One of my writing buddies is a semi-professional writing contest hound. She enters every contest going. As she has perfected the process and is a great writer, she normally wins.
Me, I almost always lose. On purpose.
You see, I use contests to test story ideas. Right now, I have a couple entries ready to go for The Golden Opportunity Contest, one of the few contests for unpublished manuscripts open to published authors also (as long as the author doesn’t qualify for PAN i.e. she hasn’t sold $1,000 worth of one title).
The entry requirement is the first chapter and the synopsis. Being a plotter, I’ve written the first chapter (rough draft) and the synopsis.
And that’s it.
I don’t want to write more. To write more before getting input on my first chapter and my basic plot would be setting me up for a lot of wasted time and unnecessary rewrites.
The Golden Opportunity Contest is known for giving good feedback. For $30, I’ll get feedback from 3 (I think) high level readers. I’ll then apply that when I actually write the novel (summer 2009 – if it goes well, the novel will be available 2011).
For example:
My original idea was to have a priceless heirloom be the reward in my second novel Invisible (available February 2009). The judges’ thoughts? The reward didn’t pack enough of an emotional punch.
So I thought about it some more and changed the reward to a home, a home the hero Hagen and his late Great Uncle had spent hours, days, years fixing up. Hagen, being an antique lover, could tell you where the kitchen tile came from and why they decided upon the doorknobs the bedrooms have. If he lost the challenge, he wouldn’t simply be losing a house, he’d be losing a part of his history, a part of himself.
Was that feedback worth $30? Absolutely. Was it better to hear that BEFORE writing the entire novel? That was for certain.
This year, I’m testing my garbage man novel. The hero is the CEO of a waste management company. When they first meet, he stinks. Literally. I’ll be interested in hearing whether this completely turns off readers. I’d like to know if losing her job is enough motivation for the heroine. I’m certain I’ll get feedback on many more story issues I haven’t even thought of.
Me, I almost always lose. On purpose.
You see, I use contests to test story ideas. Right now, I have a couple entries ready to go for The Golden Opportunity Contest, one of the few contests for unpublished manuscripts open to published authors also (as long as the author doesn’t qualify for PAN i.e. she hasn’t sold $1,000 worth of one title).
The entry requirement is the first chapter and the synopsis. Being a plotter, I’ve written the first chapter (rough draft) and the synopsis.
And that’s it.
I don’t want to write more. To write more before getting input on my first chapter and my basic plot would be setting me up for a lot of wasted time and unnecessary rewrites.
The Golden Opportunity Contest is known for giving good feedback. For $30, I’ll get feedback from 3 (I think) high level readers. I’ll then apply that when I actually write the novel (summer 2009 – if it goes well, the novel will be available 2011).
For example:
My original idea was to have a priceless heirloom be the reward in my second novel Invisible (available February 2009). The judges’ thoughts? The reward didn’t pack enough of an emotional punch.
So I thought about it some more and changed the reward to a home, a home the hero Hagen and his late Great Uncle had spent hours, days, years fixing up. Hagen, being an antique lover, could tell you where the kitchen tile came from and why they decided upon the doorknobs the bedrooms have. If he lost the challenge, he wouldn’t simply be losing a house, he’d be losing a part of his history, a part of himself.
Was that feedback worth $30? Absolutely. Was it better to hear that BEFORE writing the entire novel? That was for certain.
This year, I’m testing my garbage man novel. The hero is the CEO of a waste management company. When they first meet, he stinks. Literally. I’ll be interested in hearing whether this completely turns off readers. I’d like to know if losing her job is enough motivation for the heroine. I’m certain I’ll get feedback on many more story issues I haven’t even thought of.
Kimber Chin's first novel Breach Of Trust will be available in May. Breach Of Trust has, also, never won a contest.
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