Cheer up, Charlie...

Hey everyone,

Well, the results are in and I didn't win the Dark Crystal contest. J. M. Lee, the finalist that I became friends with, won instead.  I was debating about opening this blog with an "Oompa Loompa" song, keeping with the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" theme, but none of the finalists (myself included) did anything wrong so it wouldn't be appropriate.  All of us wrote very good stories, but Joseph's concept was what the Jim Henson company liked the best.  

I'm very, very happy for Joseph, but I have to admit I'm a little bit sad that I didn't win.  Mostly, I'm disappointed because I really liked my characters and they did have a story to tell.  While I could still write the story as a fanfic, I don't want to sink that much time into it.  So, I'm afraid they won't get to tell their story.  Still, they're my characters.  Perhaps I can recreate some similar characters in another story one day.  It won't be anytime soon, though.  Right now, I'm trying to focus on working on my "Goosebumps" styled story and I have another concept for a young adult fantasy novel that I'm writing notes about in my spare time.

I'm actually taking this really well.  I thought I would go to pieces if I lost, but I didn't even cry.  I was just relieved to finally know.  I think I was more stressed out from waiting than I would've been from even writing the book.  I think that stress might have also been the cause of my stomach issues.  I lost about five pounds over the course of June because I didn't feel like eating and when I did I was ill from it (of course, that had something to do with my antibiotics as well, but I digress).  I don't think the stress of writing is the same as the stress of waiting.  I've dealt with deadlines before and never had any medical issues from it, but something about the not knowing was much worse.

I heard the news at the beach and was having such a great trip, I wasn't about to let a little bad news spoil it.  I didn't feel sick (and I was ill throughout almost the entire month of June), I didn't have any stomach issues, I got to spend lots of time with my family, I ate home cooked meals nearly every night, and I got lots of mid afternoon naps.  (Naps at the beach are the best, by the way, with that mid afternoon sun pouring in, the gentle breeze, and the sound of gulls and gentle waves on the inlet...)  Anyway, I feel very refreshed now.  Getting out of town was just what I needed.  I also feel like writing on new projects again now that I know that I'm not going to be working on the Dark Crystal novel.

Long story short, despite being a little disappointed, I feel like this is a win.  The whole experience has been a good one.  I gained a contact in the writing industry, I made a new friend, and I even got to be in a very fun anthology with a group of very talented writers.  No one needs to feel sorry for me because I couldn't be happier.  I legitimately feel happy for J. M. Lee.  Since we became such good friends, I was hoping that if I didn't win then he would win instead.  It made me feel good to see his name announced as the winner.

I'm convinced, one day my lucky day will come along as well.  Now that I was a finalist of this contest, maybe, at the very least, that will make finding an agent easier for me.  I have a lot of books that need to be published and a lot more ideas that need to be written.  I'm confident now that I'll have a novel published soon.  I just have to keep writing and working hard.  I'm almost there...