Contest theme concern

[Trionyx]

I know I’ll probably get fried for bringing this up, however I feel it is an issue worth discussing.

The theme in the contest entries is frequently minimal and occasionally completely absent. This was most pronounced in the recent Valentine’s Day contest. For example, I read all three of the winners and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed them, thought they were well written and I would certainly read them again. However, Valentine’s Day was totally absent in one story and was noted only in passing in another. In the third story, there was a Valentine’s Day scene of thematic significance. A few of the other stories I read also suffered from similar omissions.

There will always be a wide range of thematic inclusions and I’m comfortable with that, but minimal to none seems to violate the spirit of the contest. I find this frustrating and am curious what others may think of this issue.

 

[Voboy]

The contest prompts specifically say stories DO NOT have to slavishly adhere to the precise "day" being celebrated by the contest. The "Nude Day" stories, for example, are not expected to actually take place on or mention Nude Day; they are merely expected to celebrate nudity as a primary story element.

The Vday prompt encourages writers to celebrate love, basically. "Stories can be about romantic love, romance, drama, Valentine's Day mythology - anything associated with the holiday!" (my italics)

If the site is telling writers they don't have to be all that cautious about close adherence to the themes, you can't blame writers for, well, not being all that cautious about close adherence to the themes.

 

[KeithD]

Romance is and always has been a legitimate theme for the Valentine's Day contest. Beyond that, these aren't real contests of much of anything. They mostly are a shared experience and added publicity. No reason to take them too seriously.

If a contest was strictly restricted to a particular day, the entries would get real stale real fast.

 

[Trionyx]

So one can simply save up a handful of romance stories and drop them all on the Valentines contest in Jan-Feb. Hmm….

 

[Smuttyandfun]

So one can simply save up a handful of romance stories and drop them all on the Valentines contest in Jan-Feb. Hmm….

The first contest I entered suggested the writers should try to stick to the theme, or the readers wouldn't be happy. Since then, I've tried to at least pay homage to whatever holiday or theme is intended for each contest.

 

[KeithD]

So one can simply save up a handful of romance stories and drop them all on the Valentines contest in Jan-Feb. Hmm….

If you want to, yes.

 

[KeithD]

The first contest I entered suggested the writers should try to stick to the theme, or the readers wouldn't be happy. Since then, I've tried to at least pay homage to whatever holiday or theme is intended for each contest.

That's what it says, yes. That doesn't stop readers from voting loosely theme contest stories up well enough to place in the contests. I've entered just about every contest with multiple entries for over a decade, have not penned myself down strictly to a target date, and have never been called on not being on theme.

In reality, what the contests have come to is not theme, but wordage. It appears you can't place anymore with anything less than seven Lit. pages of story.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Submissions must have a Valentine's Day theme: i.e. romantic love, relationship drama, Valentine's Day mythology, etc. Be creative! Please don't just submit a normal story that happens to take place on February 14th.

Dems the rules.

 

[KeithD]

Submissions must have a Valentine's Day theme: i.e. romantic love, relationship drama, Valentine's Day mythology, etc. Be creative! Please don't just submit a normal story that happens to take place on February 14th.

Dems the rules.

Not really RULES. I'm willing to bet that Laurel has never ever rejected a contest entry for anything related to theme.

Some folks are taking this contest thing entirely too seriously.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

That's what it says, yes. That doesn't stop readers from voting loosely theme contest stories up well enough to place in the contests. I've entered just about every contest with multiple entries for over a decade, have not penned myself down strictly to a target date, and have never been called on not being on theme.

I only had one person question my 'Summer Lovin' entry, 'Just Roomies,' though no one else complained. It was about summer typhoon season in Hong Kong, with swimming and fun in the pool and beach, so I don't know what their problem was.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I know I’ll probably get fried for bringing this up, however I feel it is an issue worth discussing.

The theme in the contest entries is frequently minimal and occasionally completely absent. This was most pronounced in the recent Valentine’s Day contest. For example, I read all three of the winners and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed them, thought they were well written and I would certainly read them again. However, Valentine’s Day was totally absent in one story and was noted only in passing in another. In the third story, there was a Valentine’s Day scene of thematic significance. A few of the other stories I read also suffered from similar omissions.

