Writing Contests as Motivational Tools?

 

Writing Contests as Motivational Tools?

 

      ARE CONTESTS GOOD MOTIVATIONAL TOOLS?  Some writers and poets say they are fun or motivational; others say they find them useless, even humiliating. After all, there are a million writers entering, right?! Not always. Some contests have many entrants, others have few. Many good poems get returned, because something was loved about the one winning poem. A rejection is not a death sentence, but a license to turn around and re-submit elsewhere! If everyone has the opinion that they don’t matter, then what if...no one takes the time to enter? Take a chance on a contest today! Always follow rules, so you don’t annoy the judges. Choose an appropriate poem, even one that you feel is exceptional, one that might get you noticed. Routinely entering contests ups your odds, so take that chance! A writer has to start somewhere...

 

      WHAT IF the act of ENTERING A CONTEST is not so much about the winning, but MORE IMPORTANTLY... about the finishing of something, the preening of a piece loved, development of critical decision-making skills, the looking at your work with another’s eyes, the VALIDA-TION that comes from having your words read for sure by someone, even if it seems you have paid them to do so. 

 

 

Orig publ in TOH issue #16, Feb 2008