Excellent news! My herpes is in remission THE 2017 AOKH WRITING CONTEST IS HAPPENING RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW.
I can hardly believe we're halfway through 2017. Sadly, I have to, because it's true whether I believe it or not.
HeavenGames is twenty years old, and the franchise we're posting on isn't much younger. Why are we all still here? What keeps us attached to this site? Something positive, like the friendships we made along the way? Or something negative...perhaps thatwe can't leave the past behind?
Whatever the reason, I've noticed a trend in the stories submitted to the six prior editions of this contest. They're the work of extreme minds. Let's face it, we're abnormal people, and this results in fiction that, although often unpolished and lacking in technical direction, is almost never boring. I hope that this trend will continue.
What am I writing? A work of fiction, up to ten thousand words in length.
How long do I have? Three months. Submissions close on 15/9, EST.
What's the prize? $100.00AUD, payable through Paypal or bitcoin. This currently works out to around $75USD.
Who do I submit it to? To me, at . Your story should be in .doc, .docx, .odt, or .pdf format.
What are the other rules? Story must be 1) in English, and 2) yours. We expect material that would not be in breach of the forum Code of Conduct.
In past contests, you were scored out of a potential 50 points (25 for Technical Proficiency and 25 for Literary Content), the three scores would be added, the highest score would win, and you'd celebrate and break your 12 drink maximum like you do pretty much every night but now you have an excuse god damn it.
Things have changed.
We are trying a new system this year. All three of the judges will read your stories. They will then produce an ordered ranking of the stories, from best to worst, and submit it to me. Then I will add the numbers, and the lowest score will win.
Confused? Suppose we get five submissions...
Les Chants de Maldoror by Comte de Lautréamont
Cujo by Stephen King
Diary of my Lower Bowel Health (vol 1 of 18) by Lord_Fadawah
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
...And the judges produce the following rankings of these submissions.
I add them, and we get the final score (remember, lower is better!)
1. Oliver Twist - 4pts
2. Cujo - 6pts
3. Les Chants de Maldoror - 10pts
4. Gone Girl - 11pts
5. Diary of my Lower Bowel Health - 14pts
This method will potentially produce a tie. If Oliver Twist gets two 1s and a 4 & Cujo gets three 2s, they will both have 6pts. If this happens, a tiebreaker vote will be conducted among the three judges.
I give the judges free rein in ranking the stories. They might enjoy technique and sliding perspective and iambic pentameter. They might try to look past the text and see the story within. They might get angry if your blow-by-blow bowel movement diary ends at a critical point. They might not even really be judging the contest at all. Assume they will be harsh but fair. Additionally, commentary will be provided - the judges will explain why they placed each story the way they did.
Popeychops:2016
Popeychops:2015
CarolKarine:2013
Leif Ericson:2012
sly_guy:2010
Scud:2008
I can hardly believe we're halfway through 2017. Sadly, I have to, because it's true whether I believe it or not.
HeavenGames is twenty years old, and the franchise we're posting on isn't much younger. Why are we all still here? What keeps us attached to this site? Something positive, like the friendships we made along the way? Or something negative...perhaps that
Whatever the reason, I've noticed a trend in the stories submitted to the six prior editions of this contest. They're the work of extreme minds. Let's face it, we're abnormal people, and this results in fiction that, although often unpolished and lacking in technical direction, is almost never boring. I hope that this trend will continue.
Meet the Judges!
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Did you know that |
How the Judging Works
In past contests, you were scored out of a potential 50 points (25 for Technical Proficiency and 25 for Literary Content), the three scores would be added, the highest score would win, and you'd celebrate and break your 12 drink maximum like you do pretty much every night but now you have an excuse god damn it.
We are trying a new system this year. All three of the judges will read your stories. They will then produce an ordered ranking of the stories, from best to worst, and submit it to me. Then I will add the numbers, and the lowest score will win.
Confused? Suppose we get five submissions...
Les Chants de Maldoror by Comte de Lautréamont
Cujo by Stephen King
Diary of my Lower Bowel Health (vol 1 of 18) by Lord_Fadawah
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
...And the judges produce the following rankings of these submissions.
1. Oliver Twist 2. Cujo 3. Les Chants de Maldoror 4. Gone Girl 5. Diary of my Lower Bowel Health | 1. Oliver Twist 2. Gone Girl 3. Cujo 4. Les Chants de Maldoror 5. Diary of my Lower Bowel Health | 1. Cujo 2. Oliver Twist 3. Les Chants de Maldoror 4. Diary of my Lower Bowel Health 5. Gone Girl |
I add them, and we get the final score (remember, lower is better!)
2. Cujo - 6pts
3. Les Chants de Maldoror - 10pts
4. Gone Girl - 11pts
5. Diary of my Lower Bowel Health - 14pts
I give the judges free rein in ranking the stories. They might enjoy technique and sliding perspective and iambic pentameter. They might try to look past the text and see the story within. They might get angry if your blow-by-blow bowel movement diary ends at a critical point. They might not even really be judging the contest at all. Assume they will be harsh but fair. Additionally, commentary will be provided - the judges will explain why they placed each story the way they did.
Previous Writing Competitions:
Popeychops:
Popeychops:
CarolKarine:
Leif Ericson:
sly_guy:
Scud:
[This message has been edited by MawBTS (edited 06-21-2017 @ 01:21 AM).]