Competitions for March - Launch Pad and NYC Midnight

Yo! I'm back on the writer's lifestyle after a long time away, and I need to reintegrate into this all-digital world we find ourselves within now. One way I'm going about this is through competitions. I've entered several over my life, winning two that I sadly no longer have the names of (they were nothing special).

Writing competitions are a special kind of stress. For a non-commercial writer, your brain is used to having all the time in the world to chew through concepts and distill them. A stopwatch swings in front of your eyes, lulling you into a "this will be flawless if I give it long enough" mentality. Of course, that all flips when you have other people in on the project or have signed your name to a contract.

I used to be and shall be soon again commercial, therefore I want to bring my creative process back up to speed. Thus, I've resolved to enter 10-20 competitions in 2021. The first two are as follows:

NYC Midnight - Starts March 19th

I'm the most stoked on this one. Writing in a mysterious genre, character trope, and subject, then thrown into a gradually compressing time limit - no better way to acclimate than to do it quickly, right?

via GIPHY

I've become HYPER aware of my tendencies as a writer/genre picker lately. I don't believe they should be outright abolished. They're guideposts along comfortable corners where I can really tear across the landscape. Growth is important for a repertoire, and I refuse to let myself be painted into a corner. especially when it's my corner.

Launch Pad - Deadline of March 12th

A bit more traditional and a bit higher of a weight class, this one gives me a good way to utilize an idea I've had in my head for a few months now. Launch Pad's competition is straight-forward: A Pilot for a show. 30/60 minutes, and with a feedback option - thank chocolate Christ. Entering a competition is the worst for feedback 9/10 times. How close was I? Did I actually learn anything? Did anyone actually like this stupid thing? I'll pay a little extra to learn something most days.

I'll update this post with any news and my experiences in the competitions. If I win, expect an all-caps list of demands to all those beneath me. If I lose, expect a string of gifs instead of words. No matter what, everyone wins!