Insights of a Writing Competition Judge

Some thoughts about how judges judge writing competitions, which I hope will help you.

I mentioned last week that I was a judge in the Write By the Sea memoir competition. It was a delightful process. I worked with two other judges and between us, we read around 160 stories, of 1,000 words or less. These were true stories drawn from people's own lives.

It was also a harmonious process; we were in almost total agreement about the pieces we chose for the shortlist of 10 stories. I did fight for one piece, but the other two judges liked another piece, so I gave in. This is known in polite society as democracy.

I thought I'd share a few nuggets of wisdom that I hope will guide you, and indeed myself, in any future submission we make.

Draft, Draft and Draft Again

You wouldn't believe the amount of pieces we read where we thought, if only the author had drafted this story one more time. We could tell when the author had taken the time to draft their pieces with care. They were immaculately written, every word in the right place, and the ingredients of their stories blended perfectly together.

I understand that you’re excited and dying to send your story out, but I suggest doing one more draft than you think you need. It could be the difference between you making it to the shortlist – or winning – and getting nowhere.

You're At The Mercy of The Judges

We divided the stories into three batches. There were stories in my batch that might have made it to the longlist and beyond if they had been in another judge's batch, and vice versa.

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Photo Description: This is a wooden gavel on a cream background. As competition judges, we try not to bang it with too much force.

Judges are human beings, and they have their own ideas about what they consider to be a good story, the style they like and the way language should be used. So, keep submitting, and you might end up in the right batch someday.

Your Story Topic Matters

Again, judges will be drawn to certain topics, and you'll stand a greater chance of success if you're writing about a topic the judge is interested in. There are certain core themes that always come up, but judges don't want the longlist and shortlist to be dominated by one topic. If a judge reads three or four pieces close together with the same theme, your piece might lose impact, through no fault of your own.

Tell A Complete Story

Some people were so desperate to come below the 1,000-word limit that they told a scrap of a story. Others strung together a series of memories with a common theme. But if you tell a story with a beginning, middle and end, you can't go wrong. This is a storytelling formula that has worked for thousands of years, and if you follow it, you'll give your reader a satisfying experience.

Make Us Feel Something

As a judge, we all want to experience that moment when hairs stand up on the back of your neck. This is the ingredient that will propel your piece into the longlist, shortlist and ultimately winning positions. It's not enough just to tell the story; you need to bring us under the skin of your story, help us to feel what you felt and to know what it was like to experience what you experienced. This is memoir at its best.

And finally… thanks to Parker McCoy, who became a free subscriber to my newsletter, through the recommendation of Mike Keenan (When the Page Remembers.)