Winning at Writing

W is for Winning at Writing.

As the end of April nears, I am faced with two possible "wins" on the horizon. One is the A to Z blogger's challenge. I have yet to miss a day, a fact of which I am a bit proud, considering how sketchy my blogging past is. The second is NaNoWriMo. I am just over ten thousand words away from winning my third NaNo event in a row (my first Camp NaNo).

I am a competitive person, so when I can compete with a near-sure chance of winning, I am all over it. I mean, I like to be challenged, yes, but I mostly like to succeed. I don't like doing something that I know or think I will fail at. Therefore, NaNo and the A to Z challenge have been both rewarding and challenging. I feel confident in attaining both goals, a fact I can feel proud of considering how time intensive both have been.

But in thinking about my "wins" this month, I find myself naturally applying this to the writing life. What does a "win" look like in writing? Is it success? Is it publication? Is it the bestseller list?

I don't think there's any right answer. I think winning, like a lot of things in life, is what you make it. I've lost games to a lot of poor winners and some gracious winners. I've won over poor losers and gracious losers.

Writing is not a challenge I want to lose. Nor is it one that I think I can lose. Losing implies giving up, saying that I've reached the end of the game and someone else has bested me. But how can someone win over me when the opponent is me? For all I have to do in order to be a writing "winner" is to write.

What makes you a winner at writing? Publication? Attaining your goals?

~I.E.

This month I'm participating in the A to Z Blogger's Challenge, found here. Every day of April (except for Sundays), we are posting a blog with the theme of A to Z.