November 2023: Revision Reflections
What I Learned from Being Judge-y
Hi, Community!
Today I want to talk about writing contests and why I think, while daunting, they can help improve your writing in surprising ways. As someone whose career took off because of them—and also whose writing improved because of them—I want to assure you they really can be worth the effort. Here are two examples:
After winning the work-In-Progress grant from SCBWI, I landed my first agent. He saw the description of my work in the SCBWI Newsletter after I won and found out how to contact me to request a submission!
After winning the PEN New England Discovery Award, I was invited to submit my work to Candlewick Press. I have been working with the same editor now for almost twenty years!
I have known many, many other authors who published their work after winning a writing contest (the various SCBWI contests are great examples of this). Contests may seem like an intimidating task, but they really can be a steppingstone toward publication, whether you win or not. This is because the submission process requires you to polish your opening pages with even more precision: How can I use the word count limitations to really make my work shine? How can I make this opening page or chapter end on a cliffhanger, or draw the reader in so quickly and successfully that they want to read more?
The process of submitting to contests showed me just how much every sentence matters. When given a limited word count, I also realized that every word matters. I’m not sure I would have learned how to edit as carefully as I do now if not for the experience of preparing work at this level of scrutiny.
Many years ago, I found myself on the other side of the page, as a judge! I had no idea what a learning experience this would be as well, but as soon as I began reading submissions, I quickly realized that my observations could be useful to other writers. That’s why today I want to share with you what I learned from being “judge-y.”
To start, for this particular contest I had to read LOTS of entries and quickly narrow them down to the ones I thought were the strongest and most deserving of the award. I imagine this process is similar to an agent or editor sorting through a large pile of unsolicited manuscripts (aka “the slush pile”) and having to decide what to pursue. I have been to many agent and editor presentations and heard them say things like, “When I have to go through a mountain of submissions, it’s easiest to look for reasons not to read on.” Ack! That always sounded so harsh to me. But I began to understand what they meant as I was faced with a similar task.
A manuscript that is poorly written on page one is not likely to inspire someone to keep reading if they have a mountain of other manuscripts to get through. I realize “poorly written” is subjective and sounds harsh, but I think looking at this task through an agent or editor’s eyes, this is what they mean when they bring up the issues they look for as automatic “no’s.”
When I started reading submissions, I saw these same patterns and realized my observations could be useful to others. I decided to take notes as I read to show just how often these patterns emerged. One thing that surprised me was how quickly I identified them—often in the very first paragraph (though I did read the full submission to be sure). Things that stood out most were:
• predictable plot or unoriginal story preachiness • (work that seemed to exist only to teach a lesson) • forced rhyming (or rhymes that lacked a consistent beat, thus making it hard to read).
What inspired me to put the work in a maybe or yes category was work that had:
• strong, original voice (I felt like I could hear the character) • active pacing/engaging plot • rich description that quickly grounded me in the time and place.
Below you’ll see the type of notes I made to identify what worked and what didn’t. I tried to put these into sub-categories, such as “voice” to show the various reasons I felt it wasn’t quite working, and later, why it did. I hope you can use these notes to look at your own opening pages and ask yourself if a judge like me—or an agent or an editor reading a submission—might feel the same way. I hope you find them helpful!
