I recently heard an analogy about swimming up stream. The speaker said we can make our lives harder or easier. Harder by trying to swim upstream or easier by going with the flow of the stream to let it carry us where we want to be.
This analogy came back to me a couple nights ago as I was looking at my "to do" list and starting to get frustrated by what I didn't get done. Never mind that I had been pushing myself and working hard all day--again. Projects I was wrapping up gave only a moment's satisfaction before I plunged back into my never-ending list of things that "should" have been complete.
Then a quiet voice inside my head repeated that analogy. Was I making my life harder or easier? Was I swimming upstream or letting the flow take me where I wanted to go? Rather than focusing on one project at a time and feeling the joy and satisfaction of working on that project, I had been pushing and fussing about what I still had to do, which makes me cranky. When I'm cranky, my dogs fuss at each other more and my grandson acts wilder and crazier. Duh moment. I need to let things come to me instead of trying to force things. When I go with the flow, I don't run into so many snafus, and the answers to what seem like problems come easily.
Lately, judging contests has been on my "to do" list. I haven't done this for quite awhile, but re-entering the world of contests has been a good review of things to watch in my own writing. Judging guidelines are also great for these tips, such as making sure the conflict is obvious and the characters have strong motivation for what they do. Here are some reminders from the entries I recently judged:
--Perhaps it's my detail-oriented personality, but "little" things like grammar, spelling, formatting and punctuation do matter. I judged one entry that sometimes indented paragraphs and sometimes didn't. Sometimes put two returns between paragraphs and sometimes one. Quotation marks seemed to be tossed onto the page at random without regard to whether anyone was speaking or not and rarely came in sets, but just an opening quotation or a closing one. In contrast, the formatting and punctuation in another entry were pretty much invisible because they were correct and consistent. I was able to enjoy the story instead of trying to figure out what the heck the jumble of words and symbols meant. My internal editor is too strong to make the worst of these mistakes, but I do need to watch out for things such as often-repeated words and overused dashes!
--I had one entry where the hero's name changed and the writer didn't catch that snafu. Ouch! Sometimes the most obvious errors are the easiest to overlook.
--A subgenre I wouldn't normally pick up was the story that pulled me in the most. A good reminder to keep an open mind and take the time to discover something new--or perhaps push the envelope in my own writing.
Lest you now fear bringing anything to share at a critique meeting, please know that I did find something positive to say about each entry. I am also very aware that I hold someone's "baby" in my judging hands and, if I'm struggling with an entry, I'll flag that entry to the contest coordinator to be sure I'm not completely missing something obvious to other judges.
A contest that I recently judged was also interesting because the coordinator sent a comparison chart of how each judge scored the entries. One manuscript I struggled with also got low marks from the other two judges. We didn't score so consistently with some of the other entries. The group of entries I helped judge included the lowest overall score and the highest overall score in the contest, so there was a wide range of writing quality in the entries I received.
Do you enter contests? Why? I entered a few before I was published, mainly to connect with an editor I was targeting. I had good experiences and got wonderful feedback, met some of the judges and had a great conversation with one in particular. Now I'm looking for contests where I can enter my published work for that coveted "award-winning author" title. Beyond "what's in it for me," judging contests is simply a nice way to connect and "give back" to our community of romance writers. It's not just going with the flow of the stream, but making sure I'm in a stream that's important to me. :)
11 comments:
FInally -- the what I learned by judging contests blog (updated with an upstream theme...) Excellent!
I haven't judged contests in awhile, either, Genene, though I am probably going to sign up to judge the Rita this year and I am already signed up to judge ours.
In the past, my Rita entries were so dismal it turned me off to the whole idea of judging. All I learned from reading them is I don't want anyone to ever read one of my books with such hostility as I was feeling (and mind you, these were published books.) It was just painful.
I also taught mail order writing for awhile and had some dreadful students with no skills when it came to basic punctuation. In a contest I would try to differentiate between story craft and grammar/spelling, but the stuff you described is so basic and so disruptive that it makes a giant stumbling block for a want to be writer.
I found it interesting that you mentioned being most drawn in by a book outside your writing experience. I thought I would sign up for books outside my usual reading pattern for the Rita judging. A good story is a good story and though I may not read much paranormal, I think I can tell when a good one passes by. I think I will also do Historical and YA though I may replace historical with novella.
As for the up steam or waiting for the current to take you where you want to go -- well, what if where you want to go is upstream, the opposite direction from the current? I'm split on this. Flowing with the current can turn into floating through life, accepting less than you want because it's easier. I don't think that's what you're saying because that certainly doesn't appear to be the way you live. But I agree that you have to find a balance and you have to cut yourself some slack and that living life tense because your best isn't good enough is a recipe for cranky writers/toddlers/dogs.
I'm going to think about this....
Genene, I feel like the trout swimming up stream lately. Too much company and not enough me/writing time.
I entered contests when I first joined RWA. I finaled in nearly every contest I entered and made a life long friend from one judge. I do the contest thing with my published books now. It's not an ego thing for me but a validation that I am writing something others want to read. And Like you said, can put award winning on my resume and bio that I send to agents and editors.
