Falling Numbers -- Fewer Members Entering the Challenge

I just looked my Tudorpunk story up! Wow it was 2012! Time sure flies...or 'travels' ;)

I hardly understand it now. Something about a King Henry who loses a baby and something about the War Of Roses..I dunno...see, unless someone is familiar with Elizabeth of York and what not, it makes it tough to write a compelling story. In this case I had a Time Traveler warn them of the death of their baby, but they didnt pay any attention to the madmans ramblings.

Ashes

Hank stared into the fire, remembering that day.

He and Beth were visited by a stranger who spoke of blood and time travel. After they had him hung for lunacy a note was found on the body.

It spoke of dying roses and a birth bathed in red. The night was cold but the hearth blazed hot. Crumpling the parchment, he threw it in the flames

It wasn't until years later he understood.
 
I've been following this thread quite closely, noting the points that have been made, and wondering if their is a solution to the perceived drop. I'll keep you from anticipation and tell you I haven't a clue, but I did tweet about the 300 closing date today with the sff hashtag (and @chronners) and also a cheeky amwriting one, to see if any non members may join in.

I think from now on when the new themes are released I will tweet them with the links and see if there is any new uptake. Who knows? It can't hurt, and it will raise Chrons profile regardless.

A few people have mentioned things in this thread I want to refer to; the thanks and whatnot. I feel pretty curmudgeonly every month when I get a notification that there have been new submissions to the discussion thread to find it's just a 'thanks' for a shortlisting or review. With reviews, I like to thank the contributors asap as I want to do more than acknowledge the review and would feel horrible if anyone thought I was ignorant enough to not say thanks, but I save my thanks up for the end of the poll for shortlistings and votes.

Also, I wanted to talk about our motivations for entering. Not to put words in anyone's mouths, but it seems the main thrust for some is to win. For me, that's kind of putting the cart before the horse. Don't get me wrong, I love when I won in November for the first time, but I approach this challenge with the sole intent of entertaining, and improving. It doesn't cross my mind to think I wonder if this is a winner. And I'm not trying to take the high ground here, either, but talk of the prize for the 300 word challenge surprised me because I had forgotten and hope that we enter these challenges as a community rather than hoping to win.

I hope I'm making sense and not overstating it. Being a teacher makes me contextualise everything in terms of my job, and the kind of things I say to the students about improving their craft (in that case, it's dance, not writing, but I think there is a relevant comparison) as choreographers rather than as performers eager for the fame side of things.

I am guilty of making a personal record of mentions that my stories receive. It's a way for me to measure the success of my submission beyond a First Past The Post ;) and I do see a correlation between certain things we've written, and votes (in the sense that we may have a predilection for a certain style of voice that we or others use, that can garner votes).

Coming back to the thanks for votes point, I could see how new people may feel a little left out when the same person is posting multiple thanks over the voting period. But, as Teresa has said, that is something that tends to change as they participate more and hone their skills.

pH
 
I'm not entering to win (because I think it was my talk of the 300 worder prize that made it seem that way) in the sense that it's very nice if I do, but I have good craic regardless*. I'm usually surprised when I do well (I think the only one I've ever entered and hoped it would do well because it felt like a good story was the Shrinky frizzled brains one. But winning wasn't an issue - getting few mentions for it would have been more disappointing.)

But when I was querying agents and desperate for publication credits, winning one and being able to use it was very, very useful. And the possiblity of gaining a credit from it was a motivator to do my very, very best and, actually, you know edit and not just shove it up. So, perhaps, individual motivation needs to be allowed for in terms of why people enter (provided the spirit of the thread is maintained and bribery isn't reasorted to....:D)

*having said that, a bit of good natured competition doesn't seem a bad thing, either. One has to seek motivation where it's offered.
 
Heh, i didn't know people used Chrons challenges for writing credits, as Jo says, i dont think a bit of extra motivation would hurt people wanting to enter, and soomethingnlikethat certainly is motivational. Even just a little confirmation of talent or appreciation of a certain writer's style goes a long way to improve confidence and the subsequent writings I think.

Not that they're my motivations for joining in (or not as is the case of the 75 worder). I have only entered a couple of 300 challenges now, and simply because I enjoyed doing them and ejoyed joining in and being part of the community here. I haven't yet entered a 75 challenge though, because the month always seems to go by so quickly at the moment... A pot of time management faults, a spoonful of forgetfulness, a pinch of writers block, and just a dash of laziness on my part.

I am going to sneak over to the thread and see if the 75 worder is still open though... If it is I shall quickly throw something in the mix. If not I shall for sure join in with the next one:)

EDIT: Next month it is:cool:
 
Why don't you pick someones book, say Abendau or Goblin Moon (Hobgoblin Night), if Jo and Teresa agree. Or someone elses and set the theme in that world.

Just thinking outloud :)
 
Phyrebrat said:
I did tweet about the 300 closing date today with the sff hashtag (and @chronners) and also a cheeky amwriting one, to see if any non members may join in.
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I've also been tweeting about the challenges when they start - I figure it can't hurt and if just one person gets interested and pops over for a look, that's great. :) Will try and remember the hashtag!
 
I used to remind people quite often that everyone who completed the challenge was to be congratulated, because it's not easy to do. Perhaps we need to emphasize that more. Getting votes and mentions, even winning, are very nice, but this is one competition where just doing it is something to feel good about. It's an accomplishment.
 
