Well, since I think judging is now completed, (need to check to see if we're still doing a "Final" judging,) this seems like a good time to discuss the competiton, say what worked well, what didn't
Issues I noticed:
Judges:
None of us really followed a schedule for when we would score the stories. Kaen didn't score his at all until the last week, I was erratic at best, and chronodekar suffered similar issues. Judging needs to be done on a timely basis (within three days seems reasonable)
I also think we need to try and give some meaningful response aside from simply giving points. If we don't tell you what's wrong, how can we expect you to fix it?
Theme:
While I think a Theme is a good thing to have for an Anthology, I think Tarot Cards was a poor choice for this. They're both too broad, and too narrow, if that makes any sense. Next time will probably have a more generalized theme that can be broadly applied to pretty much anything instead of what we used.
Tropes:
I don't think the tropes really helped in any meaningful way. They seemed like a way to prop up a poor story,, or something to boost your score if it happened to fit well, or a detriment, if they didn't fit but the writer wanted the extra points.
Participation:
Of the dozen or so people who expressed interest in participating, only three actually even started writing. What happened? Was it something I did, or was it issues on your end?
While this wasn't a requirement, either implicitly or explicitly, I was a little surprised that no one, participant or otherwise, offered an opinion on the stories. Maybe institute a peer review aspect for future competitions?
I'm going to go and get some sleep now, but I'll probably add to this after a good night's rest. Your thoughts and opinions on the competition, what went right, what went wrong, and what needs to be added or improved are greatly appreciated. The more feedback I get, the better I can make this next time around.
Issues I noticed:
Judges:
None of us really followed a schedule for when we would score the stories. Kaen didn't score his at all until the last week, I was erratic at best, and chronodekar suffered similar issues. Judging needs to be done on a timely basis (within three days seems reasonable)
I also think we need to try and give some meaningful response aside from simply giving points. If we don't tell you what's wrong, how can we expect you to fix it?
Theme:
While I think a Theme is a good thing to have for an Anthology, I think Tarot Cards was a poor choice for this. They're both too broad, and too narrow, if that makes any sense. Next time will probably have a more generalized theme that can be broadly applied to pretty much anything instead of what we used.
Tropes:
I don't think the tropes really helped in any meaningful way. They seemed like a way to prop up a poor story,, or something to boost your score if it happened to fit well, or a detriment, if they didn't fit but the writer wanted the extra points.
Participation:
Of the dozen or so people who expressed interest in participating, only three actually even started writing. What happened? Was it something I did, or was it issues on your end?
While this wasn't a requirement, either implicitly or explicitly, I was a little surprised that no one, participant or otherwise, offered an opinion on the stories. Maybe institute a peer review aspect for future competitions?
I'm going to go and get some sleep now, but I'll probably add to this after a good night's rest. Your thoughts and opinions on the competition, what went right, what went wrong, and what needs to be added or improved are greatly appreciated. The more feedback I get, the better I can make this next time around.
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