Contest Clarification and Update
Author:
Blog About:
Hi everyone! We’ve received several story submissions outside the contest’s 2,500 — 5,000-word limits. We recognize that different word-processing programs use unique word-counting rules. If you are wildly off, we’ll send you a PM and ask you to adjust your story to meet the contest parameters. Thanks!
***
I’ve taken part in several contests on BC as a participant and as a judge. The quality of writing in this contest, so far, is a notch above what I have experienced in other BC contests.
Through this morning I have scored about two dozen stories for our current contest. The scores ranged from 66.5 to 98 on a 1 to 100 scale. Under my scoring system, any story with a score of fifty or more is a good story.
So far, six stories have been in the nineties, three in the eighties, eight in the seventies, and six in the sixties. The average score is close to eighty.
Those stories that did not score in the nineties contained some of the following:
Information Dump – Exposition is the lifeblood of a story, but it should come in in small bundles within the normal storytelling.
Unlikeable Protagonist – Only exceptional stories can withstand a negative main character.
Passive Verbs – “Was” and “were” are the enemy of good writing.
Breaking the Fourth Wall – Like salt, this should come in small doses and only if unobtrusive.
Unrealistic Characters
Lack of Tension
All of these are subjective, which is why we have two judges scoring independently. Emma might see a story much differently than I do. We will use a total score to determine winners.
Please consider taking an active part in this contest. You can win money by entering a short story, commenting, or by asking “new” authors to enter this contest.
If you find a particular story highly enjoyable, send me a PM. My opinions are malleable. I am open to taking a second look at a story if it seems warranted.