Jan Cline

lover of relics and history

Writing contests..it’s the season!

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Feb. 3, 2016

I’ve entered several writing contests over the course of my writing journey. Sometimes the experience was rewarding (not always in an award sort of way), and sometimes it was frustrating and downright unfair.

So do I recommend contests? Mostly.

Will I keep entering them? Probably.

Will I have as high of expectations as I did when I first started entering contests? Absolutely not.

My first experience at a writing contest (fiction) was the ACFW Genesis contest way back when I wrote my very first novel, which is now resting in peace in the dark confines of my file cabinet. Yes, it was horrible, but I got great feedback and learned a lot from the experience.

This is the best reason to enter a contest – to get free or low-cost feedback from published authors and/or industry professionals.

Chances are, if you have 3 judges, you will get 3 very different scores. It seems that I usually get one low score, one high score, and one in the middle.

I have had a few “placings” in contests, most recently, I made the finals in the 2015 My Book Therapy contest, a big honor. I did receive good feedback, and can add that to my short list of accolades. You have to remember, there are usually a large number of entries, and competition can be stiff. There are so many great writers out there – even those yet to be published. Enter with the priority of learning. But finaling in a noteworthy contest can be a boost when writing your book proposal and talking to agents and editors.

I have also had one especially frustrating experience at a well-known Christian writer’s conference contest I will not name. I did not place, which is okay, I can handle that. But the feedback I got from a couple of the judges was very confusing. More than confusing, some of it was rude and sarcastic. I later discovered that one of the judges for my Historical fiction category was a children’s book author. Not exactly my genre, and not exactly what a judge is supposed to do. I also found out at the awards ceremony at the conference, that the judges were also contestants. And some of them won!! AGH!

Anyway, I say all that to lead up to some important points:

  • Read the guidelines, rules, judge’s names, category list, etc. If there is no specific information on all that, you might consider emailing the organization for it, or skip that competition.
  • I recommend not paying a lot for contests. The ones that charge more than $40 or $50 could be out to make money, and not designed to benefit the writer. Just beware.
  • Contests that are not associated with a known conference, writer’s group, or Christian organization (if you are writing for the Christian genre) should be investigated carefully. There are lots of scams out there that may want you, as a “winner”, to invest in a compilation book of winning entries. Don’t do it. As I said, beware.

Don’t let a low or non-placement discourage you. Even though I appreciate how hard they work, judges are not always the most qualified, or they may just not like your genre (a judge actually told me that in her feedback)…or, you might just have needed the constructive criticism you received. It’s a learning process – use it to your advantage.

I will add that at the disappointing contest I mentioned above, one of the judges clearly was not qualified, nor appropriate for my genre. The story I entered, which is my novel to be released next month, is about a family living in a Japanese American internment camp during WWII. I had researched extensively about life in the camps. One of the several inappropriate comments from this judge stemmed from a line in the story about a character doing her laundry in the latrine, which is indeed where they had to do their laundry. The judge’s comment was “Oops! A latrine is a bathroom! Use your thesaurus!” There were other comments by this judge that made it clear to me I would have to dismiss her score. You may have to do that with some judges – just be willing to receive what is good and set aside what does not help you be a better writer. Even negative feedback can be profitable if it’s from someone who knows what they are talking about.

So go forth and enter. Keep your perspective, have an open mind, guard your pocketbook, do your research, and have fun with it.

Keep reaching,

Jan

How Do You Move Forward?

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I’m ready to move forward in this new year. Middle of last year, I wasn’t sure I could. 2015 brought too much loss, too little good health, too much indecision, and not enough order.

I bet many of you could say the same. It’s nice to have a fresh start, choose a new road, take a decided leap, or just leave the past behind.  I think January was invented so we could have a marker, a reset, a deadline for change.

I’m taking a new road this year – but strangely it’s one I started to take last year. I turned back. I still don’t know if it was a decision thrust upon me or if I just chickened out.

It doesn’t matter, because God turns all things into good if we let Him.

I will publish my first novel this year. I tremble just typing the words. Sure, I’m committed now, but what if things go wrong again? What if I chicken out? What if someone whose opinion I value says it’s not good?

Again, it doesn’t matter, because God turns all things into good if we let Him.

This story is important, even if I haven’t told it excellently. It’s relevant for what our world is going through these days. But I think it’s good, and I must put one foot in front of the other and follow the road I know I was meant to travel. I don’t want to come to the end of this year and realize I turned back again.

My publication target date is end of March. I hope you will watch for more news about it – I’ll let you know as things move along.

It’s a new road for me and I hope to follow it to the end.

What road are you contemplating? Will you take the first step? What is standing in your way?

 

Keep reaching!

Jan

 

 

Navigation Pane as Promised

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In my last post 5 Editing Tools I Use, I mentioned using the Navigation Pane in MS Word. Here is an explanation of how it has helped me.

Note: This tool will not help you much if you have a separate document for each chapter in the book you’re writing. It is most helpful to those of us who have a continuous manuscript in one document. I used to separate my chapters to have their own document, but it drove me crazy to try and find certain characters or pieces of story when I needed to. So I went back to one document and began to use the Navigation tool.

