GUEST POST: Jeanne Takenaka on Learning from Contests

Learning From Contests

        

    Last year, I decided to be brave and enter some writing contests. My hope: to gain valuable feedback about my writing and my story. I entered two contests in the spring and received helpful observations. On a whim, I submitted to two contests in September and put them out of my mind. In early November, I received a few phone calls from a phone number I didn’t recognize. Since it was election season, I didn’t answer. After the third attempt, the caller left a message. Imagine my shock when I heard the words, “I’m happy to let you know you finaled in our contest. Congratulations.”

            My hands shook as I listened, and then re-listened to those words.” I finaled? The following week, an e-mail popped into my inbox notifying me that I had finaled in another contest. My kids wondered if Mama had finally taken a dive into the deep end as I “Eeeee-d” my way through supper preparations.          

            As I receive scores, I’m learning some great things about evaluating results. Contests provide feedback in various ways. One contest sent the judge’s score and comments on my actual entry. Other contests provided a rubric and a number score next to each item being assessed. Some judges left comments, others gave only the number score.

            After I entered the My Book Therapy’s Frasier contest for the first time, I created a spread sheet to consolidate everything onto one page. I made a column with category and sub-category descriptions (i.e. Stakes, Hero/Heroine Identity, etc) My next column was for the scores from Judge One. The third column was for the scores from Judge 2, and the fourth column was for me to make notes on ways I could improve based on scores and comments judges offered.

            I know, it sounds like a lot of work, but seeing everything in one place helps me detect patterns. If both judges scored me lower in a certain category, that is a great indicator of something I need to work on. On the flip side, higher scores from both judges indicate a writing strength. When I saw a discrepancy in the scores, I talked to a mentor about them. 

            Though not everyone is an analyzer, a few things I’ve come to understand through my contest experiences are:

1.  Pray before even peeking at scores. I’m guessing most of us enter contests because we want feedback on our writing. Sometimes we’re going to receive feedback that says, “Yes! You’re on the right track!” Other times, judges’ scores will be harder to embrace. The key is to ask God to help you see the gemstones within the disappointments. Take a day or so before you pore over your results. This allows you to calm down and gain some distance, so you can evaluate with a fresh perspective.

2.   Identify what will help you use contest scores to better your writing skills. And, no, I don’t mean shred the low scores. You may not be an analyzer like I am, so discover what will help you take the data offered and use it to make your writing better. Maybe that means focusing on one area of improvement and setting the rest aside for a later time.

3.   When judges offer positive comments and suggestions for growth, don’t focus only on the negative. Believe in your writing strengths. Even seemingly negative comments have nuggets hidden within their words. If someone says, “This story isn’t original,” you’ve just been given a great clue about a weakness. The challenge: mix things up in your story and add some sparkle.  

4.   Remember scores tell us something about our writing, but judges are subjective, because, well, they’re human. If you disagree with or don’t understand a score, talk with someone you trust for clarification.

5.   Above all, have a teachable spirit. Remember, God gave you your story, and He’ll help you write it, with help from others.

What about you? How do use contest results to become a stronger writer?

 Jeanne Takenaka writes women’s fiction that deals with real life issues with a heart to draw women closer to God and to those around them. She is wife to one amazing man who is her real life hero, and mother to two exuberant boys who hope to one day have a dog of their own. She loves being God’s girl always learning about His grace, making memories with her family, hanging out with friends and enjoying a great cup of coffee. She and her family reside near the mountains of Colorado. She is a member of ACFW.

 

What the FLY LADY taught me about writing...

Have you shined your sink today?

Are you dressed to lace-up shoes?

And what does this have to do with my writing anyway?

If you know what a "Room Rescue" or a "27 Fling Boogie" is, chances are you have visited Marla Cilley (AKA The Fly Lady)'s website. Perhaps you're like me and organization does not come naturally to you.

I'm here to share what FlyLady has taught me about the way I write and how to improve my writing. In hopes that some of these tips might help someone else. 

Go shine your sink.

OK, hold that Ajax and come back to the computer. I don't mean literally. But think about it.

FlyLady tells you to first shine your sink. This is the only step for the first day. 

