Never mind me in the photo - just look at the gorgeous flowers! I have a head cold at the moment and it shows. So do my flabby upper arms, now that I look at the photo. Man - I really need to do something with weights. Those arms are going to be the size of tree trunk and the consistency of pancakes by the time I'm 60, if I don't do something about them. The boys came back from camp with germies crawling through their systems and have been sneezing and hoarking all week long. Sam is too, and sure enough, my Vit. D wasn't enough to ward off an attack of this magnitude. I just hope I'm feeling better by Sunday. That will be miserable if I'm suffering through a picnic on a hot summer day and feeling achy and stuffy-headed on top of it!
Paul brought me flowers tonight to say "Congratulations." He's so sweet! He's saying congratulations because my latest FaithWriters piece got FIRST PLACE!!!! I could not believe it. I only got 3 comments on that story and I've come to believe that the more comments a piece get, the better the odds are that it will place well. At least, it's been that way with my other pieces that have gotten in the top 5. And I thought the competition was a little more stiff this week, too. But I still got FIRST PLACE!!! Not that I'm excited or anything...
Now I will be competing at the 3rd level, which is called "Advanced." So, I'll be starting at the bottom of the heap again. Or maybe not. Yeah, probably. When I went from Beginners to Intermediate I went straight into the top 5 right away and I don't think I've ever placed below that the times I've entered. That sounds braggy, doesn't it? I'm just thinking outloud here. The competition will be more fierce, though, because I'll be competing against better writers. So, I have to be realistic.
This is actually my first first place win. The rule used to be that once you made it into the top 3, you could then advance to the next level. So, it was with my first third place win that I went into the Intermediate level, sometime this winter. But then they changed it and now you have to have a first place win to go on.
Are you tired of reading about me talking about me yet? I am!
I am just immensely surprised and pleased. It means a lot to me because you all know how nervous I was about submitting fiction. It's an art to be able to write that genre - one that I always aspired to, but never knew if I had the capability. So it's validation for me, as well as encouragement that someday I may, indeed, realize my writing dreams. That's enough hope to keep me going, I guess, as I raise this quadrant of males and look forward to free-er days.
I am just immensely surprised and pleased. It means a lot to me because you all know how nervous I was about submitting fiction. It's an art to be able to write that genre - one that I always aspired to, but never knew if I had the capability. So it's validation for me, as well as encouragement that someday I may, indeed, realize my writing dreams. That's enough hope to keep me going, I guess, as I raise this quadrant of males and look forward to free-er days.
Oh, I suggested to Paul today that I would very, very much like to plan on attending the FaithWriters conference next summer in Michigan. He was immediately agreeable. So, now I have that to plan for and look forward to!
I'm going to post my two fiction pieces now. Enjoy!
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