Old Decathlon Olympics Journal

Tuesday, Oct. 12: Contest Judging Can Suck!!!

Tuesday, October 12th, 2004

I finished judging a contest; name of the contest omitted to protect the guilty. I was never so disappointed in my life. The contest was simple; just write a poem or short story using a picture as a prompt. The picture was on display in all its glory in the contest forum. At first I was alarmed at the number of entries, over 57. I was thinking that it was going to be an impossible task. Never in my wildest dreams did it occur to me that so many of the entries would be so… so bad.

I have been called a “tactless twit” on these types of occasions when I speak my mind. So be it. I accept the fact that I can be a “tactless twit” if others will admit contestants should realize that it is expected that their entries in some way should appear to incorporate the contest prompt. It is just a very good thing that I don’t have to be the one to make a statement or comment about the entries. Some could have been quite good with just a little real effort. It will probably take me forty-eight hours to start recovering from reading so much dribble, and get over my complete and total frustration.

Didn’t do any reviews today, just read and judged contest entries. I fulfilled the commitment that I made to be a judge. Tomorrow I have an 8:30 am doctor appointment and then I will come home and work the two current Olympic Decathlon events. I need to write a humorous letter as a fairytale character to another fairytale character, and I need to write a micro-fiction horror story. I wonder if I can figure out a Twilight Zone type horror story in 300 words or less about a contest judge. I am being ugly.

I am happy to report that NONE of the contest entries were from Olympians!

After today, I hope every Olympian has the same appreciation for anybody that volunteers to be a judge. I know I do. I participate in contests to test myself, to get out of my comfort zone, and to try to improve my writing skills. I try to show respect for readers by producing written work that does what it is intended to do, be it: entertain, inform, charm, educate, frighten, or caution.

Words, rather written or spoken, have a purpose. I give more thought to my written words than I do to my spoken words; hence that is why when I write like I speak I am called names like, tactless twit, among others.

Better I be a tactless twit, than one or more hapless people with a loaded keyboard continue to commit literary suicide. How embarrassing. And I wonder if editors’ submission desks across the country are littered with some of the same garbage? God help us all, especially the few of us who actually invest time and energy learning the craft.

Looks like I am going to Houston this weekend. The whole purpose of the trip is just to meet Jessiebelle. I’ll make travel arrangements tomorrow. Yippee!