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Round one struggles

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LadyArkham View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LadyArkham Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jan 2022 at 10:58pm
Originally posted by sunshine sunshine wrote:

Got horror/superstition(s)/a treasurer and was excited to try my hand at it. Quickly realized that I while I enjoy horror, I don't actually have any idea how to write it. Spent the next few days reading and watching so much horror that I'm now sleeping with the lights on Confused After all that, I'm still not sure that what I wrote really qualifies as horror. Still, I enjoyed the challenge and can't wait to read all the stories. Good luck everyone! 

Gosh, that happened to me in round one of 250 Microfiction this year, I was like “Yes! Horror! I love horror!” And then realized as I was weeping at my computer at 10pm that I just had no idea how to write it. 

Honestly, I feel like I’ve struggled most with the genres I love best to read. Except that Romance was also a struggle.

I’ll look forward to reading yours!


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sunshine Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2022 at 12:26am
Glad to hear I'm not the only one Tongue Can't wait to see what you did with your prompt!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nod1v1ng Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2022 at 7:24am
Originally posted by taaaylor taaaylor wrote:

Be VERY wary of writers playground. Nearly 1/3 of my crit was copy-paste template that literally everyone else got. The entire first and last paragraphs were template, and it's extremely obvious when you enter with friends.

Interesting - I have two writing groups where a bunch have done both sessions and have shared the feedback and haven't seen anything like that. My only complaint with them was that my feedback last round was 100% positive, but I didn't place or shortlist. Not having any concrit doesn't help me very much as a writer. But I read dozens of other people's feedback and there was no template or c&p. It was all unique.

ETA: Very disappointing that you experienced that with them though. They are a new contest, so here's hoping they get their act together.


Edited by nod1v1ng - 25 Jan 2022 at 7:26am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote haole Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2022 at 9:35am
Originally posted by Draiglas Draiglas wrote:

I've not drawn PolSat yet but I always think PolSat is very tough for any non-US participants in the contest just because so much of it is so cultural...


Imagine getting Political Satire and the subject is "Infinite"

WTF does that even mean? Infinite? Does that mean I can choose whatever I want because the subjects I can choose from are infinite? Was it supposed to be Infinity?

I struggled so hard with this short story, more than any other challenge here at NYCMidnight, mostly because of trying to figure out how to incorporate "Infinite" as a main subject of a Political Satire. I ended up going the Politics v. Science route, but I was definitely tearing out the little hair I have left.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote IsabellaKing Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2022 at 9:43am
I got spy as a genre and I have never written in that genre.  It turned out to be a good challenge for me.  I am really looking forward to some feedback!  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote taaaylor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2022 at 10:33am
Originally posted by nod1v1ng nod1v1ng wrote:

Originally posted by taaaylor taaaylor wrote:

Be VERY wary of writers playground. Nearly 1/3 of my crit was copy-paste template that literally everyone else got. The entire first and last paragraphs were template, and it's extremely obvious when you enter with friends.

Interesting - I have two writing groups where a bunch have done both sessions and have shared the feedback and haven't seen anything like that. My only complaint with them was that my feedback last round was 100% positive, but I didn't place or shortlist. Not having any concrit doesn't help me very much as a writer. But I read dozens of other people's feedback and there was no template or c&p. It was all unique.

ETA: Very disappointing that you experienced that with them though. They are a new contest, so here's hoping they get their act together.

What I overwhelmingly saw from my friends was the same. Unactionable feedback because it lacked crit or was just an overly flattering summary with no clarity on placement. I also saw this paragraph repeated over and over and over, with mild variation on the opening lines:

 "You did a nice job incorporating the prompts and you should be proud of what you accomplished over such a short period of time. It was a pleasure to read. Nice work and keep writing!"

I wasn't going to say anything publicly, but I was really bothered that any story-based elements were template at all. The organizers denied to me that any sections about the story were repeated across entries when I can go to multiple discord servers, type a section of that para, and pull up multiple crits from Writers Playground.

It's the denial and behavior from the contest organizers, as well as unprofessional responses to concern over the feedback reliability, that compelled me to post more than the paragraph itself.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote justmel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2022 at 10:48am
Originally posted by taaaylor taaaylor wrote:

Originally posted by nod1v1ng nod1v1ng wrote:

Originally posted by taaaylor taaaylor wrote:

Be VERY wary of writers playground. Nearly 1/3 of my crit was copy-paste template that literally everyone else got. The entire first and last paragraphs were template, and it's extremely obvious when you enter with friends.

