Your Input wanted!: New Mini-Contests: Details, Format, Ideas and Judging

[Wednesdays Child]

This post will be edited to reflect all new ideas, judge volunteer brackets, schedules, participants and winners!



Hi! The upcoming contest and the Discord chatter have really brought home how much I've missed this community over the years so I wanted to see if we could bring back mini-contests!

The format: Weekly microfiction by default, with a view to maybe a mid or longform format during times when it won't collide with Mossflower Odyssey 5 or any other big collab. Word count, up to 1000 - but shorter entries get an edge.

The schedule: Each contest to start Tuesdays at 0000 US Central Time (0600 GMT), and carry on through to Saturdays at 2359 US Central Time (0559 GMT) - five full days, one of which is a weekend day. Judging can then hopefully happen on the Sunday, announcement on the Monday, next contests starts on the Tuesday. (why like this? - my thinking is that this way, there's a reasonable mix of days for each bit of the contest, so whether you work better on weekends or weekdays, you can still take part in either the writing or the judging).

Judging: Voluntary, on a teenycontest by teenycontest basis. Ideally three judges per contest (I'm happy to fill in when we don't have three). Each judge will do a few things: write a paragraph before the teenycontest starts explaining what they'll be looking for, read applications, and at the end of the contest will choose their individual winners.

The Ideas (post below or yell on Discord and I'll add your ideas in this section!)

Anchorage scene setting || description A vessel (of any kind) arrives at dock. Paint the best scene you can.

Northern Lights historic fantasy || characterisation A character sees Aurora Borealis for the first time. They don't have any frame of reference for it. What is their reaction, and what do they believe the Aurora to be?

Assuage speechwriting || characterisation || worldbuilding Something big and nasty is coming, be it plague or war or famine. A character must deliver a speech to reassure their community in the face of the calamity.

Tailor description || characterisation Describe an outfit. Be lavish, give us details and meanings behind what a character is wearing. (thanks to The Grey Coincidence)

Turnabout description || worldbuilding || subversion Make the unusual usual. Show us life in a vermin horde, or the reasons for cannibalism. (thanks to Kali)

So, the current proposal:

Mini-Contest 1
Start:
0000 US Central, Tuesday 18th February 2020
End:
2359 US Central, Saturday 22nd February 2020
Judges:
Vin || multiplemint || Wednesdays Child
Topic:

Thoroughfare
worldbuilding || characterisation
A character walks from their home in a busy village to the marketplace. Make me want to live there. Alternatively, make me want to not live there.
(thanks to Airan)

Word Limit:
Up to 1000 - but shorter entries get an edge.

[Mara the Wolf]

I like it (except for the spaceship idea. Sorry. I just don't like aliens. They're always so poorly done.), but must there be a 300-400 word limit? I had a hard enough time with my character application fitting the 600 word limit.

Also, can you post the prompts over on this site more often?

[Wednesdays Child]

Hi Masika,

No problem, no requirement to like all of them (though if it proves widely unpopular then I may take it down).

The thinking on the low limit is to keep the time burden low as well, so that people can join in whether they're members of the MOV cast or not, but realistically we could probably accomplish that by just staying below 1000 words, or by saying that length doesn't particularly matter. I'll have to have a chat with Airan the MOV coordinator about this because opening the word count up too far could lead to anonymity problems for cast members if they want to take part - but it's definitely not a conversation that's done and closed, so stay tuned!

Also, can you post the prompts over on this site more often?

I mean I can reassure you that I haven't been posting prompts anywhere else before now - I'm basically new here (been away for most of the last eight years). But yeah, I'll keep this list up to date with new ideas and mini-contest details as they change.

edit: (Ah, you're referring to the Gab'n'Grub mini challenge from last month! I'll pass along the Please Post Here request! :) )

[Vin]

Heyo! First thing, if we're talking about the Grab'n'grub "contest", that's over in fun and games because it wasn't really a competition or a challenge, just a fun thing I ran to get people in the mood for apps. There weren't any judges or scores or anything like that.

Second thing, if it's a judge you're looking for, I'm happy to put my name in the hat for this first mini comp. Always love to read what people are writing.

[multiplemint]

I'm willing to hop in as a judge, too, if you like.

[Wednesdays Child]

Many thanks, Vin and multiplemint - I've put your names in the judge pool for the first one and updated the post at the top of this thread to reflect all new ideas and stuff - and formatted it a bit better, too.

Edit: for Masika's attention: spaceship prompt edited down to just 'vessel' :)

[Wednesdays Child]

Just a quick post to point out some edits to clarify parts of the process: I've added new bits of process that we've come up with this round for the Judging section for reference for future rounds too!

[Cobb]

Are judges still needed for this week? I don't know how much time I'll actually have to write this week, so I would be willing to judge.

[Twyla]

Tailor