A few months back I mentioned that I was working on two stories simultaneously, hoping one would emerge as the book I should work on.  I did this for several weeks but had no real passion for either story, and I was eventually at the point of tossing both of them in the trash.  Then, this past October, I entered one of the stories (ten pages and a synopsis) in the middle grade category at an SCBWI (got Google?) conference and won first prize in that genre.  Winning the award brought back the passion.  The story is now complete and in the hands of my agent.

Perhaps this is what entering writing contests are all about.  If nothing else, they give the winners the passion and confidence in their projects to press on.  By the way, the last time I won an SCBWI award, it was for an young adult novel called His Boy Elroy, which is coming out in the fall of 2010.  I'm hoping for the same success for the current winner...Greg.

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