Encouragement Comes When you Least Expect It

Day 14 of my Shut up and Blog Challenge. I began this challenge to become a better writer and I believe I have. Today, I received the ultimate compliment from my husband Kevin. Seth had gone to a play with a friend so it was just Kevin and I running errands. In the car, I read Kevin my late bloomer post from yesterday. After I was done, he said, "That sounds just like a magazine article." My Kevin is famous for not giving compliments. He just thinks they are insincere sounding and he's above all that. My first reaction was, "Are you being sarcastic?" Sarcasm is his thing but he was quick to reassure me he was being honest. It felt pretty awesome. 

When we got home, I decided to start shining up a story I had written for my creative writing class on Coursera. I'm hoping to enter it in a flash fiction contest. For the uninitiated, flash fiction is a full fictional story with less than 750 words. My story was at a thousand words so I had the task of not only shortening it but polishing it. Two hours later, I had to walk away from it. I managed to get it under 750 but it cost me one of the more interesting parts of the story and my title. However, the backstory was too long and drawn out. I wouldn't say I have writer's block but perhaps writers remorse. I want that part of my story that I cut, back. I just had to get some breathing room from it. Walking away is usually the best solution. Anyway, I was feeling a little crappy but encouragement comes from the oddest places sometimes. 

I opened my email and found a weekly progress report from Grammarly.  Grammarly is a website that I registered for free for that checks your spelling, grammar, and usage. It is very user-friendly and I write with it every day. For instance, right now while writing this post, I see about ten red underlined words that Grammarly is flagging as incorrect. 
Well, today I discovered they keep track of your writing and send reports. I love getting a grade or a rating and look! It says I wrote more words than 92% of their users! I either have a whole lot to say or too much dang time on my hands. No matter. I love being the top of the group. 

Well, it gets better. I have a larger vocabulary than 98% of Grammarly users! That is pretty awesome and the best part is that it gave me the drive to write this post. Well, my eyes are starting to cross so I'm going to bed. Have a great night and remember to show me some love in the comments section.