Hi New Writers
CONGRATULATIONS! You just successfully took part in our first competition and we are proud of every single one of you - give yourself a massive hug.
We finally wrapped up April judging, which means that you will be emailed your results very soon. If you don't receive them in the next day or so or your book did not get the judged comment at the end then please do get in contact with us so we can rectify it before we announce finalists.
However, we want to address something about scoring. Everyone's score is out of 100, there are 5 sections out of 20 each. However, some of the writers will get scores below 50 or even below 30. So what does this mean for you as a writer?
Firstly, when you get your score back and it's not what you wanted: DON'T PANIC. Don't go into that terrible state of mind that all writers have where you start tearing yourself down because this is one of the worst things you can do right now. But also don't get angry at the judges and blame them, thinking along the lines of 'they just can't see talent when it hits them in the face' is destructive and not helpful at all. We will not tolerate aggressive emails or messages. We understand it can be painful and hard but this is about growth and if you have no idea where you actually are as a writer how will you ever grow to be better?
Secondly, breathe. Take a few deep breaths and keep reading. You will see that the judges give back criticism. Some may write only a sentence, others may write paragraphs but every person gets criticism from the judges. Read the critique carefully - carefully. Our judges do not know you, they are not your friend so don't panic if it comes across as a little clinical or strong. They are simply giving you advice on how to improve your writing. Think carefully about what the judges are saying and think back to your writing. If they say you need to edit more think about how much time you spend editing (if it's under 30 minutes you may have a problem). If they comment on your lack of research think about whether or not you did any? If you did, did you use it in your writing? If they mention your flow, are your reading your previous chapters before you write the next one? If they talk about lack of description, are you telling not showing? Do you use boring and overused descriptions?
Think about what the judges are saying carefully, use it to your advantage and grow as a writer.
Thirdly, make a decision about why you are writing. You need to think about this carefully if you are writing to be published one day but you are very upset by scoring low then you might need to develop a thicker skin. The publishing world is full of rejection and criticism enough to break you. If you're writing because you enjoy it - then keep going you're doing great.
A low score does not mean you don't have what it takes to be an outstanding writer. It does not mean you should give up right now and never write again. It does not mean the world is out to get you. It simply means that you have room for growth and things that need to be improved on. Which is a good thing. If you don't have room for growth you're going to stay stagnant. No one in the competition scored 100, because in literature that is simply impossible.
Your is score is what we like to think of as a publishability marker. It's an idea of how close your work is to a well-edited, great story that could just about go on the market today or how much potential it has to be a market story. We understand that you are new writers, so we are also looking for the most potential but potential is not the only thing we are looking for. We are looking for great stories - and the leap between good and great is not as far as you may think.
We understand that Wattpad is not the actually publishing sector but there is a reason why you 'publish' a part and don't just share it. Even if you are writing on Wattpad you still need to have the same characteristics as a published book as you need to 'sell' your work in order to do well. So this publishability marker is also a marker of how well your book can do on Wattpad.
We would also like to remind you that literature is subjective - this is why 2 judges judge every work - so the judges may have not understood where you were coming from. However, a large majority of the low scoring were because of 3 main things:
1. Your work had not been edited and the grammar and spelling errors impeded the flow making it difficult to read. If you score low on the language it is going to bring all your other scoring down as it disrupts the flow and understanding of the story making it difficult.
2. You had not planned your work and done research about the topic before you started writing. We're not saying you have to J. K. Rowling level of planning but you need to know where the story is going and you need to do research. If you have a fight scene - do research. If you have someone in a coma - do research. If you have someone working in a place you've never worked - do research. Especially when dealing with things such as mental illnesses and substance abuse. Lack of research like unedited work impedes everything else.
3. Make your characters realistic - especially with dialogue. Artificial and superficial characters can make a story unappealing and reduce the likely hood of keeping your readers hooked. You need to develop your characters well. Don't reveal too much about them off the bat but also don't reveal so little that your readers are confused 90% of the time. More so, dialogue is vitally important in nearly every single narrative (there are exceptions to every rule), please don't make your speakers speak perfectly - think of how people actually speak in real life. That is how your characters should speak.
Another note - if you are translating to English from another language: we advise you not to use google translate as it is often not accurate and can make for some very confusing translation. We would also like to remind you that somethings are just untranslatable and are far more beautiful and powerful in your own language then they will ever be in English. You are also more like to write better in your own language - why change something when it's already beautiful.
On a final note, we would like to thank every single one of you for sharing your stories. It takes bravery to enter into a competition and we wish you the best of luck on your future writing endeavours.
We enjoyed reading your stories
(a very tired) New Writer Awards Team
YOU ARE READING
Just Write 2020
RomanceIn this book, we will be providing you with tips and tricks to make your writing better and increase your chances of winning. We are excited to share all the knowledge that we have gained as writers ourselves. We may even have some giveaways in the...
