Lessons Learned from Rooglewood Press Contests

The journey began in 2013.

It was summer when I spotted a pretty novel in the local bookstore. The cover was deep blue, depicting a dragon's face with the image of a young maiden in its eye, the girl gazing thoughtfully into the water. The back of the book looked interesting too. But . . . Aethelbald? The love interest was named Aethelbald? It sounded odd, and being the wary book-buyer I am (or was; I'm getting alarmingly good at purchasing books these days), I resolved to check it out at the library before I invested $20.

That book was Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. And as often happens with mental notes-to-self that are never committed to paper or phone notes, the promise to seek out the book later quickly slipped through the cracks of my memory. Until one day in late November, I rediscovered Heartless on the library shelf. "Why hello there," I said to myself. "I do believe I forgot about you. Good thing you popped up again."

Very good indeed, I soon found. It was a snowy November Sunday when I first cracked that book open. My family and I were Christmas shopping. The opening tale of young Una and Felix's adventures--the bridge, the sibling dynamics, the talking cat--drew me in so fully I couldn't help but twist around in my seat as we drove along and read funny excerpts to my siblings.

I devoured the story cover to cover. Not since beloved favorites like Chronicles of Narnia or Bryan Davis's Dragons in Our Midst had I been so captivated with a perfect elixir of wonder, magic, tension, and heart-wrenching hope. Heartless was an instant favorite, oddly-named Aethelbald and all.


I don't think I'd even finished the book before I Googled its author, curious to see who she was and what else she'd written. Lo and behold, there was a whole Tales of Goldstone Wood series! Not only that, but Anne Elisabeth had a blog full of interesting archives--and her most recent posts talked about a writing contest called Five Glass Slippers, held by Rooglewood Press. Curious, I investigated and found that entrants were to write creative retellings of Cinderella, five of which would be published in an anthology together.


The wheels started spinning. Apparently, the contest had been announced back in June, and the deadline was December 31st. Just one month away. Accepted story length: 5,000 to 20,000 words. "Well," I said to myself. "That's not that long. I've written a novel much longer than that."


So I made a crazy decision. This young writer, with twelfth grade studies on her plate and writing speedometer typically set somewhere around tortoise mode, decided to give it a go.


I have since entered all four fairy tale contests hosted by Rooglewood Press, and each one has played an important part in my writing journey. So today I'm going to share with you the lessons I've learned.


(Thanks to Esther @ The Pen of a Ready Writer for sparking some of these ruminations!)

Five Glass Slippers - 2013/14

I wrote like mad all that December. I'd never written a retelling of a fairy tale before. I'd never written a novella before, either, just short stories and a couple novels. But digging into the original Cinderella tale was a whole lot of fun! The classic elements--orphan waif, evil stepmother, nasty stepsisters, fairy godmother, glass slipper, and nameless prince--I threw into a bottle with a cup of creativity and a sprinkle of plot twists, then whipped it into a froth.


The result? The Glass Girl, a messy story about a glassmaker's daughter turned into glass herself by her stepmother, an evil Mystere pulling the strings in a power conspiracy.

Blunders Made

Plot holes: Oh, the plot holes! I cringe now to think of the gaps I didn't catch in the rush of getting my story submitted in time.


Insta-love: Yep, Ella met Dominic, a lord's son, and proceeded to fall in love with him that evening. Within twenty-four hours, she was confessing a deep secret, crying on his shoulder, and saving his life Tangled style. Ella and Dom still have my affection, but if I ever rewrite this thing, I'll make sure their affection takes a little longer to develop.

Weak writing: It wasn't bad quality considering where I was as a writer at the time. In fact, I discovered something about my own voice while writing The Glass Girl. (More on that in a minute.) But I've grown since then. And looking back? I'm cringing again. I wasn't even sure at the time if novellas were long enough to merit having chapters (news flash: they are), so I wrote one big, long story split up only by scene breaks!

Lessons Learned

Writing fast: There was only a month to write and edit 20,000 words. Professional authors usually accomplish that many times over in a month, but I'd never worked that fast before. I learned a good lesson in butt-on-chair-fingers-on-keyboard that December!


Cutting words: I ended up going a little bit over the word limit, so in my feverish editing, I had to do some trimming. See, I tend to write long. (Ahem, this post is a case in point.) But this contest provided me with valuable practice in cutting back.


