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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 12, 2021 10:19:50 GMT -6
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 12, 2021 10:21:29 GMT -6
For this February, we are discussing short memoir/personal experience topics. More details to come!
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Post by ScintillaMyntan on Jan 12, 2021 13:58:37 GMT -6
Exciting! I'm not sure how comfortable I am submitting my personal experiences for critique for that memoir contest, but I'll think about it when the time comes.
I had a little contest idea: a historical fiction contest where we all write about the same historical event. That way we'd all have researched the same thing, and it'll be interesting to see how the same event can yield so many different stories.
But my favorites are still the ordinary fiction contests like we just had, where we're simply given a broad theme.
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Post by FoxxGlove on Jan 13, 2021 9:45:29 GMT -6
I have an idea which I think might be enjoyable and challenging.
The topic is a piece of art depicting several characters. Something like Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party" or "Checkers" by Norman Rockwell.
Everyone selects a character and writes a backstory. Even if participants choose the same character, it would be interesting to see the story variations.
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Post by FoxxGlove on Jan 13, 2021 9:47:37 GMT -6
I think that memoir contest could be quite revealing. Who is up for baring their soul?  |
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Post by FoxxGlove on Jan 13, 2021 9:48:39 GMT -6
Just to refresh my memory, what does the theme of "Legends" usually involve?
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 13, 2021 13:19:33 GMT -6
Just to refresh my memory, what does the theme of "Legends" usually involve? Legends was the bigger contest we held every January, I believe, where we had a single prompt but invited entries of both fiction and poetry (and once upon a time, nonfiction) on that prompt. It offered $20 prizes per category, instead of $10. I'm not sure about money prizes this time around, but we'll see once we get there. If we can't offer cash this time around, we might double or triple the amount of Honor Points one can earn. |
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 13, 2021 13:22:26 GMT -6
Love, love, love these ideas. Creative and challenging. Hmm, the historical idea might be good for Legends, if we choose to include nonfiction as well. Exciting! I'm not sure how comfortable I am submitting my personal experiences for critique for that memoir contest, but I'll think about it when the time comes. I had a little contest idea: a historical fiction contest where we all write about the same historical event. That way we'd all have researched the same thing, and it'll be interesting to see how the same event can yield so many different stories. But my favorites are still the ordinary fiction contests like we just had, where we're simply given a broad theme. I have an idea which I think might be enjoyable and challenging. The topic is a piece of art depicting several characters. Something like Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party" or "Checkers" by Norman Rockwell. Everyone selects a character and writes a backstory. Even if participants choose the same character, it would be interesting to see the story variations. Ooo! Even if we don't get to this idea for a bit, it would be a really fun challenge for HP in the meantime. |
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Post by Mazulla on Jul 28, 2022 22:46:12 GMT -6
An idea/suggestion: What if there were a winter-themed contest (flash fiction?) that ran longer on account of the busy-ness of holidays, like Nov. through Jan. (3-mo), Nov. through Dec. (2 mo.), or Dec. through Jan. (2 mo.)?
Thought it could be fun to create pieces with winter vibes in general (think: snow, cozy cabins, fireplaces, baking) or holiday/festival-themed (think: Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule Tide, Winter Solstice, etc). |
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Post by ScintillaMyntan on Jul 29, 2022 8:17:24 GMT -6
An idea/suggestion: What if there were a winter-themed contest (flash fiction?) that ran longer on account of the busy-ness of holidays, like Nov. through Jan. (3-mo), Nov. through Dec. (2 mo.), or Dec. through Jan. (2 mo.)?
Thought it could be fun to create pieces with winter vibes in general (think: snow, cozy cabins, fireplaces, baking) or holiday/festival-themed (think: Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule Tide, Winter Solstice, etc). I wish we had an event in December too. Maybe it could be like the Halloween contest, where we don't necessarily have to write about Halloween or horror but we have a prompt inspired by Halloween. If no one else wants to run it, I'd volunteer I guess? How hard can it be to run a contest? |
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jul 29, 2022 15:44:51 GMT -6
An idea/suggestion: What if there were a winter-themed contest (flash fiction?) that ran longer on account of the busy-ness of holidays, like Nov. through Jan. (3-mo), Nov. through Dec. (2 mo.), or Dec. through Jan. (2 mo.)?
