The Challenge of Writing

It’s funny. I started by writing a short one-act play. I submitted it to a local one-act production at a community theatre, and it was accepted and performed. I wrote a second and it was also chosen and done. There were not thousands of entries, but at the least, mine were top 5% to 10% of the submissions. I wrote a third, which I submitted to a professional equity theatre company, which meant the competition was stiffer. It was also selected and performed.

All that gave me confidence in my work, so when I wrote my first screenplay, I felt sure it would do well. It was a wholly different level of competition, and my work didn’t place at all. I kept working and kept writing and revised my work to make it stronger. Then I saw a contest for either female writers or female protagonists. Since I had works with female protagonists, I submitted two pieces to it.

They had 25 ‘official selections’ which I take to be effectively finalists. Both of my pieces were among those 25 chosen. I got traction with some other competitions as well. At this point, I’ve had 19 contest placements with ten different works. I have failed to place in the Nicholl or Austin, which are the biggies, but have placed in some second tier, including some semifinals.

I’ve also written some short stories, which I posted to an unpaid site. The readers can rate the stories, and 80% of my stories rate 4.5 or better on a 5 point scale. Even there, I fall short of the top, since 4.81 is my highest rating and some place 4.9 or better. I can tell my work is decent, just nothing exceptional. It is all frustrating, even though I have some success at what I’ve done.

I write because I have stories to tell, but make no money at it. In one sense, money is a secondary consideration, but there is a satisfaction in feeling that my work is good enough for someone to pay for it. Beyond that, I would like to see something I wrote be made into a movie. I’m working and promoting, just without reaching that last step.