Post Script

So unfortunately I've been experiencing massive technical difficulties. My laptop basically crashed and I haven't been able to replace it, hence my total lack of making any updates. :( ACK! Mercifully slow season at my day job is upon us and the lightbulb went off in my head that I could post things from my work computer. Yay! So for the time being, I'm baaaack!

Though this is very much delayed, the results of the 2019 Ink and Insights Writing Contest literally made me cry. After all my effort it was extremely gratifying to be ranked within the top ten! (#6 woot!!!) They gave me a site badge which I proudly posted below. The journey I've taken with the judges of this contest and the resultant evolution of my novel has been challenging, rewarding and most importantly--fun!

The encouragement and constructive criticism I took away from this contest is buoying. Fiction is by no means an easy field when it comes to putting your writing out there into the world. Sometimes it can be difficult to remember that just because a manuscript got rejected somewhere, does not mean by any stretch of the imagination (see what I did there?) that the writing style is bad or the story sub-par.

I've expressed before how beneficial the feedback alone from this contest is. Equally important and potentially more so, however, is the encouragement. Hearing from a complete stranger how much they enjoyed reading something YOU created.; how certain characters or situations effected them and that they honestly wish they had the ENTIRE story instead of just an excerpt; that they would BUY your book--there's just no feeling in the world quite like it! It gives a boost in motivation to keep going, keep pursuing that end goal You are NOT the only person who likes what you wrote and there will likely be many more once you get that work published!

I feel like I'm ready for the next step and am so grateful to all the judges who helped critique my story. It's time to start sending those query letters out to agents! Keep your eye on my Wattpad feed. I may decide to post a sneak peak!