WITH just a few weeks left until entries for the Port Stephens Literature Awards close, judge Lloyd Hogg has some tips for aspiring writers.

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“There is no such thing as good writing – just good re writing ,” he said.

“The important thing is to get your story typed up and then to work on it.” he added.

“Get rid of the unnecessary adjectives and adverbs and flowery language that doesn’t need to be there,” he said.

“Make sure that there is a strong story line which draws the reader in. If you haven’t captured the reader’s attention within the first page or so, the judges will not treat it kindly.”

“With so many entries to wade through, they are on the lookout for stories that stand out from the run-of-the-mill,” he added.

“We have an exhaustive judging process whereby as many as nine preliminary readers come up with the top 20 short stories.”

“They then award their ‘readers choice’ $50 prize to the one they consider the best and then hand the shortlisted entries over to the finalists judges. These three judges then independently rate them from one to 20 and add up the points to decide the winners,” he said.

“These are announced in November.”

Entries close on 12 October and all details can be found by going to the News Of The Area website or the TACE website www.tace.tilligerry.com