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SRHowen

Erotica is not a four letter word!
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I'd like to know what the judges saw or didn't see in the winners of this round and in the subs by the HM's. What did you look for--what made you toss one over the other and so on.

Shawn
 
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plumberman029

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Good thread. I, too, would like to know what criterion was used to determine the winners; to which winners, by the by, I offer sincere congratulations.
 

hapsburg

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Open the Judges room! And Cletus cause there MUST be weird stuff going on in that forum:p
 

JAlpha

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On 3/31 in The Auditions Closed Thread, Jenna posted #34. . .

Nope, the "hashing it out" comments will be private, but the judges are free to make any comments they want to about why they chose the entries they did, which other entries came close, etc.

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On 4/01 in the Timeline (AKA what happens now thread?), Jenna posted #153 . . .

The judges are having a heckuva time coming to a final 10. I'll reveal more about the process after the decision has been made, but the point is that it hasn't been a simple "I like this one," "Good-- I do, too" thing. I can't believe I kept myself out of the judging process. Do you know how hard it is for me to keep my mouth shut and not say, "Pick this one, you fools!"?

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I place my trust in "the one who runs this joint" to make good on her word :Sun:

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BlueTexas

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I, too, would love to know how it worked. After reading the first page of entries, I had no hope of placing. Now that I've seen the finalists, I'm rather intimidated :) Ok, that's understating. A lot. I had no expectation of being a finalist, and therefore had no plan, and I always need a plan!!

I think we'd all like to know what worked and what didn't about our entries. Obviously, no judge has the time to give us all crits, but I am curious what they looked for in the entries.
 

JennaGlatzer

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I'm curious, too. :)

I think the judges are just exhausted right now, but I hope they'll give some more commentary when they recover.

In short:

The judges first went off to read and come up with their own personal top 10 lists on their own-- no discussion before that so they wouldn't influence each other. They also made "reserve lists" consisting of other entries they really liked, but didn't make their top 10s.

They posted their top 10 lists... and they looked nothing alike. I do not believe there was a single entry on all three lists, though there were some that were on one person's top 10 and the other 2 people's reserve lists.

Then they took it to MSN chat and talked about their reasons, which entries they really wanted to fight for, etc. I wasn't in the chats, so I can't enlighten you on what was said.
 

Sarita

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JennaGlatzer said:
I wasn't in the chats, so I can't enlighten you on what was said.
A lot of mean, mean things like "Sara, you talk too much," and "You certainly are chatty." I'm still tired and trying to get my life back to normal, but I would like to tell you a little about how I judged :

First and foremost, I looked at grammar, spelling and word count. If it went outside of the specified word count, it was out. I think there were 11 that DQ'ed based on word count. As far as the spelling/grammar bit, I wasn't super rigid, but... basically, if it changed the meaning or made the meaning unclear, it was out. Some people didn't spell their characters names the same throughout, I didn't throw those out right away. If I saw something iffy, I just made a note about it, all those notes really helped narrow things down at the end.

For the good parts: Once they passed all the tests above, if the writing was powerful, engaging and entertaining, it received a note. Things like LOVED IT, NICELY DONE, and LOVELY were all over my pages. (I also noted everyone who used Sara/h in their audition, they got extra points
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, okay just kidding) The ones that made it to my final lists (top 10 and reserves) were the entries that really grabbed me. Not only did they display excellent writing ability, but they left me wanting more, or really made an impression on me. Am I allowed to say which ones?
smile.gif


I think the way it worked out, 5 of my list of 10 made it to the final 10 and 4 more were on my reserve list. And I have to admit, everyone on my list of 10 and on my reserve list were LOVED IT entries. It was so hard to pick. Then, Three posted his list and it we only had one entry in common, BUT 5 of his top 10 were on my reserve list and 1 of mine was on his (I think?) Richard and Three had one overlap and there were a couple on my reserve that Richard had on his list as well. So, in the end it all worked out and we have a stellar list of finalists. I just wanted to reiterate, everyone who entered deserves a round of applause
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There was an amazing amount of talent portrayed through out the auditions. Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to pick the finalists for you, Jenna. I had a GREAT time doing it. And thanks to my fellow judges, for making my job easier by being such nice guys, picking such great entries, letting me talk ALL the time, listening to what I had to say. Okay, our 'Simon' wasn't always nice, but I still love him. This was a lot of fun. I think next year I'll enter
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Sara

PS... I know some of you have sent me questions specifically about your entry. I might have time to send you a few words, but I can't promise anything. I still have all my notes and if you can be patient, I'm sure I can respond...eventually.
smile.gif
 

three seven

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I want to add something to that which I think is quite important.