Interesting - I have two writing groups where a bunch have done both sessions and have shared the feedback and haven't seen anything like that. My only complaint with them was that my feedback last round was 100% positive, but I didn't place or shortlist. Not having any concrit doesn't help me very much as a writer. But I read dozens of other people's feedback and there was no template or c&p. It was all unique.

ETA: Very disappointing that you experienced that with them though. They are a new contest, so here's hoping they get their act together.

What I overwhelmingly saw from my friends was the same. Unactionable feedback because it lacked crit or was just an overly flattering summary with no clarity on placement. I also saw this paragraph repeated over and over and over, with mild variation on the opening lines:

 "You did a nice job incorporating the prompts and you should be proud of what you accomplished over such a short period of time. It was a pleasure to read. Nice work and keep writing!"

I wasn't going to say anything publicly, but I was really bothered that any story-based elements were template at all. The organizers denied to me that any sections about the story were repeated across entries when I can go to multiple discord servers, type a section of that para, and pull up multiple crits from Writers Playground.

It's the denial and behavior from the contest organizers, as well as unprofessional responses to concern over the feedback reliability, that compelled me to post more than the paragraph itself.

Parts of the feedback in the first WP challenge were definitely template.

The last paragraph of mine: 

"Overall, we thought this story was beautifully written. We didn't find any issues with grammar or typos and you did a nice job of incorporating the prompts. You should be proud of what you accomplished over such a short period of time. We have not made any final decisions but this story is in contention for the top five. It was really smart, charming, and a pleasure to read. Nice work and keep writing!"

A friend's final paragraph started and ended the same.

ETA I didn't participate in their second challenge back in November. On the fence about the upcoming third one. Leaning toward no.


Edited by justmel - 25 Jan 2022 at 10:51am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nod1v1ng Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2022 at 11:15am
Originally posted by justmel justmel wrote:


Parts of the feedback in the first WP challenge were definitely template.

The last paragraph of mine: 

"Overall, we thought this story was beautifully written. We didn't find any issues with grammar or typos and you did a nice job of incorporating the prompts. You should be proud of what you accomplished over such a short period of time. We have not made any final decisions but this story is in contention for the top five. It was really smart, charming, and a pleasure to read. Nice work and keep writing!"

A friend's final paragraph started and ended the same.

I'm not defending the comp, but do feel as long as I got feedback that was specific to my story, I'm cool with a couple of generic repeat lines. Especially when they read like a tick off - we were looking for good structure, prompt incorporation, etc. and you did a good job doing that. If that's all I got, I'd be pretty miffed, because that's more of a template IMO. However, everything I saw also included story specific comments. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I do find it pretty concerning how they responded to T when she reached out to them, though. That's not very professional of them at all. There are comps out there that are super responsive when people reach out, and others that immediately get defensive. Everyone just has to decide how they want to spend their money, what they want to get out of the contests, and what level of engagement they realistically should expect. For example, there's a contest that I enter time and again, and I know in general I think their judges' feedback is ridiculous, but for whatever reason I write good stories for them and have made far more $$ publishing them after the fact than I have spent on their contest...


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ldenomme Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2022 at 1:16pm
Originally posted by JanetM JanetM wrote:

Originally posted by Ldenomme Ldenomme wrote:

I had comedy this round.  I like reading comedy but I am not sure I can write comedy.  I have a fairly dry sense of humour and my story followed this.  I am concerned that judges may not see the humour in it.  We will see.

Very much this! 

Comedy is hard. I've always been afraid of it, but then did well with a micro comedy, so felt less stressed this time, though 2500 of funny was much more daunting.

I remembered NYCMidnight Blackbelt, Sootfoot once saying, "Comedy is not hard. Just write about funny things your family has done." So I tried to do that to some degree. Amusing myself anyway.

Mine is also a little dark and a bit sad, but comedies often are, right?

Good luck, Ldenomme!

Good luck to you as well.  And yeah - the best comedies are often a little dark and sad.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GaleGirl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2022 at 1:16pm
Originally posted by Aggie Aggie wrote:

Yeah, at first I was like Dead but then I realised I didn't have to be funny on purpose, so there's that.
Political satire just seems like a cruel genre to inclue

Just got Pol Sat for the first time in 4 years, and I heartily concur!
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