Okay, the Hook, Line and Sinker Contest is now officially opened. First, make sure you have signed in as a follower of the blog, then send your first line to liz@lizlipperman.com in the body of the email. Any attachment will be automatically deleted. Make sure I know who you are if you signed in at the blog in a different name. If I can’t find you, you will not be added.
Addendum: Because I messed up and gave the wrong email address, I am now sending every entrant an "I got it" email. If you don't get one, you'll need to resend. If you still do not receive a 'I got it' the second time the back up email is cassy@cassypickard.com
Then come back and read this encore blog about judging contests. I thought it was appropriate for today. At 5PM Texas time, I will post the fifty first lines. Good luck, everyone. Feel free to comment on the entries. Let’s have a lively discussion that can teach even the old dogs new tricks. God, I love clichés!
Now on to judging contests. Can you remember the first time you entered a contest? If you're like me, you had no idea what head hopping was. You wrote the story as it unfolded in your own head. Speaking for myself, with each contest I entered, I learned something new about the craft of writing. Granted, a lot of contest judges took their jobs too seriously and felt like it was their duty to discourage me from ever writing again, but mostly, I received invaluable constructive criticism. Then there was this one judge whose comment was so absolutely ridiculous that I still laugh when I think about it. I write mystery/adventure. Right in the middle of a high-drama kidnap scene in a foreign country where the bad guys have thrown my heroine into the back of the van and are racing away from the police at a high rate of speed, this judge downscores me because I didn't tell her if the van had windows.
Seriously???
I kept saying I was going to quit entering contests because I always had one or two judges who absolutely loved my voice and one who hated me. Consequently, I never finaled. Part of the reason for the mixed reviews was the fact that I always entered romance contests with manuscripts that I now know never followed the "romance" rules, despite having tender love affairs and happy endings.
The judges who scored me really low were usually following the score sheets (that's another whole blog) with a black or white interpretation. I write gray. My hero and heroine rarely meet in the first chapter. My better scores came from judges who I can only assume saw something in the voice and the writing and modified the scores.
Because I had such mixed reviews on my entries, I am a much more tolerant judge myself. I look for writing that makes me sad when the pages end. I've even been known to tell a few entrants I wish I had the full manuscript. But no matter whether I score the entry high or low, I usually take something away with me. After reading an entry where most of the sentences start with he/she bullet points, I always go back and make sure I vary my own sentence beginnings. And I can't tell you how many great stories I've read that have no hook - anywhere. It makes me work even harder to end all my scenes with a good one.
Although judging contests can be a real time drain, I will continue to look at it as a free craft lesson. Plus, it's a good way for me to pay it forward for all the great advice I've ever received from other authors. It's hard hearing someone say your baby is ugly, but after a week or so, I usually take a second look and see if there's any merit to the critique. If there is, it was worth the $25 bucks. If not, I strike a match to it and work harder.
I'm curious if anyone out there feels the way I do about judging contests. If you have any great stories, I'd love to hear them. I just finished judging a GH entry. It started with way too many choppy sentences, and I was convinced I would score it low. By the time I finished the excerpt, I was laughing so hard, I was crying. I didn't score it low, believe me. I only wish I could tell the author to tone down the choppy sentences. Like everything else, moderation is the key.
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33 comments:
I feel very much the same way about contests. When I'm judging our HVRWA contest, I often learn what mistake to avoid. And if an entry sings to me and I want to read on, I'll find a way to score it high, even if it doesn't strictly conform to some of the items on our score sheet.
Oh hell!!! I just noticed I had a mistake in my email address listed on this post. If you sent me a first line and used lip@lizlipperman.com, I didn't get it. It's liz@lizlipperman.com.
Resend the original email and if the time line is right, it will be entered.
Sorry. When will I learn to edit a million times??
Terri, I'm glad to hear someone else sees the gray in entries and is flexible with the scoring.
