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How's Everyone feeling about their story?

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Adamevans95 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Adamevans95 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2020 at 6:07am
Originally posted by nod1v1ng nod1v1ng wrote:

Originally posted by Frefallr Frefallr wrote:

Do we get to read the judges' notes on everyone? Or just our own? Do they use a common sheet of things to look for or is it much more subjective? How many judges are there? Do they ever read the critiques posted in the forum? Sorry for all the questions. 

You will get your judges' review (3 of them) emailed to you directly. A lot of people will share and add it to their posts, but it is completely voluntary. Each judge will tell you what they think you did well as well as thing they think could use improvement. 

Unfortunately, we do not really get a lot of insight on how they get there. The rules do say that the criteria is:
15% Format (Adherence to paragraph #14, but not including Length)
15% Spelling and Grammar
70% Story (Writing, Originality, Character Development, and Plot Development)

But how they interpret that 70% is certainly subjective. That's why around here the idea of "writing for the audience" is nearly impossible. Just write something that makes you happy.

Technically, the judges are not supposed to be reading forum reviews. It is for peer review only. Can they? Possibly. But it's against the spirit of the competition!

How harsh do they tend to be on typos?

I noticed I missed out the word ‘of’ in one of the paragraphs (despite having proof read my story over and over) and it’s bugged me for days!

It’s literally the only omission and has made me doubt my entry - how much of that 15% could they possibly take?!

Time will tell...

Appreciate the guidance and your work on this forum - it’s most useful! :)
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nod1v1ng View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote nod1v1ng Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2020 at 10:28am
Originally posted by Adamevans95 Adamevans95 wrote:

It’s literally the only omission and has made me doubt my entry - how much of that 15% could they possibly take?!

You'll never know exactly how much they took off, as we never see those scores. The points we receive are going to be relative to the rest of the group. Say after they take each of the percentage pools into account, you end up with an overall 90%. That's better than anyone else in your group, so you get awarded the 15 point spot.

In another group, someone scores only 70%, but everyone else in their group does even poorer, so they also get the 15 point spot.

All we know is how many points we earn, so a 15 point story in one group may not equate objectively to a 15 point story in another group. Technically, all you are competing against are the 35-ish people in your group...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote justmel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2020 at 9:10pm
I liked mine ok when I submitted it, although I suspected (and still suspect) I might get nailed for not hitting the genre and location prompts squarely enough. The feedback here has been reassuring in that regard and positive so far, but I'm still not super confident the judges will feel the same. So we wait.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Frefallr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2020 at 10:51pm
I have to say, I am surprised how few people really post if these are groups of 35. Some groups have only one entry to the database! I have really loved getting comments. I am glad that the forum exists for the next round as some of these genres I have never tried or even thought about. And I appreciate having this topic available to ask about some of the details of the actual contest and judging. Ok - that's not exactly what this topic is - so, since I didn't answer the actual question, I'm feeling surprisingly good about my story. I welcome tough criticism and expected more of it. I almost didn't post it... Sort of makes me leery of how the judges are going to view it...the calm before the storm?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DanielleDahl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2020 at 12:20am
I felt great about my story, but I never got the official email. So now I am stressed out, and I haven't shared it here. I emailed NYC and haven't gotten an answer yet :( 
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phrased and confused View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote phrased and confused Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2020 at 7:56am
I've mixed feelings about my story: Whereas I quite like what I scribbled out at the last minute, the prompt sorta sucked the lead out of my pencil (not a euphemism, I swear! ;) I won't post it on the peer review forum because I'd rather not read the redundancy of comments pointing out that I hit neither the political nor the satirical target. That said, I look forward to the next round where maybe I'll be given a less-grueling genre. 

Question for the regulars: If your story is DQ'd for not adhering to the topic, do you still get a chance to write in round 2? 
100-word story Adieu, Julienne
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote northernwriter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2020 at 8:52am
Originally posted by phrased and confused phrased and confused wrote:

I've mixed feelings about my story: Whereas I quite like what I scribbled out at the last minute, the prompt sorta sucked the lead out of my pencil (not a euphemism, I swear! ;) I won't post it on the peer review forum because I'd rather not read the redundancy of comments pointing out that I hit neither the political nor the satirical target. That said, I look forward to the next round where maybe I'll be given a less-grueling genre. 

Question for the regulars: If your story is DQ'd for not adhering to the topic, do you still get a chance to write in round 2? 

Yes, you definitely can write next time regardless of your score now. In 2018 I got 0 for my first story and then 15 points (1st place) for my 2nd. Good luck!

Alex
Microfiction 2021: 4th place overall
Flash Fiction 2020: 8th place overall
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote emilymyoga Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2020 at 9:09am
Originally posted by phrased and confused phrased and confused wrote:

I've mixed feelings about my story: Whereas I quite like what I scribbled out at the last minute, the prompt sorta sucked the lead out of my pencil (not a euphemism, I swear! ;) I won't post it on the peer review forum because I'd rather not read the redundancy of comments pointing out that I hit neither the political nor the satirical target. That said, I look forward to the next round where maybe I'll be given a less-grueling genre. 

Question for the regulars: If your story is DQ'd for not adhering to the topic, do you still get a chance to write in round 2? 

You should consider sharing your story! Political satire is a really hard genre. I pulled it my first round of NYCM 2 years ago and I definitely worried that my story had missed the mark because it wasn’t necessarily funny. In fact I had a friend read it an hour before the deadline and he said “this isn’t satire AT ALL.” But I still ended up getting second place in my heat. The judges tend to award good writing, creative approaches, and strong storytelling over perfect genre adherence. Smile
Micro 100 2020: Downstream (5th overall)
Micro 250 2022: What We Lost in the Tide (9th overall)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote eldarcj Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2020 at 9:18am
I'm concerned about typo's, too. I noticed after I submitted, and it was too late to send in an updated copy, that I had typed "the" instead of "she". Ugh.  Fingers crossed they don't take too much off for that minor hiccup.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chrissie0707 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2020 at 9:49am
Originally posted by eldarcj eldarcj wrote:

I'm concerned about typo's, too. I noticed after I submitted, and it was too late to send in an updated copy, that I had typed "the" instead of "she". Ugh.  Fingers crossed they don't take too much off for that minor hiccup.

In the second round of Short Story in 2018, I spent WEEKS agonizing over a word I discovered was missing from my submitted story. I ended up taking third place for my group to move on to the final round. 

The bulk of scoring is character and story-related, so I really wouldn't worry too much about a slip like that. Especially since the combined score of Challenges 1 and 2 is used to move on in Flash. Smile
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