So you're entering an HWC competition. Not so fast

When a chef cooks an amazing meal, he just doesn't slap it on some plates and tell the diners to get on with it. He will arrange it tastefully.

In the same way, when you write a beautiful story, you need to follow a few basic rules to allow your readers to enjoy your writing; it needs to be arranged in a tasteful  way.

When your're writing a story for the Harrow Writers' Circle, please use these guidelines:

This is where the title of the story is placed

This is the start of the story. The title starts about a third of the way down the page. Leave two blank lines and start writing. .A recommended font is Times Roman; 14 point for the title and 12 point for the text. Use double line spacing.  Notice there is no indentation on the first line. After a while this first paragraph is completed. That is the end of an idea and if you want to go to another idea or space or time then it is time to have a new paragraph.  

           
This new paragraph is on the next (double spaced) line and indented by one tab (that is in this page – seven character spaces). Now keep going until this idea is finished. Now as you go on the idea is developed. You start off with a word and make it into sentences. The sentences relate to an idea and could be grouped into a paragraph. They may be a bunch of paragraphs which may be loosely linked.

***

I have now gone on to a radically different idea/time or place. To do this I have left two blank lines and this time have not indented this paragraph. Note that I have optionally put *** on the second blank line. I now continue writing in this vein trying to fill up space.

            The next paragraph is indented as specified before to make another point . You keep going until you run out of steam and it’s time for some dialogue.

 ‘Isn’t this a great way,’ I said boastfully, ‘to explain dialogue. When a new person speaks, a new indented line is used.’

‘You mean like this?’ asked my friend.

I keep going until I  think of another great idea and then I may launch into a new paragraph when I think it is appropriate.

            Here is another paragraph. Etc

Oscar Monteiro