Monthly Short Story Competition

[genisis2]

I hope I put this in the correct place.
What does everyone think about a monthly short story competition. A friendly contest. At the end of each month a winner is selected by vote and another thread would show who won, story title and date. A kind of bragging rights thread.
I havent seen this brought up and apologise for a duplicate thread.

 

[Trey Greyjoy]

That sounds like a great idea. I have no idea if I would ever be able to participate, but having the opportunity there to contribute would be wonderful.

Hopefully it wouldnt go the way of the book club, which seems to have withered away....

 

[genisis2]

Thanks Trey.
Im not much of a writer myself but reading other peoples stories and voting on them must appeal to those of us that cant write.I think.

Also with such a huge group, Im sure the talent is quite deep here.

 

[BookStop]

That sound like fun. It would have to be themed every month or folks might just pick their favorite by genre - one month werewolves, next month dwarves, next space battle - and no stories that have been previously published, only fresh for the comp.

 

[genisis2]

That sound like fun. It would have to be themed every month or folks might just pick their favorite by genre - one month werewolves, next month dwarves, next space battle - and no stories that have been previously published, only fresh for the comp.

possibly the winner could pick the next months theme/genre or theme and anybody could incorperate it into their favorite genre. many possibilities here. Need a rules page, but didnt want to get too far ahead if no one was really interested.


YES!! only fresh comps. totally agree BookStop. Thank you for your feedback.


Could I get some feedback from the mods. please.

 

[Culhwch]

Sounds like a good idea in principle. It'd be interesting to see how many would participate, though the Aspiring section is fairly busy, so you'd think there'd be a few willing guinea pigs. I think it might work better as maybe a two monthly thing, though. I'll take it to the other mods and see what comes of it.

 

[Marky Lazer]

I'm not sure if anyone likes it. I mean, me winning every month and all...

 

[ray gower]

We ran several of competitions like this on Ascifi, with mixed results- Those who took part enjoyed it (at least I did). But getting people to take part is a struggle- May be better off here 'cos you being more literary like?

Either way I fear a month is not long enough for a single contest for those with heavy commitments.

 

[Brian G Turner]

It's a good idea, but with the recent changes still being tackled I don;t think it's something we could implement in the immediate term.

I think concerns about keeping it sustained are very valid, especially as it will require people to dedicate time in going through different stories and coming to a consensus on the best. Also - perhaps more importantly at present - there's no real reward available for winning such a competition.

However, do please note that something like this has been suggested before, and I think it's fair to say it's in my long-term plans - but isn't quite practical just yet.

 

[Princess Ivy]

yeah, i think that monthly is a bit tight. also we'd have to check the judging criterion.

 

[j d worthington]

While I think the idea of a short story competition is a good one, I have to agree that a month seems an awfully tight schedule... sometimes even a short-short takes a good deal of percolating. I also have concerns about setting themes, as that is likely to block the free flow of ideas. While it seems all right to note that we shouldn't run stories with similar themes back-to-back, or even within a certain time frame (6 months? a year? whatever is decided), the problem will be for people who write to also have time to complete something on that theme within that time frame, and if no ideas are coming on that particular theme, then they are unlikely to participate; whereas, if you leave the theme open, you are more likely to generate participation. Basically, I'd suggest avoiding hobbling the horse before it gets out of the stall...

 

[ray gower]

Has to be some theme, or you are trying to compare Pratchett, Shakespeare and Asimov- Just not possible.
But usually you can simply set any combination of props and scenario and let the style look after itself.

 

[Brian G Turner]

If truth be told, I'd love to be able to run a competition on a yearly basis, then publish the best in an anthology, either via POD or one of the independents (such as Pendragon Press).

However, I don't think we're *quite* ready for that - not yet - but it is on my to-do list in terms of planning and implementing something in the long term.

 

[red_temple]

I'm certainly interested. And yes, I agree that monthly is too tight. Either every 1/2 year or year is more realistic. Especially since Marky is going to win them all...

 

[genisis2]

I'm not sure if anyone likes it. I mean, me winning every month and all...

LOL

 

[j d worthington]

Has to be some theme, or you are trying to compare Pratchett, Shakespeare and Asimov- Just not possible.
But usually you can simply set any combination of props and scenario and let the style look after itself.

Ray -- I'm not quite sure I follow... I don't think it's at all necessary to narrow it to a theme; in fact, for the reasons stated, I think it's likely to prevent participation. And wouldn't the point of the competition be the best writing (as decided upon by whatever judges are appointed) for that particular term? Style isn't the question, I'd think, but quality of writing overall, in which case theme, also, becomes irrelevant. And in any given time, you're likely to get a wide variety of quality, even from really good writers... after all, that's a large part of what editors work with, isn't it?

 

[BookStop]

Ray -- I'm not quite sure I follow... I don't think it's at all necessary to narrow it to a theme; in fact, for the reasons stated, I think it's likely to prevent participation. And wouldn't the point of the competition be the best writing (as decided upon by whatever judges are appointed) for that particular term? Style isn't the question, I'd think, but quality of writing overall, in which case theme, also, becomes irrelevant. And in any given time, you're likely to get a wide variety of quality, even from really good writers... after all, that's a large part of what editors work with, isn't it?

I see what you are saying, JD. Maybe the way to 'theme' the contest without limiting participation could be to make each competition genre specific instead. One month Fantasy, next Sci-fi, next Horror, and so on. That way folks won't just vote for their favorite genre, but individual stories within the chosen genre of the month.

 

[j d worthington]

Now, that makes it much broader, of course, and more likely to work. However, I think it might be best to remember, as well, that many of these things can bleed over in the course of writing a story, as well ... for example, many of the best horror stories also have a fairly thick strain of humor in them, either outright or of the gallows variety (as in Ambrose Bierce or L. P. Hartley, for example). So perhaps a broad rather than strict categorization along these lines might be best... These are just my thoughts from observing how such things tend to work, of course, and a desire to see as many participate as possible, as I think this would be a worthwhile endeavor...

 

[ray gower]

Ask for a Swords and Sorcery fantasy, I for one am right out the picture. Apart from a short play with Tolkien's Middle Earth, I just can't produce them. It limits the number of people able to play.

Give me a wizards hat, a dwarf, a mountain and a lamp post and I'll play, but it probably will not be Swords and Sorcery.

Then you are trying to compare one persons very serious rehash of Lord of the Rings and Dracula to my mash of Doc Savage meets a cuddly dinosaur. The two styles of writing are not comparable in anything but their entertainment and satisfaction to read value.

 

[BookStop]

However, I think it might be best to remember, as well, that many of these things can bleed over in the course of writing a story, as well ...

Yes, usually there is a bit of overlap, but keeping genre specifics loose - more guidelines than actual rules - will help.