Judges' Guidance for the Andrew Siderius Compeition
Here are the Judges' Competition Notes, an edited version of those originally sent out on previous occasions.
Thanks once again for agreeing to be judges for this FFF Competition. I promised that the job wouldn’t be onerous, and I’m sure that will prove to be the case.
Entries will be accepted from 16th March until the end of the day UK time on Friday 29th March 2024. I’ll weed out any stories and poems that are disqualified on grounds of length, poor English or (just possibly) poor taste, and the only ones you’ll have to consider will be those posted in the two week-long windows ending at midnight on Friday 29th. Goodness knows what will appear; free-to-enter contests attract some oddballs.
This time, there are two themes. I have to add the writer's selected theme into the post each time, which will take a little longer, but so you don't need to try to work it out for yourself. You can be generous – any sort of connection, however vague, will do. However it's possible that if one story more obviously relates to the chosen theme than another, that might act as some sort of "tiebreaker". Either way, the decision is entirely yours.
JUDGING CLASSIC FLASH FICTION COMPETITIONS (inc the Siderius Competition)
All you have to do is to choose around four or five stories from all of those on the website that you like. One of these should be the one you like best. I’d actually prefer if you chose a couple of reserves, though, in case someone else chooses the same story as you. Once we’ve negotiated six stories, one from each of you, that becomes our Short List, but we also assemble a small group of ‘Commended’ entries, which will mainly consist of those “nearly” stories that appear on more than one judge's list.
We’ll then put that Short List out to our voters (you’ll get to vote yourself) and the winning story will be the one that gets the most votes.
To allow voters a little time to read the Short List and vote, I’d appreciate if you could let me know of your choice as soon as possible after the entries close on 29th March, ideally within 24-48 hours. Sometimes your choice will be obvious long before the closing date.
Your choice will be completely subjective of course. However, I also ask that our judges write a short 70-100 word statement saying why you chose that story. Some of you have done this sort of thing before, but others might find it a little daunting. So here are a few ideas for ways to fill up 70-100 words…
Personally, I feel that too many writers try to 'win' rather than writing good flash fiction. Our readers seem to go disproportionately for stories about pets or animals – I don't care for 'twee' at all. I'm really not telling you what to pick, but please be aware that some writers are trying to manipulate the judges, too. It happens in a free-to-enter contest.
One thing I would like you to keep in mind, though. This is a site for stories of 100 words or just under. Although we do accept much shorter stories, judges should mark down anything under 85-90 words. A story that only just scrapes over the lower limit is likely to have begun as something shorter and been added to; it's not been created for FFF.
JUDGING THE SIDERIUS POETRY COMPETITION
This year, we're selecting a short list for the poetry contest using a cut-down version of the Classic contest system: the difference being that there will only be three shortlisted poems, and three judges. Because they're anonymous until after the voting, you're welcome – indeed encouraged – to enter yourselves.
I don't pretend to be a poet, so I'm extremely grateful for your assistance. I like good poetry, though, but it's even more a matter of personal taste than prose. Again, the poem should relate somehow to one of the themes, and once you've chosen your poem we need a short statement about why you chose it. That will look much as for the Classic fiction above, for instance:
If you could provide your statements as soon as possible after 29th March, I’d appreciate it. However, there's little point in doing so until I've confirmed that your first choice is indeed in the short list.
If all of this sounds demanding, I promise it won’t be; I certainly hope it won't be. And if your short critique saying why you chose the story that you did looks different in style from anyone else’s, so much the better. Your critiques will be published at the same time as the final results, after the voting has taken place.
Remember that your identities are secret from each other, so I encourage you to enter yourselves. After all, if you submit stories regularly and suddenly go silent during a competition, others might guess you're a judge!
Entries will be accepted from 16th March until the end of the day UK time on Friday 29th March 2024. I’ll weed out any stories and poems that are disqualified on grounds of length, poor English or (just possibly) poor taste, and the only ones you’ll have to consider will be those posted in the two week-long windows ending at midnight on Friday 29th. Goodness knows what will appear; free-to-enter contests attract some oddballs.
