Blog @ Work

Welcome to my reality - Three -

"Welcome To My Reality Forum"  [E]

9. Do you enter WDC contests? How often? Do you win some of them?

Yes, I do enter contests a few times per month. I like the fact you can get your work judged by peers. It’s a way of getting information of readers, like the reviews. I’ve won three times so far. I was thrilled and did not expect to win at all. There are such good and talented writers in this community, I didn’t feel I stood out amongst those.

Luckily there is "Invalid Item"  and "Invalid Item"  where you don’t have to fear the greater competition. It is relatively safe to enter. So I did in June with success. As a newbie I am hooked once more.

Entering a contest or competition is challenging and exciting. It keeps you on your toes.

I sometimes forget I entered a contest with a particular story or poem and edited something because of a review I got. That’s reason for disqualification, never edit when in a contest. Also READ THE RULES! I am somewhat of a careless reader given the opportunity so I have to read those rules a couple of times in order to get it right.

But when you enter a contest it’s the waiting that bugs me a little so I tend to suppress the memory I ever entered in the first place. That way I forgot all about it. When I win it’s a very big surprise and I can get YAHOO!, when I lose I forgot all about it so it will not be a big disappointment.

I have my own ways of cheating on myself. Indulge me!

10. If you write a story or poem, that you are really proud of, do you get offended if you get a review with a lot of suggestions, or do you feel offended? Blog about this.

I never get offended by a review. I usually convince myself that when the story or poem is finished it is out of my hands. My child has to enter the real world and I should let go. It’s up to that individual work to stand on its own and earn its merit. Ofcorse I still feel responsible and I am aware that I wrote it but it makes it easier to follow the process at a distance. (This is the way I look at parenting aswell. I don’t have kids of my own so it is probably only theoretical in nature.)

I love it when people make suggestions. It is just that I probably never thought about it myself so it keeps my thinking about the work fresh. I also love it when they take the time and effort to really dig into a story or poem. It matters a great deal whether good or bad.

I can’t stand the flat, meaningless reviews with nothing in it. It shows that the reviewer is doing it for the GPs or to add the review to its list. Quantity over quality, it sucks. But at the same time: I can understand it, since it's part of the reviewing system here at WdC.

I try to find the WOW-factor in my reviews of choice. At best I only chose stories or poems that I really want to read and review. If it doesn’t interest me I stay away. Why bother.

If you have nothing to say, don’t say it!

11. Do you feel secure and stable in your life at this time? Why or why not?

At this moment in life things are working for me. I feel very stable and secure at the moment.

As a writer I have had my share of writers block and that is no fun period to be in I assure you. But I imagine all writers know this and have experienced it one way or another. As a human being I feel self-confident again and coming from a bad spot a few years ago, this feels so good.

Writing.com has made the difference of a lifetime. It gave me a platform to work on and a purpose to come out of bed every morning. Me trying to write on my own was not a great success. I forgot how important a writers community is to get challenged, get input and get new insights on things in general.

The features on this site are more than great. You can pimp up your portfolio, your writing and your presence in forums. Everything looks good and is accessible. The Writing ML is easy to use even for a layman like me. The technical help forums are great and there is help everywhere. I love that about this community.

What is really bad and makes me a little bit insecure as a person is the situation in the world right now. Terrorist attacks, political coups, refugees, the Brexit and even the election in the States are making me feel less secure. Things are changing rapidly and there is no way of telling what will be the outcome in this era.