Iz me a writer agin now?

Okay, I hate lolcats to death, but “Am I a Writer Again Now?” seemed too dull, so there’s your horrid spelling meme.  I apologize.

That out of the way, I think there’s a chance that I can legitimately call myself a writer again.  I really haven’t been one over the past year.  But the Codex Weekend Warrior flash fiction contest is in full swing and I’ve been participating.

Hmm…maybe I should back up.

Codex is an online writing group for speculative fiction writers who have at least one pro sale or have been to a major, merit-based writing workshop (Clarion, Viable Paradise, OSC’s Boot Camp, Odyssey, etc.)  They have numerous contests each year, from flash to novels.  The most popular seems to be Weekend Warrior, since it’s the only contest that necessitates two separate divisions.  For five weeks, a set of prompts are posted on Friday and entrants write a 750-word or less story based on one (or more) of the prompts by the following Sunday.  Then the entrants (and other Codex members) have the week to read and rate the stories before starting again on Friday.

Anyway, I’ve written a story for the past two weeks.  I wrote, so that makes me a writer.  Even better, both stories have been competitive.  Not #1, but bouncing around in the top half.  Codex isn’t full of slouches either, so I’m happy just to see that I still have the chops to hold my own despite a year of no significant writing output at all.  What’s better than that?  I actually subbed one of those stories today!

I’ve done the Codex WW contest for the past several years and sold a few of the creations to come out of it (“Not Rats”, “Ten Seconds”).  My first year in the contest I finished in the top ten overall, with 3 weeks’ stories in their respective top 10.  The next year I was midlist.  Then last year’s showing was abysmal.  I had been getting worse!  So to be back in it this time around is a much-needed boost to my confidence.

So yes, I am a writer again (Iz a writer agin), and one that’s starting to find his groove again.  Here’s hoping I can keep it up.