Mile Marker #25: Losses Are Still Wins!
I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to lose a contest in my life.
I found out yesterday that I was a finalist for a pretty significant short fiction prize (I’m not saying which one, so we’re Gucci!) and just about smashed through my window in pure excitement. I didn’t win, but they asked for all my social media handles and contact info so they can make me part of the big announcement down the line.
I’m so proud of the fact that my short stories are slowly gaining traction. I still don’t have an official publication credit, but each time I get a rejection the notes are more personal and longer, and I’ve been asked many times now to resubmit in the future. This particular short story actually landed me a semi-finalist slot for a different short fiction prize a few years ago, and this time it was a finalist!
The progress is just astounding and I’m so, so proud of it.
It’s important to remember when I’m flipping out about grad school (3 rejections, 6 pending, let’s do this!) that I am truly making progress. Every day I write, every sentence I tweak, every submission I send into the ether puts me one step closer to That Successful Writing Life.
Every nibble I get on my writing makes me hungrier to write more.
I’ve spent a lot of time on short stories the last couple of months. I submitted a flash piece to a small contest (that my friends hyped me up about) and should be hearing back about that in March. Just yesterday, I sent off a submission for an anthology that I’ve been working on since early January. I still have a story on hold with a literary magazine (-banshee shrieking-) that I’m hoping I’ll get a response on soon.
Things are moving, y’all! I’m feeling so confident and excited about my writing at the moment. I’m still crossing all my fingers and toes and tentacles that grad school moves forward, but if it doesn’t, I don’t think I’m going to have the same existential crisis I had in 2020. (What a year for existential crises, amirite?)
I have amazing friends in the writing world now and I’m so excited to meet some of them in person in May. I’m excited to get feedback on my novel from a few choice people, then start (-gasp-) pitching it and working on the sequel.
I feel like the big ol’ writing world is open to me right now, and it’s an amazing feeling.
Losing a contest has never felt so good <3
Til next time,
Mags