Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees

Tell us about a time you did a 180 — changed your views on something, reversed a decision, or acted in a way you ordinarily don’t.

One hundred eighty degrees. Half a circle for those of you who chose to snooze in math class. Or perhaps you have heard someone describe a radical change as doing a 360. That is impossible as a 360 describes a complete revolution which will send you on in the same direction you came.

Alright, enough of the mathematics lesson. I read this post yesterday and could not immediately think of something that would fit the bill. I am not exactly resistant to change, but most of the time when you get into a routine you just don’t make a significant change. A one hundred eighty degree change is pretty radical.

So as I though about what to add with this prompt I settled on something related to my writing. Particularly about submitting my work to writing competitions. Before I joined WordPress I really did not see many opportunities to do this. Several years ago I had a unique opportunity to submit some novel length work to a local writing competition.

I live in a small town in Virginia. We have an annual festival the first two weeks of August each  year known as the Virginia Highlands Festival. It includes Arts, Crafts, Music, food and so much more. One day is devoted to writing workshops and usually some published authors will lead workshops on the craft.

A few years ago there was a Creative Writing competition. The contest accepted entries for poetry, essay and novel length works. I am not sure how many years this was the case, but I managed to contribute entries three times, each of them a novel length manuscript. I am happy to say I received two honorable mention awards and a second place for the other. It was some validation I needed at that time that my work could compete.

So what is my one hundred eighty degree turn? The last time I entered my writing in a contest was 2001, over twelve years ago. I did not stop writing during the interval between then and now, I just did not seek out contests like I once had. Joining WordPress, however, has given me a great source of potential contests to enter.

Part of my 2013 Writing Goals is to enter more contests. So far I have entered several. Some of the results have been announced and while I cannot claim success in the form of monetary reward, I feel I am better for the experience and getting my work out to new readers.

These are the contests I have entered this year:

• Writer’s Digest – Your Story #48 – 25 word story about woman falling in pool.
• Creative Contest #7 – Emma Overcoming – Won First Prize
• Submitted “The Family Secrets” to Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award – Did not advance to second round.
• Submitted to Charlottesville Winter’s Valentine’s Day writing contest.
• Submitted to 2013 Nelligan Prize for short Fiction
• Submitted to Shenandoah Bevel Summer Contest
• Submitted to Lascaux Flash Fiction Contest

This is my change, the radical difference. I know many of you will share more personal thoughts about changing you life spiritually or perhaps by losing weight to make yourself more healthy. I look forward to reading the other entries for this prompt.

Some other Daily Prompt – 180 Degree prompts

1. Daily Post: 180 Degrees | tel-uh-vizh-uh-ner-ee
2. 180 degrees | Taking time, making time
3. Why You Shouldn’t Just Assume that North Korea is Crazy | Never Stationary
4. My Very First Time | Stuphblog
5. War And Courage | The Jittery Goat
6. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Completely Disappear
7. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees – Tiny’s Story | Rolbos ©
8. Almost became “trained” | Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | likereadingontrains
9. 117. The Family Van: Doing a 180: DPChalenge | Sofie’s Diary
10. Enabling road kill: today’s 180 | Miss Moiety
11. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | بيسان
12. No way, not on your nelly… where do I sign? | Random Encounters of an Inquisitive Mind
13. Daily Post: Wait A Minute! | One Starving Activist
14. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees In Thought And Action | My Blog
15. 180 Degree Turn | thelissachronicles
16. Bosch? Tefal? Rowenta? Braun? | Philosophy & Photography
17. I can’t believe you believe that | writemybrainsout
18. Never judge a book…or a market holder! | thoughtsofrkh
19. This one time… | thematticuskingdom
20. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Becoming Aussie
21. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover | knocked over by a feather
22. Turning Myself Around | So You Think You Can Think
23. Meet Bellamy | Ald+R
24. Daily prompt: outside of the comfort zone | The Small Girl Chronicles
25. Hokey Pokey | Nana’s Musings
26. 180 Degrees | The Nameless One
27. Daily Post: 180 Degrees! | EMBRACE YOU
28. How I Got My “A” | Matthew Vett’s Development Blog
29. Thoughts on Reversal | Mind of a Mouse
30. It’s Not Easy Eating Green | This Thread Sucks
31. Post a Week: 180 | sketches and scribbles (reloaded)
32. 180° | Yeahthtsme
33. Lost | theloneshewolf
34. Daily Prompt: Never | Cytherean Dreams
35. Turning Myself Around- Part 2 | So You Think You Can Think
36. On Dreams and Pre-Destined Dilemmas. | Share, My Dad Says.
37. Changing my point of view | My thought exactly…!
38. Degrees of Right | Paul Scribbles
39. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Daddy’s Naughty Little Girl
40. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
41. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees « Mama Bear Musings
42. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Mostly Just Fiction
43. 180 ̊̊̊̊ | atomickaleidoscope | Kaleidoscopic World in Words
44. I Walk the Line | The Daily Dilly Dally
45. The Third Law Of Unfairness | Fish Of Gold
46. TheDeafia | Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees
47. 180 Degrees – The Ultimate Turnaround | The Bottom of a Bottle
48. Half A Circle Away – A Daily Prompt Post | Edward Hotspur
49. It May Have Saved My Life | So I Went Undercover
50. The Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees/ Meeting Babette Adventure | Adventures of the Lonely Bride and Babette
51. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | The Blogging Path
52. Just Friends…? | – ellikitty –
53. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Brian Hardie’s Blogpost Modern ChapCyberZine
54. Lalalal | Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness
55. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Basically Beyond Basic
56. Keeping the Moon and Other Crimes… | Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness
57. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Talker Huge
58. Forget First Impressions | Wiley’s Wisdom
59. Just Turn Around and Walk Away | Happy Monkey Land and Other Musings on Life
60. Guilt, social media, writer’s block, and the grossest of word vomits I have ever produced. | Polyprotic Amory
61. 180 Degrees And Still Turning | Dree Speaks Freely
62. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees Weight | Lines by Linda
63. Smile. Learn. Live | The Lurker’s List
64. Rule Bending | Mike Sensitivity
65. Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Live. Love. Laugh
66. Bed Ridden | In Harmony
67. 180 degree reversal: changing your mind? | Melanie Ryding – Ryding2Health BLOG
68. 180°- The Story Of My Life? | Tails from a Monkey’s Hippocampus
69. 14:3 Daily Prompt: 180 Degrees | Family Photos Food & Craft