There will always be a wide range of thematic inclusions and I’m comfortable with that, but minimal to none seems to violate the spirit of the contest. I find this frustrating and am curious what others may think of this issue.

I can't say that I disagree with you entirely, but try looking at it this way...

If a story was too theme-specific, meaning too focused on the subject of Valentine's Day as an example, how much interest would it attract from readers throughout the rest of the year? It would be about as attractive as buying Christmas ornaments in July.

I know that some people do it, but would you want to hang the long-term success of your story on it? I can't speak for others, but if I saw a story listed here that had a specific holiday in the title or description which indicated it was the theme for the story, I would likely pass it by if it was "out of season" for me.

Romance and sex are year-round. Embrace that.

 

[Trionyx]

I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and will broaden my view when it comes to ideas for any contests and events. Should make coming up with ideas easier, too. Thanks.

 

[SimonDoom]

There will always be a wide range of thematic inclusions and I’m comfortable with that, but minimal to none seems to violate the spirit of the contest. I find this frustrating and am curious what others may think of this issue.

Why are you frustrated? You said you enjoyed the stories. Would you prefer that people take a narrow, restrictive view of the contest guidelines and not write or submit the stories? Some people may write stories and just drop them into the contest but in many cases I think people are inspired to write the stories especially for the contests.

It seems to me that reader approval is a sufficient restraint -- if the readers disapprove of how loosely the guidelines are interpreted, they can show their disapproval in their votes. Obviously, readers don't want to do that, because they gave these three stories the highest scores.

The main point of the contests is simply to spur interest in writing stories, and to stir interest among readers. So long as it's clear to the entrants that the guidelines are to be loosely interpreted--and I think it is abundantly clear if you have any experience with this--there's no cause to complain that the process is unfair. It results in a better overall product.

 

[Defluer]

I know that some people do it, but would you want to hang the long-term success of your story on it? I can't speak for others, but if I saw a story listed here that had a specific holiday in the title or description which indicated it was the theme for the story, I would likely pass it by if it was "out of season" for me.

I just double checked and my 2 Halloween stories (Which actually have Halloween in the title) don't see any significant ups or downs for the time of year. But I agree with you, if I got to read more, I'd be more apt to wait until the spooky season to read spookiness.

As far as the OP, I agree, I would be frustrated if there wasn't something Valentine's Day in the story, even it was all romance and then marriage proposal or something at the end on V-Day. But... If I start thinking about it logically. I would not expect The Halloween Contest to actually be in all Halloween stories, if there was ghosts or goblins or horror those would all the tick the box, for me, as Halloween Themed.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

It appears that you do not often have the opportunity to indulge in series, holidays, special days, and specific styles and genres of literature. If you wouldn't mind sharing with us, we would greatly appreciate hearing about the last story you read on this platform in its entirety, without skimming, excluding your own contributions. Thank you.

It appears that you don't know me.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Submissions must have a Valentine's Day theme: i.e. romantic love, relationship drama, Valentine's Day mythology, etc. Be creative! Please don't just submit a normal story that happens to take place on February 14th.

Dems the rules.

I'm generally in favour of contests being loose in terms of what qualifies. For things like Halloween, it makes sense to me that people can have a go at writing more general monster stories (as well as non monster Halloween party shenanigans).

For Valentine's Day though specifically it does seem like this approach ends up a little too wide open. I suppose that for some people who write less emotional porn it's a chance to flex some romantic muscles, but for a lot of writers most of their stories do already involve romantic love and as such it's hardly a constraint at all.

To be absolutely clear, the brief as it's written clearly states that romantic love is an acceptable theme, so from what I've skimmed of the stories, I don't think there's any doubt about them being with in the letter or the spirit of the competition. Personally though I do think maybe next year the wording could be changed to be a little tighter.


(That said I didn't write a Valentine's story this year and probably won't next year, so I don't have much of a horse in the race.)

In reality, what the contests have come to is not theme, but wordage. It appears you can't place anymore with anything less than seven Lit. pages of story.

This is very true. I was going to read through the stories so as to have a more informed view for this thread as well as reading prize winning writing, but there's no way I could tackle all three in one sitting. I got through one and then had to quickly skim the others. I'll have to sit down with them properly later.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Could you recommend a story that would help an avid reader get through the weekend?
If possible, something that has been posted within the last month.

