I submitted eight poems and three short stories to the Olive Woolley Bert Awards from the League of Utah Writers this year (there is a limit of two entries per category). I hoped to get an award or two because there are a number of great writers in the League. But, to my shock, all my poems won something. Four of them took first place, three took second, and one got an honorable mention. I still can't quite believe it. Last year I only got honorable mentions. (NOT to say that's a problem. It isn't. It's an award, and it's awesome to get anything.) But I didn't expect to do so well. 

I even got a first place for one of my fantasy short stories. The other two short story submissions got nothing. I didn't expect anything (although I hoped for an honorable mention), so this was incredible.

I've never done this well before. If I get an award or two, it's awesome. But for ALL my poems to get awards…that doesn't happen. Not to me, anyway.

This doesn't mean that my poems were better than everyone else's. The contest is subjective. All the nominations are sent to MFA students somewhere on the East Coast. They are read and critiqued by two different judges and given a numeric value for subjects like writing mechanics, character, theme, and plot. Or structure, elements, rhetoric, and creativity.

The work that has the highest combined score gets first place, the next second, etc. So, it all depends on the judge and what they think of that particular entry that particular day. 

One of my poems and two of my short stories were submitted previously. (If you don't get 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, you can re-enter.) One story didn't place and the poem got an honorable mention when I submitted them before. This time, they both won awards. So, you never know how they'll do.

You also get to see how the judges scored your work and if they had any comments. That's when I wondered how my entries got any awards at all. 

It was suggested that I use more complex rhymes. Mine were too simple. One comment suggested I try rewriting my poem in rhyming couplets. Another said my haiku wasn't properly formatted. Another comment gave me a rewrite for one of the lines of a poem. The judges were honestly trying to give positive feedback, so I appreciate that. And it definitely keeps me grounded. My two haiku won awards, even though they weren't about nature (another comment). Every entry of mine had something I needed to work on.

The two short stories that didn't win anything got decent scores. A comment on my horror short story said that the judge couldn't tell who was talking in the story and was confused. I sold that story to an anthology that will be coming out next year. 

The story that won first place had several comments. I used too many passive verbs. I needed to do a better job of separating my characters by what they said and did. I mentioned the alien's bellies too much. There were more, but you get the idea.

Getting awards tells me that I'm on the right track and that people like what I write. The feedback and numbers tell me I still have improvements I need to make. They both encourage me to keep writing and to keep submitting.

Two poets in my poetry chapter of the League of Utah Writers also won several awards. Our group meets once a month. Every member is encouraged to submit a poem or two (no more than two pages total) for the meeting. We make comments and suggestions on each other's poems to help us improve. What's really nice is we all write different types of poems. I do a lot with rhyme and meter. Most of my poems are a little quirky and a little dark. Or they're whimsical and humorous. I write what appeals to me, or what ideas come to me. Wild water witches, a spun-glass ship, a butterfly rumble. The feedback I get is almost always helpful. I also learn from the other poets.

What surprised me was my short story win in the category of fantasy and science fiction. There are some GREAT writers in the league. I'm in two chapters with people who write and publish in this genre. This story didn't get anything two or three years ago. I'd written it for an anthology that was to be published in 2018 or 2019. The anthology fell apart and the story didn't find another home. 

It's not just about winning. It's about growing. The awards are nice, but in the end, it's all about encouragement and improving as a writer.

Quoting a line from one of my favorite movies: Never give up. Never surrender. 

And, I'll add, never stop writing something.