New Weekly Challenge

[butters]

anyone up for this?

I'd like to see a weekly challenge set up. taking turns to set them, whoever's interested, and open to anyone who'd like to enter. The person setting the challenge has free reign and selects the winner. The challenge gets set on a Monday after the previous winners announced Sunday, all entries in by 8pm Friday or something.

all for fun and not to be taken too seriously. If anyone's interested, I'd like to set one starting next Monday.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

anyone up for this?

I'd like to see a weekly challenge set up. taking turns to set them, whoever's interested, and open to anyone who'd like to enter. The person setting the challenge has free reign and selects the winner. The challenge gets set on a Monday after the previous winners announced Sunday, all entries in by 8pm Friday or something.

all for fun and not to be taken too seriously. If anyone's interested, I'd like to set one starting next Monday.

Sounds like fun we used to have them all the time be good to get back to them again

 

[champagne1982]

If you set it, they will write.

 

[Angeline]

I think this is an excellent idea, Chip (my man lol). If you ask for volunteers, I think you'll find various folks here willing to do the weekly challenge. If you put someone new in charge of it each week, then everyone gets a chance to choose a challenge (just a suggestion). And if you search "challenge" in this forum, you'll see many we've done in the past, and maybe get ideas for some new ones. We've done group write challenges, where each poet writes a strophe on a theme and we get an epic poem in the end (check out The Poets, and you'll see some of those past efforts). We've done very popular "same title" challenges, where a title is given and everyone writes to it. That one is fascinating to see how many different and good ways there are to approach a title. We've even created our own forms here ("ho-ku," "bobs"). We've had a lot of fun doing them.

If you need any help with any of it, just let me know. I will be around sporadically though for the next two months or so. We're driving from Maine to North Carolina next week to look at houses, then driving back (with various family visit stops) and moving shortly thereafter, so I'll be on the road a lot (and maybe a little crazed too). I'll have a laptop, but yknow access can be tricky. But I'll try to come in as often as possible. But I know others here will run with the idea. I think people have missed having challenges here, especially the easy weekly ones that don't suck up your life like Survivor can.

 

[Epmd607]

I'm not a fan of exercises and challenges per se. The poem a day challenges are still around and those push you to be creative. Something like survivor I never even considered because it was more about displaying a knowledge than about expression. If the challenges allow for a certain level of creativeness then I'll play. I like being pushed to write poems, just not pushed into showing that I'm a good little student.

 

[Angeline]

If you set it, they will write.

Are you channeling Kevin Costner?

 

[Angeline]

I'm not a fan of exercises and challenges per se. The poem a day challenges are still around and those push you to be creative. Something like survivor I never even considered because it was more about displaying a knowledge than about expression. If the challenges allow for a certain level of creativeness then I'll play. I like being pushed to write poems, just not pushed into showing that I'm a good little student.

I guess it's all in the attitude. I've done challenges here and elsewhere that I've regretted because they can be a waste of time and talent (as Senna Jawa has told me many times). But I never really consider myself as competing against anyone but me and my last best poem. The last thing I want to do is write to prove to anyone but myself that I know and can do something. But I do agree with you that if I don't think I'll get anything from a given challenge, I ain't a-gonna write.

 

[GuiltyPleasure]

Charley and I were just talking about this.

Ange, thanks for bringing back that great collection of collaborations - those were the days. The poet partnerships were fun too, wasn't there one where couples wrote erotica and (I think) TaraBlackwood and another poet about burnt the site down.......Flyguy was my partner - sigh.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

I'm not a fan of exercises and challenges per se. The poem a day challenges are still around and those push you to be creative. Something like survivor I never even considered because it was more about displaying a knowledge than about expression. If the challenges allow for a certain level of creativeness then I'll play. I like being pushed to write poems, just not pushed into showing that I'm a good little student.

Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiii thanks a bunch considered yourself smacked on the butt!

 

[Angeline]

Charley and I were just talking about this.

Ange, thanks for bringing back that great collection of collaborations - those were the days. The poet partnerships were fun too, wasn't there one where couples wrote erotica and (I think) TaraBlackwood and another poet about burnt the site down.......Flyguy was my partner - sigh.

We've had a lot of fun here over the years, with some great collaborations. Some silly, some that (as you know) produced amazing writing. I've written with Tathagata and tungtied and The Fool over the years. And what's his eyez, of course.

I tell you PoeTesse, I think what I miss the most is karmadog's Freakin Good Titles thread. That was a hoot. And my favorite challenges were the blues one I did, and the Copacetic Persuasion same title one. No surprises there, eh?

 

[EroticOrogeny]

Sounds like fun.
Last year AnnaSwirls had quite a few good ones.
Didn't step up to each one, but tried quite a few,
and I think some of mine were good.

 

[LadynStFreknBed]

Nice idea. People wouldn't want me to set up any challenges though since my challenges would no doubt be centered around the villanelle form.

