Alright, here we go!
We still do not have the legal forms prepared, but they should be ready in a few days, the end of the week at the latest.
In the mean time, here's a repost of the rules, the Theme for this competition, as well as this week's tropes.
Rules
-Every week, you are expected to produce a minimum of 2,500 word submission for the contest. I say submission because you can write it as one 2,500 word chapter, two, 1,250 word chapters, or whatever format makes you most comfortable.
-The contest will continue for four weeks, for a total of 10,000 words, or more.
-There is no limit to the amount of submissions you can make. However, only one work from each author will be chosen.
-THE STORY MUST BE COMPLETE. Each story is mean to be a complete, self contained work. While you can write stories linked to other original works you have written, it must be self contained, with no "to be continued" tacked onto the end.
-The MAXIMUM word count is 25,000 words per entry. While I don't expect them to reach that size, I would rather avoid any issue that could arise from a large number of massive entries.
Scoring:
Each Judge has elected to score the chapter by what they think is most important. They are as follows:
Meinos Kaen:
Grammar: 15 points
Characters: 15 points
Plot: 15 points
Theme: 5 points
Chronodekar:
Grammar: 20 points
Plot: 25 points
Theme: 5 points
Zerohour:
Grammar: 10
Plot: 15
Characters: 15
Theme: 10
Bonus/Tropes: In an effort to make this a bit more dynamic, as well as stimulate creative juices in our participants, each week, we will select four tropes whose use will earn you points.
-2 points for using one of the tropes.
-5 points for using two or more.
These are in no way a requirement for to story. They are merely intended as something to give some form of guidance for those who need it, and a possible challenge for others. Feel free to pass on them.
Penalties:
-One point lost for every 250 words under the 2,500 minimum.
-One point lost for every day your submission is late.
Final Judging: One week after the last submissions are posted. The judges will conduct a final round of judging. This is to give the writers a chance to go back, fix mistakes and errors, and clean up their work.
STEWARD: Zerohour. We've agreed that since this was my idea, that I should have stewardship. For those of you concerned about my lack of experience, don't be because....
PUBLISHER: Meinos Kaen. He has more experience with this sort of thing, so we felt it best that he be put in charge of publishing the Amazon version of this. Hopefully I'll learn a bit from him and be able to shoulder this responsibility in future iterations of the contests, but just as likely, he'll do such a good job that it won't be necessary.
PRINTED COPY: We are considering making physical copies of the collection after it is done. We are probably going to see how well the online sales do, to see if they would cover the expenses, or perhaps running a Kickstarter. chronodekar is planning to fund this as his donation and will make a separate announcement with details. A primary concern from his end is how expensive it will end up as. But at the very least, the plan is to send 3 printed copies to the top three winners
PRIZES: Prizes have been donated by a number of TFFers. While we are still waiting to hear from a few people, here is what we have confirmed so far. The first place winner will receive the following:
-$220
-Choosing the Cover Art for the Anthology
All others, assuming their stories are of sufficient quality, will be published in the anthology as well.
THEME: Tarot Cards
There are seventy eight Tarot Cards, all of which can be inverted for a new meaning. Factor in the fact that you can combine them with each other, and the potential stories become nearly infinite. Below are links to Tarot Card Meanings, as well as their reversals.
Tarot Card Meanings
Tarot Card Reversals
For those who need a bit more, here is a sample chapter based on the Strength Arcana. Strength
Tropes:
Here are the tropes for the first week:
The Symbiote
Henpeck Husband
Bed Trick
Family Relationship Switcheroo
Challenges: There are no points for Challenges. they are merely hurdles for the more suicidal of you to try and overcome.
Zerohour's Challenge: Write a 10,000+ word story for Wands, Swords, Pentacles, Cups, and one of the Major Arcana.
Chronodekar's Challenge: Write your entire story in one week instead of one month.
Meinos Kaen: No challenge issued. he chose to be the sane one.
What a wuss.
Due Dates:
Each chapter is due on Sundays by 11:59 PM Central Standard Time. For reference, this post was made at 11:59 PM on Saturday, so you have 192 hours from that to get the first chapter done. Below is a list of due dates.
First Chapter: September 8th
Second Chapter: September 15th
Third Chapter: September 22th
Fourth Chapter: September 29th
Final Draft: October 6th
Please post links to your stories here, so we all can enjoy them, and to make judging easier.
If there are any questions, please ask them, so we can deal with whatever issues crop up as soon as possible.
