Don't even begin with the frog jokes. After that... incident.... in the shower, I never, EVER want to see a frog again.




EVER.

 

As you wish Pixy, and no I will not ask what happened to you in the shower; even my jesting has some limits.

 

Don't worry. It's not an x-rated story.

 

Didn't think it was Pixy, Snowy pulled a prank on me once with a small King snake placed in the shower. She got quite a kick out of my reaction.

I got a good laugh that night as well when her hand had shaving cream put on it and I used a feather to tickle her nose...:excited:

 

Sybil 62 wrote this on the GD page, and it got me wondering....

Do you think there are biased fan clubs? Do you have a favorite writer that you would vote for whether or not they wrote the best story?

When I vote for my favorite story(s), I usually follow the same standards. I have three things that stick out most, but they're not the only criteria.

Did the story pull me in?
Were the characters, settings, scenes believable and/or realistic? (Unless its a fantasy genre)
Was the spelling and grammar decent? I'm not a English language nazi, but if I have to interpret what a word says more often than not.... I don't care how good the story is, it won't get a positive vote.

I have huge respect for anyone that takes the time to write something and submit it for my consumption. I feel it would be dishonor to everyone if I just read a few choice submissions, and never even opened others.

NEW

PS - this question is mostly geared towards the CAWs, but in a lesser part to the stories section in general.

 

Personally, I vote for the story I liked best, after I've read them all. Always have done it that way, always will. The story may have tags that would normally stop me from reading it, but if the writers have taken the time to write and enter a CAW, they deserve to have their work reviewed.

I've always hated campaigning. I don't believe in sending out pm's to my friends list saying please read my story and vote for me. It's always obvious when a reader reads just one story and then votes. It really ruins it for the rest of the writers, leaving them to wonder, why even try.

Although the number of entries will be small (and I view that as a failure on my part) I hope those who participated are proud of the fact that they took up a challenge and step outside their comfort zone.

The stories will be posted tonight.

 

I can understand why you would see it as a failure on your part, but I certainly don't see it that way, and I doubt anybody else does. In my mind I learned more from my partners than I expected. I know a lot of people didn't take part because of personal issues, and that is fine.

But.

I also think a lot of people were not willing to be openminded enough to try something new, something outside their comfort zone, and the failure for that rests with them, not you. They have missed out on a great opportunity to learn as a writer, on a chance to expand their horisons, and a chance to grow. That is not your fault. As a teacher, my main job is not to teach, but to create opportunities in which the children will learn. Some of them truly choose not to learn, and that is not on me, when I have done my best to help them.

It's the same here - you created an opportunity and situation for us to learn. Some of us took it and made the best of it. Some of us said, 'no thanks, it sounds scary/difficult/not fun or whatever. But some of us (especially thinking about my partner and I) grabbed on and took flight. I had my doubts at the beginning, but I'm so glad I stuck it out.



I feel sorry for those who let the fear of doing something new hold them back. They are the losers in this competition.

 

Ejls - as Pixy said, no fault of yours, you have come up with something special for the CAWs. No one to my knowledge had a partnership and the
'hidden authors' when the stories are posted.

Truly new ground being broken and new routes being created for the future CAWs; we will see how it goes, but the fact you came up with a novel idea makes it a success in its own right.

 

Even if there were only two stories submitted, that is still 4 writers. You have to remember ejls that you double the number of stories to get the number of entrants minus any that partook in numerous submissions.

I disagree with pixy about members that didn't enter. Some might have had reasons that prevented them from entering, ranging from RL to don't like co-authoring to not being asked. Others might have not liked the idea or the double threat of co-authoring as well as being locked in by the mandatory paragraph.

Either way we All get to enjoy the results and it adds a new dimension to CAWCs of the future. What will determine the success is how many members read & how many vote, just like all the preceding ones.

 

Two cents.

At the risk of being redundant, I feel I must weigh in on this "ejls as failed CAW host" nonsense.

If numbers are the only criterion for success, then yes, this CAW was not a resounding one.

Much as I don't like to say this to you, ejls, you're wrong -- dead wrong.

