Kate Baggott's Blog: Cornfields of the Sea - Posts Tagged "being-a-writer"
It's Relief, Really
2012 will be over in 10 days and I am superstitious about passing judgement before it's completely finished.
Here's the thing: mostly, this year sucked. I have friends who lost their parents this year, I have friends whose spouses became ill. I have friends who have been fighting cancer and friends who died of it.
And, through it all, I was not the best friend I could have been because I was suffering myself. For most of the year my husband and were separated, the kids lived with him officially 70% of the time and inofficially with me 55% of the time. I had a mild nervous breakdown that my friends and family pulled me out of. Then, one of our children was diagnosed with a condition that I had long suspected and have been unable to get any medical/social help with.
In the last 1/3rd of the year, my husband and I got back together. It's the best thing for all of us, but there is a lot of healing and hard work ahead of us and life, as it always is, remains very uncertain emotionally, physically, and financially.
Finally, in the 12th month of an unredeemable year, something wonderful happened to me. On Tuesday I won the America's Next Author Competition 2012.
My story, Finnegan and Grandfather Cheng., took the $5000 prize after a three-tier social networking and literary judging panel ordeal that demanded the competitors enlist everyone they have ever met (in real life & on-line) to support our work with virtual votes, comments and social networking shares.
I don't have the prize money yet, but it's already spent. Debts are all horror stories, but my nightmares are disturbances I can deal with now. The sense of relief I feel is greater than the joy I felt upon winning. Really. Relief is great.
The most positive part about all of this is not the money, though. The truly wonderful thing is the opportunities this win might bring. If I manage those opportunities properly.
The problem is, how do I teach myself to identify what is positive and will help me build a future after I've been living through hell for so long? How will I learn to tell the difference between positive thinking and wishful thinking while hanging on to the ironic, the sarcastic, the oppositional and the agreeable contradictions in life that I hate and love in equal measure?
I don't think I'm alone in trying to change my experience, my outlook and my way of moving forward. I do not want 2013 to be so many months of misery and I think a lot of people feel the same way.
I cannot imagine a better place to explore that issue than among a community of readers. I cannot imagine a more appropriate way to write through these challenges and share experiences than keeping a blog at Goodreads.
And, if you've read this far, you definitely deserve a Christmas present. Here's where you'll find a free download of the America's Next Author 2012 Anthology.
I hope you like it.
With love from,
Kate Baggott
Author of Love from Planet Wine Cooler
Love From Planet Wine Cooler
Here's the thing: mostly, this year sucked. I have friends who lost their parents this year, I have friends whose spouses became ill. I have friends who have been fighting cancer and friends who died of it.
And, through it all, I was not the best friend I could have been because I was suffering myself. For most of the year my husband and were separated, the kids lived with him officially 70% of the time and inofficially with me 55% of the time. I had a mild nervous breakdown that my friends and family pulled me out of. Then, one of our children was diagnosed with a condition that I had long suspected and have been unable to get any medical/social help with.
In the last 1/3rd of the year, my husband and I got back together. It's the best thing for all of us, but there is a lot of healing and hard work ahead of us and life, as it always is, remains very uncertain emotionally, physically, and financially.
Finally, in the 12th month of an unredeemable year, something wonderful happened to me. On Tuesday I won the America's Next Author Competition 2012.
My story, Finnegan and Grandfather Cheng., took the $5000 prize after a three-tier social networking and literary judging panel ordeal that demanded the competitors enlist everyone they have ever met (in real life & on-line) to support our work with virtual votes, comments and social networking shares.
I don't have the prize money yet, but it's already spent. Debts are all horror stories, but my nightmares are disturbances I can deal with now. The sense of relief I feel is greater than the joy I felt upon winning. Really. Relief is great.
The most positive part about all of this is not the money, though. The truly wonderful thing is the opportunities this win might bring. If I manage those opportunities properly.
The problem is, how do I teach myself to identify what is positive and will help me build a future after I've been living through hell for so long? How will I learn to tell the difference between positive thinking and wishful thinking while hanging on to the ironic, the sarcastic, the oppositional and the agreeable contradictions in life that I hate and love in equal measure?
I don't think I'm alone in trying to change my experience, my outlook and my way of moving forward. I do not want 2013 to be so many months of misery and I think a lot of people feel the same way.
I cannot imagine a better place to explore that issue than among a community of readers. I cannot imagine a more appropriate way to write through these challenges and share experiences than keeping a blog at Goodreads.
And, if you've read this far, you definitely deserve a Christmas present. Here's where you'll find a free download of the America's Next Author 2012 Anthology.
I hope you like it.
With love from,
Kate Baggott
Author of Love from Planet Wine Cooler
Love From Planet Wine Cooler
Cornfields of the Sea
When I was in high school, I was lucky enough to be part of a writing workshop with author Barbara Greenwood. Every member of the workshop was to write a short story for a group anthology. I thought w
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