We've all got excuses for not writing. Can't find the time. Can't clear enough space. Have to lance the cat's boil. But "If only...", we say. If only we could order up that perfect apportionment of time for scribbling, with a side order of hush.

So how about getting away to inspiring foreign climes to calm your mind and prime your writing hand? Somewhere peaceful, by a lake perhaps. Somewhere a bit rustic, so you can live out the cottagey writer fantasy. And perchance, somewhere where dazzling food and dizzying wines are close at hand to hone your already admirable procrastination skills.

If that's not your bag, then read no further. Trundle instead to the forums and vent about how sunlight might sear your eyeballs should you ever become unyoked from your desk. On the other hand, if a free holiday sounds frabjous then you're in luck, because that's just what we're giving you the chance to win. The bootylicious people over at La Cahudiere have spared us a week's accomodation at their luxury gite complex lain snugly in the Normandy countryside, but a spit from local produce markets, beaches, and historial icon Mont St. Michel.

We can personally vouch for the place as a rejuvenating idyll, ideal for basting your creativity. According to their own blurb, La Cahudiere "nestles in beautiful Normandy farmland, on the edge of a peaceful valley near the Selune lake. The fully-modernised holiday units, created from a Normandy farmhouse, combine French tradition with contemporary living." So there you go.

By now you're probably wondering "by what strange grace is such generosity thrust upon us?", and more especially, "how do I win?". The answer to the latter is deliciously simple: you write. Not, as you may assume, any 15-word pat answer as to why you should win, nor even a sonnet on the radiance on the French countryside or the beauty of our sponsor. Nay. It's more straightforward, and yet somehow more fiendish, than that.

From this day forward until April 30th 2005, any creative work you submit to any of our 10 main categories will be considered eligible for the competition. As long as your work is appropriate to the category you've entered it in, you can offer up as many pieces as you like. There's no need to mark it 'competition entry' or anything - all valid work submitted will be treated as an entry. After April 30th, the Great Writing team will lovingly digest your words and draw up a shortlist - one piece from each category. We'll post the shortlist up on the site, and from there it's your votes that will decide the ultimate winner. Yes - that's right. If you're in the shortlist, then your fate will be sealed by a jury of your peers. So it's up to you to flaunt, pitch, plug, and generally ballyhoo your piece to boost your vote-winning chances.

The winner gets a week at La Cahudiere for themselves and up to three of their chums. And lots of brownie points from us, I can tell you.

This is our first big contest, and it's up to you to make it a good'un. Here's to some great writing.

Oh, and even if you don't feel like entering go and check out the La Cahudiere website (Internet Explorer 6 required). It really is a cracking spot for a bit of R&R.

The Rules

1. Work submitted to the ten main writing categories on this site (Short Stories, Poetry, Scripts, Comedy, Non-Fiction, Sci-Fi, Crime, Children's, Extended, Advice) between March 21st and April 30th 2005 will be considered eligible for the competition.
2. Work submitted must be appropriate to the category to which it is submitted. Authors may move, edit, or delete their work at any time but the selection shortlist will be drawn from the versions of works in each category as of April 30th 2005.
3. Entrants must be the author of the works they submit. Works submitted on behalf of another person will not be considered eligible.
4. The prize is one week's self-catering accomodation at the La Cahudiere gite complex in Normandy, France. The accomodation must be used before December 31st 2006 and the specific week is subject to availability. Blackout periods of 1st July to 31st August and 21st December - 31st December apply. The winner will arrange accomodation dates directly with La Cahudiere, and must arrange their own transportation and any necessary visa arrangements.
5. In the event that the winner cannot make use of the accomodation, the prize may be transferred to a nominated individual. No other prize or alternative is offered.
6. In the event of an inconclusive or tied result from the public vote, the eventual winner will be decided by the Great Writing team.
7. The copyright on all submitted works remains with the respective authors.