Comments on No's Voice: * Lacks voice/voice is very distant/narrator feels too removed from story * Voice doesn’t seem to match character’s age * Voice doesn't reflect time period (feels too modern for time depicted) Character Development: * Nice dialogue and description, but character motivation is unclear * Characters are too perfect to feel real * Not clear where the character is, how old they are, what their plight is * Seemed to be a few inconsistencies in relationships * Parents act in a way that doesn't make sense/not believable * Not feeling a connection to characters (all a bit one dimensional) Description/Setting: * Great first line but not enough action: too much telling/explaining rather than showing * No setting established/setting and time period not clear * The details don't help build the story/tension * Captivating in some ways but not grounded in a familiar world and without stage setting, it's too confusing to follow or understand what's happening and why Plotting and Pacing: * Inconsistent storyline/disjointed and hard to follow * Plot is vague * The writing is good, but the pacing is very slow * Story starts without any introduction of time/place/character * Chapters are short and disconnected—nothing seems to happen Dialogue: * Dialogue feels forced * Dialogue seems too light for a serious situation—it doesn't reflect what's actually going on * Writing is fresh but too much banter for too long—doesn't move the story forward or provide insight into characters Conflict: * No real conflict: not clear what's at stake for the main character * Nothing happens to pull the reader in: not clear what the character wants/needs * Author seems to be withholding crucial information for no clear reason Other: * Interesting subject matter but doesn’t feel like a story yet * Nice writing but feels too preachy/author's "cause" too transparent/more message than story * Too much action without context for why it’s happening * Nice writing but story feels forced/overdramatic * Premise is interesting and has promise but the tragedy is made light of in a strange/potentially harmful way * Subject is well-trod ground/unoriginal * Reads like a series of vignettes but the point of each isn't clear * Reads more like a summary than a story * Rhyming is forced/distracting: powerful story but might be more effective in free verse or prose Comments on Maybes Voice: * Story is compelling, but voice too distanced as written * Great writing but very inconsistent voice Character development: * Sweet characters * Nice dialogue—works to build character development beautifully * Good writing but felt very distant from main character—didn't know enough about them * Written in first person but feels more like a distant narrator * Second person interesting choice, but reads in a clunky way Pacing: * Lovely scene/setting descriptions but there’s no action for several pages * Too much telling/explaining where there doesn't need to be * Very good writing but very slow pace/story never really starts * Like the pacing and introduction to the secret. * Lack of any character/setting development before the big conflict happens * Plot/time span moves too quickly * Snappy dialogue but goes on a bit without moving plot forward * Great voice, wonderful writing, but 20 pages in and still getting backstory/nothing has happened Other: * Great voice and wonderful writing, but keeps dropping threads * Good writing but the format is hard to follow * Needs to be more engaging/too much looking back instead of showing story unfold * Very nice writing but the author’s agenda is too present on the page * Good writing but a bit too repetitive Comments on Yeses! (considered for win but didn’t make final cut) Overall Impressions on Writing/Description: * Really beautiful (I wrote this a lot!) * Rich details * Wonderful dialogue * Tension, heart, longing—all nicely conveyed * Love the mystery * Original, engaging voice/great storytelling voice * Perfect pacing and dialogue * A little agenda-y at end but I still love it Comments on Winners Overall Impressions on Writing/Description: * Original and ambitious story * Powerful opening * Beautiful writing: Got lost in story and invested in character immediately * Lyrical, light, moving * Simple and beautiful * Rich descriptions that don't slow down the pace * Perfect word choice with surprises that were a delight * Could see and feel every scene—sweet, but not too much so * Amazing voice! * Fantastic dialogue * Secondary characters very believable * Great character development from the first page * Love the hint of adventure and danger * Perfect pacing: nice balance moving story forward while still giving enough backstory and setting the scene * Wonderful balance of tension/action/suspense
I didn’t note above how often these issues came up for each entry, but many times the same reason was given for putting them as a no, maybe, or yes. You’ll see that as the work improved and was put into a “yes” category, I had fewer and fewer concerns about voice, character development, setting, pacing, etc. I was mostly just noting all the things I loved and appreciated.
By looking at these notes, hopefully you can think about how you’re implementing each craft element in your own work, or work you’re helping to give feedback on. I find it useful when helping writers polish their work to use these elements as a starting point to help them see what areas work well and what could use a bit more attention. My favorite part, of course, is highlighting the things I love!
I hope this will inspire you to consider polishing your first pages/chapters and submitting your work to some writing contests, both regional and national. The Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market is a good resource to find lists of such grants and awards to apply for. SCBWI also has numerous annual contests for children’s writers and illustrators. Finally, Poets & Writers Magazine offers an online database for all manner of writing contests, grants, and awards. If you know of specific places to apply, please feel free to leave a description and link in the comments! I’m cheering you all on!
Love,
Jo
[NOTE: A variation of this data was originally published in Jo’s LiveJournal many years ago. The contest these notes came from is intentionally not named, and Jo was an anonymous judge.]
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These are wonderful tips, Jo! Thanks so much. I’m revising a few stories, determined to send them out, so it’s perfect timing. 😊