I kinda like it...especially if that blankity-blankity main stories site is not fixed yet! Hate to give them a 'free' story with no votes or reads or comments to show for it! Just my two cents.

 

So what I've heard is:

1. Post all stories on one thread
2. Post the link to the stories on one thread
3. Find a way to have one person post them so that the stories will be anonymous and no one will know who the author is till the end.

If there are more thoughts, please let me know.

Also: we can only list 25 items in a poll. We have approx. 40 people considering submissions. Thoughts please:

1. Run two polls simultaneously
2. Have readers list their 3 favorites, in order on a thread and I can put the information in a spreadsheet, and post the results (if you trust me)

I honestly need help with this. I never thought anyone would go for this idea and I want to be fair to everyone.

 

If the stories are posted all to one thread, people can note who there favorite is in the thread. Like say "I like whomever". Then ejls could tally those up and post the results at the end.

Two polls could be worthwhile also, with 2 story threads functioning.

Kudos to our group of writers

 

Hey, we're writers. We're creative. There is nothing we can't fix or find a solution to.

 

We seem to be the only group that sticks together around here. Offering support to the younger / newer writers and encouraging new talent.

 

How about we post them here in the forum? Its more or less instant, and at most stories will get a 24 hour head start on eachother. We could post another topic when all the entries are in with a poll and links to everyones story. Could that work?

 

My idea is to chop up the entries into groups of no more than 5 and create a thread for each group. The thread would include the text of the 5 stories and a poll to allow people to choose their favorite of the group. After a cutoff date (to be determined in advance), the polls are closed and the winners from each thread are combined into a runoff. Then we choose from among the finalists.

Why 5? Because the longer the list, the less likely people are to read all of the stories in the thread. The stories on the bottom have a disadvantage, so we want to keep the list short to minimize that disadvantage.

At current count, this would mean 8 threads to determine the finalists + 1 thread for the final vote. That's a manageable number.

This requires someone to collect the stories and post them, but it also allows the voting to be anonymous. I suggest that the person who collects the stories do something to randomize them to keep it fair (e.g. pull the story titles out of the hat). After the final vote we can post one more message to the thread matching stories to authors.

And yes, that does mean that you're allowed to vote once in each group. That's a good thing because the authors who would vote for themselves can also vote for other stories that they like.

 

Works for me. Sounds better than having all the stories in one long thread; the runoff, though, seems to be a problem, getting people to go back and reread the finalists and vote for a final favorite. I just don't really see a need for a runoff unless there is a tie.

 

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. Although you worded it much better than I could have. =P Good job, Daddycums.

So yeah, 40 writers is the perfect amount. 8 threads with 5 writers in each. So 8 different polls. Then I think the top 8 stories should be split into 2 different polls of 4 each, then the winner of each going head to head in the final poll. This of course, works really well if we keep it at 40 writers. And like I said before, I'd be more than willing to take care of all this trouble if no one else wants to.

Ejls, perhaps you could cut off any additional writers wanting to join in? Or maybe set an end date for people who want to join? Just an idea.

Also, should we limit 1 story per person, to make things more balanced?

 

There are 40 who have shown interest, but not everyone will submit. I would hate to turn anyone away, or deny entry of more than one story. I like this idea the best, DC and HMCA. Does anyone know if there is a word limit to entering the stories here on the forum?

If I'm trusted, I don't have a problem putting them into a thread for anyone. I'm just not sure that you won't be able to pick mine out. It starts with:

The light fog added a moisture to the air. The coolness of the night wrapped around her like a wet towel, sending a shiver up her spine. She was lucky she knew the area so well, or she could have easily become lost. She looked through the trees at the house where he lived, slightly smiling at the one electric candle burning in the kitchen window.

 

How dare you?????

I've not been reading this thread for a while, and I'm appalled.

All this slanging off at other writers. We all try quite hard. Some of our stories may appeal to some, but not to others. Writers here are people who are exposing part of their souls. Some with literary skill, some with less. No matter, all are contributing.

I just find it so hard to have to accept that in our supportive community there are people who get their kicks from taking cheap and anonymous shots at others.

Guess they got a big thrill pulling the wings off flies as kids.

 

Yeah, and I still can't figure out why it had to be an electric candle - I had an idea for a Civil War-era story but that shot it down. Ah, well, guess Gen'r'l Sherman and his raping, pillaging nawthern army will have to wait for another day...

 

Don't think there is a limit on words here. A.P. posted some of her works and they fit into one post, so the majority of us should be able to fit our literary works into one post each

Sometimes people need to insult others to feel better about themselves. Though reading words on a page and hearing them spoken are two different things entirely.

Sarcasm is hard to express using the typed word, jokes are harder to tell unless they are deathly obvious to the reader to be amusing. I am not defending anyone, but sometimes comments get taken too seriously here. Fights erupt and anger builds. There is no need to fight over who has more talent, or how many sentences start with 'I' in a paragraph. Apparently everyone enjoys someone's stories here. Variety makes things interesting, and that is why people bother to read and comment to stories at all.

 

I trust you. Just make sure that even if you randomize, if x_orion and Emily both submit, they don't end up in the same thread. There's no better way to start a fight than to have people officially choose between their stories. If they both end up as finalists, well, we'll just have to live with that.

What a coincidence; mine starts the same way!

I agree, but let's not open back up this can of worms. Let's keep the discussion to the contest.

The runoff is because the totals depend not just on which story is most popular, but on which thread is read the most. If we could guarantee that every voter reads and votes on every thread, then there would be no need of a runoff. But that's not likely to be the case.

Just what is an electric candle anyways? I'm kind of assuming it's a metaphor for a light bulb, but is it a real invention that I'm not aware of? Should I scrap my story and start over because the existence of an "electric candle" implies a particular setting?

 

An electric candle is just a fake plastic candle with a small light bulb inside to illuminate it and give off the impression of a flame.

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/electric_candle430x300.jpg

http://image.normthompson.com/solutions/images/us/local/products/detail/81841.jpg

See? The flame is fake and plastic, with a small light bulb inside.

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks. Fortunately, that doesn't hurt my story at all; I may have to rewrite a couple of paragraphs but it actually fits in quite well with the setting I had devised.

 

But there is a limit on PM's of 1,000 characters. I doubt there will be a story of under 1,000 characters in this contest. That part of the plan might need some thinking on, if it is gone through with.

 

I have not found the limit here. (One of the things I like about this forum.) One of the posts in my preview thread tops 256K. (Not bragging. Story length means nothing.)

I have an idea on how to submit... maybe it's been said before... why not set up a submission thread on the general board, where no one will be looking for stories? Give the thread a lame title, so that it doesn't attract attention. Then, a volunteer can transfer them under his/her own addie, so they go on the storyboard anonymously. Anyone with a morbid determination to identify the competition would be able to go to the general board to find out, but most of the writers can probably identify each other by style regardless.

A.P.

 

I'm not a big fan of that idea. Not only does it mean the stories get posted in 2 locations on the forums, but it would be way too tempting to seek out the stories there. Besides, you would need a method to contact the authors to tell them where to post. If you're going to contact each author individually, you might as well tell them an email address where they can send their stories. That's far more anonymous.

 

Sorry if I'm being thick!

I'm a little confused now. Are we opening the voting the the entire forum or just the writers.

If it is just the writers, we will all come first or last depending on how you look at it.

Thinskin