Yeah, I tend to jump to the worst conclusions sometimes. I opened up the email and this is what it said:
I just reviewed the entries you judged for the Daphne. I want to say what a great job you did.
Can you tell me a little about your writing background? I'm intrigued with your insightful comments.
Oh, okay--
I dun good. :-)
But I had to review my comments on the six entries to see what I had actually written. I judge so many contests every year that I don't think about the entries after I return them. I might check the titles if I happen to see a list of the contest finalists, but that's it.
I have to admit that I did a pretty decent job of judging this batch of entries. I approach judging contest entries a little bit differently than many writers.
- I open EVERY document hoping to be WOW'd. I totally understand agents/editors in this regard. I love, love, LOVE reading a story that might have craft issues, but speaks to the reader.
- I go with my gut instinct the first time I read the entry. Many judges will read the story and then go back to the entry and judge it. I find that this tends to result in nit-picking on my part, so I don't do it.
- I go with the BIG PICTURE items. When I first started writing I was asked to join a crit group--to be perfectly honest, I simply wasn't ready to join this group. Though I gathered a few nosebleeds while climbing the learning curve, I needed help with the 'big picture' stuff--pacing, emotion, dialogue, etc. Don't get me wrong, I loved and appreciated their patience! And boy did they have to be patient!
A while back, there was a conversation on RWA's PRO loop about edits. Many people chimed in and said that they do the line edits first and then worry about the big stuff later.
HUH???
Why would you waste your time 'fixing' sentences if you don't address the big stuff first? That's insane!
Think about it for a second. Okay, that's enough thought.
--If you have a pacing issue and need to cut sentences, paragraphs, scenes or even CHAPTERS, what good does it do to make your verbs more active or place your comma in another spot? Been there done that with GNOME. It wasn't until my TENTH edit did I cut 7000 words (3 chapters) and rewrite chapter 1(1500 words) to fix the pacing.
--if your editor wants you to combine two characters into one. This changes the personality/internal conflict/motivation of the character. Did it with FAERIE and it DOES trickle down throughout the story.
--if you need to thread-in another plot line, or deepen the character's motivation, or whatever
If there's a bigger problem to address and it needs to be addressed BEFORE line edits.
Now, this is just my opinion, so take it or leave it.
Later, Peeps!
Big picture stuff is what I've finally learned to do this last year. That's why I give my whole ms. to my CPs instead of a few chapters at a time. It's harder to see the big picture in a few chapters.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great email to get! Good for you!
In most my criting and judging I look for the big picture stuff--that's where MY strength are, Edie. . . Which is why you don't want me to be your last beta read to catch the 'stupid' stuff, because I usually miss it. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't believe how much stuff Amy found when she did the final read on GNOME before I published it--Oi!!
Great email. I think you've just fine tuned my judging techniques.
ReplyDeleteI do too much line edit. Make a note once, then go on.
Meg, I think a lot of judges fall into the CRITIQUE mindset, instead of JUDGING AN ENTRY FOR PUBLICATION mindset.
ReplyDeleteThese are two very different things. While both strive to improve the entry, judging an entry gives the submitter one shot to get it right--very much like querying an agent or editor. Screw it up the first time and they won't be interested.
--and if you think they won't know you're subbing the same manuscript a year later--THINK AGAIN. I've had the SAME entry to judge in a contest TWO YEARS LATER and recognized it. Yes, I sent it back to the coordinator because my comments would have been the same as they had been two years previously.
Line edits won't fix characterization issues, or backstory dumps, or unrealistic cause and effect plotting problems or a myriad of other issues.
I simply put those types of comments under one comment (need to strengthen verbs--and give an example) and move on. Yes, sometimes it makes judging difficult when the entire submission is full of the same mistake a CP could have fixed prior to the author entering the submission in the contest, but thems the breaks.
I find judging contests difficult. If it's a short contest -- 15, 25 pages -- you're not seeing enough to get a real feel for the book. If it's a long one -- 50 pp -- a so-so or bad one can exhaust you.
ReplyDeleteI prefer critiquing -- as long as I know what the person is looking for. I am a line editor, and after our experiences, I try to warn people. Not fixing a sentence or correcting a misspelled word makes my fingers itch. LOL.
I've stopped judging the long entries for precisely that reason, Marilyn. The bad ones are KILLERS!
ReplyDeleteThe only exception is the contest put on by the Golden Network--that one is scored like the Golden Heart (1-9), but you give the entrant feedback. No trying to assign a numerical value for every nitpicky breakdown like in most contests.
Most of the entries that I've judged over the years, I've been able to 'see' what is going on with the entry, though there have been a couple of exceptions. One time I judged a 30 page entry and it wasn't until pg 28 did I realize it was all back-story--beautifully written back-story, but back-story nonetheless.