Why Many Vocal Writers Will Quit Vocal After Not Winning The SFS Challenge And What This Teaches Us About Longevitiy

You've got to love the American Dream. For our elders, it was a long journey of adversity with the hope of a better life. For my generation and neighboring ones, it seems to be closer to a get-rich-quick scheme. But not only do we expect money from our American Dream, we expect fame, often based on our perceived talents.

In this case, I'm talking about the elusive idea of winning $5,000 in a vocal writing challenge! On the heels of 8 consecutive weeks of prizes given for fiction, I've already seen several writers announce (via social media) that they will be leaving this platform. While there may be a handful of reasons involved, part of the reason is that they didn't win any prize money (within a certain amount of time) and to them, that was the value of being here.

So, not unrelated, some will tell you my generation is a little bit "sick in the head" because of something called a "Participation Trophy." Now, I don't have strong feelings about that, because while there are some relevant downsides I can argue, there are also a lot of positives about the concept!

But feelings aside, more and more, I'm seeing that what my generation is deeply rooted in a strong sense of entitlement to achieve self-actualization.

Don't get me wrong here- to that I say, hey man, I DIG IT. How empowering that we have such a deep yearning and expectation of living the life of our dreams!

That said, to my relief, my experience is that it's even more deeply rooted in a sense of "I'll give it a try and see how it goes."

I cannot even tell you how many times I have already benefited from how many of my peers live by this misguided outlook. And I know it will only become more beneficial for me, because every year I watch people drop their dreams faster than a hot pan.

When I reach for the hot pan, I prepare; I grab a potholder. And I wait for those brownies to cool. And when I realize I have not yet achieved the best brownies in the world, I acknowledge the delicious end-pieces of my delicious, but not-yet prize-winning brownies, adjust the recipe, and get back to baking. Okay, this metaphor got weird...

If you're chasing a dream, it's pretty important to pay attention to all relevant factors- am I investing in something for which I have a natural ability and/or will I be able to progress to the necessary level required to make money or find success? ...AND sometimes, it's a no. And that's okay!

But I believe deeply in the phrase, "you can't fail if you don't quit."

Now, I hesitate to share this surprisingly-secret secret, but in my experience, a large portion of the American-Dreamers are made up of people who never heard that quote and certainly don't try to live by it.

I can do anything, if I try. I can be good at ...most things that I try. But when I consider pursuing something for money, I do have to look at whether my work or knowledge will be worthy of compensation. It's not a lack of confidence, it's a healthy dose of logic. It's necessary to make informed decisions about how I spend my time and what I pursue.

To be fair, the short-lasting confidence, rooted in a little blast of entitlement that ends with the first no? It might have some perks. Get the dream out of your system and if it doesn't work, do something else...

(Hey, at least you're not a murderer- other than being a murderer of your dreams)

But I think, in many cases, that can be revelatory of whether the dream is actually your true DREAM or "calling" and not just a fleeting aspiration. If you aren't comfortable with weeding through some adversity or investing your time, it might not be for you, and that's okay! It's valuable to know that.

But if you do the work, you're likely to find some success.

As a full-time writer, already making a living, though hoping to do MUCH better and achieve much more, I'm coming at this from a different angle than many other Vocal writers.

I think I'm talented, but it's hard to rank an art form. And we should be happy about that!

I always think to reality smash-hit, American Idol- how the person whose life we completely transform and label as an IDOL isn't the Olympic champion. There's a lot of luck involved, and a lot of privilege - being in the right place, fitting the imagel..

The reality is, we've had a wide variety of "Idol" winners- they compete with people who have put in their 10,000 hours. Trained singers- some of whom make it to finals and some of who don't. And then there are the raw-talent kids, some of whom make it to finals and some of whom don't.

Writing bears a LOT of resemblance to this- it's not always fair.

I feel good about my 10,000 hours. I'm quite past that amount at this point. It doesn't guarantee me anything; not even a paycheck, but it gives me a little resilience.

I also have two BA degrees with an emphasis on writing, and years of experience being paid, while also receiving guidance, critique, etc. that inform my feelings about writing.

And that said, it's easy and very human to say, "But I think I had a story that should have won a SFS Challenge!" And you may be right!

But this isn't the Olympics. There is no GOAT in this Zoo. So if you have to head out to pasture, I'm sending you a friendly wave. But I also want to give you a little reminder that you often have to hear a lot of NOs to get to a YES!