 Contests & Activities: April 21, 2010 Issue [#3677] |
  Contests & Activities
This week: Edited by: spidey  
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Welcome to the Contests & Activities Newsletter. I'm spidey , and I'm your Editor this week. I'd like to discuss Starting Over. |
| ASIN: B00KN0JEYA |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
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Starting Over.
Boy do I know a lot about starting over. It’s not that I never finish what I start, but I do lose momentum sometimes. My latest involved exercising. It started just before the new year. I felt inspired to get into shape. I couldn’t wait for the January 1st most people start with, so I began December 29th. I had a strict regiment in place and I stuck to it. For about 3 months. Then I tried to do too much at once, which resulted in pain and then illness.
I learned two things from this:
First, I learned not to stretch myself too thin.
I made too many commitments at once! I was following two different exercise programs, and then decided to start running, too! I enjoyed exercising so much that I didn’t know when to say, “When.”
This can relate to writing, of course. Sometimes we experience that writer’s high, that awesome feeling of accomplishment and success when we’re writing so much that we commit to more and more to try to maintain it. That can wear us out!
Whether it’s entering too many contests, hosting too many activities, or just expecting too much of ourselves, we can set ourselves up for disappointment. Sure, it’s important to set high goals and reach for the stars, but it’s also important to stay realistic.
Second, I learned that it’s important to keep trying.
After getting really sore from too much exercise and then getting a cold, I gave up on exercise for over a month. I did nothing for a month! I felt so disappointed that I just kept on doing nothing. But then I got over those feelings, and I started again.
As writers, we often face some form of disappointment, from rejections, negative reviews, personal goals not met, and more. But it’s often the journey that’s worth more than other rewards along the way.
I’ve been working on a running program called “Couch to 5k,” which trains you to run 5k (3 miles) over the course of several weeks. I’ve attempted the program three times now, and though I could focus on the fact that I’ve still to reach the end, it’s important for me to know that all along, I’ve still been exercising. Whether I’m on week 1 or week 13, I’m still running.
If someone reacts negatively to your writing, or if you don’t happen to win a contest, don’t let it drag you down. The best thing you can do in a negative situation is to learn from it and move on!
So, whether you’re winning or losing a contest, you’re still entering and you’re still writing. That’s the important thing! Don’t be discouraged along the way, because it’s the journey that’s really rewarding.
Always keep on writing!
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Contests:
Activities:
Know of some gems that deserve exposure? Submit them in the feedback form or submission form at the end of this Newsletter, and I'll put them in my next one!
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| ASIN: B083RZ2C5F |
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Spidey I found a few contests to enter including the Arachnophobia. Thanks for editing this and for the good stuff that comes my eye once a week or so.
Copenator out!
The piece I leave with you today is the result of the Arachnophobia contest. It tells my story about the origin of my fear and another incident that happened years later while I was in college.
Copenator out!
Spider-man is my favorite comic book character by the way. ~ Steve adding writing to ntbk.  
You're very welcome! Glad you found something in my newsletter! 
Read Copenator's Arachnophobia entry here  "Invalid Item"
Thank you for featuring my Make Me Laugh Holiday Short Stories Contest in this week's NL, Spidey!  ~ Shannon 
You're quite welcome! Thanks for hosting a great contest! 
Spidey, great question. I do read all the entries for Show Off Your Best and Bard's Hall and I will give reviews on them. It's just me. I think if someone writes for your contest, you owe them a review. But that's me. I always do my best to review the entry. Some months are crazy, and I can't review, but that's rare. ~ StephBee 
I couldn't agree with you more! I honestly think it's a great idea for all judges to read and review an item when possible.
Questions to think about:
How do you deal with disappointment? How do you motivate yourself to keep on trying?
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| ASIN: 0995498113 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 19.95
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