Ahuge congratulations to everyone who entered the Writing Magazine Children’s Book Prize 2022! It is a massive achievement to create and complete a story and submit it for a competition. We received 214 entries this year and there were so many brilliant texts, decision-making was very difficult. So, a special congratulations to everyone on the longlist, the shortlist and especially to our three winners. It’s worth remembering, of course, that although stories are judged as objectively as possible, there is always an element of subjectivity. So even if your story wasn’t chosen this time, it could be another time, or might place in a different competition. Although we’re unable to give individual feedback on the many entries we received, there are common problems which cropped up frequently in texts which didn’t go through to the next round.
The story changes direction
In some cases, the text started off in one way, but then at spread 3 or just after, it seemed to completely change direction and be unrecognisable as the same stor y. By spread 3, it needs to be absolutely clear what the story is about. The set-up needs to be complete, and the pay-off needs to relate to the introduction of the stor y.
Top tip: Check the beginning and the end of your story. Do they feel like they match?
Some stories were great ideas but a bit slow to get going. By
