Judgement Day
Quite a number of years ago now I was once asked to be one of two judges for a children’s story competition. Kids from all around the state (though it might have been all of Australia actually?) submitted the text and illustrations for an original story that I then had to pick a winner and a runner up from. I think in the end there were three or four hundred entries to get through. Some of them weren’t that good I’d have to say, and I figured that the kids had probably been set a class project and some of them weren’t really into it at all. Thankfully most of them were though and there were about half a dozen or so that were truly inspired!
The judging took a long time and I was actually quite surprised by that, I recall. Mainly because I had to really apply myself to the whole thought process of it due to the fact that some of the stories were well beyond their years…..and I don’t mean in a “mommy and daddy helped me out with this one” kinda way! No, they were particularly easy to spot and weed out! These stories were obviously done by kids but they just had that something extra! Something which, I felt, I really needed to apply myself when it came to analyzing every step and process along the way. I mean this was a kids competition after all, but I found myself having to analyze thoroughly and justify every decision that I made…..and I just would never have expected having to do that at all.
In the end we couldn’t decide which story was the best. We had worked out the runner up fairly easily but the “best” needed to be decided between two entries – both very different in their approach and both executed extremely well. The day before we were due to give our decision we were still deadlocked on the winner. Finally we decided that there would be two winners instead of one and if that was going to be a problem to the sponsors then we’d fork over the money for the extra prizes ourselves – heck it was worth it anyway, we thought. We’d both really enjoyed the whole process of judging even though it was difficult at times.
Fortunately the sponsors took up the slack themselves and awarded two first prizes. We were there at the presentation, talking about all of the entries and meeting the kids who had created the work, along with their parents and some teachers. It was all pretty cool stuff I’d have to say and I remembered back to how I was with my own writing when I was the same age.
Sadly though “The Australian Bush Friends” – a story I wrote when I was about 9 or 10 – is no more. It was accidentally thrown out and burned by my father a year or two before I’d become a published writer. I had always thought that it was in a pretty safe place but, during one of the big household cleanups, it was destroyed. My dad felt very bad about it but I told him not to worry. Stuff happens. I still have a few of the illustrations etched in my memories and the storyline is vaguely there as well. I don’t think there’ll ever be a physical “re-emergence” of it though…..at least not in the foreseeable future. There’s too many other cool things to happen first!
That is truly the problem with “stuff.” Stuff of course being the things we find as treasures and others see as garbage. Plus, I don’t know how many times I’ve decided that I “don’t need this anymore,” only to get rid of it and miss it three years later. Which, I might add, is exactly why I am a pack rat now and get rid of nothing…Not even those size 6 Gloria Vanderbilt jeans that I “might fit into one of these days!”
PS…thanks for the kind words…
Ohhh..what other new things are on the horizon then?! I’m getting excited!
Princess Wild Cow – Well I’m not actually sure that he “saw” what it was before he burnt it? It was in amongst other papers and scrapbooks and stuff. I think that, had he known, he wouldn’t have destroyed it? In fact when I asked about it my dad had no idea that the book was in there with all the other stuff.
It was a good post you had up today. I admire your braveness.
Amy – Well some you know about already! Others I’ll tell you more about later on when you’re back here.
Don’t keep in in too much suspense now!
I think it would be cool to possibly revive some old children’s stories. Remember Dominique’s prophetical storybook from her childhood, done in Suess-like rhyme, about a lover from across the sea? That was amazing!
We all lose some things from childhood, so I’m glad you aren’t too sad about this little treasure having dissapeared.
I’m also missing some illustrations from my primary school days that I remember quite clearly. I’d been engrossed in drawing so much that the hours just slipped away. Now those drawings are nowhere to be found. Although, that’s not unusal in this house!
Take Care. Miss you heaps!
Ames
I really ought to use spell check more often!
Mmmmm…..nope? I can’t remember Dominique’s storybook actually? I remember “Lemonade Serenade” but she didn’t write that. Ohhhh…..Moonsail?? Is that the one you mean? She did that one when she was an adult.
As to “The Australian Bush Friends”, yeah it’s a little sad….but things happen and there’s no point dwelling on it at all. As I say I remember the general story (which actually was pretty dumb, by memory) and I also remember some of the images. Maybe sometime down the track I’ll “revive” it in some way or another?
Nup, not Moonsail. Ask her about it..it was a story she wrote when she was a child ..in a book form, and she found it while visiting one time and showed it to us.
Mmmmm…..vaguely remember it?