Ink of Ages Update #4 📜 First impressions from the judges

Welcome to the 4th issue of the Ink of Ages Update, a monthly email by me, Joanne Taylor, with a focus on writing, reading, and well ... more writing. Thanks for being here! If this email was forwarded to you, you can sign up here.

01 November 2024

Hello, Writer

We're 95.51% of the way through reading submissions in order to select the longlist! If you entered a short story this year, I'll email you a day or two before the social media announcements go out on 18 November to let you know whether your story was chosen.

First impressions from the judges

Our reading team is made of WHE staff and volunteers: Joshua J. Mark, Ibolya Horvath, Kim Martins, Liana Miate, Fiona Richards, Vineeta Sharma, Daniel Li, Taabir Asad, Zhihui Zou and me. We all agree there are so many great ideas from all over the world in this year's submissions!

Joshua J. Mark, cofounder and publishing director of WHE, has once again read almost every story (I think he has magic eyes) and has some writing advice to share.

How to write lean

Here are Josh's top observations from this year's stories. We hope they'll be helpful for your writing going forward and if you're entering any other competitions:

1. Simple words have impact. Don't use trepidation when you can use fear. We love words, too, but the right straightforward words often sound smarter than "intellectual" phrasing.
2. Don't overload your sentences. No need to pack a sentence with as many words as you can. Sometimes less is more.
3. Less really is more. Don't run the piece up to 1,900 words for a maximum 2,000 word count just because you can. Saying more with less means an easier reading experience.
4. Every sentence must earn its keep. Don't describe something in a paragraph you could've shown in a sentence. Does your story work without it? Snip snip.
5. Let readers figure out the meaning. In fiction, there's no need to announce the meaning of your piece in the first paragraph like in an essay. Let us experience your intended meaning by reading.

My favourite way to achieve this leanness is to write over, then condense. If I want an 800-word fiction piece, I write 1,000 or 1,200 words in my first draft and then chop it back. A bit like taking a machete to my unruly garden. Write wild, edit incisively.

Happy writing,

Joanne

Ink of Ages Fiction Prize is run by World History Encyclopedia and generously sponsored by Oxford University Press. You can read last year's winners on the contest website.

Joanne Taylor

Proofreader & Editor

World History Encyclopedia

https://www.worldhistory.org