I like judging contest. Like you I learn what not to do and sometimes get a really good read that I would not normally have read. And I'm careful not to hurt feelings but try to be real so the writer can improve. I've had the one high one low score several times in a contest. So I know the frustration that can bring to a new writer.
Thanks for an interesting blog!
Genene, great topic! 8^) I don't enter contests often -- and I say this after entering 2 this year, a record for me -- but I really enjoy judging them. I don't judge the Golden Heart anymore because it really bothers me not to be able to comment on the scoresheet or manuscript. So any contest where I can offer feedback works for me, though I keep it down to only 2 to 3 a year.
I'm debating whether or not to help judge our contest because synopses are not my strength. I wouldn't do a good job giving feedback. Query letters I'm really good at, but not synopses.
I'm an avid participant at Absolute Write's Watercooler community and there's a forum there called "Share Your Work." I frequently pop in to critique manuscript pages of members' work and that's how I get my crit fix. I like it because I'm under no obligation to do it. I can drop in whenever the mood strikes, and it's not anonymous. I've helped a lot of people spruce up there query letters enough to garner them partial and full requests from agents. That's such a great feeling!
Oh, Genene, the upstream thing gets to me, too. And that's because I'm a terrible procrastinator so I do it to myself. And I never feel like I'm doing enough so I constantly feel guilty. Hmm. I may need therapy. 8^)
Hey, Alice! I live to make you happy. :)
I find your experiences in judging the Rita very interesting. There are so many wonderful books published, the Rita should be overflowing with great reads. I will be interested in hearing about your experiences this year. And I think our debriefing of how our first chapter contest goes will be very interesting also.
The upstream analogy kinda threw me when I first heard it also because it sounded contradictory to the "work hard and you'll reach your goals" perspective I'd embraced for years. But when I really paid attention, I found I was tense and that blocked the flow of creative ideas and energy. When I relax and imagine myself flowing in a stream of creativity and energy, I get more done.
However, for a person who thrives on challenges, swimming upstream and winning out over the stream could be exhilerating!
Besides, I probably mutated the original analogy to suit my needs -- and forgot to include the caveat of all suggestions: use it if it works and ignore it (or mutate it!) if it doesn't. :)
Hi, Paty!
It seems like you have had a lot of company the last few months. Yikes!
You've done very well in contests, haven't you, in spite of having some less than stellar experiences. I would think that your experience in editing would also be invaluable in writing your own books. And you're so good at encouraging other writers. Now if that flow would just expand into more hours in a day. LOL!
Hey, Karen!
How great that you've helped other writers get requests for partial or full manuscripts! That would be a wonderful feeling.
I also received thank you notes from several writers who appreciated the comments on what I really liked or why I gave them a lower score in a particular area. It is a nice feeling that you helped someone grow in their writing. But I've also heard horror stories of judges who are harassed by writers who disagreed with their scores, so I understand why the Golden Heart went that route. However, I also prefer to receive comments when I enter a contest and give comments when I judge.
Ah, procrastination is a sneaky tempter, isn't it? Especially with large projects that can't be completed by pulling an all-nighter! I'm doing so much better with this antagonist, though. :)
A part of my problem is I get distracted, then I'm derailed from what I'd originally planned. There's just too many interesting things going on, like a siren's song calling me to get involved! It's like a daisy chain effect... one think links to another, which of course links to something else, then I certainly can't ignore this other thing, which is connected to a new thing, and so on and so on...
Karen, ain't that the truth about distractions, though? Perhaps that's a writer's mind. We'd never work out the conflicts of our characters if our minds didn't eagerly chase down so many different paths. :)
Ugh. Thanks for reminding me I have Golden Rose entries to judge. 55 pages. Way too many pages. And they want us to make lots of comments. I'd rather just give numbers. Easier for the judges but annoying for the contestants.
I would like to know how the Ritas are judged and by who.
Hi, Kendra!
Dang it! I hope I didn't ruin your vacation/working time after the kids go back to school with the contest reminder.
I'm helping to judge the Golden Rose also. I received my entries, but haven't looked closely at the packet yet. That will be a task for next week. I usually do the longer entries in stages, though. A first read through for a general impression, then go back and dig deeper.
I'll let Alice or someone else respond to your question about judging the Ritas. I think the judges are published authors, but that's pretty much all I know about them. :)
Kendra --Re: Judging Rita: It's been a couple of years since I've done it. You choose three categories you are willing to judge and whether or not you would be willing to judge the final round. At the appropriate time, you receive a packet in mail -- five or six books --which you read. Back the last time I did it, you only received a packet from one of the categories you chose, that may have changed. If you are a first round judge, you read the books and assign them a number (no comments) from 1-5, one being low, five high. Then you send in the sheet although I'm sure it's done on the Internet now. I assume if you are a final round judge, you receive the ties or top numbers -- not sure.
And yes, you have to be published to judge. There is, of course, no anonymity and I often wonder about this when it comes to assigning a score. I can see where being a popular author could work for or against you.
Post a Comment