This time, there are two themes. I have to add the writer's selected theme into the post each time, which will take a little longer, but so you don't need to try to work it out for yourself. You can be generous – any sort of connection, however vague, will do. However it's possible that if one story more obviously relates to the chosen theme than another, that might act as some sort of "tiebreaker". Either way, the decision is entirely yours.
JUDGING CLASSIC FLASH FICTION COMPETITIONS (inc the Siderius Competition)
All you have to do is to choose around four or five stories from all of those on the website that you like. One of these should be the one you like best. I’d actually prefer if you chose a couple of reserves, though, in case someone else chooses the same story as you. Once we’ve negotiated six stories, one from each of you, that becomes our Short List, but we also assemble a small group of ‘Commended’ entries, which will mainly consist of those “nearly” stories that appear on more than one judge's list.
We’ll then put that Short List out to our voters (you’ll get to vote yourself) and the winning story will be the one that gets the most votes.
To allow voters a little time to read the Short List and vote, I’d appreciate if you could let me know of your choice as soon as possible after the entries close on 29th March, ideally within 24-48 hours. Sometimes your choice will be obvious long before the closing date.
Your choice will be completely subjective of course. However, I also ask that our judges write a short 70-100 word statement saying why you chose that story. Some of you have done this sort of thing before, but others might find it a little daunting. So here are a few ideas for ways to fill up 70-100 words…
- Write about the plot, its conciseness, its ability to cover a lot of ground in 100 words;
- Write about how the story left you feeling after you’d read it;
- Write about characters that appealed;
- If appropriate, write about how the story conveyed the sense of a particular time or locality;
- Write about language, including particular phrases that appealed to you (which of course you can then quote to help make up the 70-100 words);
- Write about the connection to the theme.
Personally, I feel that too many writers try to 'win' rather than writing good flash fiction. Our readers seem to go disproportionately for stories about pets or animals – I don't care for 'twee' at all. I'm really not telling you what to pick, but please be aware that some writers are trying to manipulate the judges, too. It happens in a free-to-enter contest.
One thing I would like you to keep in mind, though. This is a site for stories of 100 words or just under. Although we do accept much shorter stories, judges should mark down anything under 85-90 words. A story that only just scrapes over the lower limit is likely to have begun as something shorter and been added to; it's not been created for FFF.
JUDGING THE SIDERIUS POETRY COMPETITION
This year, we're selecting a short list for the poetry contest using a cut-down version of the Classic contest system: the difference being that there will only be three shortlisted poems, and three judges. Because they're anonymous until after the voting, you're welcome – indeed encouraged – to enter yourselves.
I don't pretend to be a poet, so I'm extremely grateful for your assistance. I like good poetry, though, but it's even more a matter of personal taste than prose. Again, the poem should relate somehow to one of the themes, and once you've chosen your poem we need a short statement about why you chose it. That will look much as for the Classic fiction above, for instance:
- Write about how the poem left you feeling after you’d read it;
- If appropriate, write about how the poem conveyed the sense of a particular time or locality;
- Write about language, including particular phrases that appealed to you (and again, words & phrases you quote can pad out your 70-100 words if need be
- Write about the connection to the theme.
If you could provide your statements as soon as possible after 29th March, I’d appreciate it. However, there's little point in doing so until I've confirmed that your first choice is indeed in the short list.
If all of this sounds demanding, I promise it won’t be; I certainly hope it won't be. And if your short critique saying why you chose the story that you did looks different in style from anyone else’s, so much the better. Your critiques will be published at the same time as the final results, after the voting has taken place.
Remember that your identities are secret from each other, so I encourage you to enter yourselves. After all, if you submit stories regularly and suddenly go silent during a competition, others might guess you're a judge!
Best wishes
Gordon Lawrie, Editor
Please note: I'm away for a few days this weekend, so there might be a slight delay
in posting stories. Normal service will resume asap.
in posting stories. Normal service will resume asap.
