) on April 30th 2014. First prize is £1,000 plus a £150 Waterstones gift card,
2nd prize is £700 plus a £100 Waterstones gift card
3rd prize is £400 plus a £100 Waterstones gift card.
The 2014 Bristol Short Story Prize Awards Ceremony will be held in Bristol in October 2014.
http://www.bristolprize.co.uk/
Other Publishing Company
is open to submissions of short stories, full length fiction, informational / business / How To, historical fiction and non-fiction and erotica. This is what they say on their website:
We welcome submissions from all fiction and non-fiction writers who have a unique voice and offer fresh and exciting ideas that are well written and engaging. If this sounds like you, we want to hear from you!’
http://www.otherpublishingcompany.com/ (click on 'submissions' tab)
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Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2014 Short Story Competition
For published and aspiring writers alike - enter the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2014 short story competition and you could win: a cash prize of £500, a place on an Arvon residential writing course of
your choice, publication of your story on www.writersandartists.co.uk
All you have to do is enter a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words, on the theme of 'the visit' and email it to competition@bloomsbury.com with
"WAYB14 competition" as the subject line. The closing date is midnight on Saturday 15th February 2014. The winners of the competition will be announced on this site in March 2014.
https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions
Prizes of €3,000, €1,000 and a week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France (including €250 travel expenses). The prize is open to anyone, as long as the work is their own and previously unpublished. Word limit 6,000. The closing date is 30 June 2014.
http://shortstops.info/2014/01/24/the-moth-international-short-story-prize-2014/
The Bristol Short Story Prize
an annual international writing competition open to all published and unpublished, UK and non-UK based
writers. Publishes an annual anthology of the winning stories as well as presenting cash prizes.
Stories can be entered online or by post. The closing date for entries is midnight (BST) on April 30th 2014. First prize is £1,000 plus a £150 Waterstones gift card,
2nd prize is £700 plus a £100 Waterstones gift card
3rd prize is £400 plus a £100 Waterstones gift card.
The 2014 Bristol Short Story Prize Awards Ceremony will be held in Bristol in October 2014.
http://www.bristolprize.co.uk/
Other Publishing Company
is open to submissions of short stories, full length fiction, informational / business / How To, historical fiction and non-fiction and erotica. This is what they say on their website:
We welcome submissions from all fiction and non-fiction writers who have a unique voice and offer fresh and exciting ideas that are well written and engaging. If this sounds like you, we want to hear from you!’
http://www.otherpublishingcompany.com/ (click on 'submissions' tab)
‘
Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2014 Short Story Competition
For published and aspiring writers alike - enter the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2014 short story competition and you could win: a cash prize of £500, a place on an Arvon residential writing course of
your choice, publication of your story on www.writersandartists.co.uk
All you have to do is enter a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words, on the theme of 'the visit' and email it to competition@bloomsbury.com with
"WAYB14 competition" as the subject line. The closing date is midnight on Saturday 15th February 2014. The winners of the competition will be announced on this site in March 2014.
https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions
