Why I Entered the Frasier and Why I'm Entering Again

With 2011 MBT Frasier winner
(and my crit partner!!) Andrea Nell

It wasn't because I wanted to final or had any ideas of winning when I entered the 2011 My Book Therapy (MBT) Frasier contest. (You can read my reasons for entering last year in this post I wrote a year ago)

It was with scoff that I didn't get off the exercise bike when I heard the phone ring on the fateful day when I knew the finalists were being called--that won't be for me. And it was with overwhelming amazement when I finally finished my work-out and called Susan May Warren back...to find out I had finalled in the Frasier. 

I can still hear that message on the machine. W.O.W.

But that isn't what my post is about (think memory alert flash). Because, do I plan to enter the Frasier again this year? YES!

Do I expect or plan to final only because I did last year? NO!

Oh goodness, no. But that deserves a little bit more explaining.

What prompted me to enter the Frasier?
Two things:

Susan May Warren.

And the judges results.

Susie is an incredible coach and teacher and when she said she was debuting a new contest, I knew this was something I could learn from and that leads to my second reason: the judges. Goodness, did I ever learn! From that first year and again last year. Constructive comments and I so appreciate the judges taking the kind of time they do to leave comments and encouragement, but also point you in the direction you need to steer clear of and what you're doing right.

How did the judges' feedback strengthen my writing?

 In both years that I entered the contest, I got fantastic feedback. Both in praise and criticism, done in such a way that was an incredible learning experience. Because you send in a smaller chunk of story (1500 words, about 7 pages or so) the judges get less to see (so make it really good!!) but it also gives them a bit more time to give constructive comments. Now with every contest, it's going to be subjective, but what I learned is  the judges really do have a spirit to help you learn and grow. Fantastic!

What was my contest takeaway--and how did it affect my overall writing dream?

I didn't need to win to feel successful. Wow, just a final--and I'm still floating a bit. It was a validation I was doing what I needed to do. My writing connected with someone and my hard work to make it better has been paying off.

Not everyone who enters will final, but you should still look at this as a huge step forward. Overcoming a bit of unease (okay, flat-out panic!) over submitting to a contest, putting your work out there to be judged in a more critical manner. It's a great exercise for you as a writer and author to see what you can do to improve. Because, let's face it--we all can! 

Before I close the post, I wanted to share with you a couple comments from one of my Frasier judges and just what and how they will grade your entry. (this is a second round judge's comments to me)

Categories:

Susan May Warren and I at the
MBT Pizza Party

Dialogue: (30 points)

Dialogue should move the story forward, should be tight and interesting.  They should use tags sparingly with a concentration on meaningful action (meaning, the characters are doing something as they are talking rather than just making facial or body movements).  Also, the correct use of internal dialogue is third person, (if the story is in third person, if it is in first person, then it should stay in first person), no italics unless it follows the “other voice inside your head” rule, and no use of he thought, wondered, pondered, etc. 

__4___Was the dialogue purposeful in moving the scene along?

__5___Did the author use meaningful action?

__5___Did the author use body language?

__5___Did the author correctly use internal dialogue? 

__5___Did the Dialogue capture you?

Comments:

There was soooo much to love in this scene. Not a ton of dialogue, but it was packed with meaningful action. The internal action had spark and spunk. Loved it!

  

Emotional Layering: (60 points) We touched on Showing versus Telling in the first round, but in this round we are going to be more picky.  We want to see real attempts at Emotional Layering. The point of Emotional layering in a scene is to isolate the main emotion of the pov character in the scene and show that emotion without naming it.  The reader should feel in the skin of the character through the eyes of the character – revealed through the way they experience their world.  Also, the use of symbolic language (simile, metaphor, etc) deepens our understanding of the emotion.  If you have questions or would like a reference to this, see appendix 1.  There are two parts to this question – mechanics (objective) and the mood (subjective).

Part One: Mechanics (30 points)

___5__Has the author shown us the story in active voice? 

___5__Has the author employed the use of the 5 senses?

___5__Have they used use specific words to create a mood?

___4__Have they employed the use of other characters to mirror or accentuate the emotion? 

___5__Did the author refrain from telling (rather than showing us) us the main emotion of the scene?

Comments:

Wonderful job with the five senses (though, did she taste anything? I might’ve missed it) and specific nouns and showing verbs. I’m so impressed. I actually printed out a hard copy to read and I wrote the same note over and over throughout: “love it!” 

Part Two: Mood (30 points)      

             

___5__Did the author show us the main emotion of the scene through thoughts?

___4__Did the author show us the main emotion of the scene through dialogue?

___5__Did the author show us the main emotion of the scene through meaningful action?

___4__Did the author use a symbol that depicts the emotion of the character?

___5__Did you sense the emotion of the scene?

Comments:

I didn’t catch on to symbolism too much here…so you could probably do a little more with that. Otherwise, I just loved it. I could hear her voice and feel her emotion along with her! 

Voice: (30 points)

We judged the mechanics of Voice in the first round, so this round is about how does the story capture you?  Are you wooed by their voice?  Please take a moment to find two sentences that you particularly enjoyed and copy/paste them here:

Soooo many lines to savor in this! Here are a few of my faves…

Loved the opening lines: A girl can only take so much truth.

            Which is probably why I found myself in a two-bit-cow-town restroom, at the exact moment the walls of my life crumbled.

            Waiting for the pregnancy test to confirm what I already knew. 

I stared at the harshness of what I had done in the face every morning and again every night when I watched my trusting husband sleep.

Loved hearing her voice in these lines: It had been so long since I had known Grandma’s warm embrace. I still had an eternity to wait. And nothing said God would let me through the pearly gates to see her once I got there.

Whoever said a lady doesn’t sweat never lived under the fire of past mistakes. 

Then, on a scale of 1-5:  __5___Did the author “woo you with their words?”  (Your answer will be multiplied by 6 to equal 30 points.)

Comments:

Truly superb writing, in my opinion! I could totally hear her voice and feel with her. I would definitely read more…and hope I get to someday! J

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The 2012 Frasier Contest, My Book Therapy’s storycrafting contest for unpublished novelists, is open now through March 31. The winner will be announced at the annual MBT Pizza Party during the 2012 ACFW Conference in Dallas – and will receive a free MBT retreat (a $500 value!). Final round entries will be judged by award-winning author Susan May Warren, Tyndale House acquisitions editor Stephanie Broene, and Karen Ball, literary agent with the Steve Laube Agency. All guidelines and registration details are available here.

Feel free to ask me your MBT Frasier contest questions!

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in rural Eastern Oregon in a town more densely populated with cows than people.