I had three stories I really liked, but one was just the most finished. I'd already thoroughly revised, second-opinioned, edited and proof-read it, and then re-read and re-edited it again in the last few days.
I have a lot of worries about it, though. It's based on true events, so the most interesting (true) parts may sound unrealistic; and it's a love story, which I know is really trite. But I thought it was sweet. Unfortunately, sweetness probably won't equal the zest and originality that the judges will be looking for.
But I entered it. I feel good. Next year I'll try to enter again; and maybe the year after, too. And once the awards presentations are over, I can submit the story to somewhere like Takahe, maybe.
I still intend to use another of the stories this month, probably trying my luck with Takahe if I can whip it into shape soon enough. It'll be a damn good feeling once I get that out of the way, too: I've been meaning to submit a story to Takahe since I was 14.
I've been trying to get a story good enough and my courage high enough to enter a competition for years, let alone be organised enough to revise and edit it in time. I think my creative writing courses are really helping me; my best stories this year are all so much better than the stories I loved last year, although I might revisit one of those as well.
It's good to have a few well-written stories on the go.
And it's good to have entered that competition.
1 comment:
Congrats on your submission and ticking a goal off your very long and ambitious list.
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