Contest Tips From a Four-Time Finalist
The Golden Heart Contest, sponsored by the national Romance Writers of America to recognize unpublished RWA members' work, is viewed by many writers, editors and agents as the creme de la creme of all the RWA contests. In 1999, the last year I entered the Golden Heart, nearly 900 entrants apparently thought the same.
But is the Golden Heart for you? How can making the finals or receiving the GH pendant benefit an unpublished author? It's important to note that the Golden Heart is for recognition only. It's not a learning tool since you won't receive critiques on your work. So why do unpublished writers enter the contest by the hundreds? Does finaling or winning mean immediate publication? Does it mean that you can hire the agent of your choice, or that your manuscript is the best of the best? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding no!
The only thing you can know with any certainty is that, this year, if your work reaches the finals, you'll bypass the query/slush pile stage, and your GH manuscript will get a read by an editor. Why? Because the 2001 Golden Heart Contest requires all who enter to submit their full manuscript in addition to the 55 pages. First round judges will read your 55 pages, and if you final, RWA will make copies of your full manuscript to send directly to the panel of editors judging your category.
If a GH finalist or winner doesn't sell immediately, what are the benefits of reaching that status? From my experience, reaching the finals provided the following: additional credits to put in query letters; increased visibility with editors on future work; and name exposure since the contest results are listed on many online groups and in the RWR. I've had several readers tell me they bought my first book because they saw my name so many times as a contest winner and GH finalist. Additionally, many finalists notify editors and agents, to whom they've already sent their manuscript, to let them know that the book reached the finals in the contest. Such news may prompt an editor or agent to pluck your manuscript from the slush pile and read it right away. Why? Because editors and agents recognize this is no small feat, they know you've completed a full manuscript that was interesting and well-written - enough to make the top ten percent of all those who entered the contest.
The Golden Heart isn't for everyone, and it's not wise to spend an inordinate amount of time revising your work for any contest. But if you decide to enter the Golden Heart, you'll want to ensure your novel is the best it can be, just as you would when sending your work to an editor. As a multiple Golden Heart finalist, I've learned a few things that make a better contest entry, and I think, an all around better book. I'd like to share those tips with you.
THE FIRST CHAPTERS:
1. Start with a hook. Catch the reader's attention. Your first sentence, or first paragraph should raise a question that compels the reader to go on. If possible, open with something that will shock, startle, or amuse. If you can get goal, motivation and conflict right up front in your first paragraph or first sentence, that's a definite plus. Consider these first sentences, all of which contain a hint of a goal, conflict and or motivation. All raise one or more questions:
in front of the Pride of Carolina Drive-In."
Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Dream A Little Dream.
Connie Flynn, The Dragon Hour
Linda Style, Her Sister's Secret (1999 GH finalist)
2. Start in the middle of the action and enmesh your reader in your characters. If the reader cares about your characters, she'll want to read more.
3. End each scene on a hook. End each chapter on a hook. By the end of the first chapter, the reader should know the main character's goal, a hint of the conflict, and enough of his/her motivation to care what happens. Foreshadow conflict, keep the questions coming. Whether subtle, or bold, the end hook must compel the reader forward dying to know, "What happens next?"
4. Do not end your entry anti-climactically in mid-sentence or mid-paragraph. End your entry with a hook - regardless if it's at the end of a chapter or not! If your best ending makes your entry less than 55 pages long, so be it.
5. Consider the category you're entering and whether the hero and heroine make an appearance. If you're writing short contemporary and the H&H don't meet until the 3rd chapter or later, judges will likely mark you down for it. GH judges are readers and writers with expectations. A non-traditional romance novel may be great, and an editor might buy it, but that doesn't mean it's a good contest entry.
6. If you use a prologue, make it as good as the beginning of your first chapter. Don't wimp out on either one, and don't cripple yourself by starting out so large the only way to go is down.
7. Ensure the who, what, where, when and why are included right off the bat. Don't confuse the judges! A confused judge will give you a lower score..
8. Double check your grammar, punctuation and spelling. Get the mechanics right! Don't think if the story is good, the mechanics won't matter. Judges can be pickier than editors.
9. Stay focused on your story. Include only those elements that advance the plot, reveal character or provide necessary description. Long narrative passages can bog your story down. One of the most common mistakes new writers make is dumping blocks of unnecessary back story into the first chapter. With each sentence, ask yourself, "Does the reader need to know this NOW?" If not, weave it into the story later. One of my methods is to set chapter one aside and look at chapter two, or chapter three and ask a few what ifs. "What if my story started here? What would I need to add to make it understandable? Is it more interesting, is the pace faster?" If you have a choice of revealing character conflict through internal monologue or dialogue, consider using dialogue.
10. Make sure the dialogue doesn't include too much idle conversation. "Hi," "How are you?" Unnecessary dialogue slows the pace. Make each character's dialogue distinctive so the reader knows exactly who's speaking without the tags.
11. Check to see if both your hero and heroine are in the last scene of your contest pages. If not, make sure at least one of them is in the scene and thinking about the other - and make it good!
12. Keep in mind that the reader judge will look more closely at the chapters than the synopsis. However, if you get to the finals, it's the synopsis that will carry you to a win. Editors are interested in the whole story.
SYNOPSIS CHECKLIST:
- Does your synopsis set the tone and reflect your voice and style?
- Have you used hooks and buzz words right off, so the editor knows this is a reunion, cowboy, baby or amnesia story? Yes, this does make a difference.
- Is the story clear? Have you included the who, what, where, when and why? (Goal, motivation and conflict? Are the conflicts enough to sustain the story?
- Have you included all the major plot points and how the romantic conflict is affected by each?
- Have you focused on the developing characters and the romance - the how and why your hero and heroine grow and change?
- Have you eliminated all unnecessary details? (clothing descriptions, hair and eye color, secondary characters names, etc.)
- Have you resolved all the internal and external conflicts and tied up all loose ends?
- What have you done to make this story fresh and unique? Are there twists? Tell what they are. Have you polished to perfection, double checked grammar and spelling?
Good luck to you all in your writing!
