How I Won The Vocal Media Challenge

Let me make one thing clear, I did not win the Vocal Media Micro-fiction Heist Challenge, though I did enter no less than twelve heist stories. The closest I got to winning any sort of recognition was appearing in a review section called 'All the great submissions.' However, I still feel very much like a winner, and here is why.

After about a year-long break from writing, after a serious accident on my bicycle, I was finding it difficult to restart the creative part of my brain. Suddenly, I spotted the Vocal Media Challenges and felt inspired to try my hand at writing again.

My first challenge was 'The Heist' and it went so well that I decided to write another, then another, then another.....In total, I wrote twelve heist stories. That was all it took to get the creative juices flowing again. From heists, I turned my attention to other challenges, and before I knew it I had hit full writing stride as if I had never been away. I call that a win. But there's more...

I had never tried to write a micro-fiction story before, so there was a bit of a learning curve to get around. The way I went about the writing was to write something more or less in two hundred words, without worrying too much about the exact word count. I just wanted to get the idea sketched out. Then when I had finished getting the idea down on the page I set about editing it down to 200 words exactly.

I knew from experience that the hardest thing any writer has to face is a blank page. So my idea was to get over that obstacle without adding any others such as a daunting word count. Once the idea is written you have something to work with, rather than the big fat nothing you get to work with when presented with a blank page.

I have to say, I got the formula off to a tee, to the point that I could have easily written another dozen heist stories in 200 words. However, I wanted to take on other challenges and once I was in the groove for writing, other none Challenge related subjects suddenly started to enter my head. I won again.

Of the Vocal Media challenges I have entered so far, I haven't won any prizes, yet. But I shall go on undaunted by that minor detail. You see, it isn't just about the money, there are other ways of being rewarded for writing. For example, other writers leave encouraging comments of appreciation. There is also the self-satisfaction that I have created something worthwhile. This also makes me a winner!

As for the Heist challenge itself, first of all, let me offer my congratulations to those who did win prizes, as well as all of those writers who got recognized with a Top Story and/or mentioned in the 'All the great submissions' section mentioned above.

Of course, there may be writers who felt a little disappointed in not winning anything. However, not winning does not in any way devalue what you wrote. Remember, all art is a highly subjective activity, be it literature or painting, and one judge's idea of what is a worthy winner may not be in accord with the opinion of another judge.

I am always mindful of the fact that Vincent Van Gogh, one of the greatest painters in art history, never sold a single painting in his own lifetime. Now Van Gogh's paintings change hands for millions of dollars. How's that for a change of fortune?

In conclusion, the challenge I won was the one I set myself to get writing again. And with about 100 stories written and published since I started along the road to recovery, I do believe I have proven to myself at least, that I met the challenge head-on and look forward with great anticipation to yet more Vocal Media challenges.