January 18, 2018.

Today I received an email from Writers Digest. They sent me a badge to mark my first place win in their 86th Annual Competition, this past summer. This badge is to use on my website, Twitter, Facebook, wherever I choose to post it. Such a small thing, but I’m so grateful for this reminder.

As a writer, it’s an amazing feeling to get validation for your words, to know others think they have value. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in the crippling self doubt that fills me every time I write something new. Sure, occasionally I may have a second or two where I think, “Hey, this isn’t bad,” but then that moment of confidence flits away, and I’m back to being convinced that what I’m writing is pure garbage.

So thank you for this reminder, dear Writers Digest, that I might actually be okay at this writing thing.