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Judging our stories. I'm thinking out loud.

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spenner23 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 02 Feb 2017 at 3:17pm
Hi all, so I'm just kinda thinking out loud here, but curious about your thoughts.

If we estimate 3k stories and 40 judges, that's about 75 stories that each judge has to read, right?

I can see, from previous contests, a ton of zeros. Do you think a high % of people just don't submit stories? Or do they bomb the formatting so bad that they are DQ'ed?

Do you think judges are assigned to read ALL of the stories in a heat? E.g. Judge A has Heats 1 and 2. Or do you think judges are randomly assigned across all heats, so they read a wide variety?

To what extent do you think judges grade a story RELATIVE to other stories, or independently and on it's own? In other words, what influence do you think the quality of other stories, has on the grading of your own? I would think that other stories have to have SOME influence, especially as the judge is evaluating your creativity with the prompts.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Scarlet Screenwriter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Feb 2017 at 4:20pm

From personal experience, your story/screenplay is assessed by three judges, and then I assume their points are averaged.  Feedback now includes a "code" number for each judge, because there were complaints in the past.  Many writers post their feedback when it comes ... Go to a past competition and look for posts that say " + FEEDBACK " ...





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (4) Thanks(4)   Quote plkphoto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Feb 2017 at 6:16pm
Your calculations are off...

Every story has at least three judges in the first round, so 3x3000 stories to be judged, so each judge would be reading a couple hundred stories. Somewhere buried deep in Q&A, I think I remember NYCM saying that judges were able to pick which genres they were comfortable judging, and they'd be assigned that way.

Yes, each judge is assigned to specific heats, and the same three judges read all the stories in that heat. They score each story according to a mysterious rubric that's partially outlined in the Rules. Then the three judges tally up their collective scores and rank the top five stories for each heat. They'll discuss if there are any ties after they do that. They'll post the top five stories (those authors move on to the next round) and a few honorable mentions that came close, but not quite. 

When you see stories with zero points, it just means that the story wasn't in the top 15 of its group -- and only in the Flash contest. In Flash, everyone gets to write two stories, and they award points to the top 15 of each group for the first two stories. Then the top five total scores move on to the semi-finals. A zero doesn't mean that the story didn't score any points in the judging rubric, just that 15 stories scored higher than it. There will be no points given out in the Short Story Challenge, because each round is sudden death -- you're either in the top four or five stories, or you're not.

We're never given the scores from the judging rubric. Instead, each judge makes some comments on what they like and what they think needs work about each story. 

Last year, they started providing an identifier for each judge so we could provide the judges with feedback on their style of feedback. Prior to that, we'd occasionally get judges who would just give all the stories in their heat some sort of generic strategy for improvement, e.g. "tighten up your writing to improve readability." This may be a good piece of advice, but it surely didn't apply to all 30 stories in the heat…

There are probably a few people each round who don't manage to submit something (due to unexpected time constraints, illness, or lack of motivation), but I think most people try to get SOMETHING in. Even if you are pretty sure it won't advance, submitting a half-done story will at least get you judges feedback on what you have so far… and after all, you've paid for it.

You can see examples of feedback in lots of places on the forum. As Scarlet said, you can go look at the archived stories (or the Flash Stories) and look for people who added their judge's feedback in a comment. We also usually have a thread in the main Creative Writing Corner where we all post our feedback so it's easy to compare different styles -- which is how we found out that some judges were just telling everyone the same thing.

No matter how transparent, there will always be some level of subjectivity to the judging in a contest like this. I think the best way to view the contest is like a giant writer's workshop, where you can get great feedback on a complete story (mostly from the forums, some from the judges), use it to improve your story, then go get it published somewhere -- to earn back your entry fee. Wink


Edited by plkphoto - 02 Feb 2017 at 6:19pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote plkphoto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Feb 2017 at 6:25pm
From the Official Rules and Regulations:

Originally posted by NYCMidnight NYCMidnight wrote:

20. Judging Criteria & Decision of the Judges - The fixed standard and criteria used by each of the Judges shall be instructed by the LLC to the Judges, and shall be as follows:

15% Format (Adherence to paragraph #14, but not including Length)
15% Spelling and Grammar
70% Story (Writing, Originality, Character Development, and Plot Development)

The same Judges may be used for several Story Groups, but not for each and every Group. The LLC reserves the right to vary the Judges on a Group by Group basis. Each Judge shall total all scores for each Short Story and then share his/her rulings with the LLC. The highest average score among Judges will be considered the 1st place story in the heat, the next highest average score will be considered the 2nd place story, and so on. If there is a tie among the average scores, the story with the least penalties in overall Length and Format will advance. If the Length and Format is the same, the story with the least penalties in Spelling and Grammar will advance. Finally, if the stories are still tied after comparing the Spelling and Grammar, the stories will be distributed to a new judge to determine a winner amongst the stories. All Entrants are prohibited from contacting any of the Judges regarding their submissions or the Competition generally. Any such contact will be grounds for automatic disqualification and forfeiture of Entry Fees and any other monies or consideration expended.

 


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TabbyKat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Feb 2017 at 11:07am
Hello, I'm just interested in how many stories are in each heat. Only the top 5 go through? Blimey, it really is a lottery with the genre, isn't it?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote KerstinRo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Feb 2017 at 11:59am
30 stories per heat - provided they all handed theirs in. Smile


Originally posted by TabbyKat TabbyKat wrote:

Hello, I'm just interested in how many stories are in each heat. Only the top 5 go through? Blimey, it really is a lottery with the genre, isn't it?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote plkphoto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Feb 2017 at 10:46pm
Heats 1-69 had 30 people each, Heats 70-100 had 31... 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gudlyf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2017 at 11:48am
Originally posted by plkphoto plkphoto wrote:

Prior to that, we'd occasionally get judges who would just give all the stories in their heat some sort of generic strategy for improvement, e.g. "tighten up your writing to improve readability." This may be a good piece of advice, but it surely didn't apply to all 30 stories in the heat…

God, I am so happy they did this! I was quite fed up with seeing the same feedback being reported everywhere, meaning the judges were totally mailing it in on their feedback. Find judges who have the time to provide meaningful and unique feedback that makes sense! It's only fair to us paying for it, as I imagine the judges get paid, right?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Migilla Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2017 at 12:03pm
Originally posted by TabbyKat TabbyKat wrote:

Hello, I'm just interested in how many stories are in each heat. Only the top 5 go through? Blimey, it really is a lottery with the genre, isn't it?

Not really a lottery, although the judging can be frustrating, the writers who move on do submit quality stories. It isn't as though they are randomly picking five to move on.

Round 2
Group 17.
Ghost story
Dropping food on the floor.
A pet's leash.
https://tinyurl.com/5n8kn2uj
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SteampunkGal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Feb 2017 at 5:13pm
Does anyone know when they announce who will proceed to the next round?


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