Competition - Total Write-Off

pickarooney

I'm thinking of some kind of variation on a variation on a theme here - same basic idea in that contestants are given an outline and submissions are posted anonymously, but with a little twist - this time it would be head-to-head with everyone competing against one other (unknown) person, one story per pair.

Winners go through to the next round where it starts again with a new story. We would ideally need 8 people (or 16!) who can commit to writing three stories in a fairly short space of time.

To try and explain it graphically, in cup knockout format:

[B]QF                     SF                Final[/B]
Ct. 1 
vs (3 little pigs)     Ct. 2
Ct. 2                  |
                       vs (rapunzel)
Ct. 3                  |
vs (red riding hood)   Ct. 3             Ct. 3
Ct. 4                                    |
                                         vs (pinocchio)    [B]Winner: Ct. 3[/B]
Ct. 5                                    |
vs (little mermaid)    Ct. 6             Ct. 7
Ct. 6                  |
                       vs (snow white)
Ct. 7                  |
vs (sleeeping beauty   Ct. 7
Ct. 8

Edit: The 16 confirmed contestants (so an extra preliminary round is needed) are:

angelll
Antilles
Aoibheann
azzeretti
Blush_01
Dermo Doluc
Hrududu
Insect Overlord
Killer_banana
Memnoch
Mr E
Oryx
Phantasos
Slow Show
smcgiff
Turtyturd

Waiting list:
Darkestlord
Lensbaby89
Doluc

Round One (16 contestants)
The draw for round one,which ended on May 11th at 23.59 BST and was extended for 72 to hours to accommodate a replacement entry is posted here.

The word count for round one was approximately 1000.

Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals, which ended on the 18th of June 2011 at 23.59 BST is posted
here.

The word count for the quarter-finals was approximately 1500.

Semi-Finals
The draw for the semi-finals, which ended on the 21st of July 2011 at 23.59 BST is posted
here.

The word count for the semi-finals was approximately 2000.

Final
The line-up for the final pairing, submissions for which closed at 23.59 BST on the 18th of August is posted here.

The word count for the final was approximately 2500.

On the 31st August at 08.42 BST the winner will be revealed.

Phantasos

That sounds like a good idea - I really need something to give me a kick and force me to write. The knockout idea (although it sucks if I get knocked out at stage one) is an interesting twist.

Looking forward to it already!

azzeretti

I like it. It would give me a bit of motivation to write. What kind of time frame might there be between rounds though? Not sure I could get 2-3 stories out in a few days!

Hrududu

Sounds good.

Oryx

Im liking this. Havent written a thing since the last voat, this would make me work again.

pickarooney

We might make it a 500, 1000, 1500/2000 increasing limit with the rounds and about 5 days between rounds. Whatever suits best.

Can you thank the first post if you're interested so I can get an idea of numbers. If it's not a perfect power of 2 we can draw for byes.

Antilles

I'm working on a big project at the minute but could take time out for this

Not sure about your theme selections though, Pickarooney!

pickarooney

Antilles wrote: »

I'm working on a big project at the minute but could take time out for this

Not sure about your theme selections though, Pickarooney!

Those are just placeholder texts.

Oryx

Good, cos I think Disney have most of them covered anyway.

Memnoch

Sounds fun. I can't start till early may, but feel free to go ahead.

Killer_banana

I like the sound of it. Need something to get me writing again.

Mr E

Haven't been visiting this forum lately, but need a kick up the ass to get writing again. Count me in.

Insect Overlord

I'll give this a go.

Aoibheann

I'd like to try this! I'm mid-study for exams which are in a few weeks, but I'm sure I can manage the time to get a story or two together.

Phantasos

Aoibheann wrote: »

I'd like to try this! I'm mid-study for exams which are in a few weeks, but I'm sure I can manage the time to get a story or two together.

Procrastination will be a great motivator to spend time on this competition!

pickarooney

What do you think if we schedule the first round for the week of the 2nd of May? That would give us (me) time to collect the names, make the draw and pick the stories.

On the latter, if anyone wants to make suggestions, we'll need at least 7 themes.

Oryx

Theme idea: Use a single word, for example:

Silence
Procrastination
Infinity
Mistakes
Remorse
Boredom
Rage

Or to use the same idea, the seven deadly sins.
Lust
Gluttony
Greed
Sloth
Wrath
Envy
Pride

pickarooney

I like that!

Aoibheann

+1, really like both of those ideas.

angelll

All sounds great

Blush_01

I was just thinking this evening (I kid you not) that my hand was going to fall off next time I tried to hold a pen out of sheer spite as a result of the neglect it's experienced.

I'm definitely in.

Antilles

+1 for the "Seven Deadly Sins" idea!

Turtyturd

Would be interested in this....ended up being a no show for the last VOAT because sickness and a philosophy essay conspired against me but will definitely take part this time.

Phantasos

Love the Seven Deadly Sins theme Oryx. Great idea!

pickarooney

It looks like we'll need a further round! Just two more places left; after that we'll need to make a waiting list. This is based on thanks in the OP - if your name is not there, please add it now.

So then... 8 more stories needed for the preliminary round.