Whittling 300+ entries down to ten obviously starts with the process of yes-ing or no-ing every single entry. It was a strict process, but it still left me with forty-five worthy entries from which to draw my personal shortlist.

The official HMs consist of those entries which were on a judge's final ten-strong shortlist, but it doesn't take a maths degree to work out that there are 35 people who would get my honourable mention alone.

Right, now that that's out of the way and I've finally had some sleep, I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have, and if anyone wants to hear the judges' comments on their entry, just ask and you shall receive.

:Thumbs:
 

Sarita

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Excellent addition. I had a list of 37 that I used as a short list to derive my top 10.
 

JennaGlatzer

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Sara, of course you can say which ones!

Yes, Three is right about the HMs: Anyone listed in the honorable mentions, that meant you were on one of the judges' top 10 lists. I'm sure they'd love to hear who was on each of your reserve lists, too, if you'd like to mention that.

If you want to give us some notes about what you particularly liked about any of your top choices, that would be cool.
 

plumberman029

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I, too, would appreciate any feedback the judges would like to give. My entry was "An open letter to the contestants."
 

firehorse

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First of all, full marks to the judges (and not just because, y'know, they put me in the finals). Reading through 300+ entries and then trying to come to a consensus on something that is inherently subjective, factoring in three different personalities (and two time zones) - yikes. Glad you all have rested up, and I would love to see what you would've submitted, had you not volunteered to judge.

I'm horrible at math(s), but if Sara and Three only agreed on one entry, and Richard and Three only agreed on one entry - a different one than Sara picked - how did you proceed from there? How did you differentiate finalists from HMs? Why did you decide on eleven finalists instead of ten? And where do I send my payoff cheque?

When I read through, it seemed that the top 40 or so were extremely close. I made a list of which pieces I thought would definitely be chosen and which might be chosen (not including my own piece - I really didn't know what to think). Of my "definite" winners, only one was a finalist; several more were on the HM list. Everyone has talked about the depth of talent on this board, and it's true. There could have been so many configurations of winners and HMs.

That said, the word "crossroads" has been blinking in my mind like an OCD tic for two days. They don't make smileys for OCD :(

Sarah
 

SRHowen

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Comment away--mines easy to find, right there at the top of the audition thread.

Also, I wanted to comment that several people from my Writers Suport group entered, some are new to AW. I won't say who, but including me, two people made HM. My writer's group only has 13 people in it right now. That's pretty good odds for my group.

Shawn
 

JAlpha

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firehorse said:
I'm horrible at math(s), but if Sara and Three only agreed on one entry, and Richard and Three only agreed on one entry - a different one than Sara picked - how did you proceed from there? How did you differentiate finalists from HMs? Sarah


It just doesn't seem like the judges should have had to struggle so hard. I've judged about a half dozen fiction contests, and never without a criteria, point sheet to score the entries.

Checklists, score sheets, criteria, whatever you want to call them, no system is perfect, but ranking the manuscripts by a common set of sound writing elements, i.e. score sheets, really helps reduce the stress on the judges and the contestants.

JAlpha
 

Sarita

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firehorse said:
I'm horrible at math(s), but if Sara and Three only agreed on one entry, and Richard and Three only agreed on one entry - a different one than Sara picked - how did you proceed from there? How did you differentiate finalists from HMs? Why did you decide on eleven finalists instead of ten? And where do I send my payoff cheque?Sarah

Sarah, thanks! Here's what happened.. I let the boys beat me into submission... :box: . No really, if I had one on my top 10 list and say Three had it on his HM list, I stated my reasoning behind choosing this one over the others as a top 10. If my reasoning was sufficient and without holes, the entry made the cut. And since I liked all of my top 10 and HM's, here they are, in post order with a few comments (remember, at this point they've already met all the criteria above and I realize I'm crucifying myself for saying who I picked, but) ...

