This is my newsletter #46: Michelle D'costa

On Beating Writer’s Block

Writing has been really difficult (not that it has ever been easy) in the pandemic. I wanted to share some things that have worked for me in my writing journey, writing contests being one of them. It was a school writing contest way back in 2008 that made me look at myself and my writing differently.

Hi everyone! I’m Michelle D’costa from Mumbai. I’ve been writing since my teens. I work at Bound, a company for creatives. If you like author interviews, you can check the podcast Books and Beyond With Bound where I’m a co-host. I enjoy mentoring writers and critiquing manuscripts. 

I was born and raised in Bahrain, a small island in the Gulf. My school library got me to read a lot but I didn’t know if I had the talent to be a storyteller myself. My friends were all-rounders, I was an average student with no talent whatsoever. After considering myself to be quite useless, that little contest gave me the validation I needed.

If you’re feeling stuck, a contest can get you out of that rut. Honestly, anything about a contest can inspire your writing. I’ll share with you some instances where my piece didn’t win the contest but I ended up writing something because of it and the work ended up being published somewhere or just that it gave me different insights into my writing. For me, winning doesn’t matter, participating matters.

Writing Contests

1) Bengaluru Review Short Fiction Contest 2020

Motivation to complete the story!

Last year was pretty hectic because of the pandemic, things had shifted online and as content creators we had to adapt. A lot of my time and energy went into empowering writers. While it was incredibly fulfilling, I wondered when I’d be able to find the time to write. A lot of screen time made it impossible to spend more hours in front of the screen after work. I had an idea for a second person POV story and I think I had just written a line or two. As the days passed, I felt bad that it just stayed there in my word document. Then one day, I saw the contest announcement and that was all I needed to work on my story every night (for an hour before sleeping). It developed over the course of a month and I had time to clean it up and edit as well before I could submit to the contest. I only managed to make it to the longlist but the piece titled ‘You Don’t Step Out Of The House For A Long Time’ ended up being accepted by Usawa Literary Review later. You never know the fate of a piece you’ve worked on, so keep writing!

2) DNA- Out Of Print Short Fiction Contests (2015, 2016 and 2017)

It can give you the confidence to seek feedback and grow!

I have been following the Out Of Print magazine for years. Their contests had a theme every year. I was longlisted thrice. The themes for 2015, 2016 and 2017 were Erosion, Dissent and Watching respectively. Since these contests were themed, it spurred stories in me that challenged me. You need not write a new piece for a contest that has a theme. You could even find an old piece that could be polished and sent to fit the theme.

Being longlisted or shortlisted in a contest is an opportunity to appreciate the works of peers. It creates an atmosphere of mutual learning and sharing. It also pushes you to seek feedback. Why didn’t your piece make it beyond that? Being on the list shows that your work has already been through a round of filtering so it might be better than a raw draft that no one else has seen. It’s easier to convince people to read that work. It shows that you’re trying.

3) The Great Indian Poetry Collective’s Emerging Poets Prize 2017

A judge’s work can inspire poems you wouldn’t have attempted otherwise!

There are very few poetry prizes for Indian poets. I was immensely excited when this was announced. I think a judge or jury adds a lot of value to a writing contest. The judge for 2017 was Aimee Nezhukumatathil, an American poet. I fell in love with her poetry as it explores her mixed upbringing. Her father is an Indian and her mother is Filipina. Her poems made me look at my experiences of growing up in Bahrain more closely as Bahrain has a lot of immigrants and there’s a lot of cross-cultural exchange that happens. A very talented poet, Urvashi Bahuguna, ended up winning the contest that year. I’ve read her collection and interviewed her for Vayavya. 

4) Soup Journal’s Short Fiction Contest 2020

Word prompts can push you out of your comfort zone!

I came across Soup Journals’ story on Instagram that announced the contest. The word ‘Fake’ inspired a story about fake eyelashes and trichotillomania, something I have always wanted to write about but never found the courage to do so. Indira Chandrasekhar was the judge. I admire her profile as the editor of Out Of Print Journal. The deadline, word prompt and choice of judge pushed me to finish the story. I was disappointed when my story ‘You Swipe Right’ didn’t make it but I was very happy about having written the story in a way that I was satisfied with. It eventually got published online by MAD Asia.

5) Bound’s Short Fiction Contest 2019

You have more prizes to explore, a contest is just a beginning!

As an editor, I love reading and picking works of emerging writers. This short fiction contest was a lot of fun to judge as we read the stories blind. Bhavika Govil’s entry Curdled mesmerized me. It’s a delight to know that the contest was Govil’s first ever win. A writing contest could be that push that a writer needs in their journey. I’m super happy for Govil as she is now the joint winner of the Pontas & JJ Bola Emerging Writers Prize!

There are many more contests that I’ve participated in. Here are some contests that I’ve been following over the years (some are new):

Fiction

Himal Short Story Competition 

Desi Writers’ Lounge Short Story Contest

Commonwealth Short Story Prize

TOTO Award For Creative Writing

2021 Open Border Fiction Prize

2021 Summer Short Story Award for New Writers

The Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize

Arts Illustrated Short Story Contest

Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing in Fiction

Poetry

Poetry with Prakriti Poetry Contest

Jack Grapes Poetry Prize 

Srinivas Rayaprol Prize For Poetry

Broken River Prize

TOTO Award For Creative Writing

Note: Please read the journal/institution’s bio and guidelines carefully before submitting. 

Best of luck! I have never made it beyond shortlists and longlists but I’m always on the lookout for the next contest.

Writing Prompts

Here are three resources for writing prompts-

Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge (An image every month)

Visual Verse (An image every month)

Poets and Writers Writing Prompts (Weekly)

You can also create your own prompts- Randomly pick a line from a book that you’re reading, take a screenshot of a scene from a film or take a photograph of an object at home or the view from your window!

​Other Activities To Bust Writer’s Block

Sometimes it’s not just the lack of inspiration or motivation to write that gets in the way. We need to be in a peaceful frame of mind to be able to be productive. Do things that make you happy and TRY NOT TO THINK OF WRITING then. I've had to deal with guilt when I'm doing things apart from writing but I’ve realized that thinking about writing all the time isn’t healthy. It’s important to do things just for fun. 

In fact I feel better and get more ideas while I’m engaged in other things that keep me happy. Even very small changes to your routine can go a long way. Here are some things I do for fun:

-Dance (I mix exercise and my love for dance with Zumba)

-Watch animated films (This always works, it adds colour to my daily routine)

-Sketch and Paint (I do it for fun, it’s less pressure because I don’t judge my sketches or paintings)

-Listen to 90s Bollywood songs (it breaks the monotony of the present)

-Read a book that I would ordinarily not read (I started with Charles Dickens’ Bleak House and it has already made me travel time!)

-Read one flash fiction piece or poem every week (This helps if you don’t have enough time to read long works)

-Go out for a short walk (Movement can make a big difference!)

I hope some of these things help you in your writing journey. Literary magazines have been a super big support in my writing career. I had written an article about this, it has tips and tricks to get published in literary journals.

You can sign up to my newsletter Mish’s Muse, https://michelledcosta.substack.com
I talk about books, films, art and much more in this. 😊

I’m grateful for The Alipore Post, that made me understand myself better through poetry and art. Thank you Rohini.