Timing is everything in life, but what about in competition?
The last week I’ve been working on a short story for a competition for Honno Crime Anthology, see Honno for details. I’ve written a whole 5,000 word new and original story. I’ve had a friend look over it and give me notes. I’ve edited it and I’m happy with it.
It’s now 22nd of March and the competition doesn’t close until the 30th June. So what do I do? Do I send it off now or wait till June?
If I send it off now, that will mean it’s done and I can forget all about it and concentration on other projects.
If I wait, I can put it to the back of my mind for a couple of months, then read/edit again before I send off. But I’ve got a memory like a sieve – what if I forget to send it? Well I guess that’s what diary reminders are for. I’ve also got a dying laptop – what if I lose the file? Well that’s what doing a backup is for.
What if in the intervening months, I think of a whole new short story worth putting in? Well if I’ve not sent anything, then it won’t matter, I can write the new idea and compare the two, then decided. Or possibly send two – not sure if that’s allowed, doesn’t say one way or the other, but I’ll check later.
This is just one of those writer dilemmas that I’m never sure of. What would you do?
The Write Route 