Contest Entries: Cleaning Those Babies Up

Hi there! The weekend was filled with swim meets, fundraisers, writing and family, so I thought I would dig up an archived post to resonate with all the contest talk going on right now! 

Happy Monday!

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It's about that time. For a few GREAT contest opportunities out there...Namely, ACFW's Genesis Contest and the MBT Frasier.

Many of you might be tidying up those babies for contests as you read this. I know I am! And many of you might be reluctantly looking at last year's feedback, planning to tweak your entry based on “some” of that feedback.

Are you just “tweaking”?

lots of messiness in my house!

Do you go in with the mindset of taking the grammatical suggestions, the edits here and there...Maybe a misplaced comma or changing a word that's been used in the sentence above? Kinda like dabbing at a baby's food-caked face, but not really scrubbing away the mess?

Or....

Are you willing to make that BIG change...possibly rearranging entire scenes, OR, Heaven forbid, DELETING a scene altogether? Getting that big super-duty washcloth and start scrubbing? Maybe, your last feedback is a sign that the scene you love and hoped would attract the judges' favor, is not the scene for that moment in the manuscript...is not what hooks the reader after all.

freedigitalphotos.net by pod pad

Now don't get me wrong, I have certainly had some bogus feedback over the years. Don't go slashing away at your entry according to everything a judge says. You may have scrubbed that baby's face clean, and that scrutinizing mother-in-law type will still criticize (and to be clear, I have two of the best mother-in-laws, so this is pure third-party metaphor ;) ) No need to listen to that type of feedback...unless, of course, it rings true to you (insert cring and gnashing of teeth here).

BUT...

Do consider BIG changes, and DO brainstorm different starts of your chapter. This last entry I “tweaked” had me delete the first TWO scenes of my manuscript and start with a different character's POV. UGH!!!!! It was hard to do, but deep down, after receiving critiques and contest feedback over the past year, it had to be done. AND, I love it now! And I thought I LOVED it then, but just because it came out that way the first time I wrote it doesn't mean it has to stay that way.

It is art, after all.

freedigitalphotos.net by jomphong

We can start to mold the story and keep it in the perfectly simple shape that our hands first squeezed it into...OR, after smoothing it down, sloughing away the excess, we can create something more... evolve our creation to an even more beautiful work of art.

In other words...

Let's not coddle our baby so much that it never gets the chance to succeed to its fullest potential!

Let that baby GROW!!

Comment below and tell us the latest BIG changes you made to an entry or your manuscript. Have you reaped a contest win by using feedback from a previous year? Please share!

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Angie Dicken is a full-time mom and lives in the Midwest with her Texas Aggie sweetheart. An ACFW member since 2010, she has written five Historical Romance novels, has a Historical underway, and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. Angie also spends her time designing one-sheets, selling Jamberry Nail Wraps, and drinking good coffee with great friends. Check out her author page at www.facebook.com/dicken.angie and her personal blog at angiedicken.blogspot.com 

What's Up the Street for Next Week?

Genesis Deadline!

Casey with 2011 Romantic Suspense
Genesis Winner, Renee Ann Smith, now
agented by Joe Kneedler of
Alive Communications

The deadline for the ACFW Genesis contest was yesterday! You are either relieved your entry is sent and done and there is nothing you can do about it or groaning that you weren't able to get that last period in place before midnight.

Let us know so we can CHEER for you if you entered! And if you didn't, there are several other contests you might want to look into in the Sidewalk Talk section.

Next week...

Polishing makes perfect! Angie has tips to do just that on Monday.


Julia reminds us to bring back the fun in our writing on Tuesday.


We're told to make our characters unique, but what about our setting? Join the discussion with Sarah on Wednesday.


Ashley talks on social networking on Thursday, am I networking or just obnoxious?


Cindy tells us what she has learned about writing from her book club of diverse readers on Friday.


Sidewalk Talk: Contest edition

The My Book Therapy Frasier contest is still open and will be until March 31st. Plenty of time to keep polishing!

Novel Rocket is hosting their third annual unpubbed-writing contest. This page has all the details

Seekerville started their SPEEDBO contest (think NaNoWriMo). Visit their site for all the facts.

What's Up the Street For Next Week?

If you haven't noticed we really like to celebrate around here!
And what a better way to start off June than with some partying.

Out of over 100 entries, Casey Herringshaw was picked as one of six finalists in the Frasier Writing Contest given by Susan May Warren, Rachel Hauck, and Sarah Anne Sympolec over at My Book Therapy. It's a great honor and we're super proud of our youngest Alley Cat!

Winners for the Frasier will be announced at the My Book Therapy Pizza Party at ACFW in St. Louis, MO.
Good luck, Case. WOOHOOOO!!!

More news? Congrats to Patsy. She's our winner for Jeannie Campbell's Writers Guild to Creating Rich Back Stories

Now, let's look at our week, shall we?

Gotta pitch? Stop by Monday and read a little about pitches and get ready to show off your own. Pepper has roped in the support of the other Alley Cats and is going to have a Pitch & Blurb day - so bring your best, and we'll all work on them together.

