Nothing enforces New Year's resolutions like competition. And time crunches. For some incentives to get those writing muscles back in shape -- or keep them strong -- check out this list of 2024 contests and their deadlines. Now - January 15: Modern Muse for Writers First Five Pages Contest seeks entries from all literary genres. Free. Submit your first five pages (up to 1,500 words). Winners receive developmental critiques and line edits of their first chapter, up to 15 pages. See the site for details. Now - January 15: Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition seeks stories of not more than 1,500 words. This is an extended deadline -- for this contest only, ignore the deadline posted on the site. Winners receive cash prizes and publication. Fee: $30 for first entry, $25 for each additional entry. See the site for details. Now - January 28: AutoCrit's "Start Strong Challenge" opens, using prompts from its community of writers. Finalist entries will be read live on YouTube, with the audience determining the winner. Word limit: 1,000. There's no fee for the contest, but you have to pay to play by joining the AutoCrit community. Luckily, it's offering discounted subscriptions! See the site for details and those all-important prompts. Now - February 1: The First Line magazine's contest requires contestants to open their work with the provided first line, currently: "Mr. Morton needed a new pair of shoes," although non-fiction essay entries may deal instead with writers' favorite opening lines from literary works. Free. The contest repeats quarterly with new opening lines. Winners receive publication and cash awards. See site for details. Now - February 29: The Crime Writers' Association offers two contests for newbie writers: The Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition and The CWA Debut Dagger. Entry fee is £18 for the Margery Allingham contest, £42 for the Debut Dagger. See the site for details. Now - March 1: Speak Your Truth contest (site). This one's just for Dallas, Texas, residents/students ages 15-20. Apply to become the Youth Poet Laureate of Dallas for 2024-2025. Winner receives a $1,000 scholarship. See the site for youth poet duties. Email [email protected] for more information. Image by Brigitte Werner for PixabayNowish - mid-March: ArmadilloCon, Texas' feisty sci-fi/fantasy/horror convention returns with a flash fiction contest. No fee but contests must be the convention's writing students from 2017-2024. (Hint: if you're thinking of joining for the full convention in August, now's the time!) This year, contests will be able to provide input for themes. This information just hit my inbox, with the 2024 website not yet online. Contact [email protected] for information. I'll also update this site as soon as possible. Now - May 1: ThrillerFest's Best First Sentence contest is looking for the to-die-for opening of your work of mystery or suspense. This is also pay to play -- entrants must be members of the ITW (International Thriller Writers) or registered for ThrillerFest XIX 2024. See the Best First Sentence site for details. Now - June 30: One of my favorite goofy writing contests is the annual Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest, commemorating the 19th century novelist infamous for the opening line: "It was a dark and stormy night. . ." Each entry must consist of a single, unpublished sentence of any length, although the authorities recommend (i.e. plead) for it not to exceed 50-60 words. The winner will receive a certificate and bragging rights. Free. See the site for details and hilarious previous winning entries. Now - October 1: If every story must have a first line, it must also have a last one. Check out The Last Line magazine (sister journal to The First Line) for a contest with an ending prompt. For 2024, that prompt is, "I didn't want to admit it, but Lee was usually right." See site for details. Winners receive cash and publication. *** Want more contests? Of course, you do! See the likes of Poets & Writers, Reedsy, Erica Verrillo's month's lists, New Pages, The Submissions Grinder, and Writers of the Future for inspirations!