Winning, Losing & Having Fun

I can't talk about my New Year's goal this year without bringing up what it was last year. And the reason for revisiting the past is because I both succeeded and failed in my resolution for 2024 - failed because I didn't quite meet my goal but succeeded because I came darn close.

So, what was my New Year's writing resolution in 2024?

It was to enter every Vocal challenge in 2024 just for the heck of it.

And the question is: did I do it?

Well... almost. I skipped 3 challenges in 2024. Once when I was very sick and just couldn't muster up the energy or brain power to write. And the last two challenges I skipped were at the end of the year around the holidays when I was too busy to even THINK about writing, let alone pen anything.

The three Vocal contests that fell off my radar were:

> Represented

> Tales of Hearth

> Echoes of the Year's Lessons

So, that means I entered every single other Vocal challenge this year (other than those 3).

How many was that, exactly?

30.

Holy cow! Hard to believe I did that - I'm tired just thinking about it, LOL.

Now, here's the breakdown of what the contests were, what I wrote, and how I did in each of them:

> #200 - My piece "Not a Winner" explained my plan to enter every Vocal competition in 2024 (and how winning contests wasn't the point of my writing goal).

> Abecedarian - I was so inspired by this contest that I entered 2 poems: "After Moving On" and "A Poem for the Unpoetical."

> Misplaced - My entry was "Food for Thought."

> Snow Micro - Another inspiring theme that brought out 2 short stories from me: "The Next Day" and "Ceasefire."

> Inverse - My poem was "The Things We Know."

> Love Unraveled - Another 2 pieces for this one, one old and one new: "There Is No Art in Heart" and "Returning to a Golden State."

> The Dragon Beside Me - My piece "A Granddaughter's Hope" was a runner-up in the contest.

> Snacktime Sonata - My poem "Umami Crackers" was a runner-up in the contest.

> Whispering Woods - Another 2 pieces for this one: "A Body at Rest" and "The Development," which was a Top Story in April.

> In Eclipse - I entered 2 poems: "Divo" and "Surpassed."

> Just a Minute - I entered a silly story called "Supply and Demand."

> Travel Snaps - My piece "3 Kids & a Road Trip North" highlighted my move from the USA to Canada.

> Poemosaurus Rex - My poem "The Cretaceous Terror of Insects*" was a Top Story in May.

> 3:00 AM - My entry was "Finale Fortissimo."

> Dialogue Poetry - This one inspired 2 poems again - "The Best Show" and "The Breakup," which ended up being a runner-up.

> Summer Solstice - My short story was called "Drought."

> Breakup Nonet - My poem was called "The Price."

> L*pogram - My story "Treasured" was a runner-up in the contest as well as a Top Story for August.

> Overboard - My story was called "Under the Midnight Skies."

> Epic Beginnings - My short story was called "Subhero."

> Moment of Silence - My poem was called "Even Broken Clocks."

> Small Kindness - My piece was called "When He Died."

> Unfiltered - My poem was called "Beyond."

> Unreliable - My short story was called "Split Mind."

> Sensational II - My poem was called "First Kiss."

> Spooky Micro - My piece "Revenge" was a Top Story for October.

> Sky-ku - My poem was called "the season's final act."

> Fantasy Prologue II - My piece was called "Into the Eldritch Woods."

> Letters of Gratitude - My piece "Tales of a Fourth Grade Dragon" was a runner-up in the contest.

> Frosted Verse - My poem "Choir of Ice" won 2nd place.

So... what does all this have to do with my creative goal for this year?

Well, last year's breakdown of my Vocal writing was a loooooong wind-up to say that I'm going to try it again.

Yes, I failed in my original goal in 2024. I DIDN'T enter all the Vocal contests for the year. I was 3 contests short.

But I'm going to take on last year's goal and do it again, hopefully until I succeed. I'm going to enter ALL the Vocal contests for this year. 2025 will be the year of LOTS of writing, part 2.

And I might actually do it this year, you never know.

To repeat what I said in 2024, my goal isn't about winning or losing the contests (although don't get me wrong - I'm grateful and thrilled every time my writing is chosen by the judges!). The main reason is to push my boundaries and get outside my writing comfort zone. To explore new themes and new challenges. To tackle subjects I would never think of writing about on my own.

Because I believe that the only way to become a better writer is to challenge myself. To never stop learning and growing. And the best way to do that is to shake things up.

It's easy enough to pick a genre or a subject and say, "That's what I will write forever." I'm partial to fantasy stories as well as poems of all subjects. That's probably my "comfort zone" when it comes to writing.

But, for example, nonfiction isn't my forte. Essays are super hard for me to do. Because who wants to hear about me and my life? I'm a boring mom living in a small town in rural Alberta in Canada. Not exactly the stuff made for an edge-of-your-seat thriller.

But that's only one way of looking at it. I could instead say that I'm a biracial writer who's won over a dozen awards for my writing and editing. Or that I once was a bartender in New York City and have plenty of hair-raising stories to tell about my years there. Or that I once spent a week traveling in France with only about $100 to my name and managed to have a great time and meet lots of people and have fun despite being nearly broke.

I don't have to be "boring" when it comes to my writing. It's all a matter of perspective and seeing old, "boring" material in a new way. And that's what challenging myself with unconventional writing subjects can do - it can force me to look at the same material and write about it in a new and interesting way.

On top of that, Vocal contests have been, for me, a great way to inspire other works too. Longer pieces, such as the novels I write. They help me take an idea and see where it goes (and sometimes it goes quite far).

So, my goal for 2025 is to change my perspective. Explore my voice and the dozens of other voices I'd like to bring to life through my writing. To reach readers who enjoy what I pen and perhaps inspire a few others to start/continue writing. And I'm going to do that through the medium of Vocal challenges and see how far they'll take me on this journey.

But, most of all, my goal is to have fun. Win or lose, succeed or fail - none of that matters. The words are what matter, and that's where I'm going to start.

Wishing you good luck with your own goals for 2025!