It depends on what you like.

You might want to start with the recent V-Day entries. There were several wonderful stories there in a variety of genres. I read most and enjoyed them all. Another recent story that I liked was She's Gone by Just_Words.

If you like longer stories, try the Lady in Red series by Harddaysknight. You Can Go Home Again by blackrandl1958 is also something that you might enjoy. They're not new stories, but well worth checking out.

Just be sure to comment and vote on any stories that you read.

 

[lovecraft68]

I can see the OP's point in this, but also that we don't have to be completely locked in

But let's start with this which appears in every contest announcement

• Submissions must have a Valentine's Day theme: i.e. romantic love, relationship drama, Valentine's Day mythology, etc. Be creative! Please don't just submit a normal story that happens to take place on February 14th. That would not be in the spirit of the contest, and readers (aka voters) will likely punish you for your trickiness.

Laurel mentions readers 'punishing' you, but she's the one posting it. Maybe a subtle way of her reminding people to try to stay within the theme? Just another thing here that's vague as hell which is kind of how everything here often is.

Some themes like Winter and Summer are a flat out joke. It was hot and sunny, it was cold and snowy...yay, you're in. V-Day and Halloween are based on a specific holiday, but with broader themes of Love for V-Day and Horror for Halloween so you don't have to focus solely on the day, just the feel.

Nude Day is also a holiday, but not a universally celebrated one and the only qualifier being naked, so anything goes there.

April Fools will once again be a low entered contest because the theme isn't as easy-according to some, I don't see where its difficult-and I think suffers not because the theme is hard, but its harder to toss in a random story.

After having said that V-day can have a simple plot line involving love, I 'll lean towards the OP's point because in the years I've been here I've seen countless stories with little to no effort at all to fit the theme and authors admitting they're just throwing the story in to get the extra attention. I also think that for a group of writers who have the gift of creativity I see little of it, in terms of Okay, this is the box they want me to write in, let's see what I can do within it, Rather, I see a lot more "But that's hard and the site says I can be fast and loose and that's so much less work.

For any random story we're free to do whatever we want. Write tropes, dare to be different, create whatever we want and not color within the lines. Contests should be more specific and an attempt to stay close to theme hence the word challenge. If the argument is, well the readers might get bored with reading 60 stories all based on one thing, well maybe make the max effort to get yours to stand out.

Again, the word challenge.

One last point is that most of the author sponsored challenges are very specific in theme and people enjoy entering them, so what's the difference in the site sponsored to stay within the basic parameters? Oh, wait, the Blue W and a few dollars, and 'all the eyes' on the story.

It can be seen either way, so most of what I said is my opinion, but factoring in with other things here I just see this as being as lazy for some here.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I can see the OP's point in this, but also that we don't have to be completely locked in

But let's start with this which appears in every contest announcement

• Submissions must have a Valentine's Day theme: i.e. romantic love, relationship drama, Valentine's Day mythology, etc. Be creative! Please don't just submit a normal story that happens to take place on February 14th. That would not be in the spirit of the contest, and readers (aka voters) will likely punish you for your trickiness.

Laurel mentions readers 'punishing' you, but she's the one posting it. Maybe a subtle way of her reminding people to try to stay within the theme? Just another thing here that's vague as hell which is kind of how everything here often is.

Some themes like Winter and Summer are a flat out joke. It was hot and sunny, it was cold and snowy...yay, you're in. V-Day and Halloween are based on a specific holiday, but with broader themes of Love for V-Day and Horror for Halloween so you don't have to focus solely on the day, just the feel.

Nude Day is also a holiday, but not a universally celebrated one and the only qualifier being naked, so anything goes there.

April Fools will once again be a low entered contest because the theme isn't as easy-according to some, I don't see where its difficult-and I think suffers not because the theme is hard, but its harder to toss in a random story.

After having said that V-day can have a simple plot line involving love, I 'll lean towards the OP's point because in the years I've been here I've seen countless stories with little to no effort at all to fit the theme and authors admitting they're just throwing the story in to get the extra attention. I also think that for a group of writers who have the gift of creativity I see little of it, in terms of Okay, this is the box they want me to write in, let's see what I can do within it, Rather, I see a lot more "But that's hard and the site says I can be fast and loose and that's so much less work.

