This morning, I woke up and saw an email from NYC Midnight, with the subject Challenge #1 Results, and I got anxious. Back in July, I completed my first story for their annual flash fiction competition, and when I saw my prompt, I got nervous. Comedy isn’t my forte. At first, I didn’t know how I would put it in a movie theater, let alone have a sword present. But I buckled down and completed my tale, to the best of my ability. I submitted the story back on July 14th and tried to put it out of my mind.
This past Monday, I published my piece, Birthday Blowout, to my site for the world to see. And I plan on reading it to my reading group this Friday. Unfortunately, before I saw that email, I didn’t know how the story was received. Cracking the email open, I started reading. As I processed each word, I tried to ignore the butterflies fluttering through my stomach like sharks going after their prey.
When I found the link to the results page, I followed it and started searching for my group. When I saw the first entry, I felt a pang of fear and a moment’s happiness for the 1st place winner. But I wanted to find my name, so I kept looking. As I kept reading and dismissing names, I forced myself to take a deep breath and remember that comedy isn’t my strength. When my eyes fell to the 13th spot, I did a double-take when I saw my name. The joy that raced through me was palpable. I mean I felt the same level of pleasure seeing my name on that list as I did when I published Dead Man’s Hand and Drawing Thin.
I’m still waiting to get the feedback, but I’ve been revitalized for the second round. This Friday cannot come soon enough. I’m eager to receive and absorb the feedback from the judges and to craft my second entry. In the meantime, please use the link below to read Birthday Blowout.
