Many readers know that when I can, I write on this blog. Plus, I curate the fiction publication Tantalizing Tales, along with my friend Posy Churchgate. I am also an editor on Paul Mansfield‘s magazine, Redemption. But I do have another partner in crime who most of you know and admire — Marie A. Rebelle and a website we run together called Blogable. Here we freely share all manner of writing and blogging advice.

However, Blogable also hosts Marie’s yearly writing competition — the Fiction Marathon. I help with the administration, but the history belongs to Marie.

(NB: The fabulous Missy was a co-founder of Blogable)

History of the Competition

The marathon started off as a Dutch erotic fiction writing competition. Marie developed it into a more mainstream writing challenge between 2018 and 2020. It became an extremely popular place for smut writers to flex their writing muscles. However, due to unexpected circumstances, it was terminated halfway through 2020. Read about the Smut Marathon here.

That competition remains close to my heart. I entered the marathon as a new fiction writer in 2018, and made it through to the final. It not only lit the fiction fire within me, but in 2020 I returned as a jury member and Marie and I became firm friends.

When I asked Marie to join me in creating a website where we could share our writing and blogging knowledge, she jumped on board and in 2021 the site hosted the first Blogable Fiction Marathon competition.

Marathon Rules

The main differences between the marathons are the latest version welcomes any genre and lasts for six, not ten rounds.

Each round, the writers are sent an assignment with word count. The stories are all anonymous, and the writers must not discuss which one is theirs. They receive points from a panel of judges and an open public vote. This ultimately decides who moves forward to the next round.

Find the fiction marathon rules here…

Marathon Writers 2021

Last year’s competition went swimmingly and ended with Marsha Adams claiming victory and Kinky Katie as runner-up. My friend and colleague from Tantalizing Tales — Mrs k — also made it to the final. A handful of their stories from the marathon have been published on Medium.

You can find them here…

Or if you don’t want to venture onto Medium, all the stories from the 2021 Fiction Marathon can be accessed Blogable – from here…

Readers and Writers

If you are an avid reader of books, blogs or magazines, then you can write… the only thing you need is to be up for the challenge:

• Do you want to flex your fiction writing muscles?
• Are you the kind of person who likes the challenge of a marathon rather than a sprint?
• Are you looking to be part of a community of writers?
• Can you tell a good story?

Then why not enter the Fiction Marathon 2022. Entries are now open…

If you’re wondering if it is right for you, perhaps Marsha, last year’s winner, can help make up your mind.

Not sure what a jury member is looking for when judging the stories? Then read Brigit’s post here.

We welcome new or experienced writers.

Do YOU fancy jumping right in? We’d love to have you with us in 2022…

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