How many times have you read a newspaper article and said, "I could have written that"?

Well, now you can. For nearly a year, you have been able to do that on The Sacramento Press, where everyone can try his or her hand at writing a news story, and be published instantly, on the Web. That will continue to be the case, as the Press grows its audience and a small army of community contributors that now numbers more than 500 people.

But for the month of October, The Sacramento Press is sweetening the pot: Not only can you write stories, have them copy-edited and posted on our site. Now you can win, and win big: The Sacramento Press Journalism Open is offering prizes of as much as $500 for telling the stories that only you can tell.

From midnight Thursday, October 1 to the end of the month, The Sacramento Press Journalism Open welcomes writers, professional and amateur alike, to compete for cash and prizes. No story is too small, no subject too obscure. But more than that, we want you to try your hand at making a mark on your community by telling the stories that you know and no one else does, about events, people, businesses, cultural curios and...well, anything you want!

We want to see Sacramento through your eyes, your words, your pictures. And so do thousands of your fellow Sacramentans, who read the Sacramento Press every day.

There's much more to say about the contest. Please visit the Sacramento Press Journalism Open landing page and find out more about this month-long event and how you can enter. It is as easy as a blog post, as free as the air we share, and as challenging as you want it to be. Tell us about your community and the people in it, and gain an audience of thousands who you never thought you could reach - with your very first post.

We're waiting to read your stories.

Commit your acts of journalism now!