THE SCORE
SHEET: Characterization SECTION
A TOTAL OF 15 POINTS
CHARACTERIZATION
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Are the protagonist a unique, well-defined,
relatable character who are complex enough to sustain a story of this length?
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Are the protagonist’s actions and
motivations believable? Are the
problems faced in a believable manner?
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Are the
protagonists’ introspections and dialogue appropriate for their age and
background?
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Comments:
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Please
note that categories with a longer word count may not introduce both the hero
& heroine in the first chapter. Please do NOT count down if one character
is not introduced.
EXAMPLES AS APPLIED
TO EVER AFTER
Is the
protagonist a unique, well-defined, relatable, character who is complex enough
to sustain a story of this length?
Completely
original plots are hard to come by. Fairy tales are definite stereotypes and
clichés. Let’s face it, we write romance
and they all end the same way--with a Happily Ever After. Our job as authors is
to put our personal spin on an old story and take the reader on a new journey
to that Happy Ending. Even in twenty-five pages, strong goals need to be
introduced for the protagonists. Strong goals help characters become “complex.”
While strong, well-defined motivation
helps the reader anchor to the character.
Goals may not be as “big picture” or strong in chapter one, but keep in
mind that goals shift and grow throughout a story.
In EVER
AFTER, Danielle is different than the other women in the story. She’s
unique in the fact that she doesn’t desire to be a part of the court. Though
considered a peasant, she reads. She’s definitely complex enough to sustain the
story--which in the beginning is keeping her family together and saving her father’s
estate (even though she doesn’t own it).
Are
the protagonist’s actions and motivations believable? Are
the protagonist’s problems faced in a believable manner?
If you’ve seen EVER AFTER, did you wonder WHY Danielle stayed at the estate? Or
doubt that she had a good reason to stay? WHY did she put herself into the
position of being a servant in her father’s home? For me, it all comes back to
her father’s last gift and words. As an impressionable young girl, he asked her
to look after her step-mother and step-sisters. She kept her word and stayed.
So the motivation is there along with very believable actions.
Did she face her
problems in a logical, believable manner? Danielle’s last book from her father
had a great deal of influence on her. Utopia.
She never had the chance to discuss the book with her father before his death, so
its ideals held great influence on her, which attracted the Prince. Very
believable for me. Without the book…I would have constantly been asking why
Danielle would believe utopian ideals so strongly.
Are
the protagonists’ introspection and dialogue appropriate for their age and
background?
Age appropriate
dialogue. No
one can decide what’s appropriate and inappropriate except the publisher.
Bottom line: does the introspection and dialogue fit the story? The question isn’t if you’re comfortable with
the dialogue…but IF IT FITS THE STORY.
In EVER AFTER, Danielle is well-spoken and easily mistaken for a
courtesan. But we expect her to be intelligent because she’s reading books and
discussing them with her father at a young age. Those scenes make it easy for
us to believe.
My personal writing history is poking
its head in here again. I never spoke baby talk to my children. As a result,
they could have a fairly decent conversation when they were four. I used
examples of how they spoke in my books and was quickly marked down because a
four-year-old wouldn’t talk like that. I believe the information of WHY my
character spoke well at the age of four might have been missing, but having a
judge tell me it couldn’t happen just angered me. So a better response is to
suggest a line of introspection from the hero or heroine noting that the child
spoke well for its age.
Not on the score
sheet.
Some questions to
ask yourself about secondary characters. Do the secondary characters steal the
scene or are they unnecessary? Is there too much emphasis on their
descriptions? Can the scene progress without their involvement? Are they there
as “info-dumpers”?
In Ever After, Danielle is determined
to bring home Maurice at any cost and save her family
estate. If not for this secondary character, the Prince would not have
met her a second time. The Prince is determined to live his own life, but
postpones his escape in order to help da Vinci recover his painting. Danielle
and Prince Henry soon move on to additional conflicts, but the secondary
characters (Maurice & da Vinci) play very believable, interesting, pivotal
roles. Without these two characters, the paths of Danielle and Prince Henry
wouldn’t have continued to cross.
As
always, if you have questions relating specifically to an entry, contact GEcoordinator@ntrwa.org.
~ ~ ~
Most of the opinions on judging and interpreting the questions’ intent are my own words. I’ve been in the business over 15 years and have spoken to many authors, gathering information. A lot of the time when a question is asked, I go to authors who publish in that genre for advice. Please use your own expertise and experience, but keep our humble interpretations in mind.
~Thanks, Angi Morgan
Contributions and edits by Fenley Grant.
Additional help tips for judging all entries are available through our judge training on the blog.
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