SO YOU’RE GOING TO JUDGE A WRITING CONTEST…TIPS TO MAKE YOU THE BEST JUDGE POSSIBLE

BASICS

• Read the contest rules. Follow them. The coordinators will pre-screen entries to make sure they comply with formatting rules (typeface, number of lines per page, number of pages in the entry, etc.) It is your job to judge the writing. If the coordinator has sent you an entry, it has met the formatting requirements of the contest.

• If you receive an entry you’re uncomfortable with, contact the coordinator. Don’t penalize a well-written vampire entry because you don’t like vampire books.

• Remember to point out positives as well as negatives. It is just as important for a writer to know what she is doing right as well as what she’s doing wrong. As you read the entry, if you come across a description or phrase you particularly like, draw a smiley face or write, “nice image,” or “I like the way you said this.”

• Don’t be afraid to point out areas of the manuscript that need work. If you’re afraid to criticize for fear of hurting someone’s feelings, you’re not doing the writer any good and may actually be doing her harm. She will get the false impression that her work is perfect. She needs to know where her manuscript is not working, but please make your criticisms constructive and diplomatic.

• Some writers have a hang-up about red ink. They feel like a judge has taken a knife to their manuscript and slashed it to death.

• Print your comments so that they are legible. Although you can read your own handwriting, others may not be able to.

• Remember, you are judging an entry. It is not your responsibility to edit that entry. You do not need to correct errors, merely highlight them for the writer. Also, keep in mind that just because you would write a scene or a character differently, doesn’t make the author’s way wrong.

• Remember that you are judging the beginning of a manuscript. You can’t expect to learn everything about the hero/heroine in the first twenty or thirty pages. Don’t penalize a writer for dropping a teaser or hint of something to come and not answering all your questions in those pages. If she did, she’d have a short story, not the beginning of a book.

• If an entry is “almost there,” let the author know. If the entry is by a beginner and needs lots of help, try to be as encouraging as possible. We want the author to keep improving, not give up.

• Follow the guidelines for scoring on the scoresheet, and judge each item for its own merits. Don’t let your feelings for one part of the manuscript cloud your judgment for the rest of the manuscript. Keep personal feelings out of your scoring. If you’re sick of reading books set in Montana, don’t penalize the author of a well-written book for having set it in Montana.

MECHANICS

• An entry should be free of typos and spelling errors, but we all suffer from a short circuit between our brains and eyes every so often. No matter how many times we read and reread something, we often miss a “there” for a “their” or a “that” for a “than.” If you come across one or two, circle them to make the writer aware of the error. However, there is no excuse for an entry that has not been spell-checked. If you receive such an entry, circle the errors and suggest the author do a better job of self-editing before submitting her work next time.

• Keep in mind that punctuation is often a matter of style. If the writer uses punctuation in this manner, do not deduct points. If however, the author is making obvious punctuation errors, this is a problem that needs mentioning.

• Sentence structure is also a matter of style. Often a writer will use sentence fragments for effect to make a point, create an emotion, or capture a certain pattern of speech in dialogue. Note errors in sentence structure but do not penalize a writer for stylistic choices.

• Note grammar errors such as misplaced and dangling modifiers and subject-verb disagreement.

THE STORY

• As you read through the entry, look for the specifics detailed on the scoresheet. Judge the writing according to these items.

• Every scene should have a purpose. Sentences should be clear and understandable. Point out if the writer has gone off on a tangent about something superfluous to the scene, such as extraneous background information about a secondary character, too much detail, or too much description. By the same token, note if the author does not supply enough details and description for the scene.

• Point out if the work uses non-descript words such as “it” and “thing.” Suggest she find a more specific word.

• If the author has used clichés, suggest she find another phrase to describe the object, event, place, person. Clichés bore readers.

• Note repetitive word usage.

• Understand the definition of passive voice before you criticize the use of “was,” “been,” “were,” etc. Not every sentence using these words is passive.

• Check for repetitive sentence structure such as too many sentences beginning with “ing” words. Suggest varying sentence structure to make the work a more interesting read.

• Make sure the pacing is appropriate for the scene/event taking place. In the middle of a chase scene, the heroine shouldn’t be noticing the intricately detailed pattern of the hero’s tie.

• Check for bouncing point of view, but remember that Nora Roberts is not the only writer allowed to switch viewpoint mid-scene. However, if you feel like you’re at a ping-pong match, make the author aware of that (in a constructive way, of course.)

• Know your facts. If you feel the writer’s research is flawed, check your facts first. And don’t use television and movies or even other fiction you’ve read as reference points for your criticism. These are all notoriously error ridden. Anyone who has ever worked in an emergency room will tell you ER is nothing like the real thing. If you have doubts about something, highlight it, and make a notation to the author that you think the information might be incorrect, and she should double-check her facts, but don’t deduct points unless you can prove the author has her facts wrong (and list your proof).

SYNOPSIS

• A good synopsis will cover the goals, motivations, and conflicts of the hero and heroine and give a brief summary of the major events of the story, the turning points, the dark moment, and the resolution. It should not have descriptions of the characters, but it should tell who they are, where they are (place and time), what they want, why they want it, and what is keeping them from attaining it. It shouldn’t get bogged down with secondary characters and subplots. These should only be mentioned if they are pivotal. Make sure the author has told you how the story ends.