Virtually every CAW so far has boiled down to a choice between two or three stories when we actually get to voting. With six entries, that still means there will be stories that don't win the voting numbers game. Are those writers failures?

Isn't quality more important? That's what we're supposed to strive for as writers, so it seems logical that a CAW host/hostess should aim for the same thing.

In that regard, you won big-time, ejls. You Challenged us, as you did with the initial CAW and with the other ones you ran. From where I sit, it looks like a number of writers read the initial challenge and evaluated it. Some decided they didn't want to or couldn't work with someone else, and others formed partnerships that didn't result in an entry. That's no different than any other CAW -- people who initially express interest don't hand in an a finished story. You and I have done this ourselves -- started writing for a CAW but not finishing the story until long after the CAW is over, or deleting the partial manuscript.

That's the way it is. Every host wracks his/her brain to give the writers something unique to work with. You decided on partnerships.

Maybe it's because my one partnership produced an entry (one out of the three potential writing teams I was initially considering), but I think the six teams who did submit are proof that this particular CAW is a success. Those of us who saw it through all seem excited by the prospect of entering into the competition phase of this thing. Why? Because we had fun responding to your Challenge, and because we're proud of our work.

That sounds like success to me.

 

+ 10

 

Why are you even on here?

 

Why I am on here...

Why am I on here??

Why I am on has... How do you put it???

Oh that's it!

FUCK ALL TO DO WITH YOU!! That's what.

BUT since you asked, if you read the name of the thread it should explain it all but that is presuming you can read and aren't here to troll.

 

Something occured to me I feel we have missed in part...

Based on the latest posts we have six entries, and figure two authors for each entry = twelve authors total.

CAW 10 and I think CAW 11 had around thirteen or fourteen single entries by single authors (mind you I may be way off on my recollection), so if we look at it by total authors entered then we have a reasonable turnout.

If I recall the rules posted by Ejls as host for this CAW, teams can enter more than one story, does anyone know if that has happened?

No matter what, this CAW will be special, due to the unique challenge presented, the mystery of not knowing which team of authors is linked to which story (unless the writing styles are so idiosyntric that it is self-manifest to who is who) until after the voting is done, etc...

Recall too that many authors had to drop out for various family or medical reasons or those akin to it.

No matter what this still makes the CAW a success.

 

You make a very good point Snow.

I know of ONE writer who is doing TWO stories so even with that it still makes 11 writers.

A great turn out in my books since there has been so many different things happening in our lifes to pull us away from the CAW and make us want to give up.

 

I wasn't going to comment publicly.

I debated about posting this, because I don't want to seem like an ass-kisser, but I will.

Why are you here, Emerson, hiding behind another one of your socks, trying to start shit in yet another CAW?

We all understand, ELP, that your ego can't handle the idea of not winning, even when you subvert the spirit and possibly the rules of CAWs to do it. We all know that's why you created some of your socks -- to bully other entrants and to prop up your own work.

We also understand that even though your writing talent alone is more than enough to make you one of the most honored and frequently-read writers on the site, the ELaken-Palmer persona didn't think that was enough. You've proven that twice now by taking your toys and running home crying.

Maybe it's the fact that you, Emerson, didn't have the maturity to admit your mistakes and come back to play nice, while a girl probably half your age did, that pisses me off. A lot of us remember what her sock army did, and reamed her out for it. She's behaving differently now, like a sane adult. That's more than I can say for you.

S_62 seems to be attempting to be supportive of the CAW, unlike you, who are, as usual, disruptive. This has to be one of the most childish and spiteful things you've done yet, ELaken-Palmer. With your track record, that's quite an accomplishment.

Now, am I being an asshole? Maybe. Am I defending one member and calling you out in the process? Yeah. So what? Come at me, motherfucker. But do it right here.

 

Someone emailed me so I came to check this out. It's funny and shows a lot of pent-up, pointless rage on the part of this sad, self-important user. Too bad, for all the rest of you, having to deal with him. I don't so I'm back out.

 

Ah, no! Leaving so soon? Isn't there something we can do to make you stay? No? Damn, what a shame.