For any random story we're free to do whatever we want. Write tropes, dare to be different, create whatever we want and not color within the lines. Contests should be more specific and an attempt to stay close to theme hence the word challenge. If the argument is, well the readers might get bored with reading 60 stories all based on one thing, well maybe make the max effort to get yours to stand out.

Again, the word challenge.

One last point is that most of the author sponsored challenges are very specific in theme and people enjoy entering them, so what's the difference in the site sponsored to stay within the basic parameters? Oh, wait, the Blue W and a few dollars, and 'all the eyes' on the story.

It can be seen either way, so most of what I said is my opinion, but factoring in with other things here I just see this as being as lazy for some here.

The few times that I have entered a contest I have written a story specifically for it and centered it on the particular theme. I see no challenge to it otherwise, but that's just me.

As I implied in my first response to the OP, I do try to keep the story broad enough to appeal to readers all year round. I think my entry in the last V-Day contest does that, but time will tell.

 

[oggbashan]

The only downside to not being close enough to the topic is that the readers might leave poor comments or downvote the story.

Most readers don't seem bothered, so why should authors be?

Having said that, I try, but still get the rude comments and the down votes.

 

[lovecraft68]

I share the OP's feelings, but accept that my opinion doesn't matter.



What's the way the readers would punish someone for their trickiness? By giving it 1*? I remember one writer mentioning that they got under serious attack, and yet, their story ended up really well. So much for 'punishment'.

Everybody's opinion matters....except for the unpopular ones.

As for ending up really well that leads us to the sweep and how it seems very few-and in some cases, any- One bombs are legit in contest, so you make a good point.

Maybe that should be touted as another contest advantage, get a higher score than you normally would because of the sweeps. That effect would only last the duration of the contest, but once its over you're off the new and targeted lists so you'd be past a lot of trolling at that point.

Oh, look, we just provided another bone for the stat/score obsessed to chew on.

 

[lovecraft68]

Submissions must have a Valentine's Day theme: i.e. romantic love, relationship drama, Valentine's Day mythology, etc. Be creative! Please don't just submit a normal story that happens to take place on February 14th.

Dems the rules.

Few years back an author here submitted a Christmas themed story, complete with Santa in the title into the Halloween contest. Flew right through the submissions.

I don't think the site needs to be obsessively strict on this, but when you see that happen you realize its pretty much a why bother even pretending to have a theme at that point?

 

[Voboy]

Few years back an author here submitted a Christmas themed story, complete with Santa in the title into the Halloween contest. Flew right through the submissions.

I don't think the site needs to be obsessively strict on this, but when you see that happen you realize its pretty much a why bother even pretending to have a theme at that point?

That does seem weird. But? I can think of cases where a Christmas story could have a plot twist that turns it into a Vday story. It would take some imagination on the part of both writer and readers, and I have no doubt I'd never waste my time on that kind of thing. But I imagine it could be done, and even done well.

I bet reporting it would have gotten it yanked. Not that that should have to happen, I suppose, but I bet it would have.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Wait, I have an idea for a new contest: Write a story so bad that even sweeps working overtime can't help it. But it can't be bad due to poor grammar.

 

[lovecraft68]

That does seem weird. But? I can think of cases where a Christmas story could have a plot twist that turns it into a Vday story. It would take some imagination on the part of both writer and readers, and I have no doubt I'd never waste my time on that kind of thing. But I imagine it could be done, and even done well.

I bet reporting it would have gotten it yanked. Not that that should have to happen, I suppose, but I bet it would have.

Sure, if you're creative enough and work hard enough you can take anything and get it to the right 'place' but in my example, it was a flat out Christmas story and the author even admitted he just wanted the exposure, so points for honesty.

Another author who was very popular, but hasn't been seen here in a long time also said they just tossed stories into contests with little to no relevance, again just to get the extra eyes.

Like I said, I don't think the site, authors, readers, need to be hard asses about it, but there should be some effort made to have a connection to whatever the contest happens to be.

My upcoming April Fools entry isn't a straight up prank or trick, but in the post "chance" is listed which is what I'm going with and I'll mention it in the author note because April Fools seems to be confusing to readers for some reason.