Aug 12 2008
Judging Others
I know the quote: “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” Yet I could offer another: “Judge, so that ye may see how ye will be judged.”
Now before any of you get offended, let me tell you WHY I say this. I’ve spent the weekend judging short stories for a group back in Kansas, and it has offered me a benefit I didn’t expect. Through my own judgment of these stories, I have grasped an understanding of what I am doing wrong in my own fiction.
Now, just in case some of my friends from Kansas come to read this, I won’t give away who won. (I don’t really know anyway, since they are only marked with numbers). I read through nearly 40 stories, writing down the numbers which I found most memorable, meaningful, interesting, etc. Once I had read through everything, I pulled out the stories I’d marked. I read through them again, ranking them behind, in front of, or between the other marked stories. It went faster than I thought it would, for very few of the stories were on exactly the same level.
What I discovered is that most of the stories were fine on their own, yet together they sounded so alike. The plots were similar, the conflicts about the same. My personal stake in them was about the same. They didn’t get into the smaller pile, the one that gets the awards, not because they were bad (with a few exceptions) but because they didn’t stand out. They weren’t unusual in their narrative style, their kinds of characters, their conflict, or their resolution.
I am absolutely certain that what I have found is the same with agents and publishers. Right around 95% of what they receive in submissions isn’t BAD, it’s just not unusual enough, compelling enough, or interesting enough for it to stand out.
So, that is my task now. Once I send off the judged stories, I need to rework my letter and first chapter. I need to make my novel stand out!
Yeah, I know the feeling. I think the key, if you have too much trouble with people not wanting something different, is to take something that’s been done before and explore an aspect of it that hasn’t been. (At least, I’m in the middle of a post sequence the essence of which is approximately that; close enough, right?)
And I fully agree with the judging; I think I learned more from the things I disliked during workshop in my writing class than I did from the class itself.
Yes, ravyn, learning what you DON’T like can be as helpful as finding things you DO.
And, Stephanie, you bring up a good point…what is “too different” to one person may not be different enough to someone else. Perhaps the key is pleasing one’s self, instead of trying to please everyone else. No matter how good something is, someone is going to hate it.