Valley Forge Romance Writers
THE SHEILA 2023 SCORE SHEET
Judge Number:
Judge Profile:
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Published in romance |
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Published in non-romance |
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Unpublished |
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Award-winning |
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RWA PAN |
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RWA PRO |
Score each category on a scale of 1 to 5, with half points permissible, where:
1=poor (needs major work)
2=fair (shows promise, but needs improvement)
3=average (good, but not special)
4=good (close to being publishable, but still needs minor work)
5=excellent (publishable)
Score |
Category |
0 |
OPENING Book starts in the correct place; interesting hook; good introduction of characters and plot Comments: |
0 |
MAIN CHARACTERS Skillfully developed; multidimensional; believable and interesting; good physical description; sympathetic and likable Comments: |
0 |
CENTRAL RELATIONSHIP Believable and compelling from the initial attraction; emotional as well as physical; logically developed based on the goals, motivations, and conflicts of the Main Characters Comments: |
0 |
SECONDARY CHARACTERS Necessary; non-intrusive (covered in synopsis if not introduced in submitted pages) Comments: |
0 |
GOALS Clearly stated for all Main Characters; actionable; personal to each Main Character Comments: |
0 |
MOTIVATIONS Both internal and external motivations are present for Main Characters; believable and consistent with individual characters and circumstances Comments: |
0 |
CONFLICT Strong enough to sustain a story; believable; good usage of internal and external conflict; tied to goals and motivations; not based on simple misunderstanding; well-structured throughout (no deus ex machina) Comments: |
0 |
PLOT LINE Skillfully developed; plausible; avoids cliché; interesting; each scene moved plot along Comments: |
0 |
DIALOGUE Natural; believable; progresses the story; characters’ voices consistent and individual to their personalities; good balance of dialogue/action tags Comments: |
0 |
NARRATIVE Interesting; necessary; progresses the story; does not overwhelm reader with information Comments: |
0 |
PACING Story moved at a smooth rate; flows through the highs and lows of the conflicts; Dialogue and Narrative are balanced in keeping with the style of the story Comments: |
0 |
TRANSITIONS Smooth; appropriate; necessary; non-intrusive Comments: |
0 |
VIEWPOINT Proper usage of point of view; changes well done, logical, and important; viewpoint doesn’t bounce from character to character excessively or inappropriately Comments: |
0 |
RESEARCH Accurate; non-intrusive; interesting; important; relevant Comments: |
0 |
SETTING Sense of time and place; set the mood; enhanced the story; interwoven into plot; no description just for description’s sake Comments: |
0 |
WORLD BUILDING Consistent; fully developed; introduced with enough detail to orient the reader without overwhelming them Comments: |
0 |
STYLE Varied sentence structure and length; actions and emotions “shown, not told”; senses well utilized; presentation of story smooth and interesting Comments: |
0 |
MECHANICS Professionally presented; free of typos, spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors Comments: |
0 |
IMPRESSION Appropriate for targeted audience; sensual tension correct; plot appropriate Comments: |
0 |
“IT” FACTOR Based on the entry as a whole, how interested are you in reading more? Comments: |
0 |
TOTAL POINTS (highest possible – 100 points) Judges: to add up scores: Highlight the “0” to the left and click F9. Correct sum will appear, but please double check your scores manually as well. |
OVERALL MANUSCRIPT COMMENTS: (Please feel free to include additional comments in the body of the manuscript and synopsis.) |
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