Introduction
Hello and welcome back to the third and final installment of my criteria series! The first week we looked at my criteria for the Content – ranging from faiths to sexual junk to witchcraft and more. Then, last week, I dove in and wrote a very bad bit about what I look for in the Messages and Morals presented in the story. Ergo, this week, I’ll wrap it up with a note about the technical stuff in a story – the plot and characters and whatnot.
Ready?
Let’s dive in. 🙂
The Criteria
Ok, so over the past little while I’ve been going through this using lists – with #1 being the stellar example of a great story and the lowest number (most often #5) being the point where I will put the book down and give it a 1 star review (0 stars if at all possible). But this doesn’t really work so hot with the technical stuff (mostly ’cause I’d only get to #3 before I’d run out of ideas XD). So I’m going to do this a bit differently and write down the questions I ask myself as I read. Since movies and books have different elements (i.e. books have descriptions and movies have soundtracks), I’ll also have a few different categories as well – starting with Books, then Movies, then components that go into both.
Books
Prose:
How well does this author write? Do their sentences flow, or are they choppy and break up concentration? Do they overuse adverbs or repeat words multiple times within a paragraph? Do they change action tags every single time someone talks? Do they have multiple typos? How accurate is their grammar? Are they creative yet concise with their word choices? Do their sentences slow down and speed up with the action and feel of the scene? How much do they show instead of tell?
Internal Dialogue:
How balanced is this author’s use of internal dialogue (thoughts and stuff)? Does the character’s internal voice align with their external voice? Does the author use this as a shortcut to show instead of tell? Are internal dialogue bits inserted in a proper, natural way or do they seem forced or choppy? Do they portray the character’s – well, for lack of a better word, character decently?
Movies
Filmography:
How wobbly is the camera? How is the lighting? Are people clearly portrayed or do we see actors’ backs a lot? Other than that, I know pretty much nothing about filming so I leave it at that. XD
Sets:
How unique are the sets (or how realistic if this is set on Earth)? How well and how often do the characters interact with their surroundings? How realistic (as in looking real instead of fake vs. looking like it truly came from Earth instead of from another place) is the setting?
Sound:
How clear is the sound? Do most characters enunciate clearly or do I have a hard time understanding what they say? Does the soundtrack fit the mood of each scene, or does it make me cringe? How balanced is the sound? Do I have to keep turning the volume up and down? Do the sound effects fit (i.e. the sound of marching and soldiers’ feet hitting the ground out of sync)?
Computer Graphics:
How realistic are the graphics? Any blunders? And that’s just about it. XD
Acting:
Need I say anything about this one? We all know what bad acting is like – wooden, monotone, inanimate characters with about as much emotion as a rubber chicken. Or what’s sometimes worse: over-acting – flying arms, dramatized emotions, so many dips and swoops in their tones that you’re having a hard time believing what they’re saying. XD
Both
Plot:
How engaging is the plot? Does it drive the characters or do the characters drive it? Does it make sense? Does the climax wrap up all the loose ends or does it leave you with unintentionally unanswered questions? Does it intertwine with the theme, setting, and characters or is it a stick-like loner? Does it matter to the characters in a more impactful way than just “oh man my parents died”? How unique is it? Or how predictable?
Characters:
How well-rounded are these characters? Do they have an arc? Do their morals line up with the Bible? Are they stereotyped or unique? Do they have their own distinct voices, worldviews, and backstories? Are they distinct from one another? Do they have quirks? Can I tell what their fears, misbeliefs, and values are within the first few chapters? Can I tell how they’ve changed by the end of the story? Do they drive the plot or does the plot drive them? How realistic are their interactions with others? How realistic is their dialogue? How much can I empathize with them? Can the author use them to pull on my heartstrings, or do I roll my eyes at pretty much everything they do?
Worldbuilding:
If this is a fantasy world, how unique is it? If it has different humanoid species, does it have a variety of kinds vs. the cookie-cutter dwarves, elves, and dragons that populate most fantasy? If it does have those species, does it put a new twist on them instead of copying Tolkien or modern ideas? How many different languages and idioms are there? Is the geography consistent?
If this is set in Earth, how realistic is it? Do the accents line up with the era and location? Are the cities in the climates they’re supposed to be? Are the storms in the right climates? Is the geography and seasons accurate?
Concept:
How unique is this concept? Can I pick out certain elements that the author obviously took from someone else’s work? Can I predict where this story will lead, or does it have me completely lost (in a good way)? Is the idea intriguing? Is it executed well?
Internal vs. External Conflict:
How balanced are the emotion scenes vs. the action scenes? Do characters have time to process before they’re thrust into another heart-pounding-but-not-impactful sequence of events? Do they even process to begin with? Do they have relatable flaws that drive the plot or – you guessed it – does the plot drive them? Is the primary conflict internal or external?
Wrap Up
Yahoo, this series is over!! Congrats if you read through that whole post. 😉 Let me know what you look for in a story – I’d love to see your answers. 😀 Do you agree with my assessment? Am I too strict? Too lenient? What areas should I work on?
And, as always, take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!
~Joelle
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