Recent Contest Judge Thoughts
I try to judge a couple of writing contests per year. If you've never volunteered, I highly recommend it. I've found it helps hone my editorial eye, and forces me to research various rules to explain why a certain sentence construction is clunky, or doesn't flow. Lots and lots of reading preference is subjective, so I try to focus on the mechanics.
On that note!
My most recent judging experienced surfaced a couple of patterns in construction issues, so I thought it might be helpful to share them with you. If you can eliminate these issues from your drafts, they will rise to the top of the contests to which you submit them.
Dialogue Structure & Tags
Dialogue tags are typically presented as follows:
OK: "Here's your coffee," she said.
Not: "Here's your coffee." She said.
Action tags are typically presented as follows:
OK: "Your coffee's over there." She wiped down the counter.
Also OK: "Your coffee's over there," she said, wiping down the counter.
Not: "Your coffee's over there," she wiped down the counter.
Dialogue for two or more different characters should not be bundled into the same paragraph.
OK: "Double espresso, coming right up," she said.
The customer stopped her. "No, I want a latte."
Not: "Double espresso, coming right up," she said, and the customer stopped her. "No, I want a latte."
Wandering Body Parts
People move their own body parts (she raked her hands through her hair), their body parts don't have agency (her hand raked through her hair). This is a fabulous article on correcting the issue...
https://romanceuniversity.org/2010/07...-
Filler Words
Are exactly what you think they are. Empty-calorie words that do nothing to paint a picture, advance the plot, or elicit emotion. 'Just,' 'very,' 'really,' etc. This article will guide you on cutting the filler loose.
https://wordvice.com/avoid-fillers-po...
Filter Words
No matter what your preferred tense, you want to connect your reader to your main characters as much as possible. Filter words distance your reader by telling them what your main character is thinking, or feeling, or sensing, without the readers experiencing it first hand. What do I mean? Which of the following is more powerful to you?
Example 1: Billy smelled the sweet scent of apples and cinnamon from Mom's fresh-baked pie.
Example 2: Billy entered the house. Sweet apples and sharp cinnamon hung heavy in the air. Mom must've baked a pie.
For further reading, I love this article: https://writeitsideways.com/are-these...
Hope this helps, and I'll let you know if I suss out any other patterns in future contests!
On that note!
My most recent judging experienced surfaced a couple of patterns in construction issues, so I thought it might be helpful to share them with you. If you can eliminate these issues from your drafts, they will rise to the top of the contests to which you submit them.
Dialogue Structure & Tags
Dialogue tags are typically presented as follows:
OK: "Here's your coffee," she said.
Not: "Here's your coffee." She said.
Action tags are typically presented as follows:
OK: "Your coffee's over there." She wiped down the counter.
Also OK: "Your coffee's over there," she said, wiping down the counter.
Not: "Your coffee's over there," she wiped down the counter.
Dialogue for two or more different characters should not be bundled into the same paragraph.
OK: "Double espresso, coming right up," she said.
The customer stopped her. "No, I want a latte."
Not: "Double espresso, coming right up," she said, and the customer stopped her. "No, I want a latte."
Wandering Body Parts
People move their own body parts (she raked her hands through her hair), their body parts don't have agency (her hand raked through her hair). This is a fabulous article on correcting the issue...
https://romanceuniversity.org/2010/07...-
Filler Words
Are exactly what you think they are. Empty-calorie words that do nothing to paint a picture, advance the plot, or elicit emotion. 'Just,' 'very,' 'really,' etc. This article will guide you on cutting the filler loose.
https://wordvice.com/avoid-fillers-po...
Filter Words
No matter what your preferred tense, you want to connect your reader to your main characters as much as possible. Filter words distance your reader by telling them what your main character is thinking, or feeling, or sensing, without the readers experiencing it first hand. What do I mean? Which of the following is more powerful to you?
Example 1: Billy smelled the sweet scent of apples and cinnamon from Mom's fresh-baked pie.
Example 2: Billy entered the house. Sweet apples and sharp cinnamon hung heavy in the air. Mom must've baked a pie.
For further reading, I love this article: https://writeitsideways.com/are-these...
Hope this helps, and I'll let you know if I suss out any other patterns in future contests!
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