Catching a glimpse of my voice: Writing teachers always talk about that elusive thing called voice, and quite frankly, I had not yet found mine. But Ella's story, framed in a fairy tale, set in a fantasy world, and laced with emotion, provided me with an opportunity to fuse poetry and prose. Was my writing flawed? Of course, but that's how everyone starts: in a mess. I caught a glimpse of what it was like to write the kind of imagery I've always loved.

Conclusion?

I didn't win, but I learned to produce a story in short order, practiced putting myself out there, and had a really fun time doing it. There's enough likable bits of The Glass Girl that it might be worth revisiting in the future.

image via unsplash

Five Enchanted Roses - 2014/15

When the second contest rolled around, I was ready for it! And let me tell you, I was so excited to find out that the chosen fairy tale was Beauty and the Beast, because it has long been one of my favorites. This time, I had the full half a year to ponder the original tale and spin a new twist on it. I decided to step a wee bit out of my fantasy comfort zone and write a contemporary . . . although in the end, it still had a fantastical flavor. (Apparently the fantasy genre won't leave me alone.)


So Blood Rose was born: the tale of a young medical graduate stranded in the secluded mansion of a man who is much older--and deadlier--than he appears.

Blunders Made

Plot holes: The genre mashing of this story meant that my fantasy/sci-fi ideas had to have a real-world medical grounding. I did as much research as I could within the time limits, but in retrospect, I do believe I left a few shaky spots.


Somewhat unbelievable romance: While Emi and Will had much longer than twenty-four hours to get to know each other, I don't think there was quite enough development between them. Emi should have been more reluctant to take shelter in Will's mansion, and Will needed to exhibit a lot more positive character traits in order to outweigh all the red flags he was throwing up. (I mean, he is actually a good person, but that's not always . . . ahem, obvious. He is, after all, the Beast.)

Lessons Learned

Plot holes again: Yes, those dreaded holes were actually a positive as well! See, about two-thirds of the way into the story, I wrote myself into the most difficult corner I had ever encountered. If I didn't find a way out, Emi was going to die, and then Blood Rose wouldn't have an ending. Hemmed in by medical facts that I couldn't change, I had to either find a real-world loophole, or scrap the plot and start over. So I prayed about it. And I prayed some more. And then I went back to researching. You know what happened? I found a little-known medical tidbit that saved Emi's life and the story itself, and was able to write my way out of that corner! So this lesson is two-fold: trusting God with my writing, and persisting through the tough parts.


Friends: I found a lovely group of writers to beta read this story for me as I wrote it. (I guess some people call that alpha reading if it's the first draft, right?) Through our back and forth interaction, I built some amazing online friendships which I still carry with me today! One of my readers, in fact, was also writing a story for the contest, and I got to be her beta reader at the same time. That story was called Burning Thorns. Anybody who peeks into the comments around here can probably tell that the authoress, Christine Smith, became a dear friend, as did several other sweet souls!

Conclusion?

I didn't win Five Enchanted Roses either, but I still felt like a winner anyway. I loved my characters, loved my story, and had a blast sharing it in almost real-time with a group of fantastic betas. I also grew closer to God by realizing again that He really does care about my stories.

image via Pinterest

Five Magic Spindles - 2015/16

Confession: I wasn't over-the-moon thrilled when Rooglewood announced the theme of the next contest was Sleeping Beauty. Maybe that's because I didn't watch the Disney movie as a kid, or maybe it's because nothing could quite compare to my beloved Beauty and the Beast. But the more I pondered the original fairy tale of the princess trapped in an enchanted sleep, the more I got excited about all the possibilities!


The Brightest Thread, the journey of a princess walking the realm of dreams and a faraway prince whose dreams are more real than he knows, ended up being my favorite Rooglewood entry yet.

Blunders Made

Trying to fit a big story into a small space: This was more of a challenge than a serious mistake. Since my idea involved a long rivalry between fairy stewards, one hundred years of history between two nations, a curse and all the rules it entailed, and the development of a romance, I had my work cut out for me. Or rather, I had to literally cut out some of my work. If you've been around the blog long enough, I'm sure you remember me wailing about my first draft being 10,000 words too long!

Lessons Learned

Making every. little. thing. count: On that note, when you need to rip out a third of a story, it feels like you're maiming it. But it's amazing how much leaner a story can be when you're ruthless about weeding out the fluff. Extraneous dialogue? Out. Long-winded descriptions? In the garbage. Unnecessary secondary character? Repurposed. The large-scale result was that every single person, place, or thing in The Brightest Thread absolutely had to be there. On a smaller scale, every word was chosen with purpose.

