Hold Your Breath...For Four and a Half Months

Ladies and gentlemen, I am entering the Rooglewood Contest. You may have already known that, but then again, maybe you didn't. Now you do.
You can click on the link above to learn more about the contest. In fact, it's not too late if you want to enter. Basically, this particular contest asks that you write a short story or novella based on "Beauty and the Beast," but with your own twists. From the myriad of submitted entries, Rooglewood Press chooses 5 winners who are then plunged into the publishing process. Their stories are eventually marketed as a collection of retellings.
I would like to win. I can even say now that I am hopeful of winning. But I would still enter even if I knew that I wouldn't win. Why? Because whenever I take on a project like this, I come out of it a better writer than I went into it. The process of writing, the determination of finishing, the weeks of editing, and the leap of courage that it takes to submit my story -- these things mold me. I can look at my work and see that I have improved. And for me, that makes a contest worth it.
The hard part of the contest is the waiting part. Winners will be announced on March 1st, 2015. That is four and a half months away. It seems like forever.
I am reading through my story today, applying final touches before I send it. Even though the submissions deadline is in December, I hope that I can send mine this month...and that I remember to breathe.
I'll keep you posted...

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A Hard Goodbye

"You're more poet than anything." I folded my arms and glared at Ian. He sat perched on the edge of the roof, dressed like an adventurer. I coveted every part of his outfit -- the breezy shirt made of course cloth, the sturdy breeches, the leather boots that laced up to his calves, the dagger on his hip. Tomorrow he would set sail to a life I craved more than anything. But did he appreciate his opportunities? No. And I hated him for it. "Do you despise poets, Ingrid?" His voice was sad, but a grin twisted at the corners of his mouth as he finished his question. Those blue eyes of his cut in my direction with a teasing flash. "They don't DO anything." My thoughts and emotions ran in torrents, but I could see his flowing smoothly and quietly. Even in his uneasiness about the morrow, his face was a peaceful as a child falling asleep in his own bed. ...

The Countdown: Eight Days

Eight days. Do you know what that means? Barely over a week. Tomorrow will be one week from the announcement date. Are you excited? I am. So, today, I want to talk to those who wrote something for the contest, whether or not you entered it in the end. What made you start writing your story? What was the first inkling of an idea that tickled your brain? What was it that you liked about your premise? As you wrote, did you have a favorite character or a favorite scene? And are you glad you wrote it down? Do you feel like you learned and grew in your ability as a writer as you tried out things for this contest? And, if your story isn't included in this year's Rooglewood anthology (either because you didn't submit it or because it didn't fit with the other four stories selected), what will you do with it? Will you market it elsewhere? Or will you lock it away in a drawer?

Goodbye and God Be With You

It's rather fitting that some things come to a close on this day -- the last day of the year. I submitted my last entry into the Rooglewood contest this morning. I can hardly believe it took me until the day of the deadline to send it in because I'm usually earlier than that. And, even with the extra time I took, I still felt a little bit like maybe I could have done better if I had more time. But there was no feeling of regret when I hit "send." Mostly it was just a prayer that Rooglewood would hear the heart of the message when they read it and that maybe, if I win, they could help me bring the full potential out of my little story. And there was also a feeling, after working on these stories for more than six months, that it felt good to close that chapter and move on to the next one. I did it. I wrote them. And I'm really proud of them. Last year, the act of hitting "send" on my contest entry catapulted me into an anticipatory state....

The Pen of a Ready Writer

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