[Ryankia]

We have a lot of contests on this site and they are time consuming.

What are your thoughts?

[Rakkasan]

I agree. They are time consuming. If I wanted to enter every contest, I probably wouldn't have time to write or do anything else. Keeping that in mind, I like the idea of having so many. It allows everyone to select the one, two, or few that interest them the most. They can then dedicate their efforts to those limited contests in addition to their other writing.

I suppose some are mildly redundant, and if they disappeared, it wouldn't have too great of an effect on me, but I don't mind the options. I think it's a greater burden on the individuals who have been charged with running them than the general members who may participate.

I see this site as a place where one can come to relax and enjoy reading, as well as practice and refine their writing skills - a place where they can learn. That can happen in the form of posting work and receiving critiques, or by way of contests that force each writer to step outside of their comfort zone in order to grow.

Are you probing for the sake of general interest, or is there another possibility resting in the background?

[Lubesh]

Allotting means less of a time burden re charge of and the chocies give options without obligation and from those the advanatges/extras of the site are available or not. I'd be interested to know which are deemed redundant though and why.

[Ryankia]

I am probing, after a discussion with Vorcla and noticing the popularity of some contests over another. Some contests are almost just a waste of time to even bother running because of the lack of participation on the ends of entries and voting.

Also, since we have so many contests, the amount *good* commenting has gone downhill the last 6+ months, which is disappointing with a place which claims to support those who join. People shouldn't have to ask in PMs or in IMs for people to give a critique of their work.

[Rakkasan]

Originally Posted by Lubesh

I'd be interested to know which are deemed redundant though and why.

The 100 word challenge is not far off of the FFFC. Just 45 more words of space. Not as much of a challenge.

There's one.

[Rakkasan]

Originally Posted by Ryankia

...the amount *good* commenting has gone downhill the last 6+ months, which is disappointing with a place which claims to support those who join. People shouldn't have to ask in PMs or in IMs for people to give a critique of their work.

Very well stated point. Something to consider, indeed.

[Lubesh]

Commenting has always been an issue here and ideas to improve it alwasya topic. One way to look at it is maybe a hope of generating interest in an author who enters, but thats prob a bt wishfuland clearly isnt the case.

But a good thread and maybe a chance to do something else re that and the redundant contests. We can only wait and see.

[Jimbalaya]

I voted that there were just enough. Honestly I wouldn't mind seeing a couple more thrown in the mix.

I found this site because I did a search on writing prompts. I was looking for a way to step outside my comfort zone and improve my writing skills in general. I enjoy the hell out of the competitions here and while right now I don't have a lot of time to commit to writing, I try to put one in here and there and I find myself wondering what I'm going to come up with for a challenge, rather than thinking of what the next step in one of my origonal stories is going to be. I don't have a lot of time to write and I like to excersize my brain the best that I can when I do write.

That's why I love the challenges. A lot of it, I think, has to do with the time of year. Honestly, I know I'll be writing more when it turns colder. In the warmer months there is alway a flurry of activity around me.

I also love to read. There are some exceptional writers on this site and I've grown as a writer just by reading some of the stories here. There are so many different styles of writing that it blows the mind. I often finish a story and think "I wish I would have thought to write something like that." It is refreshing to read the different angles that people come up with when responding to a set challenge. The 55 is very good for that, as is the EMWE challenge.

One of my favorites is the pictue challenge when it rolls around in the TotM. The 1000 word challenge is another great one, like Rick said, usually prose writers are just getting in the grove at 1000 words so it is great to help you focus, and then cut down and edit parts out of a story that you've spent some time on.

Myself, I try to be on the lookout for new stories that have been submitted and read them when I can. I honestly say that I don't comment on poetry much, or participate in the poetry challenges because I'm not very good at it, and I often don't understand it. There are people who do understand it and love it and I'm happy to leave it to them. That's not to say that I don't read peoms at all, I do.

Overall I think this is one of the best forums I've been to. I've expanded my own writing skills, thanks to the help of many members here. The challenges? Some of them are intimidating, I won't lie, and some are very hard to do, but those are the ones that I try to participate in the most, they push me and demand more from me. I think they are a good idea. I may not get the chance to participate in all of them every time around, and I don't think that should matter. If I can do it, I will. If not, well, there is always the next one.

I agree 100% with the thoughts about comments. I have been floored by some of the comments that I've recieved on some of my stuff. To know that people actually like my style of writing, and want to read more, is humbling. When I write something that I think is fair at best, then get a comment that somone really, really liked it, I couldn't be happier and I really can't explain how it feels, but if it's happened to you, you know.

I enjoy those that point out my mistakes, otherwise, how am I to improve? Anyway, I'm rambling. I enjoy the contests and challenges, they are what drives me to become better.

[Venomous Vixen]

I pretty much echo exactly what Jim said. Contests are intended to have a writer step out of their normal bounds, to test their own limits not only with words but content and sometimes even form. I think things like this hone our skills and without such a variety to select from we would lack the variety from which to grow. I also would not mind seeing more added, some fresh and new ideas, and in turn perhaps some of the ones that have died out be retired. If there were lack of participation in these then I would say be rid of them but since there is not I think that alone shows members enjoy them.

As far as commenting goes, I have been thinking about that one a lot lately. Personally, it gets a bit redundant to comment on things because I know people are looking to hear that 'great job' even if I am the 10th person to say it. I think we have lost focus on what a good comment consists of, hence Maud's idea for the club he created, where we all discussed what makes a good comment in our minds and then selected a work for the month to be reviewed.

