Should You Write Competitively?
And Why It Might Be the Next BIG Step for You Right Now.
When was the last time you got praised for your writing?
You know you’re serious about your writing craft when you reach that point where you no longer write for praises; Wherever we are on our writing journey, as soon as we decide we’re in it for the long run, seeking others' validation becomes less and less our 1st priority. Hence, the real challenges begin, namely: dealing with failures and rejections.
One thing though that hasn't changed is that we all still can write to feel good about ourselves. However, What happens when we use a piece we feel great about for competition and… lose?
Exposed? Vulnerable? Disappointed? Overall, not very great.
When creativity is on the line, there are no right or wrong answers. It is all different flavors of soulful, unique, and ambitious. However, like in any competition, there are ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, and that can be tricky given the not-so-mathematical nature of the craft. So how can you bounce back from feeling like a ‘failure’? and most importantly, is writing competitively worth it?
BOUNCING BACK FROM FAILURE AS A WRITER:
Whether you’re writing a novel or nonfiction, ‘failure’ can manifest itself in multiple ways; it can be an extended feeling of frustration of not knowing how to drive your piece forwards, a comparison between your creative peers in your circle who seem more secure with their lives, a feeling of insecurity when you think of big names in your genre, or it could be when you do your best and it doesn’t pay off in a writing contest.
In these low moments in the journey, bouncing back right away into it might not be the first thought that comes into mind. Though, what if those moments mean a BIG decision that we need to make on our path? Do we want those moments to sum up let alone define our creative experience? and, how BIGGER are we than failure as writers?
Bouncing back from failure, as writers, is akin to trying a new genre of our favorite artist for the second time; At first, it might sound off-putting, we might feel disappointed at the artist and wonder -wishfully- if they’ll ever get back to their genre, eventually, we’ll either decide to stick to them or to bid them a farewell goodbye. However, if we still feel like they have something to tell us, listening to them for the second time will be a revelation. In other words, if you think that your writing is worth one try, then no one else will prove you wrong.
The first and most important step to get back in your writing game after ‘failing’ is to want to get back in the game. After that, it is a joyful, dedicated, persistent, sometimes tiring, frustrating, but very healthy series of hit-and-miss, and trust me, that is the easiest -and most fun- part!
‘If you think that your writing is worth ONE try, then no one else will prove you wrong’
WHY WRITING COMPETITIVELY MATTERS:
After getting back in the game, the second most important question is how you want to get back in the game: Do you want to keep doing what you have been doing (writing and improving), try something brand new (writing and challenging yourself), or do you want a bit of both (spicing things up!)?
One of the best ways I learned about myself and as a creator was through competition, and the following are the reasons why I’d consider writing competitively again:
- Writing competitively increases your awareness of your skills: It doesn’t have to be winning (although it can be a goal at some point), but writing when you’re competing with other people in your field can feel both exciting and frustrating at first glance. It turns out that the best writing advice you can give yourself when you’re competing is “Notice. Do not Judge yourself”. In this sense, writing competitively makes you better able to see your abilities as a writer and what you need to work on most to better evaluate your writing skills; the more accurately you can talk about your craft, the more people will believe it, and the more connected you will feel to your craft.
- Writing competitively is an expression of tough love: What was your hardest AHA writing moment? For me, it was when I realized I was struggling with drawing boundaries -between the personal and the fiction- in my writing. When you’re writing competitively you become the parent to your inner little writer into putting the work you need to do to achieve your goal. Sometimes that means going to basics and doing “boring” things like revising your grammar and spelling, minding your punctuation, and spending a lot of time not writing but reading and getting informed about your topic. (Do you think you can handle that?)
- Writing competitively is a chance to grow your network: This is one of the best and most fun reasons why you want to write competitively. Regardless of the results, it is very likely that there is one person in your competition who has seen your piece and thought “This is another level of beautiful!”, and even if your work was not the best one yet for someone, writing in a competition is a great chance to meet other people who understand writing and will alleviate the loneliness of the process as you learn to improve your crafts together.
Last but not least,
- Write to learn not to compete: This could as well be the golden writing advice of all time. In the case of a competition, writing to compete — and win, can greatly put us off the craft; we suddenly feel like we want to become better writers, we feel especially prideful in our piece and our worth as writers becomes especially sensitive. However, if we think of the competition as our chance to grow, and to improve on many levels as writers, the burden of being “the best” dissipates; writing becomes a more self-forgiving process, and competing becomes a growing opportunity. However, that by no means, implies that ambition shouldn’t have its say while you’re crafting your “winning” piece.
How do you define “winning” as a writer? That is yet another question that will help you not only write better but also fulfill your whole potential.
I hope this article was helpful to you in some way in your journey!
Joyful Writing!
Imane Ben,
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