Now I can see as I go what is happening in what chapter or scene because I make notes at each chapter and scene change. All I need to do to maneuver through the manuscript is to click on the chapter heading or scene subheading in the pane.

I just learned about the feature from my friend and fellow writer, Suzanne Kuchynka. She is the master of organization and tools to do that with your plotting and writing. I’m not one to go to great lengths to be organized, but I do like using this tool in at least a minimal way. You may want to take it to it’s full level. I’m just going to share how I use it. Simple as it is, it really helps me keep track of my story as I write.

You will find the Navigation pane toggle under the VIEW tab in the menu at the top of your document.

(It’s the same thing you see when you click on “Find” to search for a word in your document.)

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Simply click in the box and it will bring up a sidebar.

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When I start a new chapter, I title it, i.e. Chapter Two, and then assign it as Heading 1 in the Styles bar that shows up in the Home tab.

If I put any subtext under the chapter title, I assign it as Heading 2.

You do this by highlighting the Chapter Two or Scene 1 and then clicking on the Heading you want it to have.

Here is an example of what mine looks like:

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When I click on any of the headings in the Navigation Pane, it goes to that place in my manuscript.

Under the Heading 2, I usually put the scene number, word count of that scene, and a little description of what happens in that scene.

If you click in the Nav. Pane on Pages, it will give you a view of all your pages.

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I know there are other uses for this tool. Here are a couple links for tutorials:

Tutorial One

Tutorial Two

I plan to take some time soon and dive deeper into this feature. I hope you are finding your own tools to make your writing and editing easier.

Happy Navigating!

Jan

5 Steps to a Crumbled Foundation

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In Lynn Austin’s All Things New, the ravaging of the civil war destroys the foundations her characters hold dear. Rebuilding after hard times is often what makes us stronger. We have many foundations in our lives – the ultimate being our Lord. But we build other ones that we think will support us in our dreams.

 

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Have you stepped back lately and examined your foundation?

  • Foundation of a platform if you plan to be published someday.
  • Foundation for financial security.
  • Foundation for a long lasting marriage.

The list goes on and on.

But all our man-made foundations need care or they will weaken and lose the integrity they need to support the things we hold dear. We don’t need wars to destroy them, we can do that on our own. Here are 5 particular things that eat away at our foundations.

  1. Neglect. We take them for granted and forget to make sure the foundation is safe from damage from the elements. Out of sight, out of mind. But it should have routine maintenance.

  2. Under-use. Some things hold their integrity better when put to use – regular stressing can strengthen it. A foundation is meant to hold something up. If the building process is left unfinished, the foundation crumbles from lack of purpose.

  3. Improper installation. Yes, we all get excited about building things and don’t read the instructions. We use the wrong materials, measure incorrectly, or skip steps in the building process. The foundation will suffer when the rest of the structure is off kilter.

  4. Inadequate foundation for the foundation. Build it on soggy, soft, or rocky soil and you will have problems. Prepare the ground before you create your foundation.

  5. Doubt. A slab of concrete will not crumble because you doubt it will stand. But your internal foundations will if you aren’t solid on your vision. Stability is crucial to trusting our foundations. Where does your stability come from?

These reasons are of course meant to make you think. Ponder each one and apply it to your own building process. What is it that makes your foundation crumble? Are you solid in your vision?

Have you taken your foundation for granted for so long it feels shaky under your feet?

Leave a comment  and give yourself a chance to win Lynn’s book…All Things New.

Now, with a stronger foundation…reach for a higher place.

Jan

In with the Old and Out with the New

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I know….that’s backwards. Except not in my case recently.

collage

I’ve been discovering many vintage treasures on our new property in the woods. Rummaging through the old shed I found some seemingly useless items. Long since discarded hinges, door handles, springs, and such began to speak to me. I knew I could re-purpose them into something fun, so I made a collage to hang on the wall of the cabin. I like to look at it and wonder how many squeaks the hinges made in their day, or how many hands had yanked on the worn handles.

Then I unearthed a much larger treasure.

stove

This poor rusted pot belly box stove still has a certain beauty. Although my husband wasn’t feeling the love when I made him drag it out from under a pile of junk in the shed. A little wire brushing and ash removal and it was ready to add some charm to our bunk house. Not useful in the way it was made for, but such a great piece of the history of our cabin property. I can’t help but fantasize about how many nuggets of coal were burned in it to keep the people living there warm, or how many pots of coffee perked on top.

We have recently uncovered documentation that reveals all the previous owners and some delightful information about the immediate area since the cabin was built in 1912. Makes my old treasures even more fascinating to me. They can still bring joy after all these years.

We are doing our best to keep the charm of the cabin by not adding too much “new”.

I try to do the same with my writing. Writing historical novels feeds my passion for finding old things to bring back to life.

What about you? Do you consider old treasures to be junk, or can you see the beauty in them?

Keep reaching!

Jan