Always read the instructions.
When writing a short story
for a competition;
make sure you know how many words are required.
.
Never write too many words.
Having a target of 5,000 words,
one should never go above that limit
or you might have your story discounted.
.
So, when I tried to submit my work
of 1,800 words -all that I felt the short story needed,
the 5,000 words limit was, to my mind,
well heeded.
.
Oops! Not 5,000 words,
but 5,000 characters!
.
I spent the next hour
heavily editing my story –
down and down; until, at the last,
4,992 characters,
and that was almost accepted.
.
A few fewer
and, ‘Hey!’ it fits.
.
That was the hard part,
now I just have to wait
and see if anybody likes my shortened story.
Graeme Sandford 