The CALEB Award aims to lift up Christian writers by encouraging them to courageously reach for excellence. Servant-hearted judges are vital in keeping the award true to its purpose, as Kate Mackereth explains.
Homemade Lemon Meringue Pies. My husband loves them. Not the pastry kind but the biscuit base kind. Only special people get to sample these pies because he doesn’t like to share. It’s his birthday request every single year and every single year he compares it to his mother’s.
A labour of love
Oh, I know. I can hear every daughter-in-law groaning. And I’d just like to say that I was never given an actual recipe, just what was in it, so it’s been a process of trial and error to get the quantities right in order to replicate this famous family pie. Is my biscuit base too crumbly? How fluffy is that meringue? Is the lemon filling the right kind of zingy? I always feel slightly nervous when he closes his eyes for that first bite. Why? Because it’s a labour of love and if this pie is a fond memory of his mother – who is no longer with us, I’d really like to honour that.
Writing is also a labour of love, isn’t it? Well, it’s certainly a labour. Anyone with a book baby can tell you that. Most writers pour their hearts into their writing and not for selfish gain, but to give encouragement or inspiration to their readers. For Christian writers, it might also be to share a piece of our faith in some creative way with those around us, even if it’s subtle.
How then should we judge a labour of love when we judge in writing competitions?
Judging in kindness & truth
An author is going to receive all kinds of critiques, feedback and reviews throughout their career. The purpose of a writing competition is to help to grow that writer, to encourage them to keep pursuing excellence and to help them reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. We want to lift them up, particularly if they are learning. We don’t want to trample their spirits.
And yet truth must be told. Let’s face it, not every manuscript is going to be pretty. This is where constructive feedback is highly beneficial.
Deliver feedback in kindness and you will bless the entrant you are judging as well as the heart of the competition and dare I say, God’s own heart.
Deliver your feedback destructively in an overly harsh way and you will demoralise the entrant. Remember, you do not know what it took for them to enter. You do not know how new to the writing journey they may be. Do you really want to miss an opportunity to help equip a writer and disciple them when perhaps God intentionally put their work into your hands for your help?
Subjective criticism is based on personal preference and for this reason it’s helpful to judge in a category you do enjoy and are familiar with. Stick to the scoresheet and add your thoughts with a joyful heart that will leave your entrant carefully considering your wisdom, not licking their wounds. Please don’t use the anonymity of judging to unleash carelessly on a writer, maybe they won’t know who you are, but God sees.
Tips for judges
- Try asking questions instead of dishing out put downs.
- Add links to give direction and insight.
- Suggest writing craft books that might be beneficial.
- Give suggestions or even just say, ‘This part isn’t working for me, can you re-work it?’
- Find a positive, don’t only give negatives and ask yourself how you would feel if all that red pen was for you.
- If you decide you cannot judge an entry in a way that aligns with the heart of the competition, contact the co-ordinator.
- Pray for each writer’s growth, courage and humility in receiving feedback.
- And praise God, because perhaps you’re the writer you are today, because someone once prayed for you.
Now, time for some pie.