A Different Perspective

MENTAL STATUS: "Foggy". Went to bed early--I don't know what time but I'm sure it was before ten. I should be well rested, but I had a dream I was shopping in New York City and had my purse stolen. So a good part of my sleep was very stressful as I went through the nightmare (no pun intended) of trying to cancel all my credit cards and such.
(I hate it when my mind double crosses my body like that)

I had offered my time and eyeball services to judge a writing contest recently. It was the first time I had ever judged a writing contest--or ANY contest, for that matter--but I found the experience enlightening.

I wanted to do an extra good job with them, so I tried to devote at least two days for each entry--one day for just reading through the partial and synopsis and the other day for looking over the score sheet and making comments. Judging was extremely difficult since almost every entry I read was fantastic. In fact, one was SO good and SO funny, I was actually excited for the author as I read his/her work--oh, and maybe just a teeny bit jealous, too. HA! I wanted to be a literary agent right then and there, because I would have represented it in a heartbeat.

It really came down to the nitpicky scores of scoresheet to differentiate them all--and even then it was tough. So, if you're going to enter a contest... play CLOSE attention to the scoresheet that's offered with it. And if that scoresheet doesn't jive with what you're trying to write, you may not want to enter unless all you're looking for is feedback.

All I can say is the next time I enter a contest, I'm sure I will look at the judges comments and scores more thoroughly and with a new appreciation.

Have you ever had a BAD experience with a writing contest?