Breaking the Rules and (Maybe) Winning. Yay!

On this quiet Boxing Day, please let me announce that my entry in the CWOW Phoenix Rattler Does Your Story Have Bite? contest has made the finals. My first contest!


I found this out on Christmas Eve, the day before my birthday, and how grateful I am! Glory to God for every victory.


I agonized over this entry back in October, up to the night it was due. I was supposed to submit the first ten pages of my unpublished novel, and I had a beginning that was...possibly...in the wrong place.


It's an agony felt by artists of all kinds: How can we bear to delete the bits we love so much, even though they're not entirely successful or in the right place, and re-start the story (or painting or score) somewhere else?


In the end, I took a deep breath, ripped out the questionable passage as if ripping out my heart, and trusted that the new hook was strong. Further, I chose to leave a huge flashback sitting smack in the first ten pages---which, ask anyone, is a humongous no-no. Forty pages too soon, they'll tell you. It's what all the books say.


The fact that I made the finals anyway highlights two wonderful points.


First of all, it pays to bite the bullet and do what you think is best for the work, no matter how in love you are with this bit or that. Second, if the flashback (or yellow tree or A-flat) is necessary, leave it in, no matter who tells you to take it out.


In other words, trust your gut no matter what.


Granted, I haven't won. But making the finals tells me that the story and writing dominated all else. As, of course, they should.


I have an advantage, I think, in that I haven't read the how-to books yet. I have them and I leaf through them periodically, but for the most part I've been too busy writing to study them. Well, good. Winging it isn't a bad thing after all.


The Internet offers a rainbow of possibilities for learning how to do just about anything, most of all write. There are books and courses and gobs of advice, both reliable and unreliable. With all these resources, we can quickly lose sight of our own intuition. There are times to take advice, of course, and humbly. But still, it's easy to get bogged down in how-to's. Gut decisions are most often right, and I for one am gratified to see my story advance on the basis of choices I made listening to the quiet voice within.


Contests are important for professional writers and I'm delighted to have debuted with this small success. It's a good feeling I can carry on to the next contest, already in progress.


Unfortunately, there's no snow in Baja to rejoice in, but what we do have are mariachi bands. I throw my paws in the sunny air and give thanks!