The pleasure of the unexpected

In March I attended a writing workshop in Newcastle. Participants ranged from teenagers to pensioners and we were asked to say a few words about ourselves.

When my turn came, I said I was a ‘competition junkie’, having entered a children’s novel competition, a play competition and a TV screenplay competition, and I was waiting to hear about a short story competition.

Like many others, I’d offered features and stories to a variety of places, all politely declined. I began to prepare for disappointment. You don’t enter competitions unless you think you stand a chance of winning, but there are a lot of talented writers out there who think the same.

My husband was in the same room as me when I discovered I’d won. He couldn’t believe the fuss I made. I have never experienced anything quite like it - it’s the pleasure of the unexpected combined with a long period of waiting, I guess.

When I first read that the competition theme was ‘unity or union’, the image of a mandala just appeared before I even knew what it might symbolise. I posted an early draft on Litopia (an online writing website) and received a range of feedback that helped me write a more character-led story.

Once my ideas began to develop, I wasn’t sure how to include them without making the story feel hectic or rushed. I wanted to feature the power of art to unite, a sense of belonging to your country, oneness with nature, and a few other things too nebulous to nail down. I think unity is more important than ever in today’s world when the news is often depressing; fear, hatred and rejection never solved anyone’s problems.

Do you enter competitions, and are you a competition junkie? Or do you steer clear and focus on preparing your manuscript for publication?