Writing with abandon: Writing that first draft was a beautiful experience. Sure, it had its ups and downs (especially later on during the editing stage!), but I was so in love with my characters and the world of Iror and Bauglind that spending time with them felt like a dream itself. Years down the road, I have a feeling I'll look back on this story and say, "There. That's when I really discovered my voice." Because that's what it felt like. The story was unapologetically me.

Conclusion?

Was The Brightest Thread perfect? Hardly. Even the expanded version of it I'm working on right now has its issues to be addressed. But the heart of the story, then and now, feels right. And to my surprise and delight, my dear Luci and Hadrian made it to the top ten in the contest! That news, plus the judge's thoughtful feedback, was a confidence booster and served as confirmation that this is a tale worth pursuing. Plus, I have precious memories of sharing the journey of writing TBT with amazing beta readers once again.

image via Pinterest

Five Poisoned Apples - 2017/18

Rooglewood Press postponed the 2016 contest to the following year, so by the time Snow White was announced as the final theme, I was itching to enter again! For a long while, though, I wasn't sure what to do with the Snow White tale. I was busy editing the novel version of TBT, and then I was busy starting business school, and my brain just didn't have a lot of extra space to create a new story.


Eventually, however, Mirrors Never Lie unfolded--a look at what happens when a young woman is ensorcelled by a cursed mirror and puts her surrogate family of seven huntsmen in danger.

Blunders Made

Fragmented writing sessions: Being in college made writing a challenge. Rather than immerse myself in the story like I wanted to, I wrote in short snippets on weekends and evenings whenever homework wasn't looming. That approach got the job done, but the downside was that I felt disconnected to Skadi, my main character, for quite some time.


Misconceptions: I was frustrated with the story and myself because Skadi's outer journey seemed disjointed at first. Her goals take her in one direction for a while, and then she literally turns a 180 and runs off in the exact opposite direction. It wasn't until I realized that Skadi's inner journey formed a satisfying arc that I understood the story.

Lessons Learned

Three act structure: After pulling out my hair over cutting The Brightest Thread down to size, I was determined not to make the same mistakes with Mirrors Never Lie. Thankfully, K.M. Weiland wrote a helpful article over on Helping Writers Become Authors that explained how to break down the three act structure in a way that allows you to calculate your story's length . . . before you ever write a word of it. I used this structure to plot my novella and I think it worked! I barely strayed over the word limit, and having signposts to guide my way helped me write even when I felt disconnected.


No matter how terrible a first draft is, there's always editing: You know what I found? The story wasn't nearly as bad as I first thought it was. There was plenty to edit, but when I looked back over my first draft, I found enough to love. Enough diamond under all the rock to encourage the refining process.

Conclusion?

I love Mirrors Never Lie the way I love memories of scraped knees and stumbles. There is a rawness in that story that makes me flinch--a combination of self-doubt about the writing quality and my own vulnerability laced through the story's theme. Yet something good came out of that experience. Skadi may not be my favorite protagonist ever. But maybe that's because she embodies a part of myself that isn't my favorite, and maybe that's a good thing.


I don't know what the results of Five Poisoned Apples will be. It's bittersweet, knowing this is the last contest. I hope to see familiar names on the cover in fifteen days when the announcement is made on April 2nd!* Whatever happens, I can't wait to read the winning stories!


*I hear tell of an early announcement on Rooglewood's private Facebook page for the contest (March 31st), but since I don't have Facebook, I likely won't hear anything until the official news is posted.

image via Pinterest

Was it Worthwhile?

Was it worth it to spend so much time writing fairy tale novellas when I could have been focusing on my longer works-in-progress?


Yes! It absolutely was. I'm a firm believer in no writing being a waste. I learned something in each contest.


How to write faster.


How to edit with purpose.


How to share my stories with others.


How to write from the heart.


How to write past doubt.


Not to mention these four opportunities to send my writing out into the world! Hitting send is hard. Waiting is hard. Not knowing is hard. But every time it gets a wee bit easier. And I can say with confidence that the motivation the Rooglewood contests provided have made me a stronger writer.

Whew, you made it to the end! Perhaps I should've taken my own advice and cut this post shorter, but I really wanted to share these lessons--almost like a tribute to the opportunities Rooglewood Press has provided. How about you? Have you entered a contest in your field of creativity before? What's something you've learned? (And are you counting down the days until April 2nd as well?!)