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SHARE SOME GOOD ADVICE FOR SSC2016! |
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topangarose 
NYC Midnight Black Belt 
Joined: 21 Jan 2008 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 4808 |
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 Topic: SHARE SOME GOOD ADVICE FOR SSC2016!Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 6:09am |
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Hey NYC'ers! It's almost time to begin! When I first began my journey with NYC, I knew very little about this thing called writing. I'd never taken a writing class, didn't know terminology, or etiquette. What a novice! I only knew that I loved to write, and this looked like a fun and safe place to try it out for real. That turned out to be true. Everything I've learned over these years has made my writing experience easier and more fun, and all by virtue of the generosity of my fellow NYC writers. So, I was thinking that maybe we might pay it forward and use this thread to compile advice, links, or anything else of random writing nature that might be of interest to writers on this forum, but in particular with this comp in mind. *** I ran across a post the other day, that spoke to this subject and I thought it good enough to share, especially in the face of the impending competition... so, I hope our fellow writer, Jenna Willet, won't mind me posting her blog link here. Jenna's post, I think, is pretty useful in navigating
those fine lines between help and hell, when it comes to Beta
Reading.I was a few years in, before I'd even heard the term "Beta Reader" or
figured out what that was. If you don't know, it's a secondary reader besides yourself that reads your story and offers advice, points out holes and inconsistencies, questions, and in general gives you an idea of where your draft is falling apart. (or where it absolutely ROCKS!) They may offer advice that is yours to take or not.
If you have something to share, to pass it forward, please feel free to post it for the group. And, Happy Writing everybody!! |
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Davenader
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Joined: 06 Mar 2013 Location: Blackburn Status: Offline Points: 476 |
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Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 7:22am |
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OK, I'll throw in my two cents.
Although this is a competition, don't treat it as a competition. Treat it as a challenge. A personal challenge. Write a better story than you have ever written before. Be proud of your art, and if you haven't written a lot in the past then give yourself permission to be a bad artist and be proud that you produced something. You are on the path to becoming a good artist. It is easy to become competitive in this environment. It is nice to get points, but judging is subjective, and different groups are judged by different judges. How do you judge art anyway? Who is the better writer? George RR Martin or J RR Tolkein? Stephen King or H. P. Lovecraft? Neil Gaiman or Orson Scott Card? Enid Blyton or Andy Griffith? Does it matter? Write for you. Write to have fun. But please share it. Because it is more fun when you share. Much love and respect, Dave:)
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I tweet here @davenader1 I blog here http://www.davidtmyers.com/ |
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mrjaywilson
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Joined: 20 Jan 2015 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 682 |
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Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 10:56am |
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My advice is to have fun. Take crits serious by their content not by your emotion.
Also, be respectful of your fellow winners. Just because you don't think it's a good story and just because you can think of 50 other stories that were better written in your opinion, doesn't make them better or worse than the story(ies) that were chosen. Snarky comments do no one any good, especially you. I can't emphasize this enough: This community works because there's respect and kindness. You really can't ever go wrong with those two when they work together in a community of people trying to help each other get better. No one says you have to be perfect, just think before you post, "Is my comment constructive?" Also, good luck everyone!! Fourteen more hours before we all drop the ball and kick it further away every time we get close to it. haha
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patsy
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Joined: 28 Aug 2011 Location: Ohio, USA Status: Offline Points: 4746 |
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Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 11:10am |
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The things I see people get dinged on most by the judges are:
1. "This doesn't feel like a complete story." Make sure you have a clear beginning, middle and end. 2. Story Structure: I see that "Conflict, Crisis, Change" comment a lot in the judges comments that writers post. (I hate that comment!) Make sure your story goes somewhere and something happens and that it changes something about your character. 3. Grammar and punctuation. Use a Beta and run your spell and grammar check! Little things can keep you from scoring points! 4. Judges are Adverb Police. This helped me single those pesky adverbs out, and also helps identify clunky sentences: http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ Anyone else have something I missed? Edited by patsy - 21 Jan 2016 at 11:11am |
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mrjaywilson
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Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 11:26am |
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I think those are pretty fair points, Patsy. Also, linked below are threads containing tons of Judge Feedback so you can read through and get an "idea" of what to expect. Remember, not everyone will get the same judge and not every contest will have the same judge as the last. However, Judges usually have some of the same stuff they pick on us about, so reading through them will give you some good ground when editing your work or beta reading for others. Edited by mrjaywilson - 21 Jan 2016 at 11:30am |
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ShadowBeast
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Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 12:29pm |
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Number one piece of advice: Participate as much as you can.
 Post a link to your story as soon as we receive the permission to do so in each level, then keep an open mind as others tell you what they thought. You won't agree with everything--but that's ok. Compiling multi impressions will give a good idea of what is working and what didn't work. It helps weigh things. When giving feedback to others be honest, but not brutal. If something isn't working in your opinion say so and try to explain why.  The other side of this is point out stuff you LOVED! This helps the author identify strengths, and helps to sooth the 'not quite there' areas. Be a good sport.I'm sure that others have amusing stories of judges feedback (because I have one myself, and shortly after heard of several others), be prepared for a mixture from them as well. Some will be 'canned' remarks. Some will seriously get into what they liked and encourage you to fix what wasn't up to par. Annnnddddd some ... will miss the point of your story entirely when close to a dozen beta readers never jumped to a false conclusion one judge did. If it happens, take it in stride. If the vast multitude of readers didn't miss the ... ohhh ... I dunno ... death of a character ... then it was probably a strange assumption by a overloaded judge. It sadly happens. Laugh when they tell you "You missed the opportunity to tell the best scene, how your character escaped." Ummm ... ok, here goes: "He died." There it is. Yup.  Take this contest as an opportunity to push yourself to tell an unexpected story, and cheer on the people around you! It makes it sooooo much better.  Edited by ShadowBeast - 21 Jan 2016 at 12:29pm |
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R1A tightly packed parcel of contents that leave you wanting--which a publisher told me made her editing day. Suck it judges!
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jenspenden
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Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 1:30pm |
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Thank you, @topangarose, for sharing the link to my blog about beta reader etiquette.
 I'll echo what others have said above. Participate on the forum, keep a good attitude, and enjoy yourself. And if you get a genre you despise (ahem, political satire) don't give up! Remember, this is a challenge, so take whatever prompts you get and run with them. You might fail, but you'll gain valuable experience. If anyone is looking for some actual writing tips, I just published a new post on my blog (Jen's How To: 5 Tips For Writing A Short Story). These are things I've learned through 13 rounds of NYCM, so maybe I can save some of you the hassle of going through the same trials and errors I have, haha. Good luck, everyone! And, remember to have FUN!
Edited by jenspenden - 21 Jan 2016 at 1:30pm |
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mrjaywilson
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Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 1:58pm |
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Fun... fun!? I hate the word... as I hate Hell, all Montagues, and stinky brie! |
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jenspenden
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Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 3:43pm |
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Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!!!!!   |
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mrjaywilson
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Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 3:59pm |
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patsy wrote: