Twenty-one Questions: A Non-Traditional Rubric for Judges
By B. Lynn Goodwin
Want an inside look at what contest judges are looking for?
Last spring I was putting together a rubric for a contest held by the Northern California Branch of the Women’s National Book Association. I was working with others and sent them several collections of questions so that we could pick what was right for our contestants.
Here’s what we came up with for both fiction and creative non-fiction:
First of all, trust your instincts. If your overall impression is “Wow” you might have read a winner. Writing is subjective, so I’ve asked questions rather than giving you a rating system. Use whatever applies.
Items to Consider:
Do you care about the main character?
Are there conflicts?
Is there more than one direction that the plot could go?
Are you already guessing what might happen?
Is a setting suggested?
How is the description?
How is the pace?
Is the dialogue believable?
Is the tone appropriate?
Given the subject and situation, is there an appropriate balance of dialogue, action, narration and reflection? (Remember, it’s only 2500 words)
Did you stop paying attention at any point?
Does the story draw you in or do you feel like you’re outside and watching it?
Would you buy this book?
If not, why not? (If you hate the genre, give it less weight than if the story bothers you.
What is your favorite moment or line?
Will you remember this story tomorrow?
Additional questions:
Is language used effectively?
Does the author make exceptional use of word choice, imagery? Multiple meanings?
Is right and wrong complex? Is there more than one way of looking at the issues?
Are the characters likeable but flawed? Will readers identify?
Was the writing clear and accessible, too dense to fathom or somewhere in between?
If you want to share these questions with your writing group, you are free to do so, but please give credit to Writer Advice, www.writeradvice.com. We writers have to help each other out.
Thanks!
SPEAKING AS YOUR CHARACTER…
Thanks to the memoir contestant who submitted this photo in 2015. Please send your name so I can give you credit if you see this.
Would you like to get inside your character’s head? Would you like to move and think as he or she does? Would you like to take a flat character and make him or her three-dimensional?
Although this is actually an acting exercise, it’s an ideal way to get inside your character, discover multiple objectives, find obstacles, and turn the character into someone both likeable and flawed as well as universal and unique.
NOTE: Before you begin this exercise, breathe in your character (whatever that means) and exhale any negativity. Breathe her in again, and stand up in whatever way your character would. Begin walking as your character. How is her walk different from yours?
Is her posture straighter?
Are her steps weaker?
Does she feel more weighted down or lighter than you?
It’s fine to answer these questions in your head, but please don’t skip any.
Observe differences as you walk, and see what feels different about being your character than being yourself (whatever that means).
When you feel comfortable in your character’s body, sit in front of your computer as she would sit, pick a font and color that she would use, and complete the sentence starts below.
Trust your character. The more you can become her physically, the more you will also be her mentally.
There are no wrong answers. You’re just getting inside her head. I recommend you either tape these sentence starts with space between them or have someone read them to you.
Speaking in the voice of your character, finish each sentence.
My full name is…
I live at…
I live with…
I am happiest when…
I daydream about…
My mind…
If I had my way…
I don’t understand why…
What I could do is…
Being scared makes me…
Sometimes I think that I…
I have a feeling that part of me…
A person’s family…
No one could help so…
If I were in charge…
I get angry when…
People perceive me as…
I hate…
People wouldn’t like it if…
I am afraid I…
I know…
I really am…
A person can’t be happy unless…
I’d love to hear how this works for you. Please let me know by using the Contact button at www.writeradvice.com. Thanks for participating.
