Contest Entry Hints
I don’t give out a lot of romance writing advice because, well, I just don’t unless someone asks me. You ask me and I’ll go on for hours. You’ve been warned. But having spent the last few weeks judging entries for three different contests, I would like to suggest the following**:
1. If I read 20-25 pages of a contest entry and can’t figure out who the hero is or who the heroine is, you have a problem. See, my judging sheet has a space for grading the heroine and the hero. I need to check off boxes and give scores on issues like characterization, consistency, dialogue and a whole host of other areas. These sections are generally worth something like 25 points. Awarding points on a hero or heroine gets tough when I don’t know who the hero is or who heroine is. On a global level, confusing the crap out of the reader is never a good idea. Further, I’m convinced editors and agents only read so many pages of a manuscript before determining whether it is worth the time to go on. You have to catch them early. Confusing them as to who the hero or heroine is will not help you.
2. Some of you are making point-of-view (POV) harder than it needs to be. I know you’ve read books where the POV bounces around. I know. Believe me, I know. Still, I think you need to go with the general plan of not doing that. Stick to one POV per scene. Do not get caught up with all of these characters you may want to use in future books you’re thinking about writing once you sell. Focus on selling this one first. Don’t get lost in telling us how every person and animal in a scene feels. I know you think it’s effective. You’re wrong. It’s confusing. More importantly, fair or not, bouncing POV suggests you don’t know the writing basics. That gives editors and agents one more reason to give your manuscript only a cursory look. Don’t make your job harder.
3. Prologues are not your friend. I wish I could figure out why everyone is writing prologues…and make them stop. I talked about this briefly last week but it needs emphasis. Ten pages is not a prologue. It’s a chapter. Ten pages of prologue on a character who seems to be something other than the hero, heroine or villian amounts to ten wasted pages. Here’s the hard truth: you get one shot at making an impression with an editor or agent. Make those pages sharp and relevant. If you’re thinking about starting with a prologue, stop and ask why. Also, remember that the contest judges are seeing a parade of misused prologues. Try to separate yourself from that pack.
**This is my view only. As with all writing advice, review and assess and figure out what works for you.
May 5th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Did you notice a lot of entries diving straight into the tingly feelings? I’ve judged so many this spring where the hero and heroine are doing something nasty, gritty, tough, or downright unpleasant–whether it’s historical or paranormal–and they’re distracted by “gotta get me some of that” thoughts. Also a lot of masturbation and/or erotic dream sequences in the opening chapter(s). Save it! Please! A meaningful, interesting, mutual slow burn often works a helluva lot better than cramming the sex thing where it isn’t warranted.
Stepping off my soap box now
May 5th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Excellent advice, HelenKay! I think you hit on three very important cautions. I judged my first contest recently (I feel so special) and there were some really good entries! Others reminded me of my first novel, which I wrote entirely in present tense. So, so bad.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:18 am
[...] noticed a post by Helen Kay Dimon from Monday where she was offering up suggestions about contest entries. Number [...]