Contest Finalist Selection II

By Daniel · Nov 4, 2007 · ·
  1. In addition to posting about the things I look for in an entry, I'm also going to post about what I actually do to select the story.

    Firstly, I'll wait until the contest is closed to new entries. I don't read any of the stories until the contest is closed. After that, I'll print off all the entries and read them that way. I've found this to be more convenient and easier to read than on a computer screen. As I'm reading, I'll take notes on negatives of the story, relevance to the contest theme, and positives of the story, as well as anything else that stands out. After finishing each individual entry, I'll rank it on a five point scale. After I've read, commented, and ranked all the stories, I'll go back through them and remove the lowest ones and set aside the highest ones. Typically there are only a few with low "scores" and a few with high "scores." If those with the high score is below the number necessary, I'll go back through the middle "ranked" entries and make selection that way; this is done usually be reviewing my notes and re-reading segments of the story.

    This method isn't used 100% of the time, but it's generally how I plan to go about things. After selection I'll make sure the finalists I've selected fit the contest theme and are appropriate. Then I'll open the voting.

    I hope that gives a little more insight as to how the selection process actually works.

Comments

  1. Banzai
    That's useful to know, Daniel, and sounds like a good process. Do you yourself vote?
  2. scintilla
    LP, is there any chance that you would PM the notes you made on my entry to me. I am very interested in criticism, and would like to know how I could improve in the future. I am still a newbie, and I know that I didn't edit the story well, so I suspect that was a weakness, but I would like your opinion.

    I know that you are busy right now, and maybe it's a stressful time, so a "no" would be o.k. -- but I'd like a yes. I don't want you to worry about me arguing with you. I would not respond to the PM at all, I just want to know how you felt. I promise to just read what you have to say. I also don't really care if they aren't well organized. I'll take what I can get from them.

    Anyhow, thank you for the site. I haven't written since 1983, and I'd never finished anything before writing for the two contests on your site. You've really helped me.

    -Ken
  3. foxbrains
    I would also love to know what your thoughts were on my story. Maybe it is not right to ask, but I am one of those people that only learns from hard criticism. I appreciate that you thought my story was strong enough to make the top ten, but Aside from tossing it into the scrap heap and starting all over again, it would help to know what the negatives were.

    Thanks again for giving me a forum and an incentive to finish something.

    foxbrains
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