How to Judge a Golden Heart (GH) Entry

If you aren't sure, try one of these ways:

1. After you read it, write down the first score you feel.

Don't fret about it being too high or two low. Just write down WHATEVER number strikes you. A week or so later, go back and skim over the entry. Does that initial impression score seem accurate? Raise or lower.

And don't forget you can do tenths of a point. Last year I gave one of my entries a 6.7. Why? A 6 seemed too low and a 7 seemed too high and 6.5 seemed...well, I just felt like being different and giving a .7.

In almost all the times I've judged the GH and used this method, I've ended up raising my scores around a point. Why? Well, let's go with the idea I'm a nice person. :D

2. Use a "faux" scoresheet.

Giving each a score of 1-9.

_____ Lead Characters: Were they multi-dimensional? Did each have an individual story goal? Were they proactive or merely reacting to events around them? Were they likeable despite flaws? Did they have flaws? Did they have virtues?

_____ Hooks & Endings: Did the entry beging with a scene that hooked you? Did the entry end with you saying "Drat!" because there wasn't more pagesto read?

_____ Narration: Were sensory, setting, and character details layered in enough for you to "see" the story? Was the narrative balance with the dialogue (no "talking heads" scenes)?

_____ Dialogue: Did it fit the time period, nationality, gender, job,background, ethnicity, and/or personality of the characters? Did it all sound like the same person talking or different people?

_____ Mechanics: Were grammatical errors consistent, showing a clear problem (ex. constant mis-use of a semi-colon)? Did how the paragraphs were broken up add to the pace?

Give each a score, then divide by 5. That should give you an averaged score that will generally be a fair assessment of the entry. Now you can add more componants (Secondary characters, Confict, etc), but I tend to think these five are the basics of what to judge an entry on. Of course, if you still don't feel comfortable with a basic scoresheet, many RWAcontests post their scoresheets online.

I'm a firm believer that if the entry ends with me wanting to read more, then despite any flaws, I'm going to score the entry higher because that "X" factor hook is very important to me. Also, I tend to be lenient on grammar and typos...unless I notice a consistent problem. In a 50-page entry, I'd let probably 10 typos slide. Maybe the same with punctuation. And if an entrant consistently didn't put a comma between two independent clauses joined by a conjunction, then I'd over look it. But if half the time she did and half the time she didn't, then I'd certainly"deduct" a point. Maybe a half of a point. I think a lot depends on how much I enjoyed reading the story.

Nitpicking is silly.

If you still aren't sure what fits in with what RWA defines as "average"(a score of 5), then use this last scoring system.

3. On a scale of 1-9, how well did you like reading the entry?

Trust me, anyone and everyone can rate a book, tv show, movie, song, etc.,on how well they liked it. I watched four movie versions of JANE EYRE last week. I'd give the2006-production an 9 because the acting was I-forgot-they-were-acting and the mini-series wonderfully captured the May-December romance. The mini-series with Samantha Morton would get a 4.2 because I couldn't stand the hero-actor-who-yelled-all-movie-long despite how much I liked theSamantha Morton. Absolutely no chemistry either. The one with William Hurt would get a 6.8 because I think the movie left out too much from the book and William Hurt wasn't as right for the role as the heroine was (I can't think of her name but she was the second best Jane Eyre after the chick inthe 2006-version.) Lastly, I'd give the Timothy Dalton-version a 3 becauseof the lack of chemistry between the pair and because the extreme height difference between the lead characters was off-putting to me.

See, if you forget about "publishable quality" and focus on how much you liked the story and what, if anything, you didn't like about the story,you can give a fair score.Oh, don't worry about what other judges will give it unless...

If you have an entry that you absolutely LOVE but you're not sure if you should give it a 9 because it's not a perfectly written story, then consider that most entries that final rarely get anything less than an 8.0 score. Yes, the lowest is dropped if it is far below the mean. Still, if I love an entry, I'll give it a tad higher than I think it deserves becauseI don't want my score to keep it from finaling.

Now get to judging.

Virginia Romance Writers eat Chocolate

It's true.

I was at the last meeting.

I ate chocolate with them. Hershey chocolate.

Romance author Terri Brisbin http://www.terribrisbin.com/spoke about using hooks to grab the reader. Since I'm in the giving mood, I'll share what she shared.

OBVIOUS HOOKS

• first sentence
• first paragraph
• first scene
• first chapter
• ending scenes
• ending chapters

UNOBVIOUS HOOKS

• Point of view change
• 12 Steps to Intimacy

http://www.covenantblessing.org/ministries/christianeducation/family/handouts/12%20STEPS%20TO%20INTIMACY.pdf
"Sex Between the Pages: Understanding and Crafting Sexual Tension"
by Mary Buckham http://www.writeruniv.com/

• Genre expectations*
• Internal and External Crisis Plot points

http://www.sff.net/people/alicia/
http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Journey-Mythic-Structure-2nd/dp/0941188701

• Crisis Revelation
• Black Moment
• Resolution

*Romance Genre expectations/romance relationship plot points

• 1st meet
• 1st awareness
• 1st touch
• 1st kiss
• 1st almost love scene
• 1st love scene
• awareness of love
• black moment--believe love is lost
• resolution
• acceptance of love
• HEA

According to Ms. Brisbin, editors take about 20 seconds to decide on a ms. The first line and words MUST set the tone of the story. Writers can use drama, humor, or suspense--anything that adds questions.

The biggest problem she sees with finding the right opening line is starting at the wrong place in the story. Start where life begins to change.

End the scene/chapter with a new problem. Wanting to know the answer/solution to the problem will cause the reader to turn the page. Don't EVER end a scene/chapter with the characters going to bed or the reader will too.

The romantic plotline is a great place to add emotion to the story and to get readers to like unlikeable leads. Hooks, especially romantic ones, add emotion to your story. Yet hooks won't keep readers engaged in a sagging middle. All chapters much have a purpose. What is the purpose of a chapter? Something must be accomplished.

Long chapters in the middle of the book WEIGH DOWN the pace.

Three Types of Hooks

• Dialogue
• Narrative
• Action

Read books and look for trends. Does your favorite author tend to use one type of hook over the other? For example, do her chapters tend to open with dialogue?

VRW question: How do you structure writing time?

Terri Brisbin answer: Find a way that works for you. There are times in life when you can't write...and that's OKAY. You shouldn't have guilt when those times hit.