Judging Philosophy for Quickie

I got this idea from competing in policy debate in college. For almost every tournament we received a packet of papers or emailed attachment that we would print out with every judge that was going to be at the tournament and their "philosophies". Those papers told us which judges would be open to the crazier plans we had, which ones preferred straight up policies, if counterplans and disadvantages were the way to go, or could something else be just as effective.

So, the point of this is to explain what I look for and the criteria I use when judging for the

ID: 1355442   (Rated: 18+) The Weekly Quickie Contest  OPEN! Can you excite in 869 words? Rd 18 til 6/3. Prompt: Pitch a Tent Host: Dawn by Dawn☆Embers

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1. Story. The story is the most important part. A good story is a good story, no matter what. Even if it's a pairing that I don't like, so yes even a f-m-f can win despite the fact that it might bug me a little the m got in the way. I don't judge by what is "appealing" or what would "turn me on" even though I know other judges have used that as their criteria, which is fine too. All I really look for is a good story, or even a good scene. I don't mind if it feels like a scene of a bigger story because I am not good with flash fiction or short stories either. I write novels, so a good scene that tells part of a story has a great chance of winning.

2. Erotica. This is an erotica contest, and I even double checked with the contest owner about it. So, there needs to be some sensual/erotic element to the story. That can mean many different things but make sure that part is "shown" at least. This means it doesn't have to be sex per say, but there has to be something written in the showing fashion. If a sentence says "and then she screwed him" that doesn't count. It's not even a full sentence for one, but it doesn't show anything, it just tells us something happened. Remember to at least show the reader something sensual.

3. Prompt. If there is a prompt, I need to be able to find it. But please, come up with a title that isn't just the prompt or contest title. Find something a little more creative, which can be tough at times, I know. Titles vex me to no end. The prompt is an important part of the story and if it gets ignored, even a great story is hard to give awards when they don't follow the rules. Rules are good to follow.

4. Technical. While this won't matter too much, there are a few things that might affect how I judge a story. I don't mind occasional errors for sure because I know they happen and if entering last minute like I always do, then they definitely will happen. But formatting is important to me because it can affect how a person reads the story. If the error is done too often, that makes it hard to read too. So, put a space between paragraphs because one paragraph isn't appealing. There needs to be a space after each punctuation mark (two is okay but the current preferred method is one space).

5. Preference. This is the one people get a bit antsy over. I am not saying that I am against straight stories or that they can't win because let's face it, that is what most people enter in the contest. I just want to see more people writing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and any other types of characters. I want to see variety in the contest. It gets old being the only one writing m/m and such for the contest. And yes, I will admit that straight stories are a little boring to me. That doesn't mean it can't win but it would be super awesome to see other characters in the entries. *bonus* Anyone who writes a story with these characters will get extra gps and someone who submits a m/m story will get an extra bonus surprise.