A while back, I posted about a flash-fiction story I had written for a contest run by National Geographic and Wattpad called “Planet or Plastic.” My entry was “Po’s Plight,” and I was—and still am—immensely proud of it. 

Unfortunately, “Po’s Plight” didn’t win the contest, or even make it into the top ten finalists. But that’s okay. I’m finding the silver lining here and turning this “no” into a “yes.” 

What was “Po’s Plight” about? I’m glad you asked. Here is the blurb for the story, and you can read the full thing here:

“An industrious seahorse gets his home ready for his upcoming litter of baby seahorses, and he finds a unique material to build with. But could this new material bring unwanted attention and harm to his community?”

I have to admit, with all of the views and positive comments I received, I was almost expecting to be in among the finalists. That always happens when you’re excited about a story, right? You want other people to be excited too. Much like receiving an A in class represents how well you absorbed the material, I wanted my ranking in this contest to reflect the impact that Po Paul Pennington has upon reading about him and his seahorse family. 

But it wasn’t meant to be. Other stories were better than mine, and that’s fine. Disappointing, but fine. 

I also had readers, I had comments, and through both Wattpad and Facebook, I had more people read and talk about this story than any others I’ve written. Which feels freaking great.

That’s the whole point to writing, isn’t it? Sharing our work with the world and making an impact, one person at a time. I achieved that. I achieved my dream of reaching people.

Another silver lining is that I get to keep Po and his story. 

One of the stipulations of the contest is that you had to sign over rights to National Geographic in order to be named a finalist. For those not in the know, this is VERY unconventional. Generally, you sign an agreement for someone to license and print your story, but you retain your copyright. The story is still yours. National Geographic took this one step further and had you sign over all rights. Ludicrous.

But I was okay with that, for the most part. It sat strangely with me, but for the high-profile nature of potentially being printed by National Geographic, I was willing to go along with it. I also thought that I wouldn’t get too attached to a 500-word story.

I was wrong. 

I fell in love with Po, and I’m relieved and glad to not be giving him up.

So this is my silver lining, my “yes.” I get to keep Po and his story, and I get to do something else with him. A picture book, perhaps? Change the ending, make it a LOT cheerier, and turn it into a book for young children? I love this idea, and I’m excited to have it on my list of things to work on. It’s a sweet story (or will be!) that lends itself well to having beautiful illustrations accompany it. 

I can’t wait to breathe new life into “Po’s Plight,” and this is all because I DIDN’T win the contest I originally intended him for. I’ve turned my rejection and my “no” into a “YES.”

So, thank you, National Geographic, for inspiring me to write this story. And thank you for not picking it to win, or even be a finalist, because I now get to transform it into something better. Po deserves that! 

What rejections have you received that have actually turned out to be a good thing? What “no’s” have you turned into “yes’s?” Share in the comments below!