Jo Zebedee said:
I'm pm a reminder. You have been warned.... ;)
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Reminders, eh? I do miss out on a lot of posts because I don't always get alerts... (which I've apparently come to rely on heavily) So a little challenge reminder button would be perfect for me.
 
What about an e-anthology publishing the winners semiannually?
Six 75 stories and two 300 stories would fill up a page and offer a writing credit. For every challenge winner. You could add photo challenge winners to create visual interest with their permission.
It could be a separate thread if nothing else.
And if Springs insists on winning every challenge we could just name it after her.
It could be twitterized or whatever you call it. Have a link to other books and pages for the winners to gain publicity.
I have seen something similar upon other bigger forums that they do monthly or bimonthly.
 
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The CHALLENGES dying?


The challenges are one of the few areas left on the site that actually get any traffic at all. There might have been months where we had more entrants, to be sure...but you also have to remember that most entrants anymore are actually from newcomers or yearlings, really. Senior established members have really turned their back on the challenges quite a bit...names shall not be named, however. If you want to know of sections that are dying, look in the Film/Television media, or certain threads in the Lounge. Maybe even Humor, I don't know. But the challenges still get some attention, even if we HAVE had more in the past.


Me, I think I've missed three 75s, two of which were not entirely my fault, if memory serves. I remember the first ever 300 we had I was disqualified for word count; disappointing, to be sure, but not nearly so discouraging as seeing polls month after month of having no votes.


I think that might be something that is a major putoff; all the votes tend to cluster around maybe two or three entries and a good portion receive little to none, as in, maybe one or two votes at most when others could have more than three times that amount. To me, personally, there's no bigger disappointment than putting heart and soul into anything and some months not even see one's name in the running, hehe. So I can't imagine how it could be to some who've put in maybe two or three months worth and get nothing.
 
Karn Maeshalanadae said:
The CHALLENGES dying?

The challenges are one of the few areas left on the site that actually get any traffic at all.
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The writing and publishing forums are more active than ever though, General Books seems always to have plenty of threads going, and a few of the author forums. I thought there were still some very active threads in the Lounge and in Technology. I think you are right that we have become more of a literary forum than a media or gaming forum, though I think interest in the forums for the various TV shows comes and goes with the TV seasons, as one might expect. (And if the TV forums aren't flourishing, it's not for any lack of effort on Dave's part!)

It's because the writing forums are so active, I suppose, that it seems strange that the Challenges aren't growing, too.
 
Oh, there's many active threads in the Lounge, but those who frequent the area know of which threads I speak of when I say they're dying. *Clears throat*


And as I said before, I think it's a drop off of senior member support that is a contributing factor. Some of the most clever entrants we've ever had no longer participate. And, of course-and this is an issue for the entire enchilada-the massive loss of many senior members and the influx of people who might make a single challenge post, and never be seen again. Or even those who've filled the Introductions forum up that never stick around. I might lurk more than participate these days, but I notice these things...if anything, I notice these.
 
Karn Maeshalanadae said:
Oh, there's many active threads in the Lounge, but those who frequent the area know of which threads I speak of when I say they're dying. *Clears throat*


And as I said before, I think it's a drop off of senior member support that is a contributing factor. Some of the most clever entrants we've ever had no longer participate. And, of course-and this is an issue for the entire enchilada-the massive loss of many senior members and the influx of people who might make a single challenge post, and never be seen again. Or even those who've filled the Introductions forum up that never stick around. I might lurk more than participate these days, but I notice these things...if anything, I notice these.
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Being all cloak and dagger isn't all that helpful. I'm assuming, for instance, the threads dying that you mention include the RPG ones. Why not just say that? It's no secret, and it does seem that the Chrons membership might have shifted away from that. But that's a different conversation than whether the challenge threads have quietened.

In terms of senior members no long joining in - it all sounds a bit blame-y. Like, that if you're a senior member you should join in. Surely, it's a voluntary competition? People's priorities change and they have a right to stop participating. As @alchemist pointed out, after a couple of years entering it can be hard to keep coming up with new and interesting every month - I suspect I'll enter less in the coming months, partly because of time and partly because sometimes I struggle with coming up with something now.

But new blood does come into the thread. CC, Ashleyne, Willwallace, loads others are relatively new. And there are plenty of newbys around the Chrons, posting lots. They're just maybe, as Teresa says, not in the same places as previously - aspiring writers has become a bigger forum, I think, since even I got here.
 
I am trying, month-by-month, to become a senior member! It just takes a long time to get there! :)
 
True, I guess.


But beyond that, for every new member that does stick around and really become part of the community, I've seen many make just one post and never return.


Otherwise, I would have to echo agreement that genres WERE getting a little too obscure and/or complex. Even some of the common subgenres, like post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk, steampunk, were falling out of favor. (Though honestly, I do think the basic science fiction and fantasy genres are really the only ones that have made repeats.)


As for the 300 challenges dropping, I think that has more to do with length and potential time constraints on members throughout the day. Its genre options remain locked-Speculative Fiction, which sweeps across the entire science fiction, fantasy, and horror genre subsets. I also think that maybe some of the newer members who might post to the 75 might get turned off of having to be inspired by a singular picture.


The old adage is that a picture's worth a thousand words. I think that to me, at least, that is true only obscurely, and the 300s have proven that. Can one get a story inspired by a picture? Yes.

Does a single picture ever tell a whole story? No. Maybe some potential new entrants to the 300 might think too literally on the picture and therefore shy away.
 
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