Won Writer’s Digest Spiritual Competition: Read Entry

I was delighted to win $1,000 as well as other prizes in the Writer’s Digest 92nd Annual Competition!

There were various categories to choose from; my entry fell within the ‘Spiritual’ category. While both fiction and non-fiction were allowed, I opted for a non-fiction piece about a group of women I saw making white rose dumplings in a port town in Vietnam.

Like many writers, I write to understand the world. I write to unpeel and uncover and to make sense of things. For many of us, we start writing to make sense of our own emotions – our feelings – our opinions about the world. These days, I practise awareness as much as possible – I have The Artist’s Way to thank for much of that! This practise has, without a doubt, helped me to improve my writing.

So much of what I write in my short fiction really just centres around a strong emotion. Plot almost becomes irrelevant, except as a vehicle to explore that emotion further. When characters are one-dimensional, I think what we really mean is that their emotions are too base. Jealousy, for example, is a base emotion. What’s below that? Resentment – shame?

Pity is a base emotion. What’s below that? Guilt?

This piece is available to read at the link below:

Writer’s Digest 92nd Annual Competition Inspirational/Spiritual Essay First-Place Winner: “White Rose Dumplings” – Writer’s Digest (writersdigest.com)

As always, thanks for reading!

Genevieve x