The Smut Marathon started this month. It is the English version of the Dutch writing marathon, that was organized by EWA Nederland annually between 2014 and 2017. At the last one in 2017, I was one of the jury members and I am extremely honored that I am allowed to be a jury member for this year’s Smut Marathon. It is a task that I don’t take lightly.
Being a jury member
All contestants to a writing contest like this one, put their heart and soul into their entries. As a jury member, it is a great responsibility to choose the best ones. Every round, I can only grant points to the best 9 entries. For this first round, there were 87 authors. Of those, 12 did not send in their entry in time, leaving 75 entries to be judged.
The jury members judge if a contestant has understood and fulfilled the assignment, if it is an erotic story and if the text is well edited. Personally I strongly believe that joining a competition like this, only has added value if a jury member also gives feedback, allowing the contestants to grow as a writer.
First assignment: One sentence, containing a metaphor.
In this first round, all contestants were supposed to send in one sentence, which contained a metaphor. That is not as simple as it seems, because there are a number of pitfalls.
- A metaphor is a a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. With a metaphor you paint a picture. The image should resemble what you mean.
A metaphor is often confused with a simile. With a simile, the comparison is made explicit, often with the word ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Example of a metaphor: ‘The night falls’ (to show that someone is dying).
Example of a comparison: ‘He is as cute as a kitten’ (to say he is very likable).
A metaphor says that something is something else. A simile says that something is like something else. - The assignment was very clear: you can only use one sentence. Many contestants want to give context to their entry. That is very difficult in just one sentence. So what do you do? Right: use clauses, commas, semicolons, colons … in short, using tricks to make your sentence longer. And while punctuation is often a matter of taste, there are some clear rules.
The comma (,) is used to show there is a pause, to make a listing, or to separate a sentence and a clause. Often a comma is used together with a conjunction (but, because, therefor, etc.). If a sentence has many commas it is often better to use a break with a point (.) and start a new sentence.
A semicolon (;) is somewhere between a point and a comma. If two sentences have a clear connection, you may use a semicolon. Example: ‘Some people use a word processor; others use pen and paper’. If the two sentences have little in common, it is always better to use a point.
After a colon, there is an explanation of the previous.
Examples:
We had a nice summer; especially August had many beautiful days.
We had a nice summer. I just couldn’t enjoy it, because I had to work.
We had a nice summer, spring and winter.
We had a nice summer, except for the last week of August.
We had a nice summer: there were 25 sunny days with temperatures above 20 degrees.
While judging, I tried to look at how the contestants have interpreted the assignment. So, is it a metaphor or a simile and is punctuation used correctly (is it realy one sentence, or should it have been more)?
Read and vote
All entries for the first round in the Smut Marathon can be read here. You have until February, 17, to vote. After that, the results will be made public and you will be able to see my assessment and feedback.
Marc van Lier
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