Happiness

Quick Note: Well, ok, quick for me anyway...

I won, I won, I won!!! We ended up not being ready to leave yesterday until 8:53 am. Sighing, I headed out to the van. Paul was sitting on the porch swing and suggested that I go sit in front of the computer, saying that another 7 minutes wasn't going to make a difference. So, I got to check FaithWriters before leaving after all!

I knew my story wasn't bad. When I submitted it I knew that people would either love it or hate it, thinking it was way over the top. I put myself in the shoes of a mother who is losing her only son to a brain tumor and I wrote from there. I ended up getting 4 positive comments prior to judging and so I began to have some hopes for my story. After reading all the other stories in my division I thought there was a good chance that my story might make it into the top 5 of my division.

It got FIRST PLACE! I saw that and I couldn't breathe. I jumped up and ran to find Paul, squealing, "I got first, I got first!" Then, I zipped back to the computer and checked the Editor's Picks. I seriously quit breathing when I saw that not only did I make it into the top 10 Editor's Picks (the stories that will be published in an anthology) I got FIRST PLACE there as well! Holy, holy cow!

I've only made it into the top 10 twice and the second time I get first?! I had to go through and count - there were 110 entries, total. I'm thinking I did pretty well! But I'm starting to sound braggy here, so I need to wind down. My friend Kristi, who got me started with FW in the first place, reminded me that getting a first place win with the Editors means that now I am in competition for what they call the "Best of the Best" awards which are given yearly and come with cash prizes. Definitely NOT holding my breath on that one!

So, needless to say, I had a very, very good day yesterday! I kind of floated all day long through Adventureland - and it wasn't only from all the hay fever meds I had to take (the ragweed has definitely bloomed!). We got home around 10 and I had to sit down as soon as we got home and read all the nice comments that people left about my story. What fun and oh, what a blessing!

I still have to place in the top 10 for Editor's Picks one more time before bumping up to the last level, "Masters." I'm thinking more than ever, that I really need to be doing more writing for venues other than FW. And that's where I'm drawing a blank. I can write articles and I know there are places that will take them. But I have found that my real delight is in fiction writing. Aside from novels, where would I began to find an outlet for fiction? I know there are answers - it's just finding them.

I began to pray in earnest about my writing some time ago. And I've seen that answered through my success with FW. But now I need some more direction. And a few extra hours in every day wouldn't hurt either! I don't have enough time to do what needs to be done and write, too. But somehow there has to be a way. If only I didn't need to sleep...

Paul told me yesterday that he'll be happy to quit his job so I can go to work writing full-time. Ha, ha, ha! Before we went to sleep last night he told me he was proud of me. That felt really good. But, I have to continually remind myself - it's not me. God gave me this extra ability with words. And I guess if He needs some things written through my pen, He'll direct my steps. But, even though I know it's not really me, it still feels awfully good!

Again, I won't be putting this one on my blog, but if you want to read, "Loving Luke Good-Bye" let me know and I'll send you the link to the story.