Friday, June 26, 2009

The romance

Earlier this week, I received an email to let me know that a short story I wrote is a semi-finalist in a local arts festival. It might be one of those everyone is a winner type situations. Another writer pal is also a finalist, and for all we know, the six semi-finalists might be the only submissions.

Still, it was pretty exciting to get the notice.

When I wrote the story, I felt a little magic happen. A friend refers to it as that first love feeling, where you want to stay up all night with it and then walk around with a goofy smile on your face the next day (her words, not mine, but it perfectly describes the experience). Writing something you feel passionate about is the closest you can get to the thrill of a first kiss, and for a girl like me who has been with the same guy for 19 years, it was a pretty damn awesome smooch.

The story I submitted is a little quirkier than my usual writing style, if I even know what my style is yet, and the idea has been rolling around my head forever. It felt amazing to bring it to life and to prove to myself that I can take a really random idea and make something from it. The rules of the contest stated that the story had to be 1500 words or less and had to be original and previously unpublished (no problems there). The short format forces you to cut to the chase, but with the added bonus of finishing something within a few pages.

The book I have been working in is a much longer and more tedious process. It is nowhere near finished, and I recently decided to rewrite it in third person. I am second guessing my decision to change it, but want to give it a little time to see what feels right. I can always go back to the original, but I still cringe a little at the idea that I might be spinning my wheels (and wasting my extremely limited time) making the change. By the fall, I should have a clear direction and more time to put into it. For now, I am indulging in a little affair, a quickie if you will, with the short story format. I started a new one while we were gone, handwritten, in my notebook.

Of course, I hope my semi-finalist story wins, but we'll always be friends, even if he turns out to be a complete loser. Truth be told, I have moved on to a new fling anyway. So, if you notice my goofy smile, it's because of a bored housewife with a secret drinking problem who talks to the vacuum cleaner and harbors an inappropriate crush on the next door neighbor's sixteen year old son.

Admittedly a rebound, but still, crazy in love with her.

3 comments:

latisha said...

major congrats again. this post was jut awesome. every dripping word!

still not sure about MWW. looking at several shorter 1-2 day workshops instead.

Linda Pressman said...

Congratulations on that story! It was great.

Unknown said...

That's so awesome!