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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Herremann the Wise" data-source="post: 3305948" data-attributes="member: 11300">Hello Everyone,I thought I'd just chime in here as one of your  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f615.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":confused:" title="Confused    :confused:"  data-smilie="5"data-shortname=":confused:" />friendly<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f615.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":confused:" title="Confused    :confused:"  data-smilie="5"data-shortname=":confused:" /> judges to add a comment or two that may assist. Remember though, I am only one judge and you have two(?!) others to please as well.- - - - - -For me, there are three facets of a Ceramic DM story I look for when judging.StoryFirstly is the "story" as a whole. I like to enjoy a story but I derive this enjoyment in several different ways. Sometimes it's the surprise ending, the dramatic characterisation, or even the relating of something so bizarre or niche that one cannot help but be drawn in. It is perhaps the hardest thing to pin down, except to say, "I know a good story when I read one".Writing CraftThis is a strange one because it is something that when done right, does not receive immediate attention. Whne done improperley however it get DAMN anoying! A slip here or there in the first round is tolerable but after that, it is something that overly distracts from what is read. My judging imps have a hard enough time understanding our language without confusing them with poor grammar or spelling (although in all seriousness, only the more studious imps pay any attention at all to such things). On the plus side though, you sometimes read a story that makes you smile and shake your head at the beauty of a fellow writer's expression. In this respect, I'm easily impressed.Picture UsageNow this is the big cheese for me. While the previous two categories are highly important, this is the element for me that embodies what Ceramic DM is all about. I love it when a writer extracts everything from a picture and infuses it throughout their story. When done well, a writer does not even have to signpost the picture; it is completely obvious. There are three things in my opinion to avoid: the "throwaway" picture use, the picture as a "picture", and the "museum tour" story.A throwaway picture is when a sentence akin to a wart imposes itself upon the story with little to no relevance and for no other purpose than to "include the picture". The picture as "picture" is generally the cheap way out of including a difficult image in the story. Wow, our heroes open a book and see a picture of a... [insert picture here]. If you're going to use a picture, get your hands dirty and let it pull your story in a bizarre direction. And finally is the "museum tour". This is where the story inspects each of the pictures, diligently moving from one to the next. However, what is missing is their relationship to the whole. Try to get your pictures to influence your story in more than one way. Don't treat each of them as a waypoint to be carefully included, discussed by the tour guide before moving on.- - - - - -These are the primary aspects I look at when judging; I let my jury of imps convey their opinion six times. Once for story, once for writing and once for each of the pictures (if I can keep their capricious attention for long enough). Let it be said as well that I feel slightly like the stupid textbook (J Evans Pritchard?) in Dead Poet’s Society. Maybe I'm being too mathematical? As such, there should always be room other methods of judging such as maldur’s judging sticks. In many cases, such a succinct method might be the truest indicator of achievement and expression.Anyway, the last time I did judging, I went back through some of the previous judgments and some of the statements the judges made so as to get in the "zone". Unfortunately I never quoted them properly so I cannot attribute them correctly. As such, I'll just include them here as a single package that may enlighten, entertain or... something else starting with e.I hope this assists. I shall report back when my order of imps and scythe are delivered.Best RegardsHerremann the Wise</blockquote>

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