Competition - Total Write-Off

pickarooney

There are eight threads with the first round entries on the first couple of pages of the forum. The threads all being with Total Write Off: and have polls attached.

FewFew

This is a really good idea. I'll also be looking out for the start of the next one (though if someone was on PM duty that'd also be swell )

Mr E

Picka - how about an ad hoc competition for the new people (and the first round eliminations from the write-off)?

2 weeks to do it, you pick the topic (same rules as the old variations on a theme).

No point in having people sitting around for a few months waiting for the write-off to finish.

pickarooney

I'm thinking of something a bit more mental, a winner stays on kind of thing, but I'm not sure how feasible it would be. A good writer could end up accidentally writing a novel

Antilles

Two writers enter, one writer leaves!

Two writers enter, one writer leaves!

Two writers enter, one writer leaves!

pickarooney

So how about this. Bear in mind the objective is to get as many people involved with as little downtime as possible...

First day: the first two posters to reply to the thread go into the chamber. A theme is given. 24 hours later they post a short piece (c. 300 words) and 24 hours after that voting (by the thanks button) stops and the next challenger steps up. Challenger picks the theme and off we go again.

Now, it would require that at least one person, not necessarily involved, be on the thread at the deadline to check the thanks counts and early submissions would have to be allowed, but that could all be part of the fun - if you're finished a couple of hours early you get more time to get votes so there's an extra inventive to write fast. If you keep winning, you have to keep writing; if you fail to submit the challenger automatically becomes the champion. A bit like conkers or boxing, the goal is to string as many wins together as possible. The champion can put a challenge in his/her sig.

There'd be no anonymity in this as it would just be unmanageably by PM.

Oryx

I like the idea. One twist which you could consider.. The challenge could be one continuous story, rather than a new theme every day? Or a different theme but you had to tie it in to whats gone before.

pickarooney

I thought about that, but most people hate collaborative ideas. On the other hand, it would be in the champion's best interest to write something continuous so people will vote for it if they want to read on.

Mr E

I love the idea, but I'm not sure about the strict time limit. If I don't have time to mull over it, edit and tweak, it invariably turns out to be crap.

On the flip side, I think readers would better appreciate finessed stories (as opposed to having to read rush jobs that were submitted to beat a strict deadline). The standard so far in the T.W.O. has been phenomenal because people had time to fine tune.

pickarooney

I was going to give a positive answer to that but it just made me realise a huge flaw - as a challenger you can come up with whatever theme you want and write at your own pace then you get to pick the theme and issue the challenge. Only a really good writer will be able to beat someone who has had preparation and can pick the theme.

Essentially, I as just looking at this as a sort of time-filler - there's a lot of down time between rounds of TWO and a full-on VOAT would be a bit much for me and would suffer from people not entering because they're already writing for TWO.

Of course, you can always just write a story and post it up for feedback without the competition element

Mr E

pickarooney wrote: »

Of course, you can always just write a story and post it up for feedback without the competition element

It's the competitive element that makes me write. Before TWO, I hadn't written anything since the last VOAT.

Not a bad idea though. I have a few ideas rattling around that I'd like to flesh out, but they'd probably be better for Write Club.

pickarooney

If you have a few different ideas you could knock up 300 words on each and see do any of them beat whatever is up there.

If anyone wants to give this a try, say so and we'll kick it off. Worst that can happen is it's an abysmal failure!

Mr E

Fair enough!

pickarooney

I just re-read a few of the flash-fiction pieces from VOAT 3.5.
You guys are well able to produce a good story in a day (or 25 minutes).

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I'll give it a go (although gotta know asap if its going ahead, as I'm in work from 6am - 4pm tomorrow, so would really need to know in the next hour or so)...

EDIT: Count me in regardless - as long as the deadline is 24 hours, I'll be able to do it after work if I have to...

darkestlord

Count me in.

Blush_01

I'd love another flash VOAT. Immediate gratification. Depending on work I'd totally be in. Was working 14 hour days last week and the week before, this week has been grand so far but who knows.

I'll pencil myself in for a flash if you do go ahead with it again.

angelll

Stick my name down for it too

pickarooney

Come up with a name for it and I'll put up a thread.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

pickarooney wrote: »

Come up with a name for it and I'll put up a thread.

The Gladiwriter (and that's the last time I shall ever reference a Russell Crowe movie)...

The Battle (simple and not very imaginative, but does exactly what it says on the tin)

Ronseal (also does exactly what it says on the tin)

Two Writers Walk Into a Bar... (would be a great name if the competition was entirely comedy orientated, but alas...)

The Elimination Room (personally I'm a fan of this one, since all competitions are to be held in the same thread, unless I'm mistaken)

Fight For Your Right to... Write (Beastie Boys coulda been on to something there)

Writer's Block (not an actual suggestion, I'm just out of ideas)

pickarooney

"The Arena" would incorporate a few of those ideas.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

pickarooney wrote: »

"The Arena" would incorporate a few of those ideas.

I was actually sitting there for 10 minutes trying to remember the word "Arena" and couldn't for the life of me think of it... All I could think of was "Stadium" and "Colusseum" for what I wanted to say... In my defense I had just come off a 9.5 hour shift...
"The Arena" is perfect - my vote goes for that...

Antilles

Count me in too.

I wager 400 quatloos on the newcomer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dnZHea_TI0

Memnoch

Deadline for this is today, though I wonder if everyone has forgotten about it with the excitement of the Arena?

Slow Show

Maybe it's hard to post because it might ruin the mystery of it all.

Or everyone is just procrastinators at heart...:p

Antilles

With TWO you have to mail your story to pickarooney so maybe everybody already has and he's just waiting until the deadline passes to post them.

pickarooney

I'm back, and just checked my PM box and have (almost) all the entries, which I'll post up on Monday.

Blush_01

Had pretty much forgotten about this with The Arena - can't wait to read the stories tomorrow.

pickarooney

The four quarter finals are now up. Three of them have a poll.

Oryx

Aaaaand the results are in. Congrats to those who go through to the next round, and commiserations to the ones who were knocked out. Yiz were robbed I tell ya, robbed!

I look forward to reading the next round, because this just gets better.