I posted my scorecard over in my feedback thread, but I'll repost it here so we have them all in the same place.
For those of you unfamiliar with the scoring system, each story is rated on 8 different criteria using a scale of 1 through 5:
5 = Outstanding
4 = Above average; Minor adjustments needed
3 = Average; Off to a good start
2 = Below average; Major revisions needed
1 = Poor quality; Needs lots of work
Each segment consists of anywhere from 1 to 10 questions for consideration, leading to a maximum (and ostensibly, a mimimum) possible score for each section based on the ranking system above. So, for example, Section 2 contains three questions for consideration for a minimum possible score of 3 (lowest ranking of 1 X 3 questions for consideration) up to 15 (highest ranking of 5 X 3 questions for consideration).
Section 1 - Opening Hook Two questions for consideration, min. 2 pts/max 10 pts.Judge 1 - 6 pts
Judge 2 - 6 pts
Judge 3 - 10 pts (My best score
)
Judge 4 - 8 pts
Section 2 - Characterization Three questions for consideration, min. 3 pts/max 15 pts.Judge 1 - 2 pts. (apparently I received at least one 0 ranking to reach below the min. possible!)
Judge 2 - 2 pts. (same here with the 0 ranking)
Judge 3 - 5 pts.
Judge 4 - 4 pts.
Section 3 - Plot Three questions for consideration, min. 3 pts/max 15 pts.Judge 1 - 10 pts.
Judge 2 - 3 pts. [to my defense, 1,500 words doesn't afford a lot to develop a plot
]
Judge 3 - 9 pts.
Judge 4 - 10 pts.
Section 4 - Setting Three questions for consideration, min. 3 pts/max 15 pts.Judge 1 - 5 pts.
Judge 2 - 4 pts.
Judge 3 - 5 pts.
Judge 4 - 5 pts.
Section 5- Dialogue Four questions for consideration, min. 4 pts/max 20 pts.Judge 1 - 7 pts.
Judge 2 - 8 pts.
Judge 3 - 10 pts.
Judge 4 - 10 pts.
Section 6 - Style Two questions for consideration, min. 2 pts/max 10 pts.Judge 1 - 5 pts.
Judge 2 - 3 pts.
Judge 3 - 5 pts.
Judge 4 - 5 pts.
Section 7 Mechanics and Pacing Ten questions for consideration, min. 10 pts/max 50 pts.Judge 1 - 18 pts.
Judge 2 - 10 pts.
Judge 3 - 16 pts.
Judge 4 - 18 pts.
Section 8- Point Of View Three questions for consideration, min. 3 pts/max 15 pts.Judge 1 - 4 pts.
Judge 2 - 7 pts.
Judge 3 - 10 pts.
Judge 4 - 10 pts.
Out of a total possible of 600 points, I got a total of 240 pts.
Here are my comments verbatim. Since my e-mail added breaks that might not be accurate, I might have broken the remarks in wrong places but I don't think it construes the meaning at all:
What did you especially like or dislike about the hero/heroine or both? “I did not care for Lois’ characterization at all. She was too bitchy and uptight. Clark came across as wimpy and uptight.”
"Lois is TOO pushy and Clark is TOO wimpy. Their normal character has been exaggerated."
"This is very good characterization of both Lois and Clark. I particularly like the way the author shows that Lois is pushy instead of telling the reader so."
What are two areas you felt were well done?“The plot was well laid out and the setting immediately established. There was no confusion about what was going on and where it was all taking place."
"Great dialogue!"
"This is a great original idea. A small slice of the day told with a lot of humor that proves a great story can be free of villains or excessive cuddling. The author could have spared a short sentence to show the kid’s reactions so the reader is not wondering about this all through the story. Is the unspoken question at the end intentional? (Did Lois give the kid the $20 or the $1?)"
"The very active descriptions of Lois’ driving and of the water fight are successful at setting the scene without boring exposé of what the surrounding environment looks like. The author demonstrates a very good use of voice for “showing” the setting instead of “telling“ the setting."
What are two areas you felt needed work? Tell why and make suggestions.“Characterization was the only problem I had with this vignette."
"The whole piece just doesn’t make sense and was not appealing at all to me. My favorite fanfic genre is the vignette, but this was too vague."
"The author very effectively shows the action with the senses instead of telling the story. The constant use of active voice keeps the story crisp and fun to read."
"While sentence fragments are fine in dialogue to mimic speech patterns, there are fragments in the introspection that need to be fixed. The author also has a strange punctuation error (period used instead of a comma in the middle of a sentence) that shows up several times and is very distracting – Punctuation:"
{Sidebar here - I think this last remark was in reference to the conversion of my elipses into periods which *would* look very strange in the middle of a sentence.}What, if anything, seemed clichéd to you? (Plot,characterization, dialogue, etc.)"Nothing."
“Overall I liked the setting and plot of this vignette."
"I did not care for the characterization but everything else was superior."
Anything else? "There is great dialogue to show the byplay between Lois and Clark. The fragmented sentences are acceptable since this accurately depicts speech pattern. Lois’ dismissive style is clearly confirmed by her choice of words. The author effectively manages the use (or absence) of quote tags."
"Remember to keep your characters likeable."
"The writer’s dialogue and pacing are great."
"This was a fun vignette to read."
What I liked best about this entry."Great opening hook."
***
My main concern is that my scores don't necessarily reflect the same sentiments offered in the feedback. For example, one judge used the word "superior" yet none of my scores indicate much over average and are indeed well below to downright poor overall. Plus I somehow managed to score a 0 ranking on a scale of 1 to 5, not just once but twice!! Yikes.
As for being judged on criteria that doesn't apply to a particular story subset, I guess I'd be okay with a one-form-for-all-stories IF every writer received the same score in that section. For example, every writer received a ranking of 3 per Yvonne's interpretation - neither exceeds or fails expectations - or every writer receives 0 points in that section since it doesn't apply.
Thanks, Mere, for sharing. I hope others do the same as this is almost as interesting as reading the stories.
Lynn