She knows the POWER of ONE THING.

What's your one thing? What do you most need to add to your writing? Working on one area, keeping in mind it will never be perfect, can make such a difference whether its focusing on a single scene or a single aspect of your novel. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed (or at least I can) with all the improvement I would like to make in so many areas of my writing. We can get paralyzed there. So work on that one thing. One character. One scene. One page at a time. Then slowly add.

Its about "baby-stepping" and not "obsessing."

Getting dressed to  lace-up shoes.

When I first found the FlyLady website I hated the idea of wearing shoes inside all day. But it works (at least for me). The idea is that we move faster when we're wearing shoes.

Just as we get prepared for the day, are you preparing yourself for your writing time? I find when I just sit down I don't always do my best work. 

For me praying first and closing my eyes and spending a few minutes getting back into the scene are musts. They help me prepare for writing and actually help me to accomplish more, just as putting on your lace-up shoes motivates you to get your day started.

Harness the power of routines.

"Born Organized" people do this naturally. Others of us have to force it. What is the routine to your writing life? I discovered writing wouldn't just "happen", I needed to schedule it in my busy life. 

Is your writing at the best possible time? If you are scheduling your writing early in the morning, are you able to get enough sleep to write your best? If you write during an afternoon nap for your kiddos are you finding that time gets pushed off...or maybe you get irritated when they wake up as you barely start your scene?

Where do you write? Does this allow for the atmosphere you need to get your best writing done? I realize this isn't always possible, especially if you have young children in your home. But is there a way you can make your writing area feel like a retreat?

What do you do before and after your writing? Can you take a moment today to reflect on what is and isn't working in just today's writing?

Do you have a good routine to the rest of your day? I know if chaos seeps into my house or another part of my life, it has a tendency to slip into my writing life. 

What is one small change you can make today to impact your writing life? 

Julia enjoys writing women's fiction whenever she can find a chair free of smushed peanut butter sandwiches and lego blocks. She is a wife and homeschooling mama of two littles. She also enjoys reading and reviewing books for The Title Trakk, a Christian review site.

How a CPA Writes a Novel (Because I Know You're DYING to Know!)

Did you know it's entirely possible for a book to be written in an Excel spreadsheet? Okay, all you pantsers, stop snickering at me. I'm serious.

Since Pepper shared her writing process last week and Julia has been talking about storyboarding, I thought I'd share a little piece of my writing process today.

When I first started writing novels, I stumbled upon Randy Ingermanson's website Advanced Fiction Writing. At the time, it seemed like a coincidence. Now after meeting Randy, I know it was all part of his greater plan to take over the world. :)

He's known for this thing called the Snowflake Method of planning a novel. Since I like order in my life, I lapped it up like a thirsty dog, only without the loud slurping. When I got to the part where he talked about outlining scenes in Excel, I knew I'd found my place (can't help it...I'm a CPA).

From that point forward, I started outlining my books and scenes in an Excel spreadsheet. For each book, I have columns with the date of the scene, the chapter number, the POV character, a summary of the scene, the word count, the plots/subplots (more on that in a future post), and more. For every version of my manuscript, I have a separate tab in Excel.

I even created a tab where I track my daily progress. I have a line for each date and I log the time I spend drafting, editing, etc. Then I have a column where I track my scene goals for each day. So if I'm starting the editing process, I might have Scene 1a on Monday, Scene 1b on Tuesday and so on. I refer to my word counts on the other tab to help me gauge how many scenes I can complete each day.

Now I know this method wouldn't work for everyone (All you pantsers have glazed eyes right now. Am I right?), but I think it's important to track our goals and progress somehow. Before I started this process, I wandered aimlessly without a real target. But now that I treat my Daily Progress tab like a time clock, it helps me stay focused.

Does the idea of using a spreadsheet to plan a novel scare you? How do you stay focused on reaching your goals?

*Keyboard image: br3akthru / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

*Minutes image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Writing Today for Tomorrow's World

"If you had sent this to me three weeks ago, I could have used it.," one editor said.  Gaack! Why didn't I think of doing this article sooner?

