A GUIDE TO JUDGING

Thank you for volunteering to judge Charter Oak Romance Writers Oak Leaf Award of Excellence. This guide has been created to help you with the basics of judging. While the subjectivity cannot and probably should not be completely eliminated from judging, the purpose of this guide is to address some areas that are often questioned by judges or wrongly marked down on entries.

Please remember to be kind and constructive in your comments. No one benefits from caustic remarks. Even the entries that seem to be severely flawed will have some redeeming qualities. Please put the emphasis on the positive. Our goal is to be supportive and encouraging. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t point out areas that need work. People enter to get feedback, so the more you write on the manuscript or on the scoresheet, the better, as long as your comments are gentle and presented with the same tact and thoughtfulness you would like to receive on your own work.

Avoid absolutes:

Instead of “you must...”, “you can’t...”, “never...”, “always...”, use “I suggest...”, “have you thought about...”, “maybe try this...

 Do not give zeroes or leave an area blank (no score).

Avoid quoting ‘the rules’:

The hero and heroine do NOT have to appear in the first chapter. Our scoresheet reflects this. Don’t penalize an entry if only the hero or heroine is in the entry.

Understand passive voice before you mark an entry down. “Was”, “were”, “been” and “-ed” words are not necessarily passive. Also, some writers use passive voice to portray a mood.

Don’t mark down for accuracy of historical facts unless you are absolutely certain you are right, and preferably can cite a reference source.

Be as objective as possible:

If you receive an entry you feel you can’t judge fairly, please contact the coordinator. For instance, if you hate vampire stories and you get one to judge, rather than mark it down because it’s not your kind of story, please contact the coordinator so we can find another judge. Don’t mark an entry down because it’s got a dog in it, for instance, because you don’t like dogs. Please remember there’s an audience for every story. Judge based on the merits of the writing, not on your own personal reading preference.

It’s not your responsibility to edit the story. Don’t re-write the story the way you would’ve written it. Don’t go in and start rearranging sentences and changing word choices. That’s disrespectful to the writer. It’s fine to mark a sentence you found awkward, or suggest an author might try for a stronger verb or more vivid description, but don’t pick the entry apart.

Avoid “bleed-through”. If you receive an entry that needs a lot of work, don’t give it low marks in all areas because your general impression is poor. It may be properly formatted and deserve a 5 in formatting, even though lower marks in other areas might be justified.

Remember, this is the beginning of the novel, not a short story. It’s okay if some questions are unanswered. That’s what the rest of the book is for.

Opening Hook:

Doesn’t have to be a huge event like a murder or a calamity, but should draw you in with an intriguing situation or interesting character.

 Style:

Author should avoid cliches and ‘stretch’ for original descriptions without going over-the-top into purple prose. Five senses should be used to set the scene and enhance mood.

Characterization:

Each character’s ‘voice’ (through dialogue and point-of-view narrative) should ideally be distinctive. If either the hero or heroine seem unlikable at first, does the unjudged synopsis hint at character growth and development? Secondary characters should support the story, not overwhelm it.

Narrative:

Ideally, narrative should deepen characterization by showing the point-of-view character’s inner thoughts, motivation and personality. While it can be used to reveal backstory, it shouldn’t be used to ‘dump’ extensive passages of backstory information. There should be a harmony between dialogue and narrative.

Dialogue:

Should sound like real people talking. Ideally should reflect character and drive the story forward.

Conflict/Motivation:

Ideally there should be an easily identifiable goal, motivation and conflict for the point-of-view character within the opening of the entry. While both the hero and heroine may not be present in the length of the entry, there should be at least a foreshadowing of romantic conflict yet to come (for instance, the hero has sworn off women).

Romance/Relationship:

Since this is a contest for romance novels, it is important that the romance be at least hinted at in the first twenty-five pages.

Plot:

The pacing should keep you engaged and fit the mood of the story. Even if an author uses tried-and-true elements (secret baby, arranged marriage, family curse), she should ideally put her own unique spin on them to create a special story.

Mechanics:

The scoresheet requires that an entry be reasonably free of spelling errors and typos. Few people catch every mistake. Don’t mark down for a couple of typos. However, if they are so numerous or glaring that they interfere with smooth reading, then they should be noted.

Sentence structure and even punctuation can be a matter of style. Sentence fragments can be used for effect; sentence length, long or short, can set a mood. Note errors in sentence structure, but do not penalize a writer for stylistic choices.

Grammar errors such as dangling participles, misplaced modifiers should be noted.

-Dangling modifier examples:
          Reaching across the table, her nose smelled the coffee.
          Running up the stairs, the clock struck one.
          Galloping across the field, the power of the black stallion made her gasp.

The problem here is that the subject of each sentence (her nose, the clock, the power ) does
          not agree with the verb (reaching, running, galloping).

These sentences can be rewritten to be correct:
          Reaching across the table, she smelled the coffee.
          Running up the stairs, he heard the clock strike one.
          She gasped at the power of the black stallion as he galloped across the field.

-Misplaced modifier examples:
          Jackie pulled a jacket over her shoulders that she had purchased last week.

While most people will figure out it’s the jacket that was purchased, the sentence is awkward.

- Passive voice examples:
          She was hit by a truck yesterday.
          The cake was made with apple sauce.

          The subject (she, cake) are being acted upon by an outside force (the truck, the cake
         maker). Are these sentences incorrect? Not necessarily--passive voice can be a tool to
         convey a mood. However, excessive or haphazard use of passive voice should be
         noted.

          Passive made active:
          The truck hit her.
          Jackie used apple sauce to make the cake.

Not passive (past-tense description):
      The sky was blue.
      The castle had been huge before its demise.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

• Please use this section to expand on any comments and suggestions you had regarding the story, or address anything that wasn’t covered in the scoresheet. If you can think of two or three specific things you feel might make the manuscript more marketable (for instance, more sympathetic hero; tighter narrative; more focus on the relationship, etc.), please let the author know. Praise and encouragement are always appreciated. Remember to be kind and considerate in your comments. 
  
  

Thank you again for judging
The Oak Leaf Award of Excellence for Unpublished Authors.