[Not A Contest Entry] - A Very Merry Neko-Chan Christmas

that was really good, i quite enjoyed it

A poll would be waaaaay easier in regards to timezone issues and picking the eventual winner, and is obviously more 'democratic'. The problem I foresee is that of voting for a popular candidate, regardless of the actual quality of the story. A TMS or lollollol12 story would have comedic value, but that would likely outweigh that of a genuinely good piece of writing, possibly undermining the efforts of serious entrants.

I would be more than happy to judge, but I don't profess any great knowledge. Hell, I haven't read fiction by choice for years; I've tried, but I never know where to start. All I bring to the table are opinions, passion and the reasonable command of the English language that vague journalistic ambitions grant. I wouldn't want to be perceived as levying the position upon myself, but at the same time, I wouldn't want any other talents excluding themselves from the running. :p

Hm, I considered that too. I though of maybe having the entrants being anonymous, but my story has my name in it. I suppose that could be a rule - do not put your name on your entry. Or, judges can have weighted votes. Perhaps a 25% of the vote power?

Either way, must act now... My piece cannot go ignored!

Lol~ Justen bieber CD~XD

Oh that line was just great, made me lol for some time thanks Neko-chan that was a very great read.

Hmmmm a writing competition huh, I think a front page post to inform the participants of the competition would do to let everyone know, I don't know, I feel that those who normally come to this section before the competition should be the ones participating, I haven't really been posting here but I have been coming to this section for quite some time.

As for the prize, let it be a shitload of rep points.

I guess we could have judges to whittle it down to two or three submissions, and then have a thread to vote on those. We'd just have to stress that voters should take the time to read all of them before voting.

A title isn't a bad idea, not sure exactly what it'd be though. Or maybe a signed photo of Jacob? :p A Sanshee t-shirt or something would be awesome, but I wouldn't want to steal more money from him at Christmas, especially when they already had a stupidly-cheap promotion going.

Edit bamp: whoever's here to discuss it should make a decision, iron out the creases and petition Jacob while I'm asleep/out and about, because if it ain't done within a day then it ain't happening. And I want it to happen. :)

Ehh fuck it, I'll pm him with an outline and linky.

That was a very good twist on a much loved Christmas poem. I enjoyed it a lot; despite the fact I usually HATE rhyming poetry.

In regards to the proposed competition, I believe that it can easily be squeezed into the 9 days prior to Christmas. However, there would have to be general rules, basic storyline/premise and word count. In regards to being anonymous, I think that would be the best thing to do; for both contestants AND judges. This will prevent favouritism and badgering of the judges.

However, I doubt I will be able to do it myself though. I have three essays to do, and an exam to revise for as well.

That was quite a read. Ika is proud.

Both Neko-chan and yourself have my support on the writing competition. If the greenlight is given, I will try my best to ensure that everything runs smoothly, assuming I have the power to do so.

I would also like to suggest that the competition be held all the way till New Year's Day. This way, both Christmas- and New Year-themed works can be submitted.

Damn, I feel that I'll miss out on something really exciting.

:)

Anonymity is a good idea in some respects, but I wonder if it wouldn't diminish interest a bit not being able to root for someone...double edged sword as far as trolls go, I know. I also worry that people would be more interested in the identities of individuals than their writing. It would be good for the judges, but that rules us out; a problem only in so much as we'll have to find several people to commit at short notice.

Small question, what would it be if the participants quotes a story from some other hard to find and unknown websites, its not like we'll be able to tell either whether they are cheating or not.

Yeah, we were considering whether or not to make it Fakku as well as holiday-specific to prevent plagiarism, but hadn't yet decided. The judges could just Google anything suspicious looking, or just random passages from each submission. Neither is a particularly good option though. :(

A way to get around this is what I stated before with this thought in mind; give the story some basic premise/idea, or even with the first paragraph already written, which you then must finish. For example;

"Write a story depicting what you believe would be Jacob's ideal Christmas.

Word count; 1000 words max.

Items that MUST be included in the story are; no internet connection, Elephant, concrete and rape."

If you find a story online, that coheres to all these rules, consider me impressed.

I guess we can do that, but I hate the word limit though.

It is a shame, but anything beyond a short story would be a bit harsh on the judges who have to read them all.

How about a lot of trust worthy judges then.

[font=Verdana][color=green]I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. Can you please elaborate on what you mean?

Ah, nothing, just forget it.

Hint: it won't just be the judges voting. :)

We're making good progress behind the scenes. Two days I reckon, and only because time zones are being a bit awkward.