Competitons

It is difficult to get your hopes up for just another one of those many writing competitions you have decided to enter. You are unable to afford the competitions with fees, so you are already resigned to be one of thousands entering those few free competitions.

And, of course, you've lost every one so far. The ones with a "cut" leave you wondering how your refined piece of genius couldn't even make the first cut! (When it is cut from 37,000,000 to 36,800,000 -- you think you should have a chance!)

But the world of writing stays within the realm of you, your desk, your computer, and the occasional brave writing group soul. You do not network well in the writing world. They are mysterious, intimidating, ask too much of your time, travel, and money just to look at them, listen to them. The time and energy spent writing, editing, sending, and resending and rewriting and re-editing query letters to well researched publishers and agents could have been reallocated to your social life, your children, or inventing the next Facebook, a cure for hunger, or at least sleeping more.

So it is that writing competitions are your only hope into the door.

And when you make the first cut, it is a horrible rush of pride that threatens to overwhelm the realistic notion that your chances are still minimal.

And when you make the second cut, you pull out duct tape, long pieces of rope, and tie your skeptical side down, mute it with all your force. There is hope...maybe.

You are inches from proclaiming -- to all who have ever dared e-mail you -- the glory of this second-round success. A sense of victory already wraps its flag over your shoulders.

To this, I say, send it. Market your minimal success and hope for more. Maybe it will push you back onto the page and maybe dare to take that step into the writing world.