I had this great post planned. 

Bethany inspired me so much with her “How I organize my corner of the universe,” I intended to admit to uhm… less organization.

And no spreadsheets.

I even took photos of the messy pile of notes and ideas stacked up on my desk (and the bedside table, the countertop, the…err…you get the picture). Really, all those snippets do turn into a first draft. Then there’s the tri-fold board with color coded Post-its (aren’t Post-it’s the best?), broken out by Act and Turning Point. (Surely I have a picture of it somewhere…)

Instead of creating that awesome post, every spare moment has been dedicated to the Daphne. That’s the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense contest sponsored by the Kiss of Death. Great contest. Wonderful entries/contestants and judges.

I’m all for volunteering but clearly I had no idea what I’d agreed to do. You see, coordinators are the unseen people behind the scenes who make sure the entries meet the requirements and work with the judges to get the score-sheets and manuscripts turned back in. They keep lots and lots of records and cross check everything. Basically it’s a paper chase, or these days, an electronic chase spread across four desktop screens.

But the best part of being a coordinator will come in a few weeks when I have the privilege of calling the finalists. There’s nothing like telling someone how much strangers enjoyed their stories and that their manuscript was voted “best in the group.”

Bring on the coffee and the spreadsheets. I have entries to manage.

Originally posted to my group blog, The Stiletto Gang