Can someone explain to me how this whole contest thing works?

[REETUR]

I'm afraid I haven't much of a clue as to how this thing functions and I suppose that misunderstanding was one of my better excuses for not finishing an application for Mossflower Odyssey III, which would have been my first attempt at anything like a survival contest.

I came over to this site from another long-lived redwall-ish writing website, The Vulpine Imperium. Those who may have written there in the past (I believe it had it's own survival contest once) would know roleplay threads there progress with single posts from the viewpoint of a character, through the actions of that character and occasionally the auto-ed actions of others, followed by other posts with other characters. I'm aware posts in the Survival Contest progress somewhat similarly here, written through the viewpoints of one character at a time, but it seems as though there is also coordination of some sort going on, as there are actions and statements made by other characters at the same time, and the posts are generally much longer and much more takes place in them.

This was slightly surprising to me, and I have had to wonder what level of coordination is going on behind the scenes and how all that may be organized. (There do seem to be indications of a Skype chat, whether that is devoted to writing the story or it is more of a general chat I do not know, those it's apparently closed nature would seem to imply the former.)

Then there was and is the voting, which I now assume is done through the message system here, though I haven't devoted myself to discovering where those messages might be directed, however easy it may be to find that information (finals week is not fun week).

Between these things and a few other misconceptions I can't quite remember in my current food and sleep-deprived state, I was wondering if someone more informed might be able to fill me in on what it is here that I do not understand.

Thank you

EDIT:

I remembered one other thing, though I suppose it's less of something that would be asked about independently and rather is probably related to one of the points above, but regardless it is something which I do not fully understand in some way or another.

It looks like there are accounts with the names of contestants and while I think it is safe for me to assume they are being used by the contestants' respective anonymous writers, I was curious as to where those accounts fit into this whole scheme of things.

That is all, unless I remember some other possibly important detail that I have surely forgotten.

[Airan]

Hey, REETUR, let me see if I can hopefully clear some things up for you  ^-^

I came over to this site from another long-lived redwall-ish writing website, The Vulpine Imperium. Those who may have written there in the past (I believe it had it's own survival contest once) would know roleplay threads there progress with single posts from the viewpoint of a character, through the actions of that character and occasionally the auto-ed actions of others, followed by other posts with other characters. I'm aware posts in the Survival Contest progress somewhat similarly here, written through the viewpoints of one character at a time, but it seems as though there is also coordination of some sort going on, as there are actions and statements made by other characters at the same time, and the posts are generally much longer and much more takes place in them.

This was slightly surprising to me, and I have had to wonder what level of coordination is going on behind the scenes and how all that may be organized. (There do seem to be indications of a Skype chat, whether that is devoted to writing the story or it is more of a general chat I do not know, those it's apparently closed nature would seem to imply the former.)

When it comes to survivor contests, I've always found them easier to understand when not compared to roleplays but rather as a collaborative story. While in a roleplay, the writers do write from their respective characters' points of views, usually there's very little planning and coordinating involved and the writers will sort of go with the flow. You're correct that we are heavily coordinating the story behind the scenes, deciding on plot threads, and generally what's going to happen well in advance of it actually happening and this is primarily done on Skype as you said. Usually a good few of us are online on it at a time, discussing ideas, their characters, plotlines, backstories, and character dynamics and just genuinely trying to create the best story possible.

It looks like there are accounts with the names of contestants and while I think it is safe for me to assume they are being used by the contestants' respective anonymous writers, I was curious as to where those accounts fit into this whole scheme of things.

Going along with our Skype chat, we also have an invisible board on this forum that's only accessible by the cast members and myself. The writers use these accounts to access the board, interact with the audience under anonymity (which is why there are identity reveal threads after a cast member has been voted out), and to post up their chapters.

Then there was and is the voting, which I now assume is done through the message system here, though I haven't devoted myself to discovering where those messages might be directed, however easy it may be to find that information (finals week is not fun week).

Yeah, I might have forgotten to include it in the recent vote, but it should be under the Announcements thread. Usually, votes are just sent via private message to me and I tally it up over the course of the voting period, and ultimately telling the cast who has been offed a few minutes after the voting period ends.

So yeah, hopefully you can see a little bit of how it works now. It's basically just a collaborative story to where each and all of us writers are trying our best to come up with the best possible story possible, and that of course requires lots and lots of planning :)

[Fern Greenwood]

Ooh now I wonder if I knew you on VI... I was Kara Hrist there, way back when.

It's less like the RPs on the VI (which are pass-along stories in effect) and more like a collaborative novelization. There is a LOT of behind-the-scenes discussion, plotting, timeline-arranging, etc.

The goal is to (hopefully) produce the most interesting, readable, and well-written story possible, utilizing the characters that were voted in. The audience choose who of the main characters to kill so that is often a monkey-wrench in the gears of the story, but you'd be amazed at how it works out in the end.

All in all, a very fun experience, and I do highly recommend trying again for the next contest! I'd be happy to provide further info if you have any more questions, or want some tips from someone who's been on both sides of the contest.

[REETUR]

Many thanks for clearing all this up for me, both of you. It sounds like a lot of fun to be a part of. Tips may be nice for my own hopeful, eventual participation, but for now you have both offered me a good deal of information and I am happy for that.

I am however afraid to say that, on the topic of the VI, Kara Hrist appears to have been from way before my time on the VI. The last submission I can see on that account is from 1725, and I joined first in 1728, left in a year, then made several other short-lived accounts until finally sticking around in 1732.


Again, thank you both for you help.

[Salazar]

Welcome aboard. Read along. Vote along. Jump into one of the active threads with opinions or whatever. We're a friendly bunch. Well, not that sycamore fellow. He's downright sinister, heh.

[Sycamore]

I'LL GRIND YOUR BONES TO MAKE MY BREAD!!!

[Matra Hammer]

Shrew bones make awful bread. Not fitting for a modern otter giant like yourself.

Now Badgerboss Airan bones...

[Airan]

My bones are made of steel!

[Rascal]

I sit in front of a computer all day. My bones are made of actual bread D8