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catscradle Jul. 24th, 2002 02:10 pm)
catscradle Jul. 24th, 2002 02:10 pm)Okay, I finally headed over to see the results of Shiai fanfic contest that somebody was nice enough to nominate me in. Now, I don't want to sound like I'm bitter over not winning, because I'm not - as I said, there were some nice people out there that decided to nominate me - and were it not for them, I'd never even know about the contest. I also think there were quite a few fics posted to the contest that were as good or much better than mine, so it's not all about me. But dear God, what were the judges thinking???
Moreso, what were the creators of the contest thinking?
Here's a list of how the judges are to score:
Spelling and Grammar - 10
Plot - 20
Flow - 10
Characterization - 15
Creativity - 15
Category Specifics - 30
Total: 100
Now, this is their contest and they can run it however they want - but even on the "winner" page the webmaster was shocked by some of the results. She says "But the numbers don't lie." Well, no. But the scoring method sucks.
The contest follows the same sort of format that the Nanashi Fanfic Contest does. It's not exact, but it's pretty close. Nothing against the Nanasho contest, but every single GW contest out there that doesn't go by voting at large uses the same model at Nanashi. People, please stop. That's their gig, try something new.
But let look at the score Shiai uses a little closer.
Why is this part of the scoring at all? A fic with so many spelling and grammar problems that you need to subtract points, should just be tossed out. Period.
Again, if this is your only criteria for plot, then you just toss out the fics that have those kind of problems with plot - you don't need to score them.
Again, why hasn't a fic like this just been weeded out of the contest? If it's incoherent, toss the fic. This isn't tough folks.
So 15% out of a 100 goes to the single most important aspect in fanfic. . . 'kay.
I can name two fics that won that were completely off on the characterization. Characters were bastardized at will with no explaination for it other than it fit the plot better to do it.
And just to reiterate this: comedy fics are funnier when the characters are IC. If they're OOC, then why should we find that funny in relation to the fandom?
I wouldn't find this half as offensive if they hadn't included that last parenthetical sentence - given that half the fics that won were so full of clichés, it's quite obvious the judges don't know what clichés are either.
Again, what the hell is this even doing on the scoring list? If something is entered into the wrong category then OMIT it! Or add it to the correct category if you notice it's in the wrong spot. And 30 points? 30 points is based on whether a nominator managed to enter the fic in the right category? That has nothing to do with the author or their writing ability. That's 30 points, the highest amount of points in the scoring categories, based on someone else entering the fic in the right spot.
And let me tell you, many of those fics were in the wrong spot. One of my fics was entered into romance. It wasn't a romance. It had a few romantic elements in it, but the overall fic was definately not a romance. It was also listed as a 1x3x1 - the pairing is actually 1+3. There was no sex in it. A friend of mine had her fic listed as a 3x4 - Trowa and Quatre only met in the story. That's it. Not only was there no sex, but no romance implied. All they did was meet. So if our fics were that mislabeled, I've got to wonder how many people had 30 points go down the drain for that same reason.
I've always had problems with the point system - I really don't think it works well - but I can understand it's use in fic contests that span 20 categories and have 60 nominations entered in each. It's just easier, I get that. But 1) we have Nanashi to take care of that type of contest - do we need 50 more of those? Probably not. Nanashi has problems, but they handle them a lot better. 2) if you must have a huge contest like that, make sure you point system makes a little bit of sense. Don't give the most amount of points over something the author has absolutely no control over. 3) Make sure your judges understand all the rules. I've got to say, availability does not a judge make. Screen them a little before accepting them.
That's my rant.
Moreso, what were the creators of the contest thinking?
Here's a list of how the judges are to score:
Spelling and Grammar - 10
Plot - 20
Flow - 10
Characterization - 15
Creativity - 15
Category Specifics - 30
Total: 100
Now, this is their contest and they can run it however they want - but even on the "winner" page the webmaster was shocked by some of the results. She says "But the numbers don't lie." Well, no. But the scoring method sucks.
