Why I Didn’t Win

I lost.

If you read yesterday’s post and you read Exquisite Loss, then you will understand this post.

I didn’t win the writing contest for a simple reason: I didn’t write a story.

What is a story? If you ask five authors or teachers that question you will get eight different answers. Some will discuss the story structure – it must have a beginning, middle, and end. Some will talk about the plot – there needs to be a defined plot. Others will even discuss the need for the main character to change.

Exquisite Loss has none of these things. The entire purpose of the story was to invoke an emotion. I think I succeeded in that. However, there was not structure, plot, or change in character. Therefore, it was not a story.

It’s funny how the human mind works. It can tell when something is wrong even when the person cannot define what it is that is wrong. Long ago a music teacher told me that every song needs to end on a certain note. I don’t remember the exact note, but I think it was the first note of the song.

To prove this, he played a bunch of tunes and ended before playing the last note. Listening to the tunes without the last note was like standing at the top of a long stairway. Your body expects you to take the first step down and actually leans forward in anticipation. Listening to those tunes made my ear lean forward, waiting for the last note. My mind knew the song was not complete.

Stories are the same way. You can read something, but if it doesn’t have structure, plot, or character change, your mind recognizes that something is missing.

That is what I learned by losing.