Writing is a series of ups and downs.

This week was a “down.” I received results from the Golden Rose and the Golden Gateway contests where I was a finalist. “Gold” is evidently not good for Murphy’s Law. As I’ve said in previous posts, there’s a “love it or hate it” feel for the beginning of that manuscript. Since I didn’t win either competition, I am very disappointed — especially after so many fantastic comments from judges in both contests. Ah, well. I sent it into Golden Heart as a sign of my assertiveness and my faith in myself as a writer. I have no expectations of being a finalist.

School is going well. I suppose as one part of my life falls, another rises in some sort of odd cosmic balance. A local news station is coming to cover a big lab that, with the help and expertise of our school’s AP biology teacher, Becky Kehler, I hold for my AP students. The woman is a dynamo. She was Indiana’s Biology Teacher of the Year last year. I admire her greatly, and I’m pleased we can work together on this project. We pull together all of my advanced psychology students and her advanced biology students for an “in-house” field trip. Then the students participate in three labs, including dissection of sheep brains. It was a big success last year, and with the changes we’ve made, it should be even better this year.

I sometimes wish I had the confidence in my writing that I do in my teaching. Hopefully, time will help me develop some, just as it has in my classroom abilities. I believe my stories are good, sometimes even great. It’s just so frustrating to final so many manuscripts in so many contests and not win one. Ah, well. I’ll keep working on improving and have faith in my Critters and my on-line partner. They tell me I’m good, and none of them have any problem with telling me when my stories aren’t cutting it. And I thank them from the bottom of my heart for that honesty.

Hopefully, next week will be an “up” week.