P.O.M.P.O.M.S. For The Post-Contest Cheers

Yesterday Pepper brought us yummy chocolate to ease the Post-Contest Blues. Well, today I am bring you the tools to celebrate your Post-Contest Cheers. All cheerleaders have tools of the trade: their pompoms. So grab your tools and get to celebrating!

P   -  Praise - 1 Chronicles - 16:34 "Give thanks to God—he is good and his love never quits."

Praise your Father in heaven, who gifted you to write and in His own time, has given you success. I am sure you turn to God first and give him thanks, but truly He is our audience and He is the one who opens the door of opportunity for us.

O  -  Order thank you notes - Colossians 3:15 "And cultivate thankfulness." 

You don't really need to order thank you notes, but you do need to send thank you's to your contest judges. Even if your scores were not what you had hoped, the judges may have families and obligations just like you and gave up their valuable time to volunteer in this way. Forward your thank you to your contest coordinator, making sure you include the judge's number, and she will forward it to the correct address.

M  - Massage – Proverbs 1:30 -  "First pay attention to me, and then relax. Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands."

Oh, this may be my favorite. Treat yourself to a massage. You know you've been feeling those kinks in your shoulders for all that polishing and synopsis writing. Splurge a little. You deserve it!

 P  - Polish your manuscript.- Isaiah 5:27 - "None drag their feet, no one stumbles, no one sleeps or dawdles. Shirts are on and pants buckled, every boot is spit-polished and tied."

Oh yes. Don't wait until the winner is announced to get your manuscript ready. Buckle down and polish that baby up. Who knows? A big name editor or agent might request a full and you want to be able to send that shining manuscript their way.

O - Oscillate: Keep looking around, back and forth, for the next great idea.  – 1 Thessalonians 1:11 - "Pray that our God will make you fit for what he's called you to be, pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something."

Yeah, I had trouble finding a word...and scripture...for this O. But don't sit on your laurels (not sure what that is, but it's a nice sounding word, don't you think?) dwelling on the same manuscript. Keep your eyes open for the next big idea for a story. You never know what will spark the germ for a fascinating tale. 

M - Microphone: Grab a mic and give a shout out to other finalists and encourage those who didn’t final. – 1 Thessalonians 5:9 - "So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind."

Be a gracious winner. I confess, I am not good in this, but I had some wonderful examples of it this week. I had other finalists facebook me, requesting friendship and congratulating me. I had a couple of authors email me congratulations and encouraged me in my writing. I had twitter messages sent and comments on my blog. It was an outpouring of love. Reach out to others. Share their joy. Commiserate with their pain.

S  - Sit your behind in a chair and write. – Galations 6:4 - "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."

You should know this by heart, because it is the hallmark of a writer. Sit down and write. Keep writing new stories. Keep filling the page with ink. The more you write, the better you get. The better you get, the greater your chances are of making that sale. 

So as you cheer and celebrate, remember first who enabled you and give Him thanks. Then look to others, affirming and encouraging them. Finally, keep pursuing your dream. Keep writing. 

Write to your heart's content.

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Clip art from: http://www.acclaimclipart.com/

Scripture from The Message (and taken WAY out of context for my purposes)