IF YOU'RE a budding writer and have ever wanted to see your work come to life, then there is a competition in the Whitsundays for you.

The Whitsunday Film, Musical and Theatrical Society is running the Storyland Short Story Competition, with categories for all ages.

The winning entries will have their story turned into either a short film or theatre production, depending on what the story is best suited to.

It's the first time the competition has been run and WFMTS director Steve Wickett said it was an opportunity to see the production progress from start to finish.

"We wanted to engage the young kids in the process of getting a story to market and see how the whole process works," he said.

"It also just gives people the opportunity to express themselves or tell a tale."

There are three age categories to enter, including years 3-6, years 7-12 and an open category.

The genre of the story is open but it must stick to one of three themes - "Living in the Whitsundays", "I was born in a leap year" or "Mermaids".

Mr Wickett said it was open to anyone.

"I think there's a story in everyone, everyone's got a story to tell," he said.

"It's for anyone who wants to express themselves creatively in the writing process."

The story has a 10,000 word limit and entries are open until August 30.

Mr Wickett said there would also be a coffee table book produced, called Tales from the Whitsundays, that would feature another 20 or 30 stories to showcase more of the region's writers who did not claim the top prize.

For more information visit http://www.wfmts.com.au.