SHORT STORY COMP STUFF....

LaurieAK · Post by **LaurieAK** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:30 pm

Hey~

This post contains all the latest updates about the contest and the official rules:

The contest will be judged by a JURY instead of a singular judge as was the case before the prize came into play.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October 10 will be the Deadline.

Midnight Pacific time, on the 10th.

To be most precise that would be One Minute before the clock on in the Pacific time zone turns over to 12:01 on October 11.

My reasoning is that it is most likely the westerly most time zone needed to accomodate any potential entries. Alaska is one hour earlier, but I doubt there is anyone besides me in Alaska posting and we all know I am not going to submit a story...

So...Midnight on the 10th. Pacific Time.

There is a 1000 word limit. This does NOT include the words in the title, just the body of the story is limited to 1000. And yes, the 1000 word limit is strict.

The subject:

Living Next to Leonard Cohen

"Next" can be via a house, apartment, hotel room, tent, etc.

Writers CAN submit more than one story if they wish.

Submissions should be PM'd to John K. He will then pass them on anonymously.

Please do NOT announce publicly when you have sent in your story, for the sake of keeping things as anonymous as possible. Thx

regards,
Laurie

linda_lakeside · Post by **linda_lakeside** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:32 am

Nice typing job. No typos that I can see. The page is set up nice. Good use of colour and strong, bold strokes. Not too many hard, linear lines. Good Job!

Linda.

Byron · Post by **Byron** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:24 pm

I could submit the same story six times and just change the names of the characters, to protect the innocent. I think I heard that before somewhere? It may have been Friday.

We'll end up with more seperate threads for the competition than actual short stories, at this rate. I'm not criticising anyone, simply making an observation, and that's wot us riteists does, OK ? Innit.

Matron!!!! they're wearing off again.......

LaurieAK · Post by **LaurieAK** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:10 pm

Byron~

I am not getting what you are saying here.

We'll end up with more seperate threads for the competition than actual short stories, at this rate. I'm not criticising anyone, simply making an observation, and that's wot us riteists does, OK ?

Can you speak slower?

thanks much,
Laurie

linda_lakeside · Post by **linda_lakeside** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:19 pm

I don't dare try to speak for Byron, but I noticed during both the past comps., that there were several threads (we made that mistake as well), for different updates. Then, members added their own threads, and it turned out, no one knew where to go to get current info on the comp.

So, one thread, for all comp. news, might be easier for the folks out here. That's MHO.

Linda.

Byron · Post by **Byron** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:28 am

Waif of the water has encapsulated my thoughts in a way which only she could do.

Dear laurie, it's a very long time since someone said I was going too fast...........

Oooops, I see you were talking about my talking.........

ssh..matron, I think the new ones are counter productive, but I could be wrong..........

again

did I have any visitors today?

Fljotsdale · Post by **Fljotsdale** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:47 am

Sent mine to him.

LaurieAK · Post by **LaurieAK** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:21 am

Folks~

Please do not announce when/if you have sent in your stories to John K.

I have NOT opened the message, but John K. just pm'd me a story.

I asked John to send the stories to me, giving them alphabetical designations, since I am receiving them with anonymity (Story A, Story B, etc).
Announcing the submission of stories makes keeping them anonymous a bit more difficult under these circumstances. I now think that I know 'who' submitted Story B. This is why I'll have John K. change it's alphabetical order.

For the record, my plan is/was to print out what John K. has sent me without reading the story at all till after the contest's deadline.

Thanks much.
Hope we get lots of submissions.

regards,
Laurie

lizzytysh · Post by **lizzytysh** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:44 am

Are you going to delete it, and just have John start all over, Laurie? I know how problematical having any association with their arrivals can be! I got saucer-eyed when I saw Fljotsdale's announcement

. I remember how difficult it was to 'time' submitting my own when I was the interthingy. Especially, when it's 'early on' and there haven't been that many received ~ you almost might as well have signed it.

It's okay, Fljotsdale

~ it's just that the anonymity issue is really major, and any little clue can 'nail' whose it is

.

LaurieAK · Post by **LaurieAK** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:25 am

I meant to say I was deleting it without opening it, which I did right after posting and contacted John K. about it.
He can resubmit it anonymously later.
No harm done.

No worries Fljotsdale!!

I should have said something earlier about this.

Laurie

Fljotsdale · Post by **Fljotsdale** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:30 pm

Sorry.

Hangs head in shame.

Actually, could I just re-submit it? John K could delete the original as well, and send on the re-submission in a few days, when he has some more to send. I had missed out a 4-word passage when transcribing it to comp from paper, anyway...

Fljots

Byron · Post by **Byron** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:46 pm

Flo, a good idea.

Seperately, but interconnected, can I ask that we have a single thread for all things 'short story comp' please. I for one have spent some time trawling the depths of the competition threads, and unlike the Japanese fishing boat, have not hooked a giant squid, but a bit of a squib. A place for everything.......etc., will keep us all tied to the one thread for the duration.

Is it possible to 'lump' all previous postings into a single entity, known as john K's Interthingie, or Short Story Comp.?

Poor Albert is getting even more cross-eyed in his attempts to follow the various meandering threads.

Don't do this for me, but for little Albert.

lizzytysh · Post by **lizzytysh** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:34 pm

Dear Fljotsdale ~

I didn't mean to embarrass you, or to suggest that you had any reason to be embarrassed. It's a natural mistake to make. I'm sure for you it was a huge sense of relief to have it done and submitted, so you were more than happy to announce that

.

It's just that I know [as does Laurie] that a lot of people [for a lot of different/same reasons] wait till the 'last minute' to submit theirs. It seems like there would be a lot of entries at this point, so declaring that yours is now in wouldn't earmark it as being yours, but the truth is [as you've seen] there are few.

I know how it has previously seemed like, "Oh, no! No one's going to participate ~ the contest is going to 'fail' ~ there are only going to be a couple [if any

!] to choose the winner from

!" Then, as the deadline nears, all of a sudden, entries begin pouring in

.

The only reason I got saucer-eyed was because I knew from the past, how 'visible' that would make yours; not because you would announce it in the first place

.

And, there you go......after all that, it all worked to your benefit

! How cool is that

!?!

~ Lizzy

linda_lakeside · Post by **linda_lakeside** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:40 pm

Byron,

I'm just putting my .25 in here. It's not possible to move individual 'posts' from other threads, Jarkko tried it with regard to another topic - no workie. Some posts were 'lost'. He has to move the entire thread.

Perhaps if the pertinent info. was here, and there was an announcement in say "News" or "Comments and Questions" directing writers to this thread. Unfortunately, that would mean, that John K. or Laurie would have to go about the board, collecting 'other' posts, copying them and pasting them here. Maybe this should be called COMP. CENTRAL. (sounds official to me).

I'm certain that that aspect will be worked out. As will others. Every comp. has had its rough edges in the beginning, but all were nothing short of 'smashing successes'.

Linda.
(been there/done that)

John K. · Post by **John K.** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:41 pm

Just so everyone knows, I am going to be reshuffling the stories so there is no harm done, no worries.

Fljotsdale, did you get my PM regarding the phrase you wanted to add? I suggested you do it yourself so it's exactly what you want and then resend.

Also, so everyone knows I am pasting the stories into Word and making sure the word count is under 1000.

Best,

John K.