School is out for most people - and that means Sherrinda too. Stop by Tuesday and check out what she has to share with us after a full year of chaos and mental exhaustion. Writing from Scratch with Sherrinda.

Wednesday Mary welcomes in a MASTER storyteller. Or at least the sage advice of a master storyteller. Stop by for a post entitled "Dear C.S. Lewis"

Our little Frasier winner - Casey, brings you some 'time management tips for the harried home writer' on Thursday. If time is NOT on your side, or you need encouragement in the midst of life's crazy twists and turns, check out this post.

Back to the writing business, with Krista's Friday post - Money & Writing: Part II. The Big Tax Debate.

Newstand:

Sarah is giving away an Amazon card on her blog this week.

Pepper's continuing her review series with A Week's Review with Deeanne Gist on her blog.

What's Up The Street For Next Week?

I think we would get an unanimous vote if I asked everyone if they are ready for spring.

And in utter defiance to the 19 degrees we had here this morning and the snow that fell yesterday along with the hail and sprinkles of sunshine, I am going to have pictures of my favorite spring flower on the blog.

Think it will encourage our weather??

THINK POSITIVE. It will! :-)

So, let's find out what is up on the Alley for this coming week. (sunshine pleaseeeee)

The laptop is a distraction, email, Facebook, blogging, what's a writer to do? Angie has suggestions, and one that might actually surprise you.

Julia is your hostess this Tuesday.  Her topic is "Writing is a Team Sport: Getting the Most from a Face to Face Writer's Group."


Need a Self-Editing Check list handy, you are sure to forget something while running through that manuscript. Sarah is starting her new series here on the Alley on Wednesday.

Ever find yourself in those moments between writing the new WIP and editing the last? Wendy knows just what you are talking about! Check out her post on Thursday for tips on that very subject.

Friday brings with it Cindy's sweet smile and writing tips on how to plot your novel and a list of steps to give your new ideas!

Alley Newstand

Ruth Logan Herne has been "Cold Called" on Casey's blog! Be sure and check out the post and submit YOUR question for Ruth to answer. :-)

The Genesis is now CLOSED! Did you enter? You still have time to enter The Frasier!

Check out the Seekerville contest update here

Margie Lawson teaches courses online to help you grow in your craft and Casey can personally vouch for her excellent teaching style. Check out her list of upcoming classes online now!

Details can be found about the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Conference here 

There are new details popping up all the time for the coming ACFW conference. Are you going??

Have a GREAT weekend from those on the Alley to you!

(And may Spring SPRING soon! :-)

My Contest Experiences with "The Frasier"

I have entered very few contests in the years I have been writing, mainly because I wanted to learn my craft before jumping in head first into a shallow pool, which is what it felt like when I entered such “big” name contests like the Genesis.

But don’t take this as me against contests, I’m not. In fact I want to share with you a contest I entered last year and found extremely helpful to not only my knowledge on the subject of the writing craft, but also encouraging to my future in writing.


Last year, Susan May Warren launched her first annual writing contest with My Book Therapy, called The Frasier. There were no genre restrictions, just craft. The first 1500 words of your story and a 500 word synopsis that would be judged solely on craft, voice, mechanics, etc. I didn’t hesitate, I just entered.

And was extremely thankful.

I didn’t place, didn’t even final, but when I opened that email from The Frasier coordinators I was handed gold. So often when you get a contest result back, it’s still dripping the blood of your story and you are left with the aggravating task of figuring out what in the world this judge meant.

The first think I saw was a message written by Susan. I still have that email. And it is just as encouraging then as it is now. The truth of the matter is, you can’t take everything a judge says is "wrong" and apply it at once and certainly not the moment you read the comments. It can’t be helped, contests are going to be subjective, but what I loved so much about the Frasier is it has a “wholesome” feel—I guess I could say. Their goal is to help unpublished “Voices” become published “Voices” and to do that, you have to learn the craft. You have to know what you are doing wrong.

This contest doesn’t just point what is wrong with your work and then expect you to go fix it, they point out strengths and weaknesses, you can feel that they are really taking the time to be tough, but understanding of the journey you are on. Their comments are constructive. And one of things I loved the most is that though they told me the things I needed to work on, they make marks directly on my manuscript, you can see exactly what they are referring to. And then at the very end they say what they liked best about your work. The question last year was, “ what is your favorite line in the excerpt?”

What a boost!

The Frasier goes beyond just mere fix-it mentality, they give constructive criticism and praise with comments that actually inspired me to get back down and work on my WIP—even when it came to the hard work I had to do to get better.

I plan on entering The Frasier this year, hoping it will be an improvement over last year’s excerpt I sent in. :-)

It’s exciting to think of the possibilities and the strengths that have been added and the weaknesses that most likely need more work.

For negatives there were positives, for every remark the judges made about my craft, they did in a way that didn’t carry the sting of rejection and hopelessness. Susan has trained her judges, they know what to look for and treated me as I am I sure they would want to be treated.

Go ahead, enter, I think you will be pleased, no matter the outcome.

Do you have any other questions for me about my experience with The Frasier? Please feel free to comment, I always reply!