I entered a short story contest!

I did not win but that’s okay because entering any kind of writing contest is something I always hesitated to do. To have my work read and judged used to give me chills (and not the good kind). However, I’m older and in a better place with criticism so I said “Screw it, let’s do it!”

Reedsy is a writing website that offers writing and editing services, provides a place to store your drafts, offers classes on writing and publishing, and so much more to help writers with their craft. They also have weekly writing contests with five different prompts that surround a certain theme. I have been receiving these prompt emails for a while and either never felt my writing was good enough or none of the prompts inspired me. This time around, I sat myself down and chose one of the prompts where the theme was Teacher’s Pet. I chose the prompt called “Start your story with someone being called to the principal’s office.”

I wrote just under 3000 words (the maximum required) in two hours, not knowing where this story was coming from, but in the end I was proud of it. I submitted it the next day after editing and I waited. The top prize is $250 and the runners-up get coupons for the Reedsy store.

As I said, I didn’t win (nine people have liked it so far though!) but I’m still proud of what I accomplished. It’s a small win personally, however, that I needed, and it proved to me that sometimes when there is no inspiration that you just need to sit down and write. It’s amazing what can happen when you tap into that fount of creativity when you take the initiative to dip your toe in.

Here’s the link to my short story if you would like to read it.

Prompt from Reedsy.com. “Start your story with someone being called to the principal’s office.”