I recently entered a writing contest. I lost. I didn’t care so much that I lost until I saw the winning entries. The top entry was an insightful piece on homelessness. The runner up was a little ditty about grit and urban life.
And it hit me: I am not dark. It’s true. I’m kind of sunny. I have always been fairly optimistic and reasonably happy. I had some dark periods, some stretches where life was not good to me, but I held on and pulled through. At the end of it all, I was older and smarter but still overall glad to be here.
I don’t brood, I don’t mope. I don’t despair. I don’t write about the hopelessness of life. I write about good things – finding love and happiness and learning life lessons. And this is what I hate about this, the idea that not being dark is not the same as not being deep or not having an interesting point of view. I happen to think I have something interesting to say. It’s not for everyone, but that doesn’t make it less important. Not dwelling on the bad or the sad does not equal fluff.
I realize that no one stumbles over to my blog looking for great literature. And my other writing? Much like my blog. I am who I am. And apparently, that won’t win me any contests… But I think I’m okay with that.
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I’d rather be happy than win a wrtiing contest
I think that your views are refreshing. It’s time that people started reading something upbeat and optimistic. I think it could turn out to be your strongest selling point.
This post reminded me of the recent book titled “The Power of Nice.” That book seems to be a reaction to the pervasive attitude which rose up in the popular culture of the ’80s that it’s cool to be rude. No, it’s not. It’s good to live by the Golden Rule. And, Kelly, it’s great to read your upbeat take on the foibles of life. The rest of the world will catch up with you shortly.
Yes, the current mood in a lot of writing seems to be somewhat angst-ridden. Does that mean you’ll never win a contest? Nope. There are pretty many contests out there, you just need to find one with “the right fit.”
Perhaps your writing is closer to “inspirational” or something in the “Christian” vein. I’m a firm believer that if you keep working at your craft, you’ll eventually succeed–but more research may be necessary to find the contests/publishers/agents best suited to your style and interests.
Keep at it. You can get there if you keep pushing and learning.
Stay happy and upbeat. It’s needed
~Saoirse