#2 SRHowen from WIP--I could feel the steam from the rocks, the death of the girl really captured me.
#8 WVWriterGirl Cona'Doar--The village was crumbling around me. Very well done.
#12 Joanne Unearthed--The estate was very clear in my mind. I'm still dying to know what they unearthed that day, enough said!
#13 PepperlandGirl Mad World--This was SO powerful. I had tears in my eyes and could feel each hit. :(
#24 Kevin Yarbrough--Kevin and I talked about this already and I've read the first chapter. I really liked it. I was dying to know about the sword of moses.
#42 Hapsburg Mastication--It's hard to gross me out, but you did. I could taste the rancid food, yuck.
#50 Mommie 4A Nobody Loves me--Like I told Jill, this made me go call my mother. If nothing else, it served its purpose! She really captured the love-hate relationship between Jewish mother and daughter (believe me, I know!) and the fact that it's really just about love. :)
#53 Firehorse Coming out straight--I just kept coming back to this, Sarah. It was so enthralling!
#84 Rhymegirl WIP--Made me wonder what Lisa ended up doing, did she go home with that stranger? And what happened next? hmmm???
#104 Blue Texas Dark Lake--She used the name Sarah, do I need another reason? What was going on with her and Ed anyway? What did he know and why couldn't anyone else find out? Poor Ed!
#108 Rhush Amazon--You know what I wrote down next to Becky's piece? WOW, with THREE STARS. You made my heart pound, I could hear the screams of torment.
#152 Poppyhullings Cold hands--So intimate, so sweet. It really touched my heart.
#161 Bass Reading to Elizabeth--LOVELY. That is what I wrote next to this entry. You captured the unconditional love and tenderness so well, it was really just lovely. I wanted to be the one that wrote this.
#202 Ed Williams Balancing your goodness accounts--So funny, I could see this guy cursing at the preacher for telling him to forgive and then turning around to tell his kids about your goodness account.
#207 William Haskins The Thought--Wonderful. "Pounded my temples like the gavel of God" Excellent example of what poetry should be (in my minds eye).
#223 BrokenFingers Like Cortez on a Distant Shore--Great dialogue, internal and external. It felt so ill to me, mentally ill.

There were a few more I like a lot, that I wanted to mention, if only to get you to check them out. #35 tab, I believe #47 Dmartinwriter Snow, because I love snow and he described the feelings well. #67 Sabine We Walk West -Just adorable. #159 Mskatmoon, it um.. turned me on, okay? #238 Moondancer, I felt the despair. #284 Jerome Walton - because I love baseball and hate the red sox, but he choked me up.. (hehe, baseball joke)
 

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I figured one of the judges must of had to fight the other two pretty hard to get me on that list. I'd of never guessed you Sara, I should buy you dinner!:p
 

brokenfingers

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Saritams8 said:
It felt so ill to me, mentally ill.

Why, I believe that is the nicest thing any woman's ever said to me...

(sniff! sniff!)

Thank you (sob!) Sara......

(sniff!)

Thank you so much!......
 

three seven

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hapsburg said:
I figured one of the judges must of had to fight the other two pretty hard to get me on that list. I'd of never guessed you Sara, I should buy you dinner!:p
Actually, your entry was on mine and Richard's shortlists.

I'll have the veal.
 

BlueTexas

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SRHowen said:
Comment away--mines easy to find, right there at the top of the audition thread.

Also, I wanted to comment that several people from my Writers Suport group entered, some are new to AW. I won't say who, but including me, two people made HM. My writer's group only has 13 people in it right now. That's pretty good odds for my group.

Shawn

I'll say those are great odds! How lucky are you to have such a talented writing group. My one expereince with one was rather dismal.
 

BlueTexas

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Saritams8 said:
Sarah, thanks! Here's what happened.. I let the boys beat me into submission... :box: . No really, if I had one on my top 10 list and say Three had it on his HM list, I stated my reasoning behind choosing this one over the others as a top 10. If my reasoning was sufficient and without holes, the entry made the cut. And since I liked all of my top 10 and HM's, here they are, in post order with a few comments (remember, at this point they've already met all the criteria above and I realize I'm crucifying myself for saying who I picked, but) ...

This is really interesting, Sara. Thanks for having the guts to tell us!
 

Sarita

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BlueTexas said:
This is really interesting, Sara. Thanks for having the guts to tell us!
Guts or stupidity, I'm not sure which... And just so that everyone knows, I didn't post all the ones I liked. That would take TOO long, these are just the ones that really kicked me in the shins.

brokenfingers said:
Thank you (sob!) Sara........
You're welcome BF. :)

And Hapsburg... I guess now you know you were on my reserve list, do I still get dinner? I'll have the salmon.