Thread by @DrNancyGlass1

Writers: I just served as a reader for a manuscript contest. I read 119 CNF essays.
#WritingCommunity #Writers

Things I learned/advice:

1) Follow instructions—no identifiers. If you’re “known,” don’t name siblings or famous parents either, or your essay won’t be blinded. 1/n

2) Writing about people, dead or alive, remember they have privacy rights. If writing about medical or therapeutic relationships, HIPAA laws protect individuals for 50 yrs after death. So change the damn names, or say they’re pseudonyms. (Unless you have written consent) 2/n

3) Ask a friend to read your piece out loud back to you—the best way to catch awkward sentences or imprecise language. Lean on your writing friends to tell you when something is not clear. Careful with unusual or clever words: be clear! 3/n

4) Proof-read your essay, ….. no, seriously, … proof it. I’m not impressed when I see multiple misspellings and misused homonyms. 4/n

5) If your ending is abrupt and incomplete, you weren’t done…. you rushed getting it in…. and the reader is frustrated. Go back to point #3… lean on your writing friends. What you heard in your head is NOT what we saw on the page. 5/n

6) Only a precious few that arrived on the last day were polished and ready, a word to the wise.

Having said all this, I really enjoyed reading such a wide variety of essays… which hopefully will make me a better writer.

#writersoftwitter #writerslift