Plot [40 points]
- Plot dynamics. Is there effective exposition? Rising action? Climax?
- Do the chapters have a sense of purpose and plot arc?
- Does the story build a romance plot?
- Does the plot hold a sense of believability?
Writing Style [30 points]
- Does the story use effective imagery?
- Does the story use effective vocabulary?
- Is there a good a balance of dialogue, action, and description?
- Has the author developed a clear writing style?
- Has the author used effective language features to create an effective world and sense of character?
- Is the story free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors?
Characterisation [20 points]
- Do all characters have a purpose in the story?
- Do the characters feel multidimensional?
- Does the dialogue feel authentic?
- Does the reader want to root for the success of the protagonist?
Enjoyment [10 points]
- Do the characters, chapters, and plot create enough intrigue to make me want to keep reading?
- Could the story appeal to its target audience? (young adult, adult, new adult, LGBTQIA+)
Disclaimers:
- I will not be judging aesthetics. I will only judge the stories themselves. If the aesthetics or blurb are detracting in any way and your story comes first, second, or third, I'll leave a note about the asethetics but it won't affect your score.
- I am one reader. Just because I don't like your story as much as another judge did in another competition in no way reflects on you. This is an opportunity to gauge general reader reception to do with the information what you will. Either amend your story if you think it may help you gain readers or keep doing it and wait for the right readers to come along.
- I will not be providing feedback beyond the scores. A review is only applicable for the book granted the Standout Award. If you wish to solicit feedback to improve your story, please visit my Those Many Pointers Series and apply within.