Spent the weekend filter judging for a national short story comp. I've read hundreds of short stories and it's been a fascinating exercise. Here's a general round up of what I discovered. Ps. There are always exceptions where this may not apply (sorry!)

1. Lots of people sent in stories where a character wakes up at the start of the day. I'm not convinced this is where their stories actually started. In fact, the beginning was probably a few paragraphs down.

It's always difficult to know where to start and some writers need to write their way in to a story. If that's you, think about losing that first (or first couple) of paragraphs. It gives the whole piece immediacy.

2. For me short stories are a moment in time. Lots of stories that I read were actually extracts of longer works. They may have made the word count (only just) but they didn't feel like a short story at all.

To explain further: these stories spent too long explaining the setting or period, focused on world building or had too many characters. So if you have a tendency to do this, you need to tighten that prose. Write your way in and lose it in the edit. Trust your reader!

Can't overstate this: every word in a short story really needs to do some work. If it's just a beautiful turn of phrase or description then cut it.

3. Subject matter and style do matter as this helps to make your submission stand out (esp for prizes/comps). So it might be worth thinking about crafting something slightly out of your comfort zone and pushing the boundaries.

I read lots of stories that were well written and well executed but were too alike one another. So think about what you can do to set your story apart from the competition.

4. On that note, here's where I think most writers fall down: the title. Most of the stories I read had a title which felt like an afterthought. So once you've finished the story, challenge yourself to write an equally impressive title. This could help judges to remember yours!

5. Finally, judging these things is always going to be a matter of personal taste and preferences. From all the entries I read, most were really enjoyable. Many only needed a tweak or two. Don't lose heart.

Having said that, these little beauties are technically difficult to write. Read the best and learn from them. We are fortunate to have online access to some incredible short stories that really hit you when you read them. Seek them out.

PS. Short Story September is just around the corner and I'll be sharing one exceptional story a day. You can check out last year's campaign at http://shortstoryseptember.co.uk