Keeping the candle burning

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       The medicinal qualities of entering a short story writing contest are truly astounding. Any writer that has fallen to the wayside by blaming the muse for an inability to write needs a spoonful of: short story writing contest.

       There’s nothing like it: that rush we feel when we create a character out of thin air - even though that character is loosely based on a combination of Grandma and Uncle Bert.

       When we take that character to unimaginable heights; put them through the wringer; kill them off; make them wicked or good to the core – that’s when we truly feel accomplished as writers.

       When we create a world that is perfect in every way and in every detail and then we bring our characters into that world – even if that world in only in our own back yard - that’s when we are truly creative.

       When we take a story line and make it go where we want it to go and then realize that, in fact, we have no power over its destination – that's when we have truly given in to creative writing.

       But, what happens when our writings get stale and ‘life’ gets in the way? What happens when the writer loses his or her edge or when the only excitement a writer feels is when he or she finds a new way to blame the muse – and then feels immediately guilty about it?

       As authors, we often tend to use excuses that prevent us from writing which only add to our writer’s guilt:

1. Wait until we have time to ourselves
   1. Because most of our writing happens within our homes, we tend to use the other lives around us as our excuse to be who we claim to be: successful spouse, parent, friend, etc. By taking time to ourselves, we feel that we are taking time away from the people who need us in order to accomplish what we perceive (or have been led to believe) as selfishness – having ‘my time’ moments during the process of creativity.
       

2. Wait for the ultimate “Eureka! This would make a great story!” moment
   1. Waiting for inspiration means we can justify the guilt we feel when we begin to believe that we can’t write without it, or that we cannot write on the spur of the moment or on demand. Authors often cannot pick inspiration out of thin air and therefore wait – and wait and wait – for a good reason to write creatively. These are the moments we choose to justify our desire to retreat within ourselves and be creative, blocking out all else in order to fully focus. When these moments do not come often enough, we feel guilty because we have trained ourselves to not be able to write without them.
       

3. Wait until someone encourages us
   1. When support and encouragement come from the outside instead of from within, we feel somewhat more successful. However, initial writer’s success does not come from the outside, it comes from paying our dues by simply and consistently writing no matter what anyone says about it. If we love what we write first, then the opinions of others are really only the icing on the cake; but, if we only write so we can eat the icing, the cake will be lacking and end up stored in a file on the computer waiting to be stirred and baked. Writing that is not stirred and baked will not end up on a publisher’s list . . . This is where the guilt comes in: as we wait for encouragement and kind words from others, we do not feel successful because, as authors, we tend to equate success with a publishing contract from a renowned publishing house. There is only one Atwood or King or Rawlings. And ... there is only one “you”! 
       

4. Wait until someone publishes something we wrote 20 years ago
   1. 20 years ago, we were still paying our dues. We were ‘learning’ the craft, refining it, making it work and loving the process – it made us feel so very, very good. Then we got that rejection letter, several in fact, but we still believe in that piece of work because we perceive it as our best work when in fact, it was that one piece of work that made us feel like a writer – and that feeling is what we need more than an acceptance letter. We hang onto that piece of work, rework it again and again and keep sending it out – and in the mean time, we are unable to move forward toward a new genre, new topic, new way of writing, new anything at all, because we cannot find that ultimate rush of excitement that comes with writing something good. It is not until an author moves away from the old and experiments with new forms of writing, that he or she can truly feel that excitement again and ultimately ‘see’ the flaws in what was written 20 years ago.

Wynterblue offers monthly short story writing contests for medicinal reasons:

1. To clean out the pipes and flush them with new creative energy
   1. healing our addiction to the list of: reasons I can’t write
   2. bring back the: “I feel really, really good about writing again!”
       

2. To put a time limit onto the event
   1. encourage a good dose of adrenaline that brings back that absolute enjoyment to just sit and write something simply for the love of it;
   2. set a specific ‘my time’ once every month
       

3. Supply subject matter to provide inspiration
   1. Supplying an open-ended Eureka! moment that the writer can take anywhere he or she wants to take it
       

4. Limit the word count to keep the story short and on topic
   1. abolishing the need to fill in the white space with words that don’t count
   2. challenge the author to write a crisp and clean manuscript
       

5. Contests are judged and winners are chosen based on the following criteria:
   1. Does it have a powerful and exciting opening paragraph
   2. Does it have clear and absolute plot resolution
   3. Does it have precise and believable character development
   4. Does it tell a good story
   5. Does it evoke emotion, teach something, create awareness, etc.
   6. Does it make this author unique; encourage further reader of the author
   7. Does this short story have room for expansion – with a bit of work, can it become a great novel
       

The perfect 1500 word short story:

1. Has one main character and a maximum of 2 secondary characters
2. Has one main plot and a maximum of 1 subplot
3. Has absolute resolution of all plots
4. Has a sharp and clear beginning, middle and end
5. Has a justifiable ending – even the cliff hangers
6. Has a specific story to tell - no matter the genre
7. Has an opening that begins mid-action, pulling the reader into the pages
8. Has all the ingredients to evoke emotion (happy; tear jerker; wonder; etc.)
9. Has what it takes to make the reader want more from this author

Take the cure today:

 Wyn Lit 24