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BA! View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BA! Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jun 2022 at 4:07pm
Originally posted by north_north_west north_north_west wrote:

Best of luck to you. I got DQ'd for genre in SSC Rd 2 (unjustly, I think - so from my perspective they aren't lenient on interpretation) and it gave me a sour feeling towards these contests in general, but as you can see I'm still doing them.

The stories are good either way, and you still get feedback.


Thanks for the info north_north_west. I'm curious to hear the details if you wouldn't mind sharing them.

Thanks also for the kind words and the reminder that it should be the story that's important. I'll try to remember that. Still hopeful though.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote north_north_west Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jun 2022 at 7:12pm
Originally posted by BA! BA! wrote:

Thanks for the info north_north_west. I'm curious to hear the details if you wouldn't mind sharing them.

Thanks also for the kind words and the reminder that it should be the story that's important. I'll try to remember that. Still hopeful though.

Always happy to share my complaints!  So I wrote this


and the feedback came back tagged, 

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>> ADDITIONAL NOTES FROM NYC MIDNIGHT - This story was disqualified for not adhering to the assigned genre (Sci-Fi). While there are references to science with the loss of the Earth's magnetic field and it influences the actions of the characters, the elements of Drama and Action/Adventure overshadow any Science Fiction elements.

 

And then I exchanged an email with the guy who runs these contests, who said, "In your case, we did feel that the loss of Earth's magnetic field could be classified as Science Fiction, but it was overshadowed by the survival of the Salluit villagers (Action/Adventure) which was present from the very beginning of the story on the whale hunt and the emotional development of the characters (Drama)."  

In my opinion if the story as a whole could credibly be classified as science fiction, they really shouldn't disqualify it.  Drama and Action/Adventure and whatnot really are in most stories.

In fairness, some of the  beta readers did say that it didn't read like sci-fi to them. But I can still point to several classic stories (Nightfall, Bears Discover Fire, The Ugly Chickens) which are quite similiar to this!

Anyway, thats my story...

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Suave Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jun 2022 at 10:45pm
Originally posted by north_north_west north_north_west wrote:

[QUOTE=BA!]

In my opinion if the story as a whole could credibly be classified as science fiction, they really shouldn't disqualify it.  Drama and Action/Adventure and whatnot really are in most stories.


In fairness, some of the  beta readers did say that it didn't read like sci-fi to them. But I can still point to several classic stories (Nightfall, Bears Discover Fire, The Ugly Chickens) which are quite similiar to this!

Anyway, thats my story...


Hi North!
Just read your story. 
I liked the story, it had a good coming of age touch to it that I enjoyed. 
I thought the magnetic field collapse was more of a natural disaster that 
could easily be true - did you know that every 200,000 years or so the 
magnetic field of the Earth reverses? 
I am an avid Sci-Fi reader. I know that this does not help, but if I were 
a beta on this story I would have counseled beefing up some science, maybe 
before it happened they saw a meteor or something, I needed more science. 
The loss of the animals that depend on the magnetic fields was really good.
Still, it is a good story and as I said I enjoyed it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote theinquisitor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2022 at 10:19am
Do we know what the process is for these things? Does one of the judges have to flag it as a concern? I presume NYCM staff don't read every one of the stories themselves.
It just feels pretty haphazard - in the two years I've been doing this I can think of two or three stories which I was convinced didn't match the genre, which not only weren't DQ'd but ended up doing very well. In no case were they in my group, but I would have been irritated if I'd lost out to them - especially when other borderline cases like @north_north_west's have been rejected.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote BobbieJ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2022 at 10:58am
My story in first round of MF was disqualified this year for not fully including the action (link below).

I think it was a legit DQ, and before this I was always kind of mystified how someone could NOT include what they were supposed to ... but then you realize how easy it is to tweak something for word count or whatnot, and before you know it, you've made the error (at least that's what I think happened in my case).

I think all the rules are well communicated. I do find it curious that in Flash Fiction, you get a percentage point penalty if you are over on words, not a DQ. It seems that for clear-cut items like word inclusion, mandatory object, or word count, it would always be a simple yes/no.  Then, maybe they could use the penalty-type system for areas that are more subjective, like genre.

JMHO.




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Suave Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2022 at 10:20pm
Originally posted by theinquisitor theinquisitor wrote:

Do we know what the process is for these things? Does one of the judges have to flag it as a concern? I presume NYCM staff don't read every one of the stories themselves.
It just feels pretty haphazard - in the two years I've been doing this I can think of two or three stories which I was convinced didn't match the genre, which not only weren't DQ'd but ended up doing very well. In no case were they in my group, but I would have been irritated if I'd lost out to them - especially when other borderline cases like @north_north_west's have been rejected.

Yeah, I think that the judges kick it upstairs if they have a concern. Then the powers that be take a look and make the decision. I think that is the way to go, can't have the judges making rule decisions on their own.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote deedodd81 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2022 at 11:33pm
Thanks everyone for sharing - I’m a little worried about my 100 word MF being dq’d. Just gotta wait and see I guess
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote north_north_west Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2022 at 6:56am
Originally posted by Suave Suave wrote:


... if I were 
a beta on this story I would have counseled beefing up some science...
Totally right on that.  Someone suggested setting it on another planet, which I think might've gotten it over the line...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote north_north_west Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2022 at 6:59am
Originally posted by theinquisitor theinquisitor wrote:

Do we know what the process is for these things? 

According to the email from Charlie, "When a story is flagged by the judges for not following the assigned genre, we take a closer look to determine if there are elements from other genres that may be more predominant in order to determine if the disqualification should be upheld...".  So yes, apparently the judges flag it and then someone reviews it.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote sootfoot5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2022 at 3:00pm
I have not yet been Dq’d. Yet. I believe it is a strong possibility this time -I also thought it a strong possibility other times, but I managed to make it through. 

I have reasons for believing why it may happen this time and why it didn’t happen before. My reasons are based on having been around here for a while, so take what I say with the proverbial grain of salt. 

People played fast and loose with the rules just as much 5 and 10 years ago than they do now. The difference is the judges. I believe that we now have some judges who are going to try and follow the rules. They are also going to apply the same rules to everyone. It used to seem like that if your story didn’t grab the judges right atway and there was a reason they could Dq it, the judges would do just that-to me it seemed like if they liked your story you could get away with just about anything if you wrote an interesting story, but if they didn’t like your story and there were grounds to Dq it, then pow! Out you went!  This kept them from having to really scoring it. 

After going through some Craig’s List Judges, (let’s be fair-there were some good ones), and contestants getting angry, NYC hired some decent judges. Hey, those of you who did SSC- did you hear of many people complaining that the judges were rude?  Or that they didn’t think the judges even read their story?  No, the judges have definitely gotten better. But this also means that more people, not less, can expect a Dq, because the rules will be applied more evenly. 

Do I regret pushing the limits with my story? Absolutely not! I’m excited about what I wrote, and if the judges Dq me, so be it. A disqualification will not take away the joy I feel at coming up with such a unique tale. 

Again, this is just my opinion. Soot
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