I'm sending my YA novel Fortress off to a contest today. I don't expect to win, but no matter what happens, one good thing is going to come from it and one already has.
I finished the first draft about this time last year and just couldn't get motivated to revise it until I talked to some folks at World Fantasy. Even then, I only got maybe five or six chapters revised. Then about six weeks ago, I found out about this contest with a deadline of Feb. 28. I tend to work better with a deadline hanging over my head (even if it's one of my own choosing) than with none at all, so I decided to enter the contest.
Little did I realize at the time that I'd already committed myself to finishing my deacon training, running a 5K and moving my mom from Arizona to Maryland. Despite the all the insanity, I finished my revision last night. Deadlines can be wonderful things.
Again, I don't expect to win in the "Science Fiction/Fantasy/Speculative" category of this contest, but I'm pleased with most of what I've written and know that at least two judges are going to read it. Plus each judge will send back a written critique, which will no doubt help with a future third draft.
I'm just glad the thing's done.
Sleep....
3 comments:
You rock.
"Finished" is a truly fine feeling. "Sold" is better, but "finished" is a glory all its own.
Thank you, sir. It is a fine feeling. Although this morning I got the fever again and started a new short story. I'm either dedicated or crazy.
My money's on crazy.
You get that "Finished" feeling, and it's like Bill Murray in Scrooged -- you want that feeling again and again and again.
It's an addiction.
It's those endorphins, baby.
It's "If I don't get another story written I won't get my xxxx number of rejections before I magically get a sale."
I am a firm believer in the use of contest deadlines as a motivator for new/young writers, though you do have to be a little selective about the contests. (grin)
Dr. Phil
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