Last year, right about this time, I reworked a short story for something like the mazillionth time and then decided on a lark to send it to the Family Circle Fiction Contest. I completely forgot about it until a few months later when I received an email from Family Circle’s Executive Editor, Darcy Jacobs, saying that I won. Me! I won First Prize.

This blog isn’t about that, however. It’s about this: how to live our best chapter. So, the message is: to live our best chapter, we have to take risks. We can’t keep going into the hardware store looking to buy apples. If we want a change, we have to make a change. It’s as simple as that.

The Family Circle Fiction Contest deadline ended for this year but if you want to work on your story to enter next year, I am getting out my pompoms to encourage you. Go for it! Through the contest, I also met Amy Cappelli, who won Second Prize, and has a terrific blog, http://threeoclockcrazy.blogspot.co.il/2012/09/first-day-of-school.html, which she also illustrates herself. You can read our winning stories here.

You can do one small thing today to change your life. It’s the best way to counter depression, just doing one small thing. Think you can’t? Share what you feel with the rest of us! And if you know any writers, pass this message of encouragement on to them!