Personally, like any book in a book store, I have interests and then I have things that I am not so fond of no matter how much I like the author. I think the reason this is a broad community is so there is something for everyone, not necessarily everything being for everyone.

That said, there are a few people who have offered to review if a PM is sent to them. (Rena, Tid, ... etc.) and I think that also allows feedback. All in all I would not chalk the amount of contests up to the lack of commenting. If someone genuinely wants to read your work they will, and if there is reason they will provide feedback. I notice most people who comment on all of the contest entries are NOT the ones lacking in comments elsewhere on the site. Just some food for thought. Have to run but I may come back to this as I have more to say ^.~

[Gurdit]

An objection I've heard is, "Stories take too long to read." I don't buy that. Our maximum length on a story here is the equivalent of ten Microsoft Word pages! Man, if you don't have the attention span for that, you need to see a specialist! Too much time spent pushing buttons on a video game... Another comment is that editors and admins and people who can post on their own don't need feedback. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everybody wants feedback by way of comments. They write for free; comments are how they get paid.

I don't get to spend too much time online every day because of my schedule. When I read a story, I like engrossing myself in it. That means that for those minutes which I spend reading a story, I like not to do other things, and IMs or other online activity keeps distracting me. Everytime I get distracted, I have to start the paragraph again. It's not the case with poems. Poems are shorter, and some poems need attention on a single line or two at a time. Stories DO take a lot more time to read tham poems, and you can't refute that.

Secondly, putting aside the fact that they take longer to read, they also take longer to comment on. I don't know about poems because I rarely do a critique on them, but when I read stories, I tend to use notepad to prepare a comment as I read it, quoting lines to highlight errors to to highlight certain points. That again takes much much longer in stories when compared to poem. If you want comments like "Nice story, I liked it", I can comment on a considerably larger number of stories per week. Very little time spent on pushing video game controller buttons, much time spent on doing other activities.

As for comments on editors' or senior writers' work, I agree.

Also, I tend to give a smaller comment or comment less on stories written by authors who don't appear to be active on the site, or who don't seem to care about the comments they receive (they never reply to their comments, so I never know if they read them or not).

I think it's a sad state of affairs when, on a site that's purported to be a writing site, you have thousands of reads and hundreds of posts on a thread about XBox Live or Your Favorite Song, and a good story or poem is lucky to get a couple of hundred reads and a dozen comments. I catch flak every time I bring this up, but I think it needs saying.

Too many good stories/poems, too few threads on XBOX Live or Your favourite pets. I think that ends that argument right there. Oh, and add to that the fact that replying there takes about 60 seconds versus the 20 minutes I spend on a story of average-good length.


Some of you may think it imprudent of me to vote for what I voted for. However, I have my reasons, and that's about all I have to say about challenges.

[Venomous Vixen]

Originally Posted by Vorcla

That being the case...they also take a lot longer to write than poems too, especially when you're doing a series. It's a lot of work, as I said. To consistently come away with little or no feedback is discouraging. You think, "Why am I beating my head against the wall and spending all these hours writing this when nobody gives a shit?"

I have to pop in here. I think this is when you need to ask yourself why you are really writing these stories. The site is designed to help us grow as writers (see my post above). Personally, I try and step out of comfort zones so I can see how people react to that, let me know if that is something I should pursue or not. As far as a series goes, I understand that it takes a lot to write in the way of time and energy but that is a HUGE commitment on the readers part and for something like that I think someone needs not only a chunk of time but also to have a genuine interest in the subject matter. What I am trying to say is I think you are looking at this the wrong way. You should be writing for you, not beating your head against the wall for others.

[Ryankia]

I think too many people are trying to dictate the reasons for why people are writing. Yes, we write for ourselves, but we enjoy sharing it with others - and when others don't give a shit, it makes us wonder.

Too many people trying to justify their own opinions and making others sound wrong....

[Gurdit]

Rawr.

I didn't imply in any way that stories take less time to write than poems do. Series take longer. I understand a writer of a series of stories would like to get comments, but for a reader, the priorities are different. With a constraint on time, I'd like to read something that doesn't take much time to read or comment on.

FYI, series take even longer to read because the moment you finish one part, you want to read the next (if it's a good series).

And I don't think we're going too much off-topic. Part of the basis on which this poll was created was the opinion that there seem to be fewer comments around. I'm commenting on that.

[Syrah]

Just a note... the 100 w/c isn't meant to be a consistent challenge.. but something more sparse that is good for a change of pace. Sometimes it is nice to have a challenge that is just once in awhile instead of all the bloody time. I love all of our challenges, to be honest. I would be sad to see any of them go. I may not have time to enter them all but when I have the time I try to enter one or another (depending on time and inspiration).

[Syrah]

Just a suggestion.. but perhaps the challenges that don't regularly get a lot of entries (EMWE for example) should make their entry time longer and voting time longer. Therefore, they have fewer challenges. Instead of say- one week entry, one vote... double it. It wouldn't hurt us to have a few more monthly challenges instead of weekly or bi-weekly. Perhaps all the longer ones can do -- say one month entry.. and while the new month is going, the voting for the previous month. That way, those who want to vote or enter but have a hard time getting the story done in 2 weeks can enter the 1000. Or the EMWE.


Like I said. A suggestion.