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Could do it as a % basis - IE if criteria has not been met, all other scores are reduced by 40% (or whatever %) That way, the writers who have spent a lot of time trying to get their score up in the other categories while ignoring criteria have the most to lose.
I'm only comparing this to an OWC script, not the OWC itself. My point is that if a script stands out here as the best one it should still rise to the top. Anything else would not really work.
And it's not hard to do. When I'm listing my scores for a script, how do I decide if the dialog was a 3 or a 4? A 2 or a 3? It's not like something that an actual mathematical number can be applied to. Sometimes a script stands out with dialog that is excellent or poor, but most of the time it's neither and there's no real reason to distinguish between a 3 or 4.
So how I break down those scores IS effected by my overall evaluation of the work.
Some of the ones I read had completely senseless stories, but were easy to read. So I tried to be generous in prose and dialog.
One story, probably my favorite, was pretty much straight comedy. But I don't want to give it a N on criteria. I'm going to read it again, and if I can justify the y, I'll give it...but I will ding it on the story a little.
Look, I'm sure Nicholls judges do the same thing. The contests use categories for a reason, but it has all the same problems. There's no prize here, just let it roll.
it will even force us to enter when we may not want to (quickly writing something on a flight for example) just so we can grab some points.
I kinda-sorta did this for Round One, which I otherwise would have missed entirely. I checked the criteria when they posted, found about eight hours on Monday to actually get the story typed up. Knew it wasn't polished, but should get more than straight 1s. I hope.
Timeline went something like:
11:58PM EDT: Submitted, panting at the virtual mailbox. 12:40AM EDT: See my script posted, click on it. 12:41AM EDT: Notice a typo. Oh well. 12:42AM EDT: Notice a serious mistake. Maybe no one will notice?
Later... one of the first reviews points out the mistake. Desk gets a new head-shaped dent.
I also posted the voting link on p.6 and have alerted Sean I think it needs to be more prominently displayed.
To reiterate my own opinion, I think Sean did a great job this time around with the revamp on voting, no disqualifications etc. No system will be perfect, the superior scripts will rise to the top, and I think everyone just needs to loosen up a bit and get in the spirit.
I kinda-sorta did this for Round One, which I otherwise would have missed entirely. I checked the criteria when they posted, found about eight hours on Monday to actually get the story typed up. Knew it wasn't polished, but should get more than straight 1s. I hope.
Timeline went something like:
11:58PM EDT: Submitted, panting at the virtual mailbox. 12:40AM EDT: See my script posted, click on it. 12:41AM EDT: Notice a typo. Oh well. 12:42AM EDT: Notice a serious mistake. Maybe no one will notice?
Later... one of the first reviews points out the mistake. Desk gets a new head-shaped dent.
Next time I'll score them as I go. It's not easy to do at the end. Some entries I have as very good ones but can hardly remember. I always thought it was a bad sign since they are not memorable and therefore weak. On the other hand I reread and agree with myself on the entry being a good one. Don't know what to make of this.
Now there are other entries, the ones I'll remember forever. These are easy to score at the end. But not every entry is this way. I thought it was due to my own preference in genre, but it's not.
I wonder if it's the same story for you. How does my brain picks some to remember for much longer time? That just escapes me.
"Well, I'm not sure you've met the criteria because the bobblehead could be replaced by a sock puppet and the story would be the same."
"While your action/horror story has tons of action and plenty of horror, I'm not sure they are fused properly, so I'm struggling with whether to give this a Y on criteria."
"Well, much of your story IS in a psychiatrist's office, but it feels more like a psychologist to me, so I'm afraid this doesn't meet criteria. Sorry."
"Well, I'm not sure you've met the criteria because the bobblehead could be replaced by a sock puppet and the story would be the same."
"While your action/horror story has tons of action and plenty of horror, I'm not sure they are fused properly, so I'm struggling with whether to give this a Y on criteria."
"Well, much of your story IS in a psychiatrist's office, but it feels more like a psychologist to me, so I'm afraid this doesn't meet criteria. Sorry."
You don't need anyone's input for how you score the criteria category. Go with whatever makes sense to you.
I'm being generous, but there still needs to be two of the required genres present in it and the bobblehead has to be more than just a placeholder object.
Next time I'll score them as I go. It's not easy to do at the end. Some entries I have as very good ones but can hardly remember. I always thought it was a bad sign since they are not memorable and therefore weak. On the other hand I reread and agree with myself on the entry being a good one. Don't know what to make of this.
Now there are other entries, the ones I'll remember forever. These are easy to score at the end. But not every entry is this way. I thought it was due to my own preference in genre, but it's not.
I wonder if it's the same story for you. How does my brain picks some to remember for much longer time? That just escapes me.
Yeah, it would be almost impossible to go back after reading and trying to score every script, especially since we have 5 categories each script has to scored on.
I created my own xcel spreadsheet and after each read (and after commenting on the thread), I went to the spreadsheet and typed in my scores.
You may have seen that I actually commented on a few threads, that based on the scoring system, this particular script scored higher or lower than it should have.
Never meant to say Blondie didn't do a good job, just pointing out the error in the scoring, and as I first said and Dustin reiterated, a script that does not meet the challenge parameters, could very easily win the round.