Official Contest Announcement

The staff here at FOG have a very exciting announcement. Starting shortly we will be bringing back contests. Now this won’t be like in the past where there was a random contest, maybe one for Halloween, another for Christmas.

No, this will be a set amount each year. The way it will work is there will be five smaller contests throughout the year, as well as one big contest. The word count for the contest will be given later when a formal announcement for the first smaller one is given.

There will be a limited amount of entries for smaller contests. These contests will be limited to five entrants. Anyone thereafter who wants to be a part of the contest may join just for fun. If one of the first five entrants does not post their work up by the deadline, the next runner up will be bumped into the contest. The large contest will have unlimited entries. We are looking to give all our members the chance to enter, and will hopefully have different entrants for each contest.

There will also be judges for the contests, and the staff will be looking for volunteers for that as well. As of now, the way a contest will be judged is by one staff member and two volunteer judges. If there are more than two volunteers, the rest will be reserved for the next contest. We hope to give members a chance to judge as well, so the judges will change for each of the contests. There will be a special rank of Volunteer Judge, which will be given to the chosen members for the contests. When we make the formal announcement for the first contest, you all will be able to tell us in that forum whether you want to be an entrant, enter just for fun, or be a judge.

The staff here at FOG is extremely excited about these contests, and we hope you will be too. Look for the first contest announcement shortly. If you want to enter, the instructions will be given there. We look forward to seeing what our members have up their writing sleeves!

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Here's the judging rubric:


Welcome to the Volunteer Judges Sub-forum, a place where moderator and member judges can volunteer to critique contest entries held here at Footsteps of Ghosts. Below you will find the Rubric Score Sheet, a question by question survey version of the Rubric for Judging Contests and Roleplays. Every judge will use the rubric score sheet as a tool to better judge and critique your fellow FOG member’s work.

To be a judge, you must have been a member of FOG for at least one month and have a post count over 50. If you are a newer member or otherwise have no writing posted on FOG, moderators reserve the right to ask for a writing sample to prove that you have adequate knowledge of English Writing. Moderators have the right to not accept or remove any volunteers from the judging panel if they prove to be inactive, rude, not following the judging etiquette, or are otherwise unhelpful to the judging process.

Each contest will have three judges. At least one judge must be a moderator. The other two judges can be volunteer members or moderators. If more than two volunteer, then the first two will get to judge and the rest will be on reserve for the next contest, or if a judge decides to step down. Volunteers must reapply for every contest (this may change if the same few people continue to volunteer).

The Rubric Score sheet

TITLE/AUTHOR wrote:

------------------ STORY ------------------

STORYTELLING, 10 points

• “Was it clear to me why the story is taking place?”
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• “Did I like how the story unfolds?”
  ( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
  
• Did the narrative seamlessly identify what was important in the story and put due focus on those things?”
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  

SETTING, 10 points

• "Did I always have a clear picture in my mind of the surroundings?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Is the character integrated with the surroundings?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Did everything in the setting serve to further the story?"
  ( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
  

PACING, 10 points

• "Did I want to know what happened next?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Did the speed of each scene match the intended mood?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Did nothing jar my journey through the words?"
  ( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
  

------------------ CHARACTER ------------------

COMMUNICATION, 10 points

• "Does each character's style and frequency of communication match who and what they are?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Did the characters feel real when they spoke or communicated?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• Is all the communication consistent with the setting?"
  ( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
  

ACTIONS, 10 points

• "Do each character's strategies and actions match who and what they are?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Do each character's actions help define who and what they are?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Do each character's actions feel plausible and relevant?"
  (Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
  

PERSONA, 10 points

• "Do the character's thoughts match their personality?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Are the emotions at believable levels? Not under- or overdone?"
  ( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
  
• "Do the character's thoughts help define their personality?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  

------------------ PROSE ------------------

MECHANICS, 10 points

• "Is all the punctuation correct?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Is all the spelling correct?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "How seamless or impressive was the writer's usage and style?"
  ( Very (2), Somewhat (1), Not at all (0) )
  

CLARITY, 10 points

• "Is everything said that needs to be said?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Do all the sentences make sense?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Was it easy to incorporate new information as the story progressed?"
  ( Very (2), Somewhat (1), Not at all (0) )
  

STYLE AND FLAIR, 10 points

• "Did I like the use of any flashbacks, foreshadowing, metaphors, or other literary devices?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Did I like the use of any vocabulary words or made-up words?"
  ( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
  
• "Does it feel like the author is comfortable in their style?"
  ( Very (2), Somewhat (1), Not at all (0) )
  

------------------ JUDGE'S CHOICE ------------------

EXTRA 10 points

• "Is there something unusual I want to award points for?"
  
• "Is there one or two things that were just so awesome that they deserve extra points?"
  
• Was I impressed with creativity or some other display of brilliance?"
  

(10 pts.) (9 pts.) (8 pts.) (7 pts.) (6 pts.) (5 pts.) (4 pts.) (3 pts.) (3 pts.) (2 pts.) (1 pt.) (0 pts.)