What I see a lot of when I'm judging is right in the middle of a high-drama scene, the writer will throw in how the flowers smelled or what they looked like. We've had it drilled into us that we must use the five senses in every scene. I try to tell them I don't care what the flowers smelled like. Tell me about smell only if it ups the suspense - like the coppery smell of blood or the smell of a decaying body.
Thanks for commenting. Where's your entry, BTW?
Liz: I've only entered one contest. But I felt like the Three Bears. One really didn't like my work. One thought I had potential and wanted to see more. The last one LOVED my work- ahh, just right.
I co-coordinated our RWA chapter's contest this year. It was an interesting process to hear what judges said they needed and wanted to do a good job. I think everyone really tried to give her/his best. It just seems rather subjective at times as to what "best" means.
There was just a long discussion on one of the loops I'm on about judging contests, with some high emotion and all. I guess I'm either tolerant or lucky. I've never taken contest comments personally and almost always glean some useful information from them. I have always entered contests to get feedback, not necessarily to get my ms in front of an agent. And I judge the same way. First and foremost, it's the story and continuity.
Thanks for a great blog, Liz. And have fun with that contest!
Great Blog Liz! I'm with Cassy on this one, I always have a judge that loves me, one that hates me and one that's indifferent. So I read them through and use what helps me.
But I usually don't enter many.
Ah, Liz, God bless you for saying you'll continue to judge contests. I myself see so much that I'm doing right a-n-d what I'm doing wrong by entering. I also see what writers are overdoing and what editors and agents might find cliche.
Selfishly, for all those people who say they don't have time to judge contests, it's a real eye opener (hey Liz, I can do cliches, too), as to what is landing on an editor's or agent's desk. You'll also be able to determine if you're giving them more of the same.
Regarding the low scores, I want to give you a different slant on low scores. I've done very well in contests. Perfect scores at times, which makes a body feel pretty darn good. I've also received low scores, and after I stamp off my indignation, and sit down to read those comments, I find that some of them really can improve my story. I love the nice scores, it's a real boon to the old ego, but when I want to get down and see if I can improve my ms., I check out the comments of the low scoring judges.
Thanks, Liz! You have the best blogs!
I heard that if you are consistently mixed reviews, it meant you had a strong voice. WTF?
What it really means is reading preferences are totally subjective. I read an entry for a contest not too long ago where the subject and genre were really not my cup of tea, but the writing was so good, I judged it solely on that.
Laurie, thanks for commenting.
Some people I know consistently score well in contests. As I mentioned, I NEVER finaled even when I managed to get a perfect score from at least one judge.
In a perfect world, the questions for judging would allow for more flexibility or at least the judgees would be encouraged to put more importance on good writing.
That said, you can't enter the Daphne, for example, with a sweet contemporary. It's a mystery contest and with a lack of mystery or suspense, good writing or not, I couldn't score it high.
I think I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth. I should have been a politician!!!
Mary, sounds like you are in that "strong voice" club I mentioned to Cassy a few comments ago.
My contest days are over, too.
Thanks for giving us a judge's perspective, I'm finally beginning to understand! My GH had a 9.0 and a 2.0 which gave me a big HUH? Now that has changed to an AHah!
cheers, Kathy.
Ah, Donnell, you always manage to say something provocative. Are you trying to make me believe you EVER got a bad score?????
Folks, Donnell is one of those fortunate writers who finals in most every contest she enters. She is a past GH finalist and made it again this year with her latest RS.
Just kidding. I know we all have the scars of low scores. And your take on finding them the most helpful in improving your manuscript has its merits. It's the old what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger way of thinking. (Ha! You have to go a long way to beat me cliches!!)
Thanks for commenting.
Don't worry Liz, even editors make mistakes. At least you caught yours and admit it. But I'd love to know where you made the mistake cause I've looked and looked and can't find it. But, oh well. But I do appreciate you taking the time to notify us that you DID receive the entry.
Rules are made to be broken. And one of them is the H&H meeting in the first chapter. There are times especially when writing mystery or suspense where that might not be possible.
