Great news! On Literative.com, a website for writers to hone their craft, my piece “When People Watching” won first place in the June writing contest.

This month’s contest was supported by Endless Beautiful, an organization dedicated to inspiring writers and artists alike.

You can view my winning piece here, as well as the second and third place winners by Paula Puolakka and M.J. Robbins (whose pieces are absolutely stunning). The contest included listening to a piece of audio and responding to the sounds embedded in it.

If you’re a writer, especially a freelance writer, paying contests are crucial for you to continue your craft. That is why Literative is such a great site; it hosts free monthly writing contests and offers prizes to winning pieces.

My biggest piece of advice to all writers is to submit, submit, submit— you never know who is going to connect with your writing.

Let me know if you know any other organizations that offer paying contests to writers! I’d love to hear from you.