With the Academy Awards just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to brush up on your writing skills.
You may be familiar with the ‘Oscars ceremony’, but did you know that there are other film competitions that you can enter?
There are Creative Writing Competitions that you can enter, and with the right essay, you could stand a chance of winning big!
The Anatomy of a Creative Writing Scholarship
A creative writing scholarship is a type of award given to writers of creative writing. The purpose of these types of awards is to provide financial support for writers who are pursuing a degree in creative writing, or who are simply interested in becoming a professional writer.
These types of awards are usually awarded to outstanding writers who have either authored a novel, or who have written a collection of short stories. The aim is to provide financial support so that these students can continue with their studies and become successful writers.
Creative writing awards are usually presented at the end of each academic year, and the amount of money that they prize can range from £250 to £5,000. The cash is then used to offset the cost of tuition fees and living expenses associated with the student’s chosen course.
Entrants to these awards should follow the same rules that the rest of the entrants do. This means that they should submit an original piece of writing, which is neither a reprint nor a translation. Additionally, the work should be of good quality, free from spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. Finally, the writing should be of a length that is appropriate for the chosen award – for example, novels should be in the region of 60,000 – 80,000 words, and short story collections should be between 7,500 and 15,000 words.
The Elements of a Creative Writing Scholarship
To truly stand out from the rest of the applicants, your creative writing scholarship application should include several original elements. In addition to the submitted piece of work, you should include:
- A cover letter explaining why you wrote the piece of work and how it relates to the competition
- A completed ‘profile’ page on the website including your full name, contact details, and a short bio
- Two character sketches of no more than three pages in length (one of which should be in the form of an outline)
- A detailed plan for the revision of your submitted work, including the number of drafts you intend to complete
- A selection of three short essays on different creative writing topics, which you have deemed to be of most relevance to your chosen course (these topics should be ones that are covered within the first year of your course)
- An outline of the novel (or short story collection) that you have either written or are in the process of writing (it is recommended that you are currently working on a novel)
- A sample chapter (or sections thereof)
- A bio (including links to any relevant websites)
Your application should then be considered alongside that of the other candidates, and you should be notified of the results by the end of April.
Tips for Successful Creative Writing Scholarship Application
With all of this in mind, let’s move on to consider some tips for writing the perfect creative writing scholarship application.
Firstly, make sure that you structure your application properly. This means that you should include all of the required elements above, as well as the ones that we have mentioned. You should ensure that each element is written in the same tone and on the same page, and that your application is structured in a way that is natural to read. Additionally, you should take into account that the reader of your application is likely to be a professor or lecturer of English, and make sure that your work is presented in a way that is most pleasing to the eye.
When applying for a creative writing scholarship, it is of vital importance to ensure that the piece of work that you submit is of the highest quality. This means that you must put in the requisite amount of hours each night in order to ensure that your work is of the required standard. It also means that you must be willing to continue working on your drafts, and the more you put in, the more you will achieve. Good luck out there!
With the ever-growing costs of higher education, coupled with stagnant salaries, many students are looking for ways to fund their studies. If you’re passionate about writing and are able to channel this into a productive hobby, why not try your hand at writing for money? There are plenty of opportunities out there, but you need to be sure that you are applying for the right thing. Make sure that you are aware of the requirements and guidelines for each type of award, as this will help you write an application that stands out and gets you the results that you want.