 

[The_Fool]

STDs from STCs.....

 

[EroticOrogeny]

Nice idea. People wouldn't want me to set up any challenges though since my challenges would no doubt be centered around the villanelle form.

That would be OK, at least by me. And a week (almost) gives enough time to work on it.
I wonder if we should get a list of who wants to play, and then draw names out of a hat to see who's next? Chipbutty will start us off this week, of course.

 

[PandoraGlitters]

I host a place that does a weekly challenge in another online format and it has been quite successful for some poets. I dig this sort of thing and am pleased to share ideas that have turned out well.

 

[annaswirls]

Challenges are fun. Must be taken as such.

My suggestion to you would be to not stick to a strict Poem Challenge of the Week. That is too scary. Sounds like commitment. Maybe it is just me but scares the hell out of me.

Just post one when you feel like it, see who shows up.

This is the process that has worked in the past:

1. Decide what kind of challenge you want to host.
2. Start a new thread to set out the criteria and for discussion. 1-2 weeks works best for timelines.
3. Have people pm you their poems
4. Start a new thread with a poll, and post the poems anon.
5. Make the poll be public so you can see who voted for which anon poem.
6. I always appreciated the challenges when the host of the challenge took the time to comment on every single poem that came in. It was a let down when someone posted the challenge and then kind of disappeared. I have done that, not intentionally. Always tried to be an active commenter.
7. Announce the poets names and connect them with the poems
8. Poets can choose to submit their poems to New Poems if they so choose.

Of course, you can also just have people post their poems in a thread or submit them to the New Poems. I kind of like the anonymous challenges better.

I hate poetry challenges whose sole purpose is to be challenging. I feel this is a waste of time and talent and it sucks. For me at least. I think it is more fun and productive if the challenge just sparks the creativity in writers and adds a sense of rapport in a group.

Good luck!

 

[champagne1982]

Are you channeling Kevin Costner?

More like the author, W.P. Kinsella. Shoeless Joe's one of my favourite short stories.

Anyway, like annaswirlygig says, don't focus too strongly on "rules" but instead encourage participation as the host of the challenge. Don't stress the contest side of challenges either. If there must be a winner let the acclaim of peers be enough reward.

We can do so much towards putting together challenge or even participation threads. Yes, Kevin, if you build it, they will cum?

 

[butters]

good. there's a bunch of interest

and yeah, all about the fun of creativity. Take part only in those you fancy and with switching up the challenger each time there ought t be a good diversity of ideas thrown up into the air for us all to catch and run with.

 

[butters]

ok, I'll start the ball rolling this week and we can sort out about anyone who wants to go next during the week

above all, i'd like this to be a fun and creative outlet, not something to feel dragged down by. and no one getting prima donna-ish with me or anyone else commenting on the poems!

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Can't help but think I would be marked down (by at least Epmd607 and maybe others) for using the form poetry that I've apparently learnt parrot fashion requiring no talent at all. Everyone would know who it was anyway so perhaps I will just bow out gracefully

 

[butters]

Can't help but think I would be marked down (by at least Epmd607 and maybe others) for using the form poetry that I've apparently learnt parrot fashion requiring no talent at all. Everyone would know who it was anyway so perhaps I will just bow out gracefully

oi don't be daft. what if one of the challenges was a form piece? anyway, please, sweets, this is meant to be about creativity and enjoying yourself. maybe one week would take your fancy but not then ext. NO hard and fast obligations to take part!

besides, there are those of us here (me me me) who could learn a lot from your ability with form.

 

[butters]

a question about polls

When making a poll for the votes, can it be added at anytime after creating the thread, or must it be made at the same time?

what i'd hope to do would be to post the poems up incognito as they arrive in my pm (or asap afterwards), then at the end of the week add the poll. is this possible?

 

[annaswirls]

When making a poll for the votes, can it be added at anytime after creating the thread, or must it be made at the same time?

what i'd hope to do would be to post the poems up incognito as they arrive in my pm (or asap afterwards), then at the end of the week add the poll. is this possible?

nope, pretty sure you have to do it at the time of creation. You can post the poems as they come in, the only problem with that, is people are often swayed by the comments other people make-- ?

You also don't have to do a poll, it is totally up to you, the master of the challenge

 

[EroticOrogeny]

nope, pretty sure you have to do it at the time of creation. You can post the poems as they come in, the only problem with that, is people are often swayed by the comments other people make-- ?

You also don't have to do a poll, it is totally up to you, the master of the challenge

sounds like 2 threads might be required. The first for poems and such, and one when all done, except for voting. Might be able to simply link to the posts, but that could be annoying to use.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

oi don't be daft. what if one of the challenges was a form piece? anyway, please, sweets, this is meant to be about creativity and enjoying yourself. maybe one week would take your fancy but not then ext. NO hard and fast obligations to take part!

besides, there are those of us here (me me me) who could learn a lot from your ability with form.

Maybe .... it hurt