Update on short story contest

The last entry I spoke of coming in third place in short story contest.
The results are on this page
I have entered the September/October contest. First place is a whopping three hundred dollars! Second place is one hundred and fifty dollars. Third place is seventy-five dollars.
The cost to enter is only five dollars. You don't even need a paypal account. Michy will set you up to pay online easily.
You first have to sign up to the forum to compete in the contest. However, signing up is free, so why not do it today?

Short Stories vs. Novels

I have written a collection of short stories which I am trying to get published even as I am writing this.
Short stories are easy for me to write when I have an idea. I don't necessarily envision a plot, it just flows. However, today I decided I am going to write a novel. I don't know the genre or the subject but just making up my mind to do it is the first step.
I checked Literary agents and publishers and it appears to be easier to submit a novel versus a collection of short stories.
I may even do non-fiction, I am not sure at this point.
My decision has been made to write a book, now I have to find a topic. Research will be my bedfellow for the next few days or weeks, dependent upon finding the right niche that I want to engage myself in.

Writing

I enjoy writing so much that I have concluded that the passion must be utilized. How often does a writer embark on his or her craft after engaging in a full work day or a day full of activities with or without children? After everyone goes off into a deep slumber, do you return to your computer or have a pen and paper near your bed because you thought of a great story line, a new poem or some other thing that must be written down before it is lost?
Or, like myself, that is on call during the day so I can write after 'The honey do list' is completed?
I have one hundred and twenty-five articles on ehow.com that I enjoyed writing. I am in the process of editing my collection of short stories and am actively seeking a literary agent and/or publisher.
I love to write and will continue to write for as long as I am alive and am able to.

Short Story Writing

In between writing for a few online writing companies, having a family, going to work and visiting family members, I write short stories.
Writing short stories gives me an intellectual high that is hard to describe. I am able to think better after I complete a page that I am happy with.
I don't usually have the story laid out before me. I know a great deal of writers do that. And perhaps I will, someday.
When I write, it flows. The ideas come to me. Sometimes an idea that I like will force me to change whole paragraphs from earlier in the story to accommodate the new storyline. The challenge is worth it.
Recently, while I was at work, my co-workers and I were discussing werewolves. I had submitted a six page short story to an online contest. While I did not win, the people at my work really enjoyed the story. The only drawback was that it ended too soon. To appease them, and to help myself, I sat down and revamped it. Now it is completed and I turned it into a twenty-five page short story.
Of course it needs editing, but for now the story alone made me feel good about myself.
As soon as all my short stories are ready, I will try to have them published.