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Creative Writing and Competition

 In 2020 the newsXpress website organised a national writing competition. 

The competition had two categories, poetry and short stories. 

At the urging of my brother I decided to enter the competition and to my big surprise my poem Breaking News Agency won the open age category.

The newsXpress judges said "Chris' poem, Breaking News Agency, was inspiring and heartwarming, connecting with hopes and dreams, which can become a reality."

Those words about something I wrote mean a lot to me because one of the reasons I love creative writing is to make people feel. 

In life I am an extremely competitive person. When I play a game, I don't just play for fun. I have to win. 

When I am creating though the only person I am competing with is myself. The only reason I ever enter writing or film competitions is in the hope that my work will be highlighted. The fact that Breaking News Agency won a prize, to me, means it was worth highlighting not that I am better than any of my fellow writers. 

I started writing because it meant I could create things that were not restricted because of my disability. When I write, I can always get the girl, win the cage fight, or climb Mt Everest. 

My writing also allows me to show in two minutes how I feel about something that would usually  take a lifetime to understand. 

If you haven't read my Breaking News Agency poem yet from one of my many posts since the winners were announced, please click here and then come back and I will finish the story.

When I write my poetry it is about expressing something important to me that I hope the world can get something out of. 

I think a lot about what will be left behind when I die. Will people remember me? This is what creative writing is all about for me. 

I love creative writing and I love competition. Very rarely do I put the two together because art is about soul and showing common humanity as a whole. 

I wish to thank newsXpress and the Australian Newsagency Blog for their support of this competition. 

While on a high after the success of the Breaking News Agency entry, I have decided to finish this blog post with another poem.




Creative Writing Competition


Creative writing is my art and my soul competition; creativity puts my mind into a reflective position.

I turn to creative writing when everything is in chaos and my pain is biting.

When I don't know what the answers are supposed to be, or whether I even know who is the real me?

That is when my words come out fighting.


Creative writing makes my wheelchair disappear and I am the only hero here.

It helps me find my emotion when I'm lost inside my mind's stormy ocean. 

I can always find the right place to go. I can even find my sexy mojo.

Creativity writing helps me metaphorically stand up for what is right and order my thoughts late at night.


When I write and create I feel like I'm truly the master of my own fate. 

I can connect with my alpha power and pretend nothing can hurt me at the top of my castle's tower. 

Creativity means so much to me because it helps me conquer my disability. 

Life is full of poetic potential when I give myself permission to answer the call of the creative writing competition.


© Chris Van Ingen | 8 February 2021

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