Reviewing Your Reviews: How to Absorb Feedback from Writing Contests

Judging contests isn't easy. This year, I judged the Genesis for the first time. I was impressed with how the contest administration tried to even the judging field by sending out a lot of information ahead of time about what was expected of us. (The document was 12 pages long, people.)

If you read my post on Monday, then you might have more of an idea of how I tried to judge. I hoped entrants participated to learn and grow as a writer, so I wrote a lot of comments throughout each of the 7 entries I judged. I feel if a writer is going to put their stuff out there to be judged, then they need to get the biggest bang for their diminished-creativity buck.  In contrast, I know of writers who received no comments in the body of their submission and only general impressions. The learning is greatly diminished when this happens, and that's the real focus of a contest in my book.

But no matter what kind of feedback you received, you can review what was said through a lens that will do you the most benefit.

In theory, anyone judging a contest should be further along in the writing journey in general than those entering contests. When a person with greater authority or knowledge tells a novice what they should do, the feedback is more than likely evaluation, which tends to be viewed as controlling. which reduces creativity and writing for the joy of it.

If the feedback is presented in such a way, though, that it's more informative, trying to help the novice achieve their goals, then it's viewed as empowering rather than controlling. Research done on empowering feedback indicates very little, if any, impact on creativity.

Also, feedback that focuses on the work itself rather than the writer is going to cause less harm in the long run. For example, a judge who wrote, "The way that the spiritual element is manipulated in this story keeps the readers engaged" is praising the work. A judge who writes, "The way you subtly use the spiritual element to keep the reader engaged shows your talent as a writer" is praising the writer. Research shows that the first will be received better and will have less of an effect on future creativity, even though both comments were positive.

Feedback that is more specific is better to help the entrant develop skills than more general observations. Focused comments are usually interpreted as more informative rather than evaluative, and thus more likely to be seen as empowering than controlling.

So go through your comments. Did your judge come off as a know-it-all? Were your talents as a writer in question or was it just your work being judged? Were comments more specific or general?
Depending upon the answer to these questions, you should be able to determine which comments were meant to control and which were meant to empower, and what you should do with both.

Let's Analyze: Who else thinks I need to to do a preparatory class for contest judges? :)

Do Writing Contests Help or Hurt Creativity?

In the aftermath of the Genesis Contest results (contest for unpubbed writers sponsored by the American Christian Fiction Writers), I feel that it would be helpful for writers to talk about the creative writing process in general, and how a person's expectations upon entering any kind of writing contest can definitely effect their creativity afterward.

First, a few questions to keep you reading:

1. Have you ever taken a writing course in high school or college and had a far more difficult time completing assignments than you had hacking away at your work-in-progress on the side?
2. Have you ever signed up for NaNoWriMo to complete a novel in 30 days and had serious writer's block, but were able to knock a story out in under 30 days when not on a deadline?
3. Have you ever entered a writer's contest, received feedback, and never wanted to pick up that story again--or even write anything, for that matter?

These are classic examples of how sometimes our inner creativity can be stifled by things like contests. Rewards and evaluations are extrinsic motivations that can actually drive out our desire to write simply because we love it, which is called intrinsic motivation. (This is the intrinsic motivation theory of creativity in a nutshell, as published by Amabile in 1983.)

Unfortunately, the same things that tend to diminish creativity are the very things that increase competence and learning. Entering contests and receiving feedback and evaluation of our work will definitely help us in the future to do something in a more creative way--and certainly a more competent way--than is possible for us currently. So it's a catch 22.

Why should you concern yourself with this? Because you can't have both enhancing creativity and acquiring skills and knowledge, at least not at the same time. 

It boils down to your goals and expectations upon entering a contest as to what you will get out of it. If your goal is to develop better writing skills and knowledge of the craft, then entering a contest is perfect for you. You'll receive feedback, both positive and negative, and you will ultimately grow as a writer. Yes, your creativity could be stifled somewhat, but contests are for those writers who are in the industry for the long haul. A little speed bump won't amount to dropping out of the race.

If your goal is to increase creativity, then contests are not for you. Perhaps not even NaNoWriMo, which has the extrinsic motivation of receiving the coveted, cool "winner" button to put on your blog. Research has shown that anticipating evaluation, even positive ones (because you think your story is so fantastic that it will win), has a negative effect on creative performance.

Let's Analyze: Anyone want to comment on the three questions I asked earlier? Help me put some actual faces and names to the research.

Be sure to join me Wednesday as I discuss how the way that writers perceive evaluation actually determines its effect. You'll be able to look at your Genesis comments in a whole new light.

And HUGE CONGRATS to the semi-finalists!