Follow up ~ Writing Contest

There are definitely things that I tend to hang on to . . . with clenched fists and for dear life. Usually for the most asinine reasons and often to my detriment. So when I am able to very easily release something, it feels good. And reminds me that..."I got this."

I entered a writing contest last September.
The details and particulars are here... 9th New Thing ~ Releasing the Outcome

Briefly:
A short, non-fiction piece for Real Simple magazine's Life Lessons Essay Contest.
On September 8th, someone sent me a link to the contest. Six days prior to the deadline. Six fun-free days of self-inflicted, torturous pressure.

The magazine's description of the contest began with this question:

  "If you could change one decision that you made in the past, what would it be?"

In 1500 words? Honestly! That's just mean.


As I was scrambling to draft, erase, edit, draft, edit, delete, delete, delete, draft and edit . . .  I remember thinking, "If I only had more time. If I'd started back in May when the contest began...." But the truth is, more time is the perfect breeding ground for over-thinking a thing. When I'm not looking, I can easily think things directly into a state of mediocrity. Ordinary.....hmmm.....when is that ever a good thing? The truth is, if I'd have known about this contest months earlier, I'd simply have had more time to chew on it.


In the original blog post, I said that the piece I wrote was a bit naked and raw. This might be understating it.

Now, there's raw fiction and there's raw non-fiction. Folks seem to have an easier time with raw fiction. Not everyone can handle real life. They really just want the make-believe stuff.
This piece was real life. MY real life. I felt vulnerable submitting this story. I scrambled to get it done then holding my breath, gritting my teeth and squinting through my fingers, I clicked SEND.
And in an instant, it was no longer in my clenched fists.
"No getting it back now," I said aloud. "It's out there." I looked around me, over my shoulders...YIKES!

I genuinely did not know what to wish for. Winning the contest and this story being out there for everyone to read? Or not? So I just let it go. Whatever happened, happened. "If it's meant to be made public, then it will be." I couldn't rethink it or I might panic.

It felt incredibly brave to enter. And then it felt incredibly peaceful to release the outcome.

And I really did release the outcome.

And in fact, I released it so well that I forgot about it.  New Things happened. Holidays happened. New Things happened some more. Soon the date that the winners were to be notified, flew right past, without me noticing. Mid-January, I did not get an email telling me that I won. Or that I was one of the two runner's up.

I'm perfectly fine with this outcome. Maybe relieved, even.  My personal challenge wasn't winning the contest, (although that would have been a New Thing). My personal challenge was to be brave enough to write a piece so honest, to send it out into the world and to do it on such a short deadline. I did that!


Back in the Fall, when I posted this New Thing, I had no pictures to offer. I still don't.

Entering a writing contest. Releasing the Outcome. 

I truly believe the best thing happens.
The contest theme was life lessons; clearly those judging thought I was over-qualified.

You can go to the Real Simple website to read the winning entries. Click on the links are in the second paragraph of this article