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I just sent off my entry to Writer's Weekly's 24-hour thematic short story contest, an hour ahead of the deadline. The absolute word limit was 1,000. My first/rough draft came out at 2,163. I had to make radical cuts or come up with a whole new idea Well, it took all night and three passes on paper, with some smaller tweaks at the keyboard, but I did it! Amazing what you can cut out while saving the heart and bones of a story, if the heart and bones are strong! And I thought cutting 16,000 words back to 12,000 for a Glimmertrain submission was a challenge!
I'm exhausted (I'm also recovering from almost three weeks of urinary tract hell, hopefully over now), but proud of myself for finishing, and it's a good, solid, tight story. Now I need to get some sleep before I drive in to town for a poetry contest reception. The young prodigy from my writing group (who is also in the 24-hour contest) won and invited me, and I really do want to go.
I've finished a lot of stories (32 sold, four respectable mainstream rejections, and one non-winner contest entry, among others), but I don't think I've ever been any prouder of myself for finishing a job by deadline. I feel like a winner right now, whether I get a prize or not,. Everyone else in the house is asleep and I had to share the news somewhere. I did it!
Regards,
SharonID... wondering if I've got competition amongst this crew for this contest...
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