Flash Fiction Update: My second story in the NYC Midnight competition placed at number 11. Judges liked my second story and hope I expand upon it now that I’m not constrained by the 1,000 word count.

While they had some issues with clarity and character motivation, they found my story engaging/compelling and well crafted.High praise combined with constructive criticism.

Both stories ranked in the top 15 in Round 1.

Unfortunately my combined total was not high enough to move on to Round 2. Only the top 15 are scored, but out of those, only the combined score of the top 5 move to the next round. It was a great run and while I’m sorry not to move on to Round 2, I am so proud that both my stories placed, given this is my first time participating in the NYC competition.

Registration opened for the 2019 Short Story Competition and I’ve already signed up. I also hope to find similar competitions in the new year. The strict, intense deadlines increase focus, forcing me to finish and submit stories in a short time frame. Something I so desperately need.

I never realized how much I’d enjoy these competitions. They’re exercising my strengths, and more importantly, my weaknesses, forcing me to stretch boundaries, allowing my writing to grow. Between art shows, writing workshops, and writing competitions, I often feel like I’m dreaming. I hoped, but never imagined my life actually turning out this way, especially after receiving such a scary, life-changing diagnosis in 2009.

Writing fiction full time always seemed just out of reach or worse yet, impractical and impossible. Even while Josh and I spent years planning and working so hard for it. I never imagined that listening to, trusting, and following my intuition would lead me to where I am today. And while I’m still in the early stages of this journey, I’m excited to follow this path, wherever it leads. I’m thrilled to live my life creatively, stretching wings that felt stifled and suppressed for so long.

Let’s see what happens in 2019!