Explain:

---

Total Points: ?/100

Feedback:

How to Use the Rubric Score Sheet

Judges will read each entry, and answer the questions in the score sheet by “highlighting” which score option they feel is most appropriate for the entry they are grading. For example, using the question “Did I like how the story unfolds?” You would highlight “Yes”, “Somewhat”, or “No” by changing the color of the choice you would like to highlight to violet. To do this, you can highlight the score you wish to choose, click the button, and choose the color violet. Each of the responses has a point value. After highlighting your responses to every question, these points will be tallied for a total out of 100. This score will then be averaged with the scores given by other judges. You will find the code to the sheet below:

Code:


[quote="TITLE/AUTHOR"]

[size=18][i]------------------ STORY ------------------ [/i][/size]

[b]STORYTELLING, 10 points[/b]

[list]
[*]“Was it clear to me why the story is taking place?”
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]“Did I like how the story unfolds?”
( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
[*]Did the narrative seamlessly identify what was important in the story and put due focus on those things?” 
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[/list]

[b]SETTING, 10 points[/b]

[list]
[*]"Did I always have a clear picture in my mind of the surroundings?" 
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Is the character integrated with the surroundings?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Did everything in the setting serve to further the story?"
( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
[/list]

[b]PACING, 10 points[/b]

[list]
[*]"Did I want to know what happened next?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Did the speed of each scene match the intended mood?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Did nothing jar my journey through the words?"
( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
[/list]

[size=18][i]------------------ CHARACTER ------------------ [/i][/size]

[b]COMMUNICATION, 10 points[/b]

[list]
[*]"Does each character's style and frequency of communication match who and what they are?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Did the characters feel real when they spoke or communicated?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]Is all the communication consistent with the setting?"
( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
[/list]

[b]ACTIONS, 10 points[/b]

[list]
[*]"Do each character's strategies and actions match who and what they are?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Do each character's actions help define who and what they are?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Do each character's actions feel plausible and relevant?"
(Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
[/list]

[b]PERSONA, 10 points[/b]

[list]
[*]"Do the character's thoughts match their personality?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Are the emotions at believable levels? Not under- or overdone?"
( Yes (2), Somewhat (1), No (0) )
[*]"Do the character's thoughts help define their personality?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[/list]

[size=18][i]------------------ PROSE ------------------ [/i][/size]

[b]MECHANICS, 10 points[/b]

[list]
[*]"Is all the punctuation correct?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Is all the spelling correct?"
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"How seamless or impressive was the writer's usage and style?"
( Very (2), Somewhat (1), Not at all (0) )
[/list]

[b]CLARITY, 10 points[/b]

[list]
[*]"Is everything said that needs to be said?" 
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Do all the sentences make sense?" 
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Was it easy to incorporate new information as the story progressed?"
( Very (2), Somewhat (1), Not at all (0) )
[/list]

[b]STYLE AND FLAIR, 10 points[/b]

[list]
[*]"Did I like the use of any flashbacks, foreshadowing, metaphors, or other literary devices?" 
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Did I like the use of any vocabulary words or made-up words?" 
( Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Neutral (2), Disagree (1), Strongly Disagree (0) )
[*]"Does it feel like the author is comfortable in their style?"
( Very (2), Somewhat (1), Not at all (0) )
[/list]

[size=18][i]------------------ JUDGE'S CHOICE ------------------ [/i][/size]

[b]EXTRA 10 points[/b]
[list]
[*]"Is there something unusual I want to award points for?"
[*]"Is there one or two things that were just so awesome that they deserve extra points?"
[*]Was I impressed with creativity or some other display of brilliance?"
[/list]

(10 pts.) (9 pts.) (8 pts.) (7 pts.) (6 pts.) (5 pts.) (4 pts.) (3 pts.) (3 pts.) (2 pts.) (1 pt.) (0 pts.)

Explain:

[hr]

[b]Total Points: ?/100[/b]

Feedback:
[/quote]


How to use the Judge’s Choice Section

Here, the judge has total freedom to add (or not add) points that the story deserved but was not addressed by any of the questions above (or was worth more than the point value offered). The questions in this section are just for guidance and do not have to be literally answered. In this section you should explain why you chose the Judge’s Choice Score that you did. This is the place to deliver an essay of compliments and explain what you personally enjoyed about the piece.

How to use the Feedback Section

In this section, please take the time to explain the reasoning behind your scoring. While you are welcome to cover the strengths of the story, this is the place to give the writer suggestions on improvement, or if nothing else, a “keep up the good work”. Your criticism should always be constructive. You should be neither patronizing nor derogatory. Please use simple honesty and optimistic advice. Give concrete examples, use common sense and always offer helpful insight. Judges need to be able to write an adequate amount and represent the standards of quality that we are striving to achieve. Please be thoughtful and thorough when completing the feedback section.

Awesome work guys! I am guessing this was the big announcement LR was talking about in the chatbox yesterday (and of course he wouldn't tell us what the big thing was either!). I am really looking forward to more writing contests! I can't wait until the first one happens!

I totally love the Rubric! It will make judging very consistent across all contests and also provide extremely valuable feedback for the participants. Great job!

Yes this was the big announcement I was talking about!! I am just happy I was able to post it today. We, the staff are looking forward to these contests. There will be an announcement soon to when the first one will begin.

Look for it, so you can enter or volunteer!

OH, I'll be watching! Like this: You wont see me coming until I have already posted in the topic!

I'm very excited for these contests. We should be starting one no later than the end of the month, so expect it to be up soon! XD

I'm very excited for this!

I think we're all looking forward to having regular contests now! This is definitely something wonderful for the community, and we hope you guys will have fun!