June Prose Competition Information

[Mordecai]

I have to disagree with that. I'm not trying to say the judges are going to be extremely biased. But everyone does has some form of bias regardless of how objective they are. People like certain adjectives, adverbs, names, and nouns on a subconscience level. Reducing the amount of bias where we can would the most fair thing we can do. You may know some users that you personally like, and while I don't doubt you'll try to reduce bias it will still have some sway no matter how minor it is. Also the writings can be posted publically after the competition so everyone could read each others work.

I'm sorry you feel that way. We will definitely consider doing this in the future; however, for this competition, we will have to stick it out the way it is. If you have further concerns, feel free to PM me.

 

[Mordecai]

@Hux, please feel free to PM me your continued concerns. (: We made a decision and that is the way it is going to stay for this competition. Again, we will discuss it for future competitions, but considering this is already released, this is what we're going to stick with. Thank you for raising your concerns, but I think it's time to move on from this conversation on the thread.

 

[SkyGinge]

@SpazztastiCat101 : The idea is to write your piece in a way which in some manner relates to the prompt, be that literal or metaphorical. Morde makes a good example of it about four posts down on the OP, but the idea is to relate in some way to the prompt. And don't worry about typos; we all make them~

 

[Spazzycat101]

If someone wanted to submit anonymously, couldn't they simply PM another user to click it in for them without saying who it was?

 

[welian]

//cheers for everything thinking about entering the competition


Just think, there's even more stuff like this in the work!

 

[Spazzycat101]

@SpazztastiCat101 : The idea is to write your piece in a way which in some manner relates to the prompt, be that literal or metaphorical. Morde makes a good example of it about four posts down on the OP, but the idea is to relate in some way to the prompt. And don't worry about typos; we all make them~

Alright, thanks. I've already got an idea. :3


Oops.... Now I have two ideas... xD

 

[The Creator Prime]

Everything< implying that there are objects entering the competition.


@welian, will you rev your engines at this contest?

 

[Elle Joyner]

Anonymous submissions can be made to Mordecai - as she said in the initial post We just don't need/want EVERYONE submitting anonymously, as it isn't necessary. The idea is to have a fun competition, highlighting the writing of those on the site

 

[Auren]

This group may be unbiased, there is no question on that matter. And no one is saying that they lack trust in the judges. But when I worked on my college literary journal, names were hidden so that only the content would be judged, and many competitions are ran under the same thought. While this group of judges may be unbiased, there is no certainty that the next group will be. For the trust of the legitimacy of the competition and to avoid users complaining that the winner won not because of merit in writing, but because they were "popular" amongst the judges, I highly recommend names be hidden until the end of the competition. This would avoid later problems in the long run.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Before I joined this community over three years ago, I came from a local Tolkien fan site where there were occasional prose competitions inspired by the works, and this is how it was handled. Private submissions to a single person who was not on the judging board, who then sent the stories to the judges without telling them which story belonged to which author. Once the voting was over, the stories were not only published but there was also a PDF book made each time for collection (^.^) *rawrrr*


Do as you wish, but remain aware of the indisputable fact that you cannot be completely unbiased unless you withhold the author names. I am not worried that you can't be objective with your judging, Elle. I know that, intentionally or unintentionally, you will be subjective to different extents during your review. Nothing that you or anyone else says can change that.


You may proceed with this, but don't fool yourself or anyone else when it comes to facts. A competition is a competition and warrants fair conduct, regardless of the fun factor. If you want a completely fun experience devoid of controversy, then it's not a competition you are looking for ( ) *woof*


Just to call things their true names and be clear. Go and do your thing, everyone, and try to have fun. But keep in mind that the truth is more important than entertainment *howl*

 

[The Creator Prime]

I feel like complaining is far from 'good sport'.


But I don't care however it's done.

 

[welian]

Mal plz


Actually, I have a seasonal speed-writing competition in the pipeline, but I want to run the first one independent of the Fellowship, because I want to see if it would even go over well. But that is neither here nor there, as this thread is about discussing this particular competition and posting entires. Entries. I mean entries.

 

[Ayl]

A simple suggestion (not for this one, as you've already decided about it, it seems) is to have the submissions given to a third party, which will not be involved in the actual judging. Then, that third party can provide the judges with the submissions, without providing the names. Simple, clean and no one can complain.


On topic, I think this is a great idea and I will throw in my hat as well.

 

[Elle Joyner]

I reiterate -- If you don't want to join because you're worried about bias... please, don't force yourself to join. But we aren't going to alter the manner in which we judge because you're worried we're going to pick favorites. Mordecai asked that this be taken up with her in PMs. Let's move on the discussing the prevalent issues, please.

 

[The Dark Wizard]

Hey all.


The hard working @Fellows of the site were given autonomy on how to run this competition. Lets not piss on their hard work and that of the staff considering that for the longest time we haven't had these kinds of events and we want to do more of these in the future.


If its not posted in first post, its not happening. If you have an issue with submitting something and feeling embarrassed, then please don't post.


We want to enjoy this as much as possible and see how it gets and how the community reacts so we can do more in the future.

 

[The Dark Wizard]

For future events. I will participate as the third party who receives the submissions, removes the names and hands it to the judges.


Since I normally don't have the time to actually partake in the submission it self.


But for now, this one will be run the way it is.

 

[DemonKitten]

When will this be due? I'm at work at the moment

 

[The Dark Wizard]

When will this be due? I'm at work at the moment

You can submit entries at any time up until the end of the month (June 30th and 11:59 PM CST),

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Nothing stops me from speaking facts, Wiz. And it does not disrespect anyone's hard work to state the truth.


I am sure this will work out either way.

 

[The Creator Prime]

I have one quick question, though.


How much is too much freedom when it comes to the prompt? I recall there being said that as long as you follow the concept, either literally, or metaphorically, it'd be fine, yes?


Well, is there a limit to how far you can run the train- or so to speak?

 

[Auren]

[QUOTE="The Dark Wizard]For future events. I will participate as the third party who receives the submissions, removes the names and hands it to the judges.
Since I normally don't have the time to actually partake in the submission it self.


But for now, this one will be run the way it is.

[/QUOTE]
That would be appreciated.

 

[The Dark Wizard]

[QUOTE="Wolf Rawrrr]Nothing stops me from speaking facts, Wiz. And it does not disrespect anyone's hard work to state the truth.
I am sure this will work out either way.

[/QUOTE]
I don't know what you are talking about.

 

[Mordecai]

[QUOTE="Wolf Rawrrr]Nothing stops me from speaking facts, Wiz. And it does not disrespect anyone's hard work to state the truth.
I am sure this will work out either way.

[/QUOTE]
Wolf, thanks for your concern! It's something we would like to do in the future; however, since this has already been released and people have already seen the rules, we decided it was best to keep this one the way it was. We do appreciate and will process your feedback, and will apply it for future use. Now, let's get back to the spirit of the competition! (:

I have one quick question, though.
How much is too much freedom when it comes to the prompt? I recall there being said that as long as you follow the concept, either literally, or metaphorically, it'd be fine, yes?


Well, is there a limit to how far you can run the train- or so to speak?

You can have all the freedom you'd like! Run the train as far off the tracks as you'd like, so long as you follow the RpNation site rules as per normal.

 

[Elle Joyner]

But do be aware one of the judging criteria is use of the prompt - so if it isn't represented at least to SOME extend (however metaphorical or literal you take it), you may miss out on those points.

 

[The Creator Prime]

You can have all the freedom you'd like! Run the train as far off the tracks as you'd like, so long as you follow the RpNation site rules as per normal.

You shouldn't have told me this, lol.