The Ethics of Coordinating a Contest
A little while ago I did a post on the difficulties of judging the GH. Today I have some comments on being a category coordinator for my local RWA chapter contest. Judging the GH was a piece of cake compared to this job!
I have a new appreciation for the ethical dilemmas of contest coordinators. For new judges–making sure they are mentored in their judging, and don’t submit scores that are too low or too high. That is a very gray area. If a person has never judged before, and gives an entrant a very low score, say a 30, would you bring it to their attention? Okay, I hear all the “yeses” out there. But what if they give someone a 50? Some judges, such as myself, believe that a score of 50 should be reserved for entrants whose entries aren’t submitted in English. But others feel that a “50” is a justifiable score. So do you call the judge out on that or not?
If an entrant “deserves” a 50, I still would not give them a 50. Why? Because I believe a 50 is a crushing score. A brand new writer, maybe entering a contest for the first time, may not know the basics of a romance entry in a contest. They may not understand about internal conflict and external conflict. Their plot may be weak or nonexistent. Their dialogue may be stilted and their writing may be full of cliches. Their characters may behave erratically and you may despise their hero or heroine. This person is never going to win the contest, so why crush them? In my opinion, giving them a score in the 60s or 70s serves the same point–it tells them their writing needs more work, but in a far less vicious way.
People enter contests for one reason–for feedback. And our job when we volunteer to judge is to deliver that feedback in the most mentoring way possible.
I just cannot understand the mentality of judges who may deliver spot-on criticism but dish it out in the cruelest way possible. Statements like I hate your hero, your heroine is too stupid to live, your characters are not interesting, you don’t have a plot, etc. are tactless and hurtful. The tone and the delivery of such comments demonstrates a lack of skill set on the part of the judge.
If judges would imagine they are sitting across from someone telling them these comments, would they phrase them in quite the same way?
When you are up close and personal with someone who looks vulnerable, the answer is NO.
So why be that way on paper?
Do judges like this assume the worst about people–that they are lazy and didn’t do their homework and so deserve to be treated as harshly as possible? Sort of a “tough love” philosophy? I imagine in my mind that these are the same people who would say that anyone living in poverty should just stop whining and get a job. Maybe they feel publishing is a difficult business and people may as well hear how badly they suck right up front?
Can we not assume that contest entrants are simply at different skill levels, with different access to knowledge and mentoring? They are looking for feedback, are likely not confident about their writing, just looking for some help. Why crush someone’s dream?
When I did peer tutoring at the university writing center in grad school, we were taught to always point out what the student did well first. Play to their strengths, and then they are more willing and able to accept their weaknesses. (My experience is that this works with kids, too.) Statements like, “portions of _____(your plot, your dialogue, the actions of your hero, whatever) confused me because…” or “I really think you could amp up the conflict by…” or I think your ____ is good, but I would make the following suggestion…” are so much more tactful and kind. They still get the message across, too. And the person doesn’t go home crying!
Judges volunteer their time and spend a lot of time on their entries. And a contest coordinator has a responsiblitiy to be fair to the entrants while not manipulating anyone into changing their scores. But if a judge tends to be very direct and critical, I would at least like to see a general statement about the entry given up front that mentions its strengths before the judge plunges into a page of criticism.
Because there is always something good to be said.
What Leslie Dow Learned from Lori Wilde–a post from Savvy Authors
Aspiring autrhor Leslie Dow did a post on Savvy Authors today about being savvy in the business of writing called “What I Learned from Lori Wilde.” Lori offers a write-a-novel-in-six-months class through Savvy U.that Leslie took and enjoyed a lot.
You can read Leslie’s full post at Savvy Authors here.
Pearls from this post follow. Lori says, “Your writing is neither as bad as you fear nor as good as you hope.” The truth is likely somewhere in between and can be controlled by hard work and perserverance in honing your craft. Writing is a businesss in which an author produces a product for the marketplace. You can produce the finest writing in the world, but if there’s no market, you have no sale. Study and apply techniques from authors who are at the top of their genre. And network, even if you are the world’s greatest introvert. It takes people besides ourselves sitting day in and out at your keyboard to succeed in this business!
