Short Short Story Awards [CLOSED FOR JUDGING]

four | judging and criteria

The reason I made this a short-stories only contest is so it can be done quickly and easily. I will be the only judge for this contest. Maybe if a lot of people join and there's another one, I might look for other judges, but for now I'm the only one. This way I also won't have to wait for other people to finish up reading submissions, and everything can get done more quickly.

The criteria for this contest is as follows:

- Title and cover: is the title engaging? Does it relate to your story? Is it new, or has it been used a million times in slightly different ways? Is the cover nice to look at and easy to read? [5 points; 3 for title, 2 for cover]

- Summary: is it engaging? Does it give enough information to get someone to want to read your story? Or, does it intrigue the reader in its simplicity? Regardless, does it draw the reader in? [5 points]

- Grammar/spelling/sentence structure: basically self-explanatory. Make sure these are correct. [10 points]

- Character(s): are they flat or round? If there's more than one, are they different? Are they unique or stereotypical? [10 points]

- Plot and writing style: is it a story? Is it a full, complete story, despite being short? Is it engaging? [20 points]

- Uniqueness: is it something new, or is it a cliché we've seen a million times before? [10 points]

- Beginning and end: does the beginning draw the reader in? Does the ending leave an impact? [10 points, 5 each]

[total possible: 70 points]