I submitted my mystery, A Snake In The Glass, to the MWA/St. Martin's First Crime Novel contest (making the deadline by the skin of my teeth) and today received a note from my assigned judge saying he had received it.
I don't have much hope that Snake will win the contest (like its author, it doesn't fit comfortably in any genre), but I appreciate the fact that my judge--let's call him "Bob"--took the time to drop me an email. More than that, I appreciate that he's willing to read who-knows-how-many manuscripts from writers like me.
I always wonder what motivates people to do things like this. "Bob" gets no reward for reading however many manuscripts he has to read. He's not an editor at St. Martin's, he's part of MWA--an author--so reading manuscripts by unpublished writers is not his job. And it's not as if the manuscripts he gets are guaranteed to be good. (Although I suppose he can say "next" after a couple pages if they are really awful, since he isn't critiquing them, just judging.)
If I wrote a book about a man who was murdered because he volunteered to judge a contest, I'd have to know why he had decided to give up his time to do so. I'd have to be able to explain his actions in a way that would sound logical to my readers. But all too often, motive in life is less clear than it is in fiction. People act in ways that are counter-intuitive. Fact, as they say, is stranger than fiction.
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you do something? Something difficult? Something that gives you no obvious reward? Did you come up with an answer, or did you just settle for "I guess that's just who I am," the way I seem to all too often?
Sunday, December 16, 2007
On Being A Good Citizen/Member
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12 comments:
Good luck, Laura! I had intended to submit a manuscript myself, but didn't finish it in time thanks to my computer woes. So I'll root for yours instead.
Laura,
I spent my entire career in the service of the people of the City of New York. Early on I found a sign that says: "I wondered why somebody didn't do something, and then I realized I am somebody." That's my mantra. Somebody has to fight injustice; somebody has to feed the hungry; somebody has to help the neighbors get that traffic light.
In "Bob's" case, somebody has to judge the manuscripts. He does it because it needs doing. As we have seen time and time again, the mystery community is a very warm and giving community. I am constantly amazed by the generosity of everyone I've met through SinC and MWA and various blogs, including you.
Terrie
Thanks, Elaine! I think Clare was going to enter, too, so you'll need to keep the fingers on both hands crossed...as long as it doesn't interfere with your typing.
Terrie -
I know people do it. I did it for years as a high school teacher, turning down far better paying (and, incidentally, less dangerous) jobs. But it's still one of those strange things that I wonder whether I could portray convincingly in fiction!
And I totally agree about the mystery community!
Oh, best of luck with this one! And to Clare, too. Snake, with its 'uncomfortable fit,' sounds perfect for this contest. As to why we do things for no reward.... Passion? Obsession? Guilt?
It's a good question, Laura, and actually a pertinent motivation to understand for lots of us with amateur sleuths who have to make exceptional efforts to get involved with a crime which may or may not involve them personally. Their drive for justice, as one example, has to be compelling enough that we go along for the ride. Whether it's a moral code, a habit, guilt, explaining some of the whys of altruism (if that makes any sense) is an ongoing challenge for people who write crime stories, I think.
I, too, have found, among all the creative worlds I've orbited, no group is as generous and supportive as the writers I've met, and that includes the very bestselling ones.
My judge (I'll simply call her "Gosh-How-I-Dig-Clare's-Manuscript") is also a busy author, well-known even, who's volunteered her time to plow through a metric ton of manuscripts to help adjudicate the contest. I think GHIDCM is being extremely generous, and I appreciate the time and effort involved. Mine goes out this week. Like Laura's, it's also a genre-stretcher, so we'll see what happens. It's like having a lottery ticket in my pocket. A long shot, but my hope is a fool.
P.S. Terrie- I think that motto is the closest to my own motivation. If I notice it and can do it, I try. Sometimes the angels we seek are our own little selves.
Good luck to you, too, Clare!
Bob may be paying back writerkind for some good deed done upon him back when he was a hungry beginner.
Or maybe he is out to steal plots.
Just kidding. I'm sure he's just a nice guy who wants to help new writers get a chance.
Travis -
I am sure you are right. But I was listening to Patton Oswalt today talking about how when he has kids he's going to be "Mr. straightlaced and boring" so that his kids will rebel and be cool, and I wondered...what do some parents do that make their kids turn out to be the kind of people who take on service jobs, or volunteer in various communities, etc, that other parents don't do? Or is it parental at all? Is the urge to help out genetic?
Good luck in the contest!
And....sometimes it's better not to ask. :)
Hi, Laura!
[waves]
Hi Jes...or is that Dr. J?
It is Dr., but we tend not to use it, you know. In fact, I keep forgetting it's there.
Is it possible that I might develop Ph.D.itis and require a Ph.D.ectomy?
Sent you an email.
Your life seems to have taken a turn for the interesting. Publishing, eh? Very cool. Can I start burying you in MSS now?
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