The contest follows the same sort of format that the Nanashi Fanfic Contest does. It's not exact, but it's pretty close. Nothing against the Nanasho contest, but every single GW contest out there that doesn't go by voting at large uses the same model at Nanashi. People, please stop. That's their gig, try something new.
But let look at the score Shiai uses a little closer.
- Spelling and Grammar - 10
Spelling and Grammar: A few typos are acceptable, but any major, repetitive problems with grammar and/or spelling will be marked off.
Why is this part of the scoring at all? A fic with so many spelling and grammar problems that you need to subtract points, should just be tossed out. Period.
- Plot - 20
Plot: Scored according to if there actually is a plot if a fic isn't marked as PWP. A relatively easy to follow plot is a good thing. Choppy plots full of plot-holes will get marked off.
Again, if this is your only criteria for plot, then you just toss out the fics that have those kind of problems with plot - you don't need to score them.
- Flow - 10
Flow: Scoring is based on how everything fits together and if it is written coherently. (Of course, if a fic is meant to be choppy/incoherent-ish, and it is obvious to the judge, no points will be taken off.)
Again, why hasn't a fic like this just been weeded out of the contest? If it's incoherent, toss the fic. This isn't tough folks.
- Characterization - 15
Characterization: Scored on the development of the characters. Any OOCness will be marked off--ex., Duo acting womanish, weak, being a "braided baka", etc. (Unless a fic is humor, in which case OOCness is usually intentional...)
So 15% out of a 100 goes to the single most important aspect in fanfic. . . 'kay.
I can name two fics that won that were completely off on the characterization. Characters were bastardized at will with no explaination for it other than it fit the plot better to do it.
And just to reiterate this: comedy fics are funnier when the characters are IC. If they're OOC, then why should we find that funny in relation to the fandom?
- Creativity - 15
Creativity: a.k.a. level of clichéness. Original ideas are a very, very good thing. (And if you haven't been in the fandom long enough to figure out what's cliché and what isn't...I pity you.)
I wouldn't find this half as offensive if they hadn't included that last parenthetical sentence - given that half the fics that won were so full of clichés, it's quite obvious the judges don't know what clichés are either.
- Category Specifics - 30
Category Specifics: Scored on things specific to the category the fic is entered in. For example, if a fic is entered in the Lemon category, the quality of the lemon will be scored in this part.
Again, what the hell is this even doing on the scoring list? If something is entered into the wrong category then OMIT it! Or add it to the correct category if you notice it's in the wrong spot. And 30 points? 30 points is based on whether a nominator managed to enter the fic in the right category? That has nothing to do with the author or their writing ability. That's 30 points, the highest amount of points in the scoring categories, based on someone else entering the fic in the right spot.
And let me tell you, many of those fics were in the wrong spot. One of my fics was entered into romance. It wasn't a romance. It had a few romantic elements in it, but the overall fic was definately not a romance. It was also listed as a 1x3x1 - the pairing is actually 1+3. There was no sex in it. A friend of mine had her fic listed as a 3x4 - Trowa and Quatre only met in the story. That's it. Not only was there no sex, but no romance implied. All they did was meet. So if our fics were that mislabeled, I've got to wonder how many people had 30 points go down the drain for that same reason.
I've always had problems with the point system - I really don't think it works well - but I can understand it's use in fic contests that span 20 categories and have 60 nominations entered in each. It's just easier, I get that. But 1) we have Nanashi to take care of that type of contest - do we need 50 more of those? Probably not. Nanashi has problems, but they handle them a lot better. 2) if you must have a huge contest like that, make sure you point system makes a little bit of sense. Don't give the most amount of points over something the author has absolutely no control over. 3) Make sure your judges understand all the rules. I've got to say, availability does not a judge make. Screen them a little before accepting them.
That's my rant.
