While reading the entries for Dame Lisbet's contest, the judges had to exercise great discipline in avoiding the temptation to scribble notes and questions in the margins of the short stories. The creative team wanted to provide individual feedback and comments to the writers.
We noticed that many of the stories were close to excellence but deficient in some significant area of writing. Some stories that had good plot and character development lacked detailed setting. Some were rich in geographical detail, but the dialogue was laborious to read. Others ended by committing Gardner's classic error of sentimentality, defined as "emotion or feeling that rings false, usually because achieved by some form of cheating or exaggeration."
In our efforts to nurture and encourage aspiring writers, we've decided to offer a new service in conjunction with the Fifteenth Dame Lisbet Throckmorton Fiction Writing Contest. Coffee House Fiction will provide a written evaluation of your work which will include the numerical score the judges assigned to your submission. The optional written assessment carries a $25 fee, which you should include with your entry fee. (You should also include the word "CRITIQUE" on your cover page and a self-addressed stamped envelope if you enter by US Mail.)
It is our objective that our candid feedback will offer constructive guidance on how you can improve your writing. You may enter without a critique, but you may not receive a critique without entering the contest. There is no penalty for not opting for the critique sheet. It is offered in addition to entering the contest and requires the extra fee to enable our qualified judges to make thoughtful comments.
Our critique service is different than these traditional outlets because we seek to show the thought process of contest judges - including the 1-10 combined score (initial readings are made by two judges, each giving a score of 1 to 5). Our objective is that your learnings can be leveraged as you make additional submissions and continue to pursue and improve your writing.
Your critique made valid and helpful points. I've made changes based on the advice, and I feel the story will be much more competitive for its next entry.
- John F Nienstedt. Surprise, AZ
I want to thank you very much for your excellent and professional critique. I do not know how often you hear from authors, but this one wants you to know that you are the most reliable and professional organization I have dealt with in the past history of my writing. I do not know exactly why you stand out, but know that you do and I appreciate your efforts. Thank you.
- Sheila Clapkin
Thank you for the critique. I found the comments to be both accurate and helpful. It is an invaluable service to writers who genuinely want to improve.
- Tonya Crombie
I want to thank you for your valuable opinion and for your honest evaluation. It was well worth the extra money I paid to get your assessment of my work.
- Karin M. Taney
As for the critique feature, I thought it was terrific. I have to admit that when I decided to do it, I wasn't thinking that I'd necessarily learn anything new about the story (or come up with new ideas for improving the story); I was figuring what would be most helpful would be to hear the thought process of the judge. And I got that, certainly, for both stories (I thought the checklist was particularly interesting in that regard). But I also got some very sound advice on both stories, and a bit of a larger sense that I might be able to use in my writing overall.
- Mark Farrington
