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Alyxbee View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alyxbee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Nov 2020 at 8:35pm
Fixing it would also mean they see getting repeat genres as a problem that needs a solution. 

Is it something that annoys some folks? yeah. But its only a small amount of flaw, and partially working as intended. You could get any of the genres, every time. Is writing 7 horror stories in a row hard? 

Consider it another aspect of being challenged. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nimhathuna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Nov 2020 at 8:44pm
I'd be annoyed. Swimming in a lake one minute, the sea the next. I'm open to the most difficult of challenges. Still, that would rankle, particularly since there's a repetition of both genre and action. It's one thing getting the same genre a few times in a row. It's another to get both. It's tough. I would not be a happy camper. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FireHorse Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Nov 2020 at 8:56pm
Originally posted by PMNiemeyer PMNiemeyer wrote:

This year's contest featured 17 genres and "5,400+ writers participating". If the same 5400 writers participated three years in a row, and if we assume each genre is assigned equally, there are 4913 combinations of first-round genre assignments (17x17x17). So roughly 17 people get the same genre three years in a row (one writer for each genre).

So getting horror three years in a row makes you one of the lucky 17. Wink

But I agree that getting the same genre+action combination two years in a row would be a bit of a bummer.

I'd be really surprised if the same 5400 people participate three years in a row.

I'm a newbie this year, but I cross checked my microfiction group against all the Flash Fiction entrants, and at least half hadn't been in FF at all. (I know, that also makes me a nerd. Guilty as charged!)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FireHorse Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Nov 2020 at 9:02pm
The real issue here is that the genre+prompt combination is so close.

Getting the same genre with different prompts is still a different experience. I've done 2 ghost stories out of 4 entries to NYC so far - the only two ghost stories I've ever written - and they were so different.

QUESTION - who comes up with the prompts? Can't work out whether it would be ecstasy or torture to do this! 

And sometimes they all go together nicely (A/A and swimming anywhere work well together) whereas other times they are a challenge in themselves (fantasy and a laser).
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote theinquisitor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Nov 2020 at 4:40am
Yes, the same genre twice in a row is bound to happen to a few people, given how many take part. But it does feel like they should be able to avoid setting identical (or near-identical) genre-action combinations, especially since it's only the micro competitions that have an action prompt.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tunamonkeys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Nov 2020 at 8:49am
I agree with wanting to branch out a bit more from the assigned categories. I've been getting historical fiction the past 2-3 assignments; not the worst category, but I wouldn't mind to expand a bit. It's always nice to be able to stretch a different set of thoughts.

Let's hope we all make it to the next assignment and our prompts are vastly different! LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rachelm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Nov 2020 at 9:51am
On the positive side, you had all that feedback on your action/adventure from last year to improve upon :) I've had thriller twice, and it was fun to take the things I learned the first time and apply them to the next story! Buuut it is an unlucky break that the action was so similar.
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