Great tips to remind us that we can’t write in a vaccuum.
SEP’s Character Description–Why I Think It Works
The reason I think this description (see post from earlier today) is so fantastic is that SEP describes our hero not by looks alone but by his looks as they relate to his personality.
–The heroine assumes there is something about him that proclaims he was not born into blue blood–but had a rough past.
–His hair color is the color of brown between a glass of Bud and a leather portfolio–he’s surrounded by leather in his office, the glass of Bud she can picture him enjoying
–The other comments pertain to the obvious level of success he’s attained, the hard work he does and his passion for it.
A description like this would never be possible on a first draft (at least for me). You really have to know your character spot on to do such a concise description like this!
How to Describe Your Hero (the Susan Elizabeth Phillips Way)
I’ve been doing a lot of judging lately–for the GH, for my local chapter contest. And a lot of editing on my own manuscript.
Here’s what I’m noticing: a lot of writers, myself included, prefer dark haired heros with dark eyes.
After a while, how sick can you get of describing ebony, black as night, jet black, dark, brown, mysterious, black as midnight, exotic–you know what I mean. Seems like you just drain yourself (and thesaurus.com) of words to describe your hero’s dazzling, ever-changing hair and eyes as you’re writing him through the 300+ pages of your manuscript.
But then I read this. This passage is taken from page 7 of Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. What follows is the very first description of the hero, Heath Champion, also known as The Python, through the eyes of the heroine Annabelle Granger, who is just taking over her grandmother’s matchmaking business. He does sports PR at the highest level–the same job as Jerry MacGuire. She first sees him sitting behind the desk in his very high-end office:
(I had to take a deep breath and stop reading after this paragraph. It just bowled me over!)
“He was square-jawed and tough, everything about him proclaiming a brash, self-made man–a roughneck who’d flunked charm school the first couple of times around but had finally gotten it right on the third pass. His hair was thick and crisp, its rich color a cross between a leather portfolio and a bottle of Bud. He had a straight, confident nose and bold dark eyebrows, one of which was bisected near the end with a thin pale scar. The firm set of his well-molded mouth proclaimed the low tolerance for fools, a passion for hard work that bordered on obsession, and possibly–although this might be her imagination–a determination to own a small chalet near St. Tropex before he was fifty. If it weren’t for a vague irregularity to his features, he would have been unbearably gorgeous. Instead, he was merely drop-dead good-looking. What did a man like this need with a matchmaker?”
Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Match Me If You Can
Writing like this is why SEP is a goddess!
What makes this different–what makes it stand-out writing?
(I’m going to come back later and tell you why I love this so much.)
Top Ten Stories Announced in Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest
The top ten stories selected by popular vote in the Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest have just been posted by editor Laurel Ann Nattress–AND MINE IS ONE OF THEM!!!
THANK YOU TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHOM I TORMENTED MERCILESSLY OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS TO VOTE FOR ME. AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO MAY HAVE LIKED IT WHO IS NOT RELATED TO ME. Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
CONGRATULATIONS, Everyone!!! Be sure to go to pemberley.com to read these stories–one will be selected for the Jane Austen anthology coming out this fall by Ballantine books! And don’t forget the other 78 unique and creative stories still posted as well. All so well done!
The Top Ten stories listed alphabetically by author are:
54 – Sophy and the Armada, by K. Ann Adams
56 – The Love Letter, by Brenna Aubrey
25 – The Marrying of Margaret, by Tracie Banister
78 – Assuming: A Tale of Persuasion, by Hannah Cowan
23 – Carpe Diem, by Jane Greensmith
85 – Mary Bennett Falls Head Over Heels, by Jenni James
70 – The Lost Portrait of Jane Austen, by Miranda Liasson (THAT’S ME!!!)
31 – Attempting Elizabeth, by Jessica Melendez
04 – Spinning White Hair Gold, by Megan Snider
16 – Mr. Collins Last Supper, by Shannon Winslow