This month, many folk have talked about school starting. Come the second or third week of November, they'll talk about Thanksgiving get togethers.  About the second week of December, families will be inundated with Christmas programs, shopping, decorating, and holiday plans.  Writer's don't have the privilege of planning for an occassion one-to-two weeks in advance.

Creative is Crucial

June and July are prime months to send Christmas material to publishers.   While the sun blazes on the garden, we get to imagine crisp snow crunching under tires, pine scent in our living room, Christmas music and lights, wrapped packages, and a house full of guests wrapped around the dinning room table feasting on ham and watching Uncle Joe toss baby Jane to Uncle David--praying he doesn't drop her.  We must wipe the summer sweat from our brow and tap snowy words into our computer. Now that August is here, we need to think of New Year's and Valentine's Day.

Tyranny of Timeliness

For book writers, we get to anticipate reader's swing in interest two to three years down the road.  I finished my midevil Christian fantasy in time for vampires to shove Harry Potter off center stage.  Needless to say, even Christian publishers aren't interested in midevil Christian fantasy unless the writer has previously established himself in that market. Non fiction writers need to anticipate the needs of audiences in advance as well.  Our manuscripts must be ready to impact the readers of tomorrow not from today.

Hope
I don't have a crystal ball.  Nor do I want one.  In my frustration I might ask: how can I get published if I don't know what reader's will want?  Isn't it just luck--being in the right place at the right time--etc? 

Not at all. God will lead you. Chip McGregor, a Christian literary agent, has stated in his conference lectures: "If you writing is well done, it will get published."  Writer's who work to polish their craft will know what to write.  If you have a passion to write, follow through in a way that will get the words published.

Here are some tips: 

1. Plan Ahead:  If you are doing a Christmas piece, make sure it arrives to the publisher in time for him/her to push the manuscript through the ropes and on to publication to reach the readers before Christmas.  Magazine articles should be submitted six months in advance.  I'm not sure how far in advance a book manuscript needs to arrive, maybe someone can comment on that for me.

2. Spit Polished:  Save time by having your manuscript free of grammar errors, content problems, and issues with publisher requirements such as needed word count. Maybe a few steps can be saved and push your manuscript toward timely publication.

3. Respect:  Would you buy a Egg Nog in June?  Probably not.  Items are sold when a customer thinks to buy.  Some manufacturer somewhere thought to produce and market that item at the perfect time you thought to buy it.  Likewise publishers need time to choose manuscript, edit, send contracts, etc. before the published work can be offered to the public.  Check out the websites to determine publisher's needs and requirements.  Editors will respect you for your efforts and remember you.  He or she may not purchase your manuscript this time, but they might in the future.

4. Observe:  Keep an eye on events in the world around you.  Today's events may lead to tomorrow's responses. By staying tuned into what is going on now, you will better know what readers might need in the days to come.

Did your manuscript sell because it arrived on time?  Do you have woes, like me, because it arrived after the cut off time?  Share your experience.

A Writer's Organizational Tool: The OneNote

Kaye Dacus turned me onto a wonderful organizational tool that is  perfect for writers.(Check her link for more pictures on how she uses this tool.) It is Microsoft Office OneNote. If you have Microsoft Office 2007, then you have OneNote. Basically, OneNote is like a Ring Binder with dividers. You can build a notebook for your current WIP and organize the pants off of it!

I am including a screen shot of my notebook section for my book, If My Heart Can Speak.

You can see in the tabs at the top center that I have set up sections in my notebook titled NOVELS. Each section is a book I am working on or have ideas for. I have my book, If My Heart Could Speak, opened up and I have selected the page CASTLES to show you. Each section can have many pages (tabs on the far right). I have set up pages for my synopsis, my main characters, my search on castles, and one on clothing. (If I was just beginning this story, I would add pages for the minor characters, plus other areas of research. But since this is a finished novel, I am not going back to do all the work of working up all the pages.)

