Some of you don't know this, but I entered a writing contest. It was one of those spur of the moment ideas. The notice in the paper grabbed my attention, I wrote the story, and entered. And, I didn't win.
I didn't really think that I would win, but sure, it would have been nice. But I can tell you this: I did not deserve to win the prize. Based on what I have already learned in just two weeks of my creative writing workshop, my story might have been good, but it wasn't great. I read the winner's entry, and while it did not blow me away, I could see the merits in the writing. The story showed much more than mine did (I tend to be a teller) and it had a finesse that comes from many years of writing. In fact, when I looked at the bio of the winner, he is a published author. Well, that made me feel a lot better!
The whole experience makes me think that this particular contest could make things better for folk like me by having subcategories. I can envision a local professional division and a local amateur division. Why do I say this? The prize is enrollment in a local writing workshop. While I can imagine that any writer can benefit from workshops, it seems that the people who might be most likely to really benefit are those that can't call themselves published authors.
This might all sound like sour grapes to you. I don't mean it that way. In fact, writing that story pushed me to listen to my inner self, which said I'd like to try my hand at actually writing a book. And now, here I am, 25 pages into one, and 120 into another. If I stop now, I'd be crazy.
So like the title says, you win some, you lose some. And in this case, I might have lost, but in the end, I think I am winning.
I didn't really think that I would win, but sure, it would have been nice. But I can tell you this: I did not deserve to win the prize. Based on what I have already learned in just two weeks of my creative writing workshop, my story might have been good, but it wasn't great. I read the winner's entry, and while it did not blow me away, I could see the merits in the writing. The story showed much more than mine did (I tend to be a teller) and it had a finesse that comes from many years of writing. In fact, when I looked at the bio of the winner, he is a published author. Well, that made me feel a lot better!
The whole experience makes me think that this particular contest could make things better for folk like me by having subcategories. I can envision a local professional division and a local amateur division. Why do I say this? The prize is enrollment in a local writing workshop. While I can imagine that any writer can benefit from workshops, it seems that the people who might be most likely to really benefit are those that can't call themselves published authors.
This might all sound like sour grapes to you. I don't mean it that way. In fact, writing that story pushed me to listen to my inner self, which said I'd like to try my hand at actually writing a book. And now, here I am, 25 pages into one, and 120 into another. If I stop now, I'd be crazy.
So like the title says, you win some, you lose some. And in this case, I might have lost, but in the end, I think I am winning.
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