Stay A while

This contest brought an amazing caliber of entries. Seriously. The stack of entries considered to the very end was a couple of inches thick and carried from one room to another, to a restaurant to be discussed over dinner, some even sent to a back-up judge for an opinion. Some were off-the-hook creative. Some were so inspired. We were honored by the writing and thought that went into these. More than a few non-winners brought tears or peace or made us smile.


Ironically, I’ve sworn off contests. At that same time we ran this contest, I entered another contest and didn’t win. In the past, my responses to not winning ranged from anger (Oh, my gosh, my entry was much better!) to disappointment (I’m giving up. Who am I kidding? I can’t write!) to inspired (Wow, I can see why they won. That was good.). But this contest I was in finally made me realize something. For me, contests are a distraction from actually writing. I focus so much on what they want that I lose my focus on what I’m supposed to be writing. The creative flow is blocked. If I’m disappointed, I give up writing for at least three days while I nurse my wounds. Since writing is like breathing for me, that’s a long time. It’s even harder on Ron ---husband, co-publisher and co-editor--- because apparently, I sulk.

This year has two projects: The Jesus Climate (my book in-progress) and an Echoes of The Right to God book ---your stories. We hope you’ll consider submitting for the Echoes of The Right to God print compilation planned for this year. We’re open for essays mostly, but will consider appropriate short fiction and poetry. We’re looking for works that reflect our original purpose. Echoes online journal has expanded to include many sides of God in our lives.

But The Right to God is about seeing relationship with God in a new light, and that’s what we’re looking for. At the risk of being rebuffed, we’re going to pull out some previous non-winning entries that hinted there was more to the spiritual side than the story told.

If you’re interested in what we won’t consider, here are a just a few points.
• Anti-Christian works. I mean, really? We’re open to a range of backgrounds, but nearly every contest draws some anti-Christian writing, which surprises me. The first person to tell us they loved The Right to God was actually Muslim ---he borrowed his Christian wife’s copy before she had a chance to crack it open. We love that. We’re bridge-builders and ask the same in return.
• Works that use foul language. We’re not being prissy. We want an online magazine that anyone can read and enjoy. Can you find another way to say it?
• Works that have nothing to do with God. It can be brilliantly written and a fantastic concept, but works written around God go to a deeper level and the sense of God infuses it.

Diana Santelli wrote a blog about how writers are hard on each other and can fall into resenting each other instead of supporting each other. A friend of mine has an art gallery. His artist friends rave about his work and support him every step. They seem to recognize that different doesn’t imply better or less. It’s just his time. Perhaps tomorrow is your time.

So, will you stay a while and read the rest of Echoes of The Right to God online? Will you consider submitting for the Echoes book? We hope so. We love our readers. We love our writers. We love God and hope this work helps people come closer.

Blessings on your writing,
Jennie

Link to Diana’s blog: http://www.writerabroad.com/2010/07/jealousy-and-writing.html