Dermo

count me in for this. I would be interested in giving it a go

Slow Show

I don't post here a whole lot, so if you wanted to put regulars ahead of me, that's perfectly fine, but I'd be willing to give this a go.

pickarooney

Ok then, the 16 are:

angelll
Antilles
Aoibheann
azzeretti
Blush_01
Dermo
Hrududu
Insect Overlord
Killer_banana
Memnoch
Mr E
Oryx
Phantasos
Slow Show
smcgiff
Turtyturd

This could take a while to run off and I'd like to make allowances for people's times, so I'll be PMing people once I have made the draw to arrange dates.

I'm thinking of something vague like colours for the first round, or one randomly selected word from a book...

Phantasos

Maybe we should do the Seven Virtues for the other side:

Chastity
Temperance
Charity
Diligence
Patience
Kindness
Humility

They aren't as much fun as the Deadly Sins, but it would be interesting to have a Good vs Evil write-off, culminating in a final battle between the remaining writers of both sides! Something along the lines of this.

Besides, I'm just wondering what people would come up with from those themes - they are so abstract! Would be fun.

Oryx

While I did make a suggestion above, this is your baby, pickarooney, you get to make the call on what we write about. If you only pick stuff we like, well, that just makes it too easy.

pickarooney

Phantasos wrote: »

Maybe we should do the Seven Virtues for the other side:

Chastity
Temperance
Charity
Diligence
Patience
Kindness
Humility

They aren't as much fun as the Deadly Sins, but it would be interesting to have a Good vs Evil write-off, culminating in a final battle between the remaining writers of both sides! Besides, I'm just wondering what people would come up with from those themes - they are so abstract! Would be fun.

I had never heard of the seven virtues before. If only there were 8...

Oryx

If you want a longer list you could use figures from tarot (temperance reminded me)
The fool
The magician
The hanged man
Death
The tower
The sun
The moon
Judgement
Temperance
The lovers
The hermit
Strength
Justice
The devil
Wheel of fortune

etc etc

Phantasos

Oryx wrote: »

If you want a longer list you could use figures from tarot (temperance reminded me)
The fool
The magician
The hanged man
Death
The tower
The sun
The moon
Judgement
Temperance
The lovers
The hermit
Strength
Justice
The devil
Wheel of fortune

etc etc

Major Arcana is a great idea. With the exception of The Sun and The Moon (and the other ones you left out), I can see story ideas for all the rest of those. That leaves 13 possible story titles. More than enough.

darkestlord

Just saw this now.If there is a spare spot for this... count me in or put me on the waiting list. Thanks.

pickarooney

I'm going to PM everyone a code name now. Please, if you change your mind about entering, let us know as soon as possible so we can sub someone in.

Phantasos

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm going to PM everyone a code name now. Please, if you change your mind about entering, let us know as soon as possible so we can sub someone in.

Oooh, code names. It'll be like being 5 or 6 years old again!

pickarooney

I've also made the draw for the first round and chosen 8 subjects. I'm not sure if I should post up the draw so everyone knows the themes in advance and can see their rivals' code names?

Oryx

When will the closing date be?

pickarooney

I think around the 7th of May but it might be best to stagger the matches. It might be an idea to PM me if you have any time constraints so I can make a schedule that suits everyone.

Aoibheann

I have a lot of exams over May, but I'll definitely need study breaks and I'll work on it during that time.

Oryx

pickarooney wrote: »

I've also made the draw for the first round and chosen 8 subjects. I'm not sure if I should post up the draw so everyone knows the themes in advance and can see their rivals' code names?

Sure, g'wan.

Turtyturd

pickarooney wrote: »

I've also made the draw for the first round and chosen 8 subjects. I'm not sure if I should post up the draw so everyone knows the themes in advance and can see their rivals' code names?

Yeah I think giving people an idea of their topic in advance is a good idea, never too early to get some ideas flowing.

pickarooney

Right so... given the number of people, my logistic spidey-sense says to give as much time as possible for the first round entries. I'm away for a few days in May, so the first round will officially end at 23.59 on the 11th May. I'm torn between setting a time limit for voting and setting a quota of votes to decide the winners. A quota would rule out the problem of ties but would require a strict one post/one vote policy to see who reached the max votes first...

The theme for the first round is based on a selection of Greek gods and their areas of dominance.

NB: Please remember not to make any reference to what code name is yours or what story you're writing, even after you've been knocked out, to keep the competition anonymous all the way through.

pickarooney

1. BLUE vs PURPLE. Your theme is Healing

2. WHITE vs MAGENTA. Your theme is War

3. BLACK vs GOLD. Your theme is The Hunt

4. ORANGE vs BROWN. Your theme is Wisdom

5. BRONZE vs RED. Your theme is The Harvest

6. PLATINUM vs CYAN. Your theme is Madness

7. COPPER vs GREEN. Your theme is Fire

8. PINK vs YELLOW. Your theme is Home


You can start writing as soon as you like and resubmit as many times as you want up until the closing date on May 11th at 23.59 BST.

angelll

I haven't received a code name yet so not sure which theme is mine?

Dermo

angelll wrote: »

I haven't received a code name yet so not sure which theme is mine?

write a story for all of them

pickarooney

Should be sorted now. Too many Ls, reminds me of trying to PM padraiggg one time.

Turtyturd

Is the increasing word count in effect?...and are we starting off at 500?

pickarooney

Turtyturd wrote: »

Is the increasing word count in effect?...and are we starting off at 500?

Good point. I had forgotten about that.

Word count for this round is roughly 1000.

Phantasos

Thanks for this Pickarooney. Loving the themes you picked as well, very interesting.

azzeretti

Is it just the entrants that have a vote?