No matter what you do in life, you need to compete. As the saying goes, Life is not a spectator sport.
You know what else is not a spectator sport? Writing. Some purists would say that writing is not a sport at all (ie those jerks at the Olympics), but we know better.
Writing is hard. It takes years of effort. It takes blood, sweat, and tears. And when you've put in the hours and honed your craft, you owe it to yourself to compete.
With that in mind, I have a special announcement to make.
Today, you are going to enter a competition!
That's right. You. The person reading this blog right now (hi, dad!).
At this moment, you are most likely dead center of your comfort zone. That's fine for now, but it's no place to live. You need to challenge yourself, others, and the world at large. You need to test your mettle in a brutal, one-on-one combat. Two writers enter, one leaves. Straight up Kumite!
So right now, at the end of this paragraph, you're going to click on a link. You're going to spend 5 minutes perusing a list of competitions. Then you're going to enter one. Pick a free one. Something easy to start out. Then, follow the rules and COMPETE. Write a brand new short story, or submit something older. Step out of the closed off circle you've built and TRY!
Writing Competitions
Post your work below, and let us all know how it goes from here.
No matter how it shakes out, you've already done the right thing. The write thing. You've stepped up to the plate and swung. You've taken a major step as a writer.
No fear. Only forward momentum. I believe in you!
Now get out there and WRITE!