Writing Contest News!

Lydia Sharp generously hosted a writing contest over on her blog, The Sharp Angle. Writers sent in their first 500 words of their WIP and Lydia would pick the best one.

Oh, and she also offered A FREE CRITIQUE of those 500 words!

As you can imagine, she was quickly flooded with entries. Here are the stats (I took this directly from her blog)

Total Entries: 83
At 500-ish words per entry, that is 41,500+ words read and analyzed in my “free time”, in less than two weeks.

Yep, she created a monster with this contest!

And I am pleased beyond words to have been chosen as an “Honorable Mention”.

Lydia has mentioned she may consider doing this contest again sometime this summer so get your first 500 polished and ready to go, because she gives a seriously awesome critique!

Here is my critique from Lydia… (Her critique is in bold and at times she underlined my work for emphasis)

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Every week Kate stood on the same front porch, her hand poised inches from the door, willing herself to finally do the unthinkable—walk away without knocking. However, during the hesitation, her courage inevitably fled. {nice tension}

            Wednesdays were a long-standing tradition, and one she couldn’t disrupt.

            Steeling herself for what she would endure over the next two hours, Kate rapped her knuckles against the door. Familiar footsteps clicked toward the other side of the entry and she forced a smile as the door opened to reveal an overdressed, overfed, overbearing woman. {love how you used repetition in that description. beautiful.}

           “Katherine Davis, how dare you appear at my doorstep looking like some commoner? Get that bonnet on your head this instant!”

            Her smile faded. “Yes, Aunt Victoria.”

            Kate pulled the velvet cage over the her mass of auburn hair secured in a knot at the nape of her neck, knowing full well she’d only remove it after stepping across the threshold. {I can feel her frustration here. very well done.}Under the guise of propriety, her aunt had tortured her for years.

            From etiquette during afternoon tea to running a household, Aunt Victoria enforced her opinions over Kate’s every move. Recently she’d expanded her teachings to include the fine art of manipulating men. Snaring a husband was the ultimate goal.

            Kate followed the perfume cloud into the parlor. {another excellent description} Cream and gold wallpaper, the best her father’s money could buy, adorned each wall. Marble-topped tables stood between overstuffed chairs and a matching sofa. Polished mahogany frames held paintings of stern men and sweeping mountain ranges. A buffet displayed a china tea set adorned with red roses.

            Taking a seat on the sole wooden chair in the room, Kate prepared for the upcoming interrogation. The bitter spinster didn’t disappoint.

           “I assume your servants are behaving better after my lecture last week?”

           After discovering muddy footprints on the front porch during an unannounced visit, her aunt had lined up the household staff and disparaged each and every one. Three left the room in tears, and one quit on the spot. {oh my}

            Kate merely nodded.

           “Good. They have to learn to serve their betters with more respect.”

            Kate poured herself a cup of tea and reached to add {I would just say added here; the act of reaching isn’t necessarily important} a small pastry to her plate. It was early morning, but she’d already been up for hours without breakfast.

            “Don’t take too many sweets. They’ll ruin your figure.” Ignoring her own advice, Aunt Victoria placed three on her own plate and then settled back against the upholstered sofa. {love this!} “Did you enjoy the Ladies Society meeting about the new library?”

            “I didn’t attend.”

             At this, her aunt’s tone hardened. “Securing an invitation required delicate negotiations among the most influential women of this town. Your position in society is not guaranteed, Katherine, so I trust you have a good reason for embarrassing me—again.”

            Undaunted, Kate met the narrowed eyes with ease. “I needed to review a contract and finalize the monthly profits and losses.”

            Wrinkled hands flew into the air with dramatic frustration—a gesture that would have been far more impressive had Kate not seen it nearly every week. The familiar rant began, as always, with an exaggerated sigh.

           “It’s a wonder I even bother with you anymore. As for your father, he should have hired a bookkeeper long ago instead of forcing the task upon his only daughter.”

I would definitely keep reading. Your depiction of character is superb, and the tension here is constant. And, as I’ve already mentioned, I’m in love with your use of description.

I really feel like I’m living in this scene and I honestly care what happens to Kate. You’ve made me feel real concern for her in just a few pages.

So well done, Christi. I should be asking you to critique my work, not vice versa. Seriously. 

Thanks again, and good luck with this!