Thought it could be fun to create pieces with winter vibes in general (think: snow, cozy cabins, fireplaces, baking) or holiday/festival-themed (think: Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule Tide, Winter Solstice, etc). I wish we had an event in December too. Maybe it could be like the Halloween contest, where we don't necessarily have to write about Halloween or horror but we have a prompt inspired by Halloween. If no one else wants to run it, I'd volunteer I guess? How hard can it be to run a contest? Oh yeah! I think the reason we stopped doing contests like these was because December is high summer for Australian members, and holidays revolve around religions. So those two reasons kinda nixed those ideas. But if members want to try those themes, let's go for it. It WOULD be good though to have something happen in December, since most of us probably aren't doing NaNo in November and don't need to recuperate. And you could totally handle it, Scintilla. I'd have to give you new permissions so you could use some of the moderator tools unless you have the necessary ones because you're in the Aide group? It really is fun to host one. Let me know what you decide! |
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Post by ScintillaMyntan on Jul 31, 2022 11:11:02 GMT -6
Oh yeah! I think the reason we stopped doing contests like these was because December is high summer for Australian members, and holidays revolve around religions. So those two reasons kinda nixed those ideas. But if members want to try those themes, let's go for it. It WOULD be good though to have something happen in December, since most of us probably aren't doing NaNo in November and don't need to recuperate. And you could totally handle it, Scintilla. I'd have to give you new permissions so you could use some of the moderator tools unless you have the necessary ones because you're in the Aide group? It really is fun to host one. Let me know what you decide! I'd be happy to try hosting. Does the host choose the prompt? I'd need some help working out the specifics. What word count do people want? What would help make it feel more casual than the usual contest? Should the prompt be the same kind of thing as our usual contest prompts where we just pick a vague word, or something different? Would past contest hosts have a sense of what kinds of prompts do the best? |
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jul 31, 2022 11:19:37 GMT -6
Oh yeah! I think the reason we stopped doing contests like these was because December is high summer for Australian members, and holidays revolve around religions. So those two reasons kinda nixed those ideas. But if members want to try those themes, let's go for it. It WOULD be good though to have something happen in December, since most of us probably aren't doing NaNo in November and don't need to recuperate. And you could totally handle it, Scintilla. I'd have to give you new permissions so you could use some of the moderator tools unless you have the necessary ones because you're in the Aide group? It really is fun to host one. Let me know what you decide! I'd be happy to try hosting. Does the host choose the prompt? I'd need some help working out the specifics. What word count do people want? What would help make it feel more casual than the usual contest? Should the prompt be the same kind of thing as our usual contest prompts where we just pick a vague word, or something different? Would past contest hosts have a sense of what kinds of prompts do the best? Yep, the host chooses the prompt. Picture prompts, genre prompts, word prompts, phrase prompts, situational prompts, whatever you want. I have a checklist to help new hosts make sure they get the necessities taken care of. And any details that you're not comfortable with, like making a badge, I can do for you. Mainly what you would do is make the announcement, take all the submissions, post them in the appropriate forum, and nudge people to vote throughout the voting period. Then tally the scores and announce the winners. Super simple once you get it down to routine. Also, one thing that might make a contest feel more casual than a regular contest is the voting style. A poll versus numbers. But it's the critiques that help the writer improve, so I'm not sure how a poll/critique combo would work. And a poll might also embarrass some folks if their entries get zero votes. So... any other ideas, anyone? |
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Post by ScintillaMyntan on Jul 31, 2022 18:01:59 GMT -6
Also, one thing that might make a contest feel more casual than a regular contest is the voting style. A poll versus numbers. But it's the critiques that help the writer improve, so I'm not sure how a poll/critique combo would work. And a poll might also embarrass some folks if their entries get zero votes. So... any other ideas, anyone? Sounds like I could do those host duties.
Here's my idea: ranked choice voting. I'd make a ballot using that site, and everyone would be able to anonymously vote for their first, second, third, and so on choices for winners. It'll calculate the winners based on that. If we want to enforce that all entrants read all the entries, we could also require that everyone post a short comment or critique on each story. |
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Post by RAVENEYE on Aug 1, 2022 12:30:47 GMT -6
Also, one thing that might make a contest feel more casual than a regular contest is the voting style. A poll versus numbers. But it's the critiques that help the writer improve, so I'm not sure how a poll/critique combo would work. And a poll might also embarrass some folks if their entries get zero votes. So... any other ideas, anyone? Sounds like I could do those host duties.
Here's my idea: ranked choice voting. I'd make a ballot using that site, and everyone would be able to anonymously vote for their first, second, third, and so on choices for winners. It'll calculate the winners based on that. If we want to enforce that all entrants read all the entries, we could also require that everyone post a short comment or critique on each story. Yes! I love this idea. If it works well, we can discuss trying it with other contests too. |
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ONE MORE DAY TO ENTER THIS WEEK'S ROLLING WEEKLY.
2023 Legends Contest results have been posted (finally): 