I entered a writing contest. Back in January. Why am I only telling you this now? Honesty compels me to say that it’s because I was scared to mention it. Still am, really, but more in an uncomfortable-place-of-vulnerability way, than a heart-pounding-hyperventilating kind of way. I did post that I had taken the plunge on Facebook, but let’s be honest, in a news feed full of political memes and cat videos, this is precisely the sort of thing that gets lost in the shuffle.
Specifically, it was the NYC Midnight short story contest (www.nycmidnight.com).
Why? Both because it sounded interesting, and because it gave me a chance to flex (ok, develop) some different writing muscles. I’ve been focusing on longer works, and haven’t written a short story since junior high (which was **quite** a long time ago). The contest has three rounds, each with decreasing word counts and time frames to complete your story in. You get assigned a heat, and the top five from each heat move on to the next round. Round 1 closed January 28, and the winners will be announced the week of March 20 – just over a week away!
Originally I was going to wait until the results were posted, but decided to treat all you lovelies to a copy of my story now. Come on, who doesn’t love treats? I thought it would be nice for you to have access to it, without knowing if it was selected to move on to round two or not. No preconceived notions this way 😉
For your reading pleasure, Agua Fantasma. Would love to hear your comments!
(Clicking on the underlined text will give you a link to open the story from).
“What makes you vulnerable makes you beautiful.” – Brené Brown
Bleeding Ink 