The Butterfly Awards 2020- CLOSED

JUDGING CRITERIA

Last year we had far too many judges bail during the judging process. Rather than rely on others who choose not to communicate with or choose not to fulfill their commitment, the admins will be doing all of the judging themselves this year.

Judging will begin as soon as a genre is full, although winners will not be announced until after the March 1st, 2020 deadline.

The following criteria is what will be reviewed during the judging process for everything except poetry (see below for more info). Judges will only be reviewing the first 5 chapters of each entry.

TITLE/COVER ( /10)

Is the story's cover and title eye-catching? Is it relevant to the theme of the book? Can you clearly see the words and author's name?

SYNOPSIS/BLURB ( /10)

Does the synopsis grab your attention and make you want to continue reading the story? Does it give away just enough to hook you, without overwhelming you with information? Are there any grammatical or spelling errors?

PLOT ( /20)

Is the plot interesting?  Is the storyline consistent, or are there major plot holes? Does the story develop in a smooth and effortless manner, or are the chapters moving too slowly/ are too rushed?

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ( /20)

Do you feel a connection to the characters? Are their descriptions clear and consistent throughout the story? Does the dialogue between characters flow smoothly? Does the character's development occur in a natural and believable way?

GRAMMAR/ VOCABULARY ( /20)

Grammar and vocabulary is probably the most important component! Publishers will turn away a great novel in an instant if there are grammatical errors. Does the story have spelling/punctuation errors? Do the word choices help the story flow naturally, or does it impede your ability to read and comprehend the chapters?

CREATIVITY/ ORIGINALITY ( /20)

Is the story's concept creative and unlike anything we have seen before? Or is it similar to stories we've read dozens of times? Are the characters and setting unique, or are they predictable?

TOTAL SCORE ( /100)

Please include the total score once all components have been judged. This is the figure we will use to determine our winners.

REASONS FOR THE SCORE GIVEN

Why were points deducted in certain areas, or what could the writer do differently next time to improve their work? Writers, please do not take offense if your judge tries to give you helpful criticism. Positive feedback is how we grow as writers. It's important to explain why this score was given so our participants can take this into consideration when revising their work. Our opinions of our own work are often skewed or biased, so how else will we know what needs updating if no one will share their opinions?

Poetry Scoring

Cover/Poem Titles: /10
Grammar: /10
Cadence/Flow: /10
Content: /10
Consistency: /10
Total: /50

Once judging has been completed, contestants can message this account to request a copy of their score sheets. We will not give them out unless requested by the contestant.