Contest Entry Discussion

[jmcraven]

Things have been hectic the last few days, so I haven't really had time to post much, but I have been trying to follow the conversation and watch the polls (which is tortuous! ). Thankfully, it looks like we don't have any outlandish vote recruiting in our group. Personally, I'd rather lose with a handful of votes from folks who truly liked what I wrote than win with a bunch of recruited votes and never really know if anyone honestly liked my yarn.

Again, a big thanks to Dan for the great job he has done on this contest and his efforts to make the end results legit. I like the idea of limiting the voters in the final round, and I am sure that whatever limiting criteria Dan adopts, it will work out just fine.

[peteOcha]

That would work then, if he is able to do that. I hate dealing with computer stuff, I can't even begin to IMAGINE what a headache all this must be to run!

Yeah, it is. Several years ago I ran a forum and it does take up quite a lot of time. With all the hits this forum is getting since the contest was announced... I sure wouldn't want to be in Dan's shoes now!

[C.W. LaSart]

Maybe then those registered before the contest and all the participants. Dan already said he would make sure that all who submitted a story for the contest would be able to vote.

That would work then, if he is able to do that. I hate dealing with computer stuff, I can't even begin to IMAGINE what a headache all this must be to run!

[peteOcha]

That would eliminate the majority of the participants, though.
I didn't even know about the forum until I stumbled across the contest.

Maybe then those registered before the contest and all the participants. Dan already said he would make sure that all who submitted a story for the contest would be able to vote.

[C.W. LaSart]

Just a thought.....maybe the last round of voting should be restricted to forum members who were registered BEFORE the contest was even announced.....I can't imagine people would have created new logins before the contest was announced as there would have been to logical reason to have done so.

That would eliminate the majority of the participants, though.
I didn't even know about the forum until I stumbled across the contest.

[weirdosayswhat]

I'm already brainstorming up a plan of what to do with some of the "runner up's"

Awesome!

Ah, one more group to go and my votes will be in. Then it's back to slumberland.

[bsaenz24]

Just a thought.....maybe the last round of voting should be restricted to forum members who were registered BEFORE the contest was even announced.....I can't imagine people would have created new logins before the contest was announced as there would have been to logical reason to have done so.

[Dan Hocker]

I'm already brainstorming up a plan of what to do with some of the "runner up's"

[RJK1981]

I think that way of voting sounds great. I'm sure the final 3 will rightfully be winners, especially with doing it that way, though there will definitely be others that are good who won't be in the final 11. That is unavoidable though.

Writing for this contest was not easy, never been limited by such a short length before. Definitely was an interesting challenge. The editing was harder though as I had to cut quite a bit, and come back to it many times to finish it, and could still go back to it now to edit it, lol. Reading the stories made me realize how much I sometimes tend to be a proofreader/editor in my own head as I quickly notice missing or extra words (or incorrect words, for that matter).

I haven't had the chance to read all the stories, but my opinions of stories do go up before even reading them when they are formatted to be easily readable here since it easy to do so since you can preview your posts. Bad formatting won't make me not vote for a particular story, but it does make it harder, especially if there is something that is good and easier to read here.

[weirdosayswhat]

yeah, i said that a couple pages back that somebody ought to put together an anthology out of this contest - even if it wasn't CD, some energetic mind with some design skills here could certainly put something together (ebook or otherwise) to showcase all of this great work - assuming these stories don't get snatched up before then

Unless Cemetery Dance wants dibs, I'd be interested in putting something together. I've been looking to add book design to my portfolio and this gives me an excuse. Plus, too many good stories are getting overlooked and more exposure is always a good thing. Assuming, of course, that people wouldn't rather try to sell their polished stories on their own. I don't know that they could, though, since they're available for free right here. I admit I'm not entirely sure how that works.

[C.W. LaSart]

If I was you Dan, I wouldn't say what the post limit is-I would keep that card close to the vest

[Ricky]

That sounds like a fair way to do the final vote, Dan. Good way to weed out the "recruitment" voting, as you said.

[Craig Wallwork]

Very cool idea, Richard. Would love to see some of these voices breach the nation.

[RichardThomas]

yeah, i said that a couple pages back that somebody ought to put together an anthology out of this contest - even if it wasn't CD, some energetic mind with some design skills here could certainly put something together (ebook or otherwise) to showcase all of this great work - assuming these stories don't get snatched up before then

[Craig Wallwork]

Maybe I missed this in one of the other threads, but 11 stories, that short, wouldn't they all fit into a chapbook? I know there are some others stories already included for the chapbook (big names, right?), but the word count is very low. And from what I’ve read this far, I would buy MOST of the stories published in this competition.