Short Story Contest Criteria

Short Stories submitted to the contest will be judged based on the following criteria:

  1. Idea/Impact/Overall Story
  2. Beginning  (catches reader’s interest/plot problem introduced)
  3. Middle (holds readers interest/story builds toward climax)
  4. Ending  (climax is satisfying & makes sense)
  5. Characters (interesting, believable, reader cares about them)
  6. Plot (interesting, unique, makes sense)     
  7. Setting  (reader transported to the time and place)
  8. Use of Language  (vocabulary, narrative style, & figurative language)
  9. Format/Mechanics (free of errors, solid English mechanics, but break the rules for effect-such as in dialog)
  10. Mood  (story evokes emotion in the reader)

In the event of a tie, an additional rating for Theme will be used to select the winner.