Tuesday 14 February 2012

On Not Winning a New Writers Award

I applied for a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. I did not win a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. This means I am not as useful, valuable, talented or promising as the recipients of the New Writers Awards. This means my work is not up to the standard of the winners. This means I am clearly nowhere near as excellent as the winners of the New Writers Awards. I was not even shortlisted for a New Writers Award. This means I wasn’t even considered for the New Writers Award. This means my confidence has crashed into a huge wall. It will take a long time to recover from this. This is why I am writing in declarative sentences without the usual tired shtick. I hate not winning a New Writers Award. I am considering a change of profession. Perhaps I could rescue hedgehogs from the sides of roads? I hate being a writer. Wasting my life, wasting my time. Ignore this. It’s because I didn’t win the New Writers Award. I’m not a roofer poet or a friend of the panel or something. Anger simmering now. Time to log off. Fume.

5 comments:

  1. Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto.

    Unlike me, though, you are a brilliant writer. So you will not become a roofer (except in your free time), or rescue hedgehogs. Though you might be good at rescuing other writers who failed to receive new writers' awards, old writers' awards, young or middle aged writers' awards.

    Keep going M.J.Nicholls. You have talent, boy.

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  2. You are a brilliant writer, Mark. You are so brilliant that folks don't know what to do with you, where to squish you in to their concept of "New" and "Writer" and "Award". Just keep being you in new and newer ways. I've actually lost my hedgehog. Do you think you might be good at finding them?

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  3. Put down that pen and pick up a hedgehog!
    (Probably all done on computers now eh but that doesn't work as well as pen so there)
    I think you are brilliant too x

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  4. *hugs* LOVE YOU and exactly what Christopher said. You two are the most brilliant wordsmiths I know. Dr. Seuss was rejected something like 28-48 times and contests are meaningless. Did you impact a life with what you wrote today???????? That has all the meaning in the world.

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  5. Thank you, kind people! Your comments helped me through that unpleasant day.

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