FaithWriters.com-Christian Writers Forum

I'm going to be sharing some tips from our judges. Some of these may already be in some of the writing tips in other parts of the forum, but this is from our current panel of wonderful judges.

Up first: How well did this entry fit the topic?
From our judge:
"Look at the definition of the topic word - even if you think you know it well. There may be something interesting you haven't thought of that would work for the topic."

From me:
This is the EASIEST of the 8 areas that the entries are judged on to get a high (if not perfect) score. I totally agree with the judge: Make sure you understand the topic! It even blends a little with the second part "How creative, unique, and fresh was this entry? How memorable?" You might look at the word from a whole other angle.

What tips do you have for Topic?

It's not enough to mention the word, you must build your story around it. I recall in my early years here, I told the story of taking a metallic rowboat out onto a lake during a lightening storm. The topic was yellow, so I mentioned that the boat was yellow as I told my story. Now I know to emphasize how that yellow rowboat played such a key part of my tale.

One of the best suggestions I received was to jot down first five ideas and then throw them away because it's likely everyone else has thought of it too. If you feel called to write on it in one of those ways think of a fresh POV, unique voice (for example write in second person rather than third), or in a different genre.

Hello - for those who don't know me, I'm Cat/Catlin/Catrina Bradley. I'm not new here, I've just been AWOL for a "few" years.
When I started thinking back to some of my entries I thought should have placed, I realize, years later, that I probably didn't score well in this category. I know now to use the topic as the "theme" or heart of my story, not just a vague idea or a few references. In fact, some of the entries I stored highest on didn't mention the topic word. That's what you want to aim for - your reader should know what you're writing about without telling him/her.

Some more great tips! Keep 'em coming!

And traveling back in time...

Here's a great lesson from Jan (GloryBee) about writing on topic... viewtopic.php?f=67&t=29535