Monday, May 08, 2006

You're Kidding Me--I Won?!

I am honored to have tied for first place in Ann Marie's writing contest. It was a bit surreal reading her review of my piece. In fact, it took two or three iterations before it sunk in that she had honored me so. It wasn't just that I won; it's what she said about the piece that gave me such a boost. So thank you Ann Marie, and sorry it took me a whole weekend to post a proper reply. The forces of domestic responsibility kept me away, even while my thoughts raced to post, to finish the story, to come up with new ideas. I'm on the path, and it feels great.

And a special thanks to Flood, who turned me on to another contest. What better inspiration do I need to finish? I think I've tapped into a writing sub-culture here. I hope some of my writing blog buddies will come along with me.

Ann Marie awarded me 245 blogexplosion credits, which basically guarantees me that 245 pairs of eyes will look at my blog at least once. I can apply those points whenever I want to, and at any increment I wish. I plan to wait until I finish the short story, and/or save them for posts that I really like. If anyone has experience with this and wants to share a strategy, I would appreciate the input. Perhaps I could create a post that links my favorite posts, or post the short story, and then have an italicized paragraph that points to further reading.

That's it for now. I need to get cracking on the carnival piece and make my morning rounds.

***

This just in: Ann Marie shut her site down. Apparently she's caught some grief from some participants. Had I not even placed I would have been grateful to have a forum to post, and a pair of eyes to critique. I think any writer that has been doing it for a while will tell you that rejection is part of the game, and getting used to it is the only way to make it. I wonder if Jason experienced some of this tension. This dulls the experience for me a bit.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Scott,
You are inspiring yourself. Your comment here
lead to a blog entry for me here.

We have a great oppotunity as bloggers to lift each other up or help each other if we can. Thanks so much for mentioning me on yours.

As for the contest, don't let anything sully your win. If it motivates to you to keep writing, hold on to that feeling.
-Flood (Blogger is not letting me log in right now)

Flood said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Flood said...

Third times the charm?

The first 'here' above should have directed you to this.

Dixie Belle said...

Congratulations and keep at it. The carnival piece is really good. Sorry the gal had to shut down her site!

Scott said...

Flood - I'm used to being inspired by others, so this is refreshing. Thanks for letting me know.

Dixie - Thank you for the compliment, and always feel free to give me the hard love like you did for my first short story. You sent me straight to the library and had me researching dialog attribution, and made me conscious of animal noises.

Joely Sue Burkhart said...

Congrats on the win, Scott!!

mr. schprock said...

Congratulations, Scott. That was some awesome writing. I can't wait to read the completed story.

jenbeauty said...

First congratulations that is really wonderful!

Second, sorry to hear about the site. It is unfortunate that she had to totally go offline, but some people on the net can't help but ruin good forums. Hopefully you can find another place such as hers to continue on your quest.

Toni Anderson said...

Rejection is not a small part of writing it is the major part of becoming a writer and it is actually good for some people. It hurts and it sucks and it should make us better writers.

Editors and agents don't just want good writing they want to work with professionals. The internet is a wide-open forum and people can bite themselves in the *** without even realising it.

Congratulations!!! Contests are hard!! Well done!

Bailey Stewart said...

What Toni said, in spades. You deserved the win, bask in it.

Natalie said...

Great story, Scott! I love the imagery (especially the feline theme...) Congratulations on your win! It's really too bad such sore losers had to ruin in for the hostess. I hope the bad taste it left in your mouth disappears and you don't let them get the best of you. I can't wait for the next installment...

Moni said...

Scott, I am soooo proud of you! I know you're on your way. ((hugs))

Anonymous said...

Congrats, Scott! Very well deserved. I hope to see where your leads.

Beth said...

I hate sour grapes. They're just so, well, sour. LOL Congratulations, Scott!

Miranda said...

Of course you won! How can you not expect it? :P Congratulations!

Ann Marie Simard said...

Hi there! Sorry I did not read this earlier. Whatever happened is bygones, I guess - and hope. Take care and yes, yes, yes! You deserved to win!

Hope you use those pics... tell me if I can custom-design a header from one of them...or in a style you like. I may have the Green Writing thing as a header already...But maybe it is a bit too "pretty". I am always designing and drawing.

Ann Marie

Ann Marie