Hi everyone.

Oh, those writing contests! I'm speaking specifically about romance writing contests. With me it was always a love-hate relationship. I loved it when I finaled, but hated the diversity of the judges comments when I didn't.

Many new writers assume contests are a kinder, gentler version of a critique. No way. Judges are anonymous, have no axe to grind, and don't care (as a rule) if your work finals. As a result, they can often be harsh in their criticism.

One of the chapters I belong to recently held a contest. They've been doing it for a long time and it's considered one of the best run in RWA. I always considered the judges comments when making revisions prior to submitting.

But this year, some entrants were a tad upset by the low scores they received.

I treated contests like another critique opportunity. Any harsh review I received, I tried to use to my advantage. No one likes to get a rock bottom score, but when that happened, I had to ask myself--Why? The more I wrote, the more I understood the answer--because I wasn't very good yet.

Writing is a continuous learning experience, and I used every judge's comment to improve my work. Oh, there were some I tossed in the old circular file, but by and large, I became a better writer. Eventually, I got THE CALL.

My advice to those who get lousy scores is to take it all in stride. Put the scoresheets and comments away for a few weeks, then re-read them with a less emotional eye. Rarely, do judges enjoy slicing and dicing a fellow writer's work. I've judged my fair share and tired to be optomistic about at least one aspect of the entry.

Remember, contest judges are only human. Their comments are meant to help and are subjective . But keep in mind, so are the opinions of editors and agents who don't have the time to critique. They just reject with no comments other than, 'not for us at this time'.

Now, get out there, enter a few contests, and make the most of the results--good and bad.

Good luck.

Suzanne