Some you Win

But some you lose some. That’s how I view contests—after the disappointment of not finalling wears off. No one ever wins all the contests they enter, do they? I think not, though there might be a few exemptions to prove the rule.

So when I didn’t final in a recent contest, I accepted it philosophically. Like a big girl. After all, I’m a grandmother. I refuse to pout like a child. That doesn’t mean I’m too grown up to vent a little to my friends. But just a little.

Counting other contests and critiques, I estimate fifteen knowledgeable people have raked over this manuscript submission and offered solid suggestions. I always give credence to judges’ comments and often (usually) incorporate their ideas for improvement. They see problems I can’t spot because I’m too close to my story, so I pay close attention to other writers’ opinions. Most writers do. Feedback is one of the best reasons to enter a contest. Okay, getting your pages in front of an editor is even better.

But in this particular contest I received a low score from one of the judges. I carefully re-read her (or maybe his) comments to see where she/he went wrong. No, no—where I went wrong. This judge called my heroine unsympathetic and unlikable, or words to that effect. Now that raised my hackles! I thought I’d created a spunky heroine with lots of endearing qualities. But the judge said she thought my heroine’s behavior was unchristian. A good assessment since she wasn’t a Christian. But that was the point! My character becomes a believer half way through the story, but at the beginning she’s driven to do something unethical but justifies it because her motivation is selfless. Obviously this judge didn’t get it! Or maybe I didn’t get it.

Then I realized to justify a dastardly deed, you have to give exceptionally strong motivation. And in this story I should have explained the heroine wasn’t a believer. I thought I more than hinted at all, but maybe it was too subtle. Apparently I hadn’t found the right balance between too subtle and hitting the reader over the head with a sledge hammer. This isn’t hard to correct mistake and fixing it will clarify the actions of the heroine and hopefully place her in a more sympathetic light.

Readers don’t like to see Christians behaving as heathens and neither do editors. We need to add a flaw or two to make our characters more real, but unrepentant sin isn’t acceptable. And it’s not smart to allow even one reader to think we’re letting our Christian hero or heroine act in an unethical or immoral way. We don’t want any reader to throw our book across the room in disgust. We don’t want an editor to throw our manuscript across the room in disgust, either.

So I’ll be sure to correct this before I send the chapter out again to any contest and certainly to any editor. Which brings me to the importance of the first chapter, the first page and the first paragraph. I’m sure we all understand how crucial it is to get off to a great start—and how hard that can be.

On the first page or in the first paragraph remember to answer the who, what, where, when and why questions. Name your heroine and establish the scene in her point of view.

Decide what’s at stake by establishing a goal.

Begin your story with an important action. Don’t bore your reader with copious details on the first page. (Don’t bore her later, either!)

It’s a great idea to show your character in her natural environment performing a typical daily activity—a teacher teaching, a preacher preaching, a writer writing -- or surfing the net, playing computer games, answering e-mails. You get the point.

Give a few facts about the heroine’s situation so we can quickly understand her goal, motivation and conflict. To create a bond between her and the reader make the heroine sympathetic and likable.

Set the tone.

Jump right into your conflict.

Very important -- draw the reader into your story emotionally. Romance novels are all about emotion, i.e. passion.

Make them laugh, make them cry, but don’t make them yawn!