Kelhanion

Are you like me: when you participate in a writing contest you get a great burst of motivation and you are actually suddenly able to write something? I, as presumably many of you, suffer from a chronic writer's block, but somehow contest are able to get me in the writing mood. A couple of weeks ago I heard of a short film script writing contest. It had been going on for months and the deadline was at the end of that week. I started thinking about the script right away and wrote half of it the same night. The next day I completely discarded what I'd written and wrote it again. The night after that I finished it, edited it and asked my family for critique. At the same time I participated in a short story contest and I had just finished my short story when I started working on the script. Both had equally tight schedules.

What suprised me was that the text came out of me so easily. I have had the "dry period" for months now and I can't seem to get myself to write anything - anything but for contests, it seems. Has anyone else noticed that contests give you motivation? Why do you think that is? Knowledge of the professional jury reading your work? Lottery ticket to fame? I think it is the first one for me. These critics (no matter if they won't give any feedback) are a dream audience. Just knowing that a panel of writers and experts pass my work around and read it is exciting. And of course, there is the theoretical chance of winning and getting your work produced/published in an anthology etc.

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The body is a prison for the mind. Still, only a fool would break out.
-Me

Monkey King

I'm actually too lazy for contests. They never seem to pop up at the right time. The only one my school has is usually in the middle of midterms so I never to that one. I'm way too lazy to seek out contests.

I'd recommend learning to write becuase you want to write. Not because you might win something. If you rely on prizes for motivation you'll often be disappointed. If you rely on a love of writing, you never will be.

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Cut me some slack. I just found out that only I can prevent forest fires and that's a lot of pressure.

Kelhanion

I know what you're saying and I want to clear up that that's not how it is with me I love writing and I do it mostly because I want to do so. My point is that I also like rejection letters and failing in contests. That is because I just want to keep on trying to reach every person I can with my writing. I don't want to put all of my short stories online because I wouldn't be able to spread them further anymore (contests, anthologies, even own publications sometimes). I like that my work is read (online by fellow writers but by panels of experts, too). I don't care if I lose. I want to participate. Winning would be something great, but not the reason why I take part.

I once wrote in a thread about publishing that my aim is not to make millions or even to sell tens of thousands. I just want to be published, because that would mean that someone likes my work so much that he/she is willing to put effort into publishing it. That would mean so much to me, whether people would actually read my work that is a whole another question.

So summa summarum -> I don't rely on prizes as motivation. I don't care if I ever make one dime out of my work. I just want to reach out for every direction, get different groups of people to read my work. Winning wouldn't mean "I'm the best!" to me, it would be "Someone thinks I'm worthy! Bless that someone!"

About rejection letters: The more the publisher says about my work (if they for example even know in what genre it was) the more thrilled I am. Don't call me an attention whore , I just like spreading my wings and be read by people.

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The body is a prison for the mind. Still, only a fool would break out.
-Me