Not every event needs to be competitive, but boy do some of the community sponsors offer some cool prizes...— As I wonder which judges I'm most eager to impress each event
One of the best parts of participating in every Summer Camp and WorldEmber is getting to be a community sponsor and giving extra love and appreciation back to the community. It makes the Reading Challenges more exciting (and busy!) and gives me the perfect opportunity to really indulge in the reading I often lack the time for
during the events, while we're all still feverishly writing.
Notes About My Judging Process
I will read every article.
If you submit an article to a prompt I am sponsoring, you bet I'm reading it. I cannot promise that every article I read will get a response — I am a creature of low spoons and may not always have words to share, but I will make the time to take in your writings. I judge challenge articles based on my own personal set of criteria, so I make sure every entry gets its chance to shine before I move along to the next read!
I'm an artist with ADHD.
I'm pretty visual-oriented, so I put a fair amount of value on the aesthetic presentation of information, from layout design, to custom artwork, and even descriptive language. It's easy for my focus to wander, but some well-placed headers and sections can reel me back in so quickly. CSS wizardry isn't required for victory, but an eye for presentation and information hierarchy goes a long way with me as a judge. All art and images must be credited!
I will not be judging articles featuring AI-generated content.
Using AI in your articles won't stop me from reading their written content and enjoying your worldbuilding, but it will remove your article from my judging pool. While WA permits the use of AI, my stance is that generated content has no place in competition. As an artist in the community, I urge you to research the ethical implications of AI model training and the damage this technology does to both the creative industry and the environment. I encourage all creators to take their creativity into their own hands, and fully embrace the journey that is the arts.
Summer Campers: Don't fret about twisting prompts.
The idea of twisting prompts is an incredible method for ensuring every prompt can find its place in your world, no matter its setting, but it doesn't inherently make a better article. I love articles that really embrace the prompt at hand, however it was that you interpreted it, so don't force yourself out of the box if you like the one the event provided you.
Typical Judging Criteria
Working on this section!
First Pass
My first pass as a judge primarily looks for qualities I would deem deal-breakers. These are the non-subjective guidelines and considerations that I can quickly run through, because they don't require much individual effort to identify and act on.
Accessibility
To kick off judging, I open every article to check for one crucial piece of information: can I access this content? If your article pops up as a 404 or multipass, it's straight out. Make sure you keep your entries public and published if you want to compete!
Wordcount
Articles can technically be submitted with fewer than 300 words due to BBCode counting for total wordcount in the editor. If an article's true written wordcount is less than the event standard, it won't move forward.
Text Walls
This is where a lot of my own Summer Camp articles don't make the cut, but I digress. If I read an article and find a wall of text with little to no formatting whatsoever, it gets set aside in the first pass. I want to see some headers and sections!
Eye Strain
I don't let CSS themes sway my judging process too heavily, but if I find an article difficult to read, whether it is due to poor contrast, jarring color combinations, or difficult-to-read font choices I may quickly move to the next entry.
Artwork & Credit
All artwork featured on the page must be credited, either beneath the image with standard credits, or in your copyright footer, where applicable. If I see uncredited artwork or any imagery generated with AI, the article does not move forward in my process.
Please do not conceal the usage of AI in your creative process. Generated content found to be falsely labeled as human-made will push me to avoid your creations and content altogether, moving forward.
Second Pass
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Third Pass
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