It’s Valentine’s Day! Which means:
a) The one day a year I wish I was still in grade school – turning Kleenex boxes into Valentine’s Day mailboxes and getting candy from every classmate. Woohoo!
b) Prime grumble opportunity for the anti-commercial holiday lot.
c) My turn to blog about the Frasier Contest!
Yup, when the call rang out for past My Book Therapy Frasier Contest participants to join a blog tour about this year’s contest, I immediately threw my hat into the mix – real Mary Tyler Moore-like. And I purposely picked the “day of love” for my post ’cause I loooove the Frasier.
So here I am, popping candy conversation hearts – Tweet Me? Really, Brachs? – and traveling back in time to February 2010. I’d never before entered a writing contest, had only recently finished the first draft of Tuesdays with Cully and was questioning the next step in my fledgling writing career. Being a Susan May Warren/My Book Therapy groupie, as soon as I heard about the Frasier Contest, it clicked – next step identified!
The contest held so many perks:
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The opportunity to take what I’ve learned through My Book Therapy and apply it to my writing.
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The chance to get my writing in front of true experts. This was huge!
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Being forced to write a concise synopsis. Eek!
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Feedback! This one doubles as a fear-slash-perk. But seriously, the feedback was awesome! More on that below.
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Knowing I’d be judged on story-crafting. While some contests divide entries up by genre, in the Frasier Contest, it’s truly about the craft of storytelling. Going into it, we knew exactly what aspects we’d be critiqued on for each tier of the judging process.
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The prize possibility! A free MBT retreat…does it get better than that?
Perhaps the biggest benefit of all was simply the fact that entering the Frasier Contest pushed me out of my comfort zone. I’ve written about my Frasier Contest prep before – here and here. You might say I had a slight (okay, mammoth) case of nerves, but I lived. It forced me let go of a story I’d put so much time, effort, heart into…let someone else’s eyes consume the product of my passion. For me, not an easy thing to do.
But so rewarding. The judges’ feedback was wonderful – they pointed out areas for improvement and what they liked about the piece. And they went far beyond just sticking a number beside each component – they provided comments to expand upon their scores. I’ve saved my scoresheets so I can remind myself what agents, editors and publishers are looking for as I move on to my next WIP. One specific thing I learned that’s definitely helped me improve my craft – sensory details! A couple of my judges pointed out that I could do more with incorporating the five senses into my scene.
So, if I were to give the Frasier Contest a candy conversation heart, I’d pick out You Rock. From the educational side to the feedback to the pizza party/award ceremony (which, incidentally, included a pretty sweet line dance!)…
And, well, there’s also this:
🙂
So if you’re a writer, don’t miss out. This truly is one of the best writing contest opportunities out there! Get all the details here.
Comments 4
Thanks, Melissa! I’m pretty sure I’m going to enter, more for the feedback than the expectation that I could win. 🙂 I like how you shared the advantages of entering. Thanks!
Yay, yeah, you should totally enter! And I think you’re smart to go into it for the feedback…I was a bit nervous about the “competition” part of contests when I first thought about entering last year, so realizing the value of the feedback and even networking aspect was a major takeaway for me.
Your acceptance speech will go down in history! Best. One. Ever.
I’m so excited for what amazing things God has in store for you. I’m thrilled you stepped out of your comfort zone. When we are focused on Him, that’s what He uses us the most.
Haha, Lisa. Um. Yes. I will always remember the next day when someone from the party came up to me and said, “Hey, you’re the ‘holy crap’ girl.” So nice to be recognized. Hehe…
Thanks for the kind words. And today, I’m excited for YOU, oh contracted author!! 🙂 Can’t wait to read Lakeside Reunion. (An autographed copy, I hope!)