Just as in life, in writing there have to be gray areas. If you (ed.) get so hung up on all the picky things, like what the character is wearing, of course clothes, then you'll never get past writing that scene. Unless what the peep has on is important to the scene. Spending untold numbers of word count describing what the peep has on, to my mental midget mind, takes word count away from the actual story.
And in judging and being judged I've found it's the little things like that which take away from the real story.
It's the same with my writing. Why not spread the scene description out and blend it into different parts of the story.
Wouldn't it be so great to take the subjectiveness out of judging.
LOL, Liz, don't mean to provoke, and I'll send you all my nonfinaling entries.... Will you pay for the moving van, though? My budget won't budge!
Also, here's another provocation. Consider entering contest even though you're published. Not only do contests garner you new readers who might never have picked up your book, but there's nothing like having award-winning splashed on your cover... well, or so I've been told by excited authors who win published contests ;)
Oh, Katt, those scores are killers. You are definitely in the club.
Hang in there. Unfortunately, the GH offers no feedback so you can't even find out why the "East Germany" judge scored you so low.
Thanks for sharing. I once had a GH judge knock my NRE entry down because she said it was not a romance. Hello?? Isn't that what Novel with Romantic elements means????
It's a crap shoot!
Lindsay, I hear you on using the word count for the really important descriptions, but I will be the first to tell you, I could use more of it in my writing. I am nearly finished with my manuscript, and I promised myself I will add several pages of descriptions. I fall into that action, action, action routine and forget sometimes my readers would like to know my heroine is wearing a flowery perfume that reminds my hero of his dead wife.
Oh, God! I promise that is NEVER in my stories, but you get the point.
Donnell, get outta here with the moving van thing. This is me you're talking to.
Point taken on entering contests with my published book. It's all so scary. I just want one person to say they liked it!!
We writers are so needy - and our otherwise great self-esteem seems to take a dive when it comes to what we create.
Can I get an "Amen."
Amen to that
Oh, dear, where's my entry? Hmm. Okay. Well, first, I did make an attempt around 10 am EDT or so and it bounced back. Then I couldn't actually remember which screen name I'd used. Then, searching for something appropriately mysterious, I realized I'd entered that one in another on-line contest and have to remain anonymous. If you don't have your requisite 50 by 4:30 your time, email me and I'll send it along!
I too get mixed scores. The published judges love me and consistently the unpubbed don't. Go figure:)
I've judged a lot of contests, and like Liz, I score on the writing and how the story moved me. I know there are judges who follow the romance rules to the point that they miss a good story. I never finaled in a contest until after I'd sold. I'd always get 2 judges who loved my entry and one who hated it. Frankly, I never really got great feedback from any of the contests I entered. Good blog.
Carolyn Matkowsky/Cara Marsi
Folks, we had a major glitch today. My phone, Internet and email all went out at the same time. A frantic call to Verizon had a service guy on the way before they called to tell me it was a main headquarters thing and not on my end. So, it is all fixed, hopefully, but because of the glitch, the contest is extended to midnight tonight. However, we are getting close to the cut-off for entries, and I will post them as soon as we reach 50. I was hoping we could jaw about them before tomorrow. There are some really good ones!!
Kudos to all of you out there who have ever been contest coordinators. It's not for sissies!!
Debbie, you're not the first person I've heard say they get better scores from published authors? Do you think unpubbed writers have so many things thrown at them that they HAVE to look for in a manuscript (H/H - first chapter, sexual tension, first chapter, five senses?) that sometimes, they miss just good story-telling?
Again, I'd like to see score sheets revised, but it's still pretty much subjective. I'm sure the judges for this contest will pick the ones that jump out at them, too.
Thanks for commenting.
Carolyn, it's funny you never finaled until after you sold. Did your writing all of a sudden get better? I think not. I'd like to believe there's been so much back and forth on the judging issue that people are starting to realize good writing is good writing - period.
Thanks to people like you for taking your precious writing time to give back.
Thanks for commenting.
Okay, this is my first contest--because all I had to do was e-mail in the first line, natch.
However, try as I might, I can not see the difference between the right e-mail address and the wrong one.
I do enjoy your blog, even if I do drink a lot more green tea than margaritas. Thanks for the fun!
Liz, I do think that score sheets often hobble jedges from giving good scores to great stories. I try to look at the score sheets before I enter any manuscript. One I looked at recently asked for the first ten pages and had an entire score section based on things that weren't happening in my first ten pages (for good reason:)) Needless to say, I didn't bother entering that one!
About unpubbed judges, well, I am one so I guess I can't be too prejudiced against them, LOL. Based on some of the things I've been marked down for I would have to say that I think they take the technicalities way too serious sometimes. And, of course, there is occassionally the judge who believes some myth about what you must do or how you must do something and drops your scores accordingly. But, overall, it could just be the whole judging is subjective thing.
Lyn, I tricked you. Since I have "special" powers, I went in and corrected the error before I even told anyone!!
And although I talk a good game, I'm a one margarita kinda girl. I get a bad headache when I drink, but once in a while, it's worth the pain. I love margaritas. Here in Texas, we have a margarita swirl, which is a frozen margarita with sangria wine swirled in it. Oh my!
LOl, Debbie, I still consider myself an unpubbed judge, too. I judged a contest recently and got to check Published in a Non Romance, even though my stories always have romance and a hero's POV.
I agree sometimes the very studious new judges want to do everything right and judge strictly on the black and white. As I mentioned, I write gray, and it sounds like you do, too. In one of my stories where my heroine is kidnapped in Costa Rica and taken to Colombia, I was marked down because there was no sexual tension in the first chapter. (That's the same story that got knocked down because I didn't mention that the van had windows.
Sheesh!!
Thanks for commenting. This discussion is very helpful as one commenter mentioned.
I love it that you are posting about judging contests. Most of the time, the feedback is good and dead on. Even the negative feedback can bring about some good changes in a manuscript.
I've been helping with RWA contests for years and had the same duty when I was on the National Board. Things have come a long way and discussion is good.
I just recently won the Realizing the Dream contest from Desert Rose Chapter. It's the first time I've ever won a contest and I am still jazzed about it.
However, when I saw my scores I thought they weren't high enough to place at all. It was a real shocker to find out I had won.
Still, it made me wonder about how a writer's mind can be geared to perfect contest scores. I used to call myself the queen of the three chapters because of it. LOL!
And I love what I've seen of the blog. I joined late today because of your first line contest but I will stay because of the content I see.
Woo hoo, Lynn, congrats on finaling. No wonder you are still on Cloud Nine. Take it from someone who never finaled, it's a big deal.
I agree the more we talk about judging contests, the better it will be for all of us. As I mentioned earlier, one of the GH entries I judged that I was sure would score low had me laughing like a fool when I finished. I was so angry I didn't have the full manuscript.
As far as the first three chapters go, I've heard a lot of agents/editors say they get all excited over a partial and when they get the full, they are really disappointed. As a mystery writer, I try to make every chapter end with a good hook.
Thanks for commenting and smooches for the compliment on the blog. We're glad you'll be joining us again.
Fabulous discussion everyone! What a day! Wrong email addy, computer glitches, crazy schedules ... it just shows we're human, and so are you! But being human and dealing with issues in our lives daily is what we do as writers every day. We persevere, never give up, and never quit! Booyah, good luck to you all!
I have to say I've avoided contests for the most part. I think I entered one. I felt like it would be a waste of time because the judges vary so much and also I tend to take feedback too seriously at times. I'd probably sabatoge my entire writing career based on one bizarre opinion.
But on the other hand, I can see there would be a lot of benefit. Editors also vary greatly in what they like, and these judges are probably readers, so you're getting a reader's feedback. And as one person said here, you're seeing what is crossing an editor's desk. I probably should've entered more.
But I do think this contest is a great idea. We all love catchy first lines.
Ladies,
As Murphy likes to say, "Nothing can go wrong, go wrong, go wrong."
I have all the faith in the world the contest will continue without any more problems
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