A big component of being a successful writer is the willingness to experiment, take risks, and not let fear hold you back. Laura Holian was curious about the Royal Palm Literary Awards and decided to submit a story, even though she had never thought about writing short stories before. It turned out to be a very rewarding move. Her story Sick Day won First Place for Published Creative Nonfiction in 2018. Laura talks about the importance of emotion, outlining, and the fun of entering writing contests on this week’s RPLA showcase.
Laura’s Writing Journey
My writing journey is at its inception. This was my first submission into The Royal Palm Literary Award competition after attending the Florida Writers Conference for the first time one year prior. Entering “Sick Day” into the contest was my way of testing the waters. And what a wonderful surprise it turned out to be. I had never considered writing a short story, but my husband and I took a trip to Miami shortly after a writing presentation about story elements was fresh on my mind. When we returned, I was putting my house back in order from the chaos of our excursion and I saw the story unfold. I was in our upstairs hallway when I froze and realized I had all the elements the presenter had talked about. My mind screamed at me to write it. I was terrified. I went to my husband and he said, “Try it. See how it goes.” I wrote it in about two days.
The Winning Entry, Sick Day
Logline: A triathlete husband’s duty to home and self is challenged by the juggernaut of work, a distressed wife and world without sick days.
No one ever gets sick when it’s convenient. If you are on vacation, that’s when you get food poisoning. Have a big presentation at work? Allergies strike and now you are blowing your bright red nose in front of your audience. Sick Day was inspired by nature’s way of sticking it to you when you are down. It’s the culmination of hectic lives, business trips and the love in a family. We all have the desire to just vent and blurt out exactly what is on our minds, but we don’t. Sick Day is from the viewpoint of a parent that struggles to keep it together when you’d just rather quit.
Emotion is what carries this story. You can feel how life is both tough and beautiful in this piece of writing. It is relatable even to families that may not do triathlons, because it is about life with kids, busy spouses and frenzied lives. It is about how we relate to one another when we’re not at our best, yet we do what we have to for the ones we love.
Read and excerpt from Sick Day here.
Two Truths and a Lie, Writer’s Edition
Start with dialogue.
Outline your story.
Write the story for you.
The lie? Starting a story with dialogue. I didn’t learn until after I entered the contest that starting a story with dialogue was a no-no. But I guess it doesn’t really matter because I won the contest in my category. Yay! I think if a story has “meat”, as in, it has the essential elements, is interesting, can evoke emotions, then some of the other stuff can be forgiven as long as it doesn’t detract from your story. There are a lot of rules, but sometimes it takes breaking some rules to make your story unique.
You should outline your story. Even a simple one that contains a few sentences is better than none at all. I find I write better when I have a clear picture of the direction I want my story to go. It is easy to get sidetracked and having an outline helps you identify when your story has gone astray and makes it easier bring it back on course. I enjoy creating my outline like those charts detectives use, with the little post it notes and strings that connect things together. At first it’s a mess, but when it comes together it’s happy dance time.
I like the rule about writing as if you are writing the story for you. Meaning, stop worrying about pleasing or displeasing others. Priority one is get it out of you and get it written. I think that will make the best first draft. I started my current non-fiction piece four times, each time feeling constricted about the rules I had to follow. In the end, I’ve decided to let it go and I have been able to write more effectively this way. When I am done, I will get it edited and if it has to get tweaked, then it will. But it’s important to write in the manner that is true to yourself first. This enhances your voice and I think that will come across despite any latter revisions.
Other Works by Laura
I wrote a short story, Andy, for a mystery/suspense contest and received an honorable mention for it. It was an opportunity for me to write in a genre I had not considered writing before. The contest also gave me the chance to play with point of view and character development in a short story setting versus the commitment of writing a novel. Ironically, I enjoyed writing the short story so much, I’ve decided to expand it into a book.
Coming Next from this Author
I am currently working on two stories, the mystery/suspense one and another creative non-fiction piece. I plan on making them both book lengths. For the mystery/suspense one, I’ve morphed it into a lighthearted read. I wanted to give it more optimism and humor, something to counteract the negativity real situations face.
The creative non-fiction piece has more drama and raw emotion. It’s about betrayal from a daughter’s point of view and contains elements of biculturalism, psychological abuse and of course, secrecy.
Connect with Laura
Visit my Facebook page Laura Holian – Author at: https://m.facebook.com/lauraholianauthor/?modal=admin_todo_tour for playful and serious insights into my life and my journey as a writer.
More about RPLA
The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is a service of the Florida Writers Association established to recognize excellence in members’ published and unpublished works while providing objective and constructive written assessments for all entrants. Judges include literary agents, publishers, film producers, current or retired professors, teachers, librarians, editors, bestselling and award-winning authors, and journalists from across the nation. Entries are scored against the criteria set by RPLA using rubrics tailored to each genre. Winners are announced at the annual FWA conference during the RPLA awards banquet. To learn more about RPLA, click here for the guidelines.