We still do not have the legal forms prepared, but they should be ready in a few days, the end of the week at the latest.
In the mean time, here's a repost of the rules, the Theme for this competition, as well as this week's tropes.
Rules
-Every week, you are expected to produce a minimum of 2,500 word submission for the contest. I say submission because you can write it as one 2,500 word chapter, two, 1,250 word chapters, or whatever format makes you most comfortable.
-The contest will continue for four weeks, for a total of 10,000 words, or more.
-There is no limit to the amount of submissions you can make. However, only one work from each author will be chosen.
-THE STORY MUST BE COMPLETE. Each story is mean to be a complete, self contained work. While you can write stories linked to other original works you have written, it must be self contained, with no "to be continued" tacked onto the end.
-The MAXIMUM word count is 25,000 words per entry. While I don't expect them to reach that size, I would rather avoid any issue that could arise from a large number of massive entries.
Scoring:
Each Judge has elected to score the chapter by what they think is most important. They are as follows:
Meinos Kaen:
Grammar: 15 points
Characters: 15 points
Plot: 15 points
Theme: 5 points
Chronodekar:
Grammar: 20 points
Plot: 25 points
Theme: 5 points
Zerohour:
Grammar: 10
Plot: 15
Characters: 15
Theme: 10
Bonus/Tropes: In an effort to make this a bit more dynamic, as well as stimulate creative juices in our participants, each week, we will select four tropes whose use will earn you points.
-2 points for using one of the tropes.
-5 points for using two or more.
These are in no way a requirement for to story. They are merely intended as something to give some form of guidance for those who need it, and a possible challenge for others. Feel free to pass on them.
Penalties:
-One point lost for every 250 words under the 2,500 minimum.
-One point lost for every day your submission is late.
Final Judging: One week after the last submissions are posted. The judges will conduct a final round of judging. This is to give the writers a chance to go back, fix mistakes and errors, and clean up their work.
STEWARD: Zerohour. We've agreed that since this was my idea, that I should have stewardship. For those of you concerned about my lack of experience, don't be because....
PUBLISHER: Meinos Kaen. He has more experience with this sort of thing, so we felt it best that he be put in charge of publishing the Amazon version of this. Hopefully I'll learn a bit from him and be able to shoulder this responsibility in future iterations of the contests, but just as likely, he'll do such a good job that it won't be necessary.
PRINTED COPY: We are considering making physical copies of the collection after it is done. We are probably going to see how well the online sales do, to see if they would cover the expenses, or perhaps running a Kickstarter. chronodekar is planning to fund this as his donation and will make a separate announcement with details. A primary concern from his end is how expensive it will end up as. But at the very least, the plan is to send 3 printed copies to the top three winners
PRIZES: Prizes have been donated by a number of TFFers. While we are still waiting to hear from a few people, here is what we have confirmed so far. The first place winner will receive the following:
-$220
-Choosing the Cover Art for the Anthology
All others, assuming their stories are of sufficient quality, will be published in the anthology as well.
THEME: Tarot Cards
There are seventy eight Tarot Cards, all of which can be inverted for a new meaning. Factor in the fact that you can combine them with each other, and the potential stories become nearly infinite. Below are links to Tarot Card Meanings, as well as their reversals.
Tarot Card Meanings
Tarot Card Reversals
For those who need a bit more, here is a sample chapter based on the Strength Arcana. Strength
Tropes:
Here are the tropes for the first week:
The Symbiote
Henpeck Husband
Bed Trick
Family Relationship Switcheroo
Challenges: There are no points for Challenges. they are merely hurdles for the more suicidal of you to try and overcome.
Zerohour's Challenge: Write a 10,000+ word story for Wands, Swords, Pentacles, Cups, and one of the Major Arcana.
Chronodekar's Challenge: Write your entire story in one week instead of one month.
Meinos Kaen: No challenge issued. he chose to be the sane one.
What a wuss.
Due Dates:
Each chapter is due on Sundays by 11:59 PM Central Standard Time. For reference, this post was made at 11:59 PM on Saturday, so you have 192 hours from that to get the first chapter done. Below is a list of due dates.
First Chapter: September 8th
Second Chapter: September 15th
Third Chapter: September 22th
Fourth Chapter: September 29th
Final Draft: October 6th
Please post links to your stories here, so we all can enjoy them, and to make judging easier.
If there are any questions, please ask them, so we can deal with whatever issues crop up as soon as possible.