Nope. I didn't win. I entered a humorous writing contest back in March. (I told you about it here) I didn't really expect to win, but it always feels a little bit bad to be a loser, doesn't it. At least, I think it should feel a little bad to lose. You know how much I like to be a winner. :)
Actually, I didn't deserve to win. I didn't really put all that much effort into my submission. I hope the person that won the contest worked very hard on their submission. I hope they did what I didn't do. I wrote the first draft of my submission as a blog post. I think I may have put a half an hour or 40 minutes of time into the piece. The first draft was about 550 words. The contest rules said the submission was to be between 1000 and 2000 words. I knew, to meet the requirements, I had to flesh out my piece. I procrastinated and procrastinated. I hope the winner took his first draft and rewrote and edited it over and over until he had a tight, funny piece. I did what losers do. I took my first draft and added to it. I edited it for spelling and grammar, but I didn't tighten the piece into a proper essay. In fact, if I did anything, I edited the funny right out of it with my halfhearted addition. I hope the winner took his essay to others and had them read it and critique it. I hope he took the suggestions or criticism to heart and used it to improve his work. I asked a couple people to read my work. Then I didn't make any changes regarding the critiques. In fact, one of my readers said, "it's not very funny." (Yeah, I kinda knew that)
I learned a lot from this experience. I learned I can do exactly the same thing other losers do. I can give a half-assed effort just like they do. I will lose, just like they do. Winners WORK for it. I knew this, but the experience of losing drove it home. I am glad I know where I failed. I am glad I know what I can to to improve. I am glad I don't feel like I deserved to win and was cheated in any way. And, for pete's sake, I'm glad I'm not a crybaby about it.
The bible talks about giving your best effort in all you do in both the old testament and the new testament. In Proverbs 13:4 it says, "The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied." I got nothing. I was the sluggard (lazy person). In Colossians 3:23-24 it says, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." I certainly didn't work heartily (the opposite of halfhearted) and I didn't work as if I was working for the lord. In fact, I don't do that very often, if at all. If I want to improve my writing, I have to start working on it. I'm not looking for reward or praise. I'm looking for the satisfaction of a job well done.
I'm joining Emily at Imperfect Prose on Thursdays today. Don't be mislead when reading Em's work and all the wonderful blogs linked to her today. Good writers make it look easy. It's not. They've worked hard on their posts. Enjoy the blogs from some very good writers here today. I thank her for allowing me to add my imperfect effort to the group.
Today I'm grateful for
159. The April showers that bring May flowers
160. The joy that comes from making the perfect risotto
161. Taking the opportunities to be helpful
162. An invitation to a friend's son's college graduation party
163. Jojoba oil
Actually, I didn't deserve to win. I didn't really put all that much effort into my submission. I hope the person that won the contest worked very hard on their submission. I hope they did what I didn't do. I wrote the first draft of my submission as a blog post. I think I may have put a half an hour or 40 minutes of time into the piece. The first draft was about 550 words. The contest rules said the submission was to be between 1000 and 2000 words. I knew, to meet the requirements, I had to flesh out my piece. I procrastinated and procrastinated. I hope the winner took his first draft and rewrote and edited it over and over until he had a tight, funny piece. I did what losers do. I took my first draft and added to it. I edited it for spelling and grammar, but I didn't tighten the piece into a proper essay. In fact, if I did anything, I edited the funny right out of it with my halfhearted addition. I hope the winner took his essay to others and had them read it and critique it. I hope he took the suggestions or criticism to heart and used it to improve his work. I asked a couple people to read my work. Then I didn't make any changes regarding the critiques. In fact, one of my readers said, "it's not very funny." (Yeah, I kinda knew that)
I learned a lot from this experience. I learned I can do exactly the same thing other losers do. I can give a half-assed effort just like they do. I will lose, just like they do. Winners WORK for it. I knew this, but the experience of losing drove it home. I am glad I know where I failed. I am glad I know what I can to to improve. I am glad I don't feel like I deserved to win and was cheated in any way. And, for pete's sake, I'm glad I'm not a crybaby about it.
The bible talks about giving your best effort in all you do in both the old testament and the new testament. In Proverbs 13:4 it says, "The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied." I got nothing. I was the sluggard (lazy person). In Colossians 3:23-24 it says, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." I certainly didn't work heartily (the opposite of halfhearted) and I didn't work as if I was working for the lord. In fact, I don't do that very often, if at all. If I want to improve my writing, I have to start working on it. I'm not looking for reward or praise. I'm looking for the satisfaction of a job well done.
I'm joining Emily at Imperfect Prose on Thursdays today. Don't be mislead when reading Em's work and all the wonderful blogs linked to her today. Good writers make it look easy. It's not. They've worked hard on their posts. Enjoy the blogs from some very good writers here today. I thank her for allowing me to add my imperfect effort to the group.
Today I'm grateful for
159. The April showers that bring May flowers
160. The joy that comes from making the perfect risotto
161. Taking the opportunities to be helpful
162. An invitation to a friend's son's college graduation party
163. Jojoba oil