Here are a few wonderful things OneNote can do:

• When researching, you can send a whole page or part of a page directly to OneNote. Ctl +P and your page is sent to an unfiled note in OneNote (which you can move to any section or page).
• You can create tables and charts directly on a page and then send it to Word or you can email it. (good for tracking characters within scenes)
• You can send Power Point and Excel directly into OneNote (which is really handy with the cool Casting Book I've been creating).
• While you are working in a different program or surfing the web and you want to jot down a note, you can pull up a side note by either pressing the Windows logo button + N or clicking the N(OneNote) icon button in the task bar. You may take all the notes you want and it automatically files it in the Unfiled Tab (which you can move anywhere in OneNote and label it).
• If you have a smart phone, it can synchronize with the OneNote on your computer. 
• You can create hyperlinks from any page, anywhere, and put it in your notebook page. You can create lists of your favorite research pages, your favorite photos, anything really.
• You can insert any full color printout in any file type that your computer will print by selecting File, then Print, then Send to OneNote. 
• You can attach files to any page in OneNote. Say you had a character chart in Word. You could click and drag it into your Page for your character. It then has a little icon on your page that you can double click on to see the  character chart. 
• You can also do a word search in your Notes to find all pages that refer to main character. 

These are just a few of the excellent things this program can do. What I love about it is I can collect information and files of many different types and store them all on one page! I have part of a web page for research, pictures from my power point casting book, a link to another web page,  and my character chart icon by my pictures. Everything is at my fingertips. 

Doesn't that get you excited about getting organized in your writing? I love finding tools to help me get my thoughts together. 

What great tools do you to organize your WIPs?

Sherrinda

Juggling Summer Days and Writing

Summer has come, life changes. Kids are home. Vacations and weddings are around the corner. Daily routines shift. How will you manage writing this summer?






AND THE TOP TEN LIST IS............DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....


10. ORGANIZE: This has earned the fine distinction of number ten because it’s one of those jobs writers hate. Ever wonder why movies depict authors/writers sitting in a room filled with stacks of papers and shelves of books?

9. DUE FIRST: When in doubt, do what is due first. When feeling lazy, Do What Is Due First. When uninspired, DO WHAT IS DUE FIRST.

8. BIC: This is not a pen. Butt In Chair. Flittering distractions yank us from our train of thought, assist us in sensing the need to call Aunt Josephine who lives in Siberia even though you haven’t spoken to her in 37 ½ years, motivate us to check facebook or email for the tenth time in the last hour, or invigorate us to do ANYTHING except finish the last sentence of that chapter.

7. REWARD: Set up quality rewards when completing designated portions of your WIP. Go ahead. Give yourself a reward—not because you deserve it—but because it will inspire you.


6. LISTEN: Set times to be away from your WIP. Go to a park, coffee shop, or the mall. Sit back and listen to the people around you. What do they say? What inflections are used? What don’t they say? Here is my favorite example: One afternoon, while sitting in my dining room the neighbor children came out to play. Three-year-old Henry announced to the other children, “OK, let’s take turns. Everyone behind me."

5. CHORES: Take time to do daily chores. When the laundry is done, the grass mowed, or the dog walked you'll feel more freedom to write.

4. PLAY: Who says you’re too old to play? Find a partner, whether young or old, and play a game. Interested in basketball or bike riding; care to climb a tree, play a board game, or the piano? Playing stirs the creative side of the brain.


3. READ: Try a new genre this summer. It might be like taking medicine, but you may survive. Step out of the lines: read a comic, a picture book, something nonfiction, or what about Shakespeare, Unger, or Asimov? Read a chapter book with a child and hold a book talk. You might be surprised what they say.

2. LAUGH, CRY, and SING: Hermits are allowed to express themselves, although it works better with a friend or family member. Did you know the Bible says God laughs, cries, and sings? Zephaniah 3:17 states: The Lord your God in your midst is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over you with singing. (I can’t wait to hear Him sing in heaven!) To experience life is to acquire reality for our writing.


1. BUDGET: Work in a regular time with God, everyday. The more time invested in a relationship with God, the more you will produce what God has called you to do. You shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit in season. Psalm 1:3

What fun ideas do you have planned for this summer? How will you gleam kernels of truth, humor, and quotables to use in your future writings? What would you like to complete this summer?