HOW IT WORKS


GUIDANCE

At the Chapter Chain we don't want to stem the flow of a child's imagination, so we are suggesting the ideal size of the novel, number of chapters and number of words per chapter but this is a guide only to help those who may not be used to writing, and it is not a strict rule.  Competition entries will not be penalised for falling outside the following guidance for each category:  

Kids (up to 9yrs):  Total Novel: 4,000-15,000 words; No. of Chapters: 8-12; No. of Words per Chapter: 500-1,200 

Young Writers (9-16yrs): Total Novel: 14,000-60,000 words;  No. of Chapters: 12-20;  No. of Words per Chapter: 1,200-3,000

Children aged 9 may enter either, or both, age categories.

There is no need to double space your work.  
Always use a font that is sensible and easy to read,  For example Courier, Arial, Verdana or Times New Roman.  Please try not to use fonts like Comic Sans or Impact.   Again this guidance and not a strict rule.

The material you submit must be your own creative work.

Please always submit a digital copy of your work to us in Microsoft Word or PDF via the entry form.  We will always confirm the receipt of all submissions within 7 days however during busy periods it may take up to 4 weeks before they appear on the website.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES, TERMS 
& CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

COMPETITION RULES

Get YOUR VERSION of the story published online
for the world to read and if it's really good it could get in the first ever Chapter Chain Children's published book.

All you have to do is write the first chapter of YOUR VERSION of the story starting with:

Category: Kids (age range up to 9 years old) - Story Starter:
"When Mia opened the old wooden box in her grandma’s attic, a tiny dragon sneezed—and a puff of glitter shot out of its nose!"
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Category: Young Writers (ages 9-16 years old) - Story Starter: 
 "At exactly midnight, the mirror in Jack’s room shimmered—and his reflection blinked. But Jack hadn’t moved."  

The public will vote for their favourite version to be included in the final book.  Then the competition re-opens for you to submit YOUR VERSION of Chapter Two - remember though, the story MUST follow on from the winning chapter one.

Then the process is repeated over and over until the book is complete.  All chapter winners will have the opportunity for their name (or Pen Name) and photograph (optional) to be posted on the website and social media channels. 

All chapter winning authors will receive their own FREE copy of the published book. 



AND if enough exciting entries are received, the Chapter Chain may even publish more than one version of the first book - that start off the same but take completely different storyline.

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR - CLICK HERE TO REGISTSER