Writing Wrongs

April 25, 2005

Well, since anyone who�s anyone is blogging their Golden Heart scores, I thought I�d jump on that particular bandwagon and do the same. I�m actually pleased with this year�s scores. I already knew I didn�t make the finals, so obviously I was prepared for the worst.

Manuscripts are judged on a 1-9 scale, with 9 as the high score and decimals are allowed.

For Cold Comfort: 9, 8.8, 8.1, 6, 5

The �5� judge said it was the wrong category. Maybe she thought it should've been in paranormal. Since entrants receive no feedback, it�s all speculation. I�m surprised it did so well, because I broke a �cardinal rule� and wrote the synopsis in first person.

For Accidental Cheerleader: 8.7, 8, 7.9, 7.5, 6

Of all my manuscripts, this is probably the weakest. It�s a silly little thing. (And with the title Accidental Cheerleader how could it not be?) Still, I had a blast writing it, and my critique partners said they enjoyed it (and that wasn�t under the threat of torture, either). Still, I look at it as my �learner� YA book.

For India Charlie: 9, 8.7, 8, 8, 5

I�m bummed about that �5�. If the score had been higher, or even lower, I may have made the finals with India Charlie. The Golden Heart uses standard deviation, and when a score falls outside that, it�s dropped and the average of all five scores is used instead.

Still, it�s enough that I�ll probably try again with India Charlie this year. A friend of mine pointed out that there�s still much confusion surrounding the new Mainstream with Strong Romantic Elements category (in its second year now).

Is it chick lit ala Bridget Jones? Is it literary with romantic subplot? Is it female action adventure? Is it women�s fiction ala an Oprah choice? Is it a story about Desert Storm? Or a mystery told from the viewpoint of a ghost? Oh, wait. Those last two are mine.

Anyway, I�m heartened (sorry, pun again). I�m a pretty good read for some people. And really, what more can a writer ask for? (I mean, besides that three-book deal w/movie rights.)

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 12:47 p.m.

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