Your Biggest Competition-You

An editor friend, who runs regular competitions at their website, recently received a request from a writer to run a competition soley for unpublished authors.  The writer’s reasoning was that it took great effort to write a good story and they didn’t stand a chance against ‘established authors’.  Of course, the editor politely declined.

It got me thinking that that writer may not realise two important things.  As writers,

1.      We compete with every other writer out there, established or not.

2.      You are only really competing against yourself.

Now these two statements may seem completely oppositional.  How you feel about the quality of your writing and the rejection of your writing is probably one of the biggest hurdles a new writer needs to overcome.

A REAL STRUGGLE

I am wading through the editing of a book I wrote last year—I know it’s a long time but I kept getting caught up with short stories; then there’s the kid’s stuff.   Three chapters I edited recently were a real struggle.  I vaguely remember that, around the time I wrote them, I threw a hissy fit, cried myself to sleep for three days and informed my husband I was the lousiest writer on the planet.  The writing was so bad in my mind, I couldn’t go back to the novel for a week due to the fear I may accidentally read the pages and want to give up permanently.

Some twelve months later, when I came to edit these offending pages, I realise, I was right originally.  They were bad. As I was reading them, I thought: Gawd, who wrote this rubbish?  But I’ve grown since then, so instead of a tantrum, I told myself: Thank goodness I’ve improved. 

Even when I finished the edit on them, my best first reader, Hubby, shook his head and said, ‘They need more work.’  He then added, ‘See you always accuse me of bias when I tell you something is good.  Now this isn’t so good and I’m telling you.’  I tried to be pleased at his honesty but it did smart a little, even though he was right.  I knew it was poor writing, he said it was poor writing; therefore, it probably was poor writing by anyone’s standards.

BAD WRITER?

Does that make me a bad writer with no chance?  No.

 

Since I wrote those passages, my stories have won multiple short story competitions and a few are now published.  That pathetic writing was just a slimy stepping stone to the better writing.  There will be hundreds, if not thousands, of these stones. Sometimes, as you put your foot down on one slippery little monster, you instinctively know that this is not going to be good.  But if it’s the only way across the stream, then step on it you must.

Am I racing the writer guy next to me with the dainty little light step, who seems to skim across the stones, reaching the amazing-winning awards-writing bank before me?  No, his stones are different and his journey is different.  Quite possibly he started before me.  So what if he entered the same writing competition as me and won?  Maybe it’s my turn next time.  And at least I have the story I wrote and the experience.  That's money in the bank right there.

BALANCE OF POWER

The only thing in my power, with regards to writing, is me.  I can’t make an editor or a judge like my work if it’s not their cup of tea or if the quality of my work hasn’t reached their standards yet. My job is to just keep going, practicing and honing and learning everything I can about me and the craft.

In a writing competition the Writer Me of a year ago wouldn’t stand a chance against the Writer Me who writes this blog today. Tens of thousands of words now separate us.  And those words have made a difference.  This me, has to edit what that poor chump wrote a year ago, so I should know.  And don’t feel sorry for them and their lack of talent either.  Feel sorry for me, I have to fix up the mess.  It is very hard work.  

Next year, I hope to look back on this year’s effort with slight disdain.  That is my goal.  If I’ve worked hard enough, I should be better at the craft.  In fact, I spend every day separating myself from the Writer Me of the day before with a few more thousand words of experience.  I hope next year, also, to be encouraged by my improvement and grateful to the Writer Me who spent another year working at her apprenticeship by belting out pages and pages of good and bad writing.

In the end, it is a wise writer who remembers, that just like our heroes, you can’t always win but as long as you are in the game—and the longer you are in the game—there is always a chance.