Contests: Reaching for the stars.

Writers plant their behinds in the chair, spending time at the computer or Alphasmart, or even in front of that clean sheet of paper and write. That’s a given.

Writers read. They read for pleasure, edification and escape, as well as to refill their creative tanks and examine what the author did to make the story great. The more we write and the more we read with a discerning eye, the better writers we’ll become.

Or so we hope. 

But let’s face it, writers can make the same mistakes over and over and never realize what’s not working. Even reading craft books and taking online classes can’t always teach us what we need to do since its difficult to view our work objectively.

That’s where critique partners and contests can make all the difference.

With red ink slashing across my prose, my critique partner reminds me that once again my talking heads need actions, physical reactions, or introspection. That I lost the opportunity to use the setting to underscore the scene’s emotion. She notes where the pace slows. Where the action doesn’t further the plot. Or that I forgot every scene must have a point. Ouch. That last one hurts. Everything she suggests is meant to take my work to the next level.

But one thing she can’t do, that contests can, is give my manuscript fresh eyes. Often we've brainstormed the story and she knows it so well that she can lose her objectivity. Or she may have the same issue with her own work. Don't tell her I said that. :-)

Nor does she give me a plaque, or put my name in the contest pages of "Romance Writers Report" or announce my name as a winner at a conference that says I did a great job on my story. Guess there are some things a crit partner can’t do. 

But here's the good news: contests can.

You knew that was coming. :-) Contests are a writer's way to reach for the stars.

I'm using the letters in CONTESTS to share how to make contests work for you.

C is for courage. It’s tough to put our work out there for strangers to critique. Writers need to develop a thick skin. This story may be our baby, but if we’ve been around infants, we know that to keep them smelling sweet, we’ll need to clean them up. Think of the judges’ comments as the wipes, talcum, and lotion that will make our work a pleasure to read. The courage we gain from contests will carry over when we submit to agents and editors.

O is for organized. Contests have different fees, rules, deadlines and score sheets. Before we enter, we need to examine the rules and deadlines so we won't get our entry disqualified and lose the entry fee. We should look at score sheets to see what our chapter will be judged on and see if we can improve on those areas before sending. The experience we've gained is invaluable when submitting to editors and agents that also have guidelines they want writers to follow. 

N is for networking. Contests are great ways to get our names out there. Entering lets others know we’re serious about our writing. When we final, then win, our peers will notice. Many of us have made friends through contests. Best of all, targeted editors that are final judges will start recognizing our names and our talent. Hopefully, they’ll buy that manuscript they loved, but if not, we may have advantage when meeting them at conferences.

T is for teachable. To gain from contests, we need to be teachable. This is all about attitude. When we writers consider the suggestions, take the criticism, we’ll see our work more objectivity and can improve our craft. Dealing with criticism is great practice for pleasing an editor one day. 

E is for energizes. Entering contests adds zing to this solitary, often discouraging business. Entering contests means we’re in the game. We have an objective. High scores make us feel ten miles tall. Low scores may be disappointing but they won’t drain us unless we make the mistake of viewing contests as only a win or lose proposition. Contests are teaching tools. Lap up the feedback, give ourselves time to digest it and we just might fatten up our fortitude.

S is for savvy. Not everything a judge says will be right for our story or even accurate, which is why feedback is sometimes contradictory. Over time, we writers learn to discern which advice to reject, which to keep. The best clue for when to take the advice is when more than one judge gives the same suggestions or when the advice resonates with us, giving one of those wonderful “aha” moments.

T is for tenacity. Writers can’t allow a low score or red ink to derail them. Publication necessitates persistence. Once published, authors will still need to hang tough through editor's rejections--yes, not every story a published author submits to her editor will be bought--and revisions on the stories they do buy. Guess it’s true--nothing worthwhile is easy.

S is for satisfaction. It feels good to polish the work the best we know how, to be successful in following all those sometime confusing contest rules. The praise of judges sprinkled among the criticisms keeps us going. It’s a glorious feeling to final. Winning is magical. It's the first step toward seeing our name on a cover. When nothing is coming in but rejections, this satisfaction is huge.

If you haven’t entered a contest, let this be the year. Make it a late New Year’s resolution. If you do and learn from the feedback, your contest experiences will be happy ones.

Blessings, Janet