I’ve just finished judging a competition run by the Nottingham Writers Group (hence the picture of Robin Hood!) and thought you might be interested in the feedback I gave them.
When judging this competition I used the same criteria any editor would use should any of the entries find their way into a publisher’s slush pile.
Firstly I looked at the first page of each entry to see if the opening lines grabbed me. Four entries fulfilled this criteria. The trick to writing a good opening paragraph is, firstly, to speak directly to the reader and, secondly, to intrigue the reader. Too many of the entries opened with dialogue or narrative which bordered on the mundane.
Secondly I looked at targeting. Considering this was part of the competition brief I was slightly puzzled as to why three of the seven shortlisted entries made no mention of a target age range. This ruled them out as far as I was concerned because if you don’t have a clear idea of your target readership then you are very unlikely to find a home for your manuscript. Knowledge of the current children’s book market is absolutely crucial if you are serious about writing for children.
Once I had considered first lines and targeting I was left with four manuscripts and, out of the remaining four, I ruled out two more on the grounds that the targeting wasn’t accurate. In my opinion the subject matter of these two stories was too young for the age group they were written for.
By now I was left with two manuscripts ‘A Near Death Experience and An Indian Summer. The former had a more intriguing opening but the latter had a more contemporary feel. And, at the end of the day, it is a ‘voice’ that is the most important aspect of any piece of writing.
However literary agent, Darley Anderson, writing in October 23rd’s Bookseller, says that good writing is the last thing he looks for. Instead he looks for character first and plot second.
So is it first lines, targeting, plotting, characterisation, subject matter…or none of the above? What, exactly, is ‘the most important thing’?
The most important thing is I believe, characterisation and secondly maybe subject matter and then the plotting.
Characterisation is certainly very important. I’m judging our own competiton at the moment and can’t decide upon a winner. I’m torn between two entries. One grabs the attention but lacks good characterisation. The other has a character I want to read more about but isn’t particularly strong as an opening. Help!
Hi Louise
I would go for the one that has the character you want to read more about If the story makes you want to read on then I’m sure other people will want to also.
Jackie.
Thank you Jackie – that’s exactly the decision I came to. You can now read the winning entry on our news page.
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