Judges and contestants, here is the formula all judges have been asked to follow when scoring your entry.  Each entry will be scored twice, by two different judges, and the scores averaged.  Entrants will not be told (by me) who their two judges were, or whether they were PRJs or RcuJs.  After the close of the contest, the judges may choose to reveal themselves to the entrants they scored if they like, of their own accord.

Formula for judging (Scorecard)

-Cover: (-5 - 0 points) No points, but up to -5 can be assigned only if gratuitously offensive/inappropriate.

-The opening paragraph: (0 - 5 points). Does it grab the reader? Is it interesting right off the bat? If the first paragraph is very short, you may consider 2-3 paragraphs.

-Imagination/Creativity: (0 - 20 points). Is the premise either new and invigorating, a really inventive spin on an old one, or cliched and predictable?

-Characterization: (0 - 20 points). Were the perspectives used by the author strongly individualized? Were the characters fully fleshed out, or just dull cliches? Was it easy to tell the characters apart, or did they all jumble together?

-Grammar, spelling, punctuation: (-5 - 15 points). Is the author's mastery of the mechanics of the written word excellent, good, decent, or bloody awful? Note that if you cannot understand the dialogue or text whatsoever, you may award -5 in this category if truly merited.

-Style: (0 - 10 points). Is the author's use of adjectives, adverbs, etc. appropriate? Does their writing have a unique flare? Can you understand what they are describing easily? Or is it plain, hard to understand, or crowded with excessive descriptors?

-Draw: (0 - 15 points). Do you want to keep reading, or did you quickly lose interest and find it forgettable?

-Fandom: (0 -10 points). Does the story stand on it's own whether or not the reader is familiar with the fandom [more points], or does it rely too much on the reader already being familiar with the subject matter/having preexisting knowledge [less points]?

-Cherry on top: (0 - 5 points). Do you really feel this story is something special? Or is it really quite run of the mill and boring?

-Please make a few comments on the entry (1-3 sentences).

*If you are a PRJ, please let me know if every entrant in your category (both M & NM entrants) has followed you or not, regardless of whether or not you are judging that specific entry. Contestants that have not followed their PRJs will not receive any prizes.

*Judges are required to read a minimum of 3 chapters of each entry they are assigned, with 5+ preferred. More are strongly encouraged unless the chapters are abnormally lengthy.

*Please remember that any entries you suspect contain any of the three banned topics (as listed in 'Rules') should be reported to me via DM ( @SmuttyPariah ) for assessment. 

*Also note that entries cannot contain plagiarized material.  Any entry that takes the work of another author and passes it off as their own will be disqualified.  Please DM me if you are concerned about this.

*Also please remember to save the scorecards & comments for each entry you judge, in the event the contestant would like to review it later (anonymously).  Or, you know, I am a doofus and accidentally delete my worksheet.

Judges have asked me how to format their scores.  Here's how I'd love you to send each score:

-Cover: #/0 (Remarks if desired/warranted for each section, but not mandatory.)

-Opening: #/5

-Creativity: #/20

-Characterization: #/20

-Grammar: #/15

-Style: #/10

-Draw: #/15

-Fandom: #/10

-Cherry on top: #/5

-Overall score: #/100

Overall Comments (optional but encouraged):  At least one good thing.  At last one thing that could use improvement.

Here is an example I made for one of my own stories (you do not need to send results in a table):

You can send them one by one, or all together when you are finished.  Scores don't have to be sent exactly like that.  So long as I get the numbers for each section is alright.  But if you want to add a bunch of commentary, that's wonderful!  I'm sure the entrant, should they ask for their scorecards, would love that.