I feel all of the above every time!!

Good luck everyone!!!

My pol satire story isn’t as strong as I’d like and a couple of people I respect have pointed out bigger flaws in the structure. So I’m feeling kinda bummed as I have 13 points after R1. Oh well. It is what it is. 

I’ll be around to beta for others no matter what. 

Good luck everyone!

Yikes, still three more days and we're both nervous already. Sometimes I wish I could just forget results day, but I spend too much time on the forums so there's always a reminder.

I see you're in the 500 too. If we don't make it to R3, then it's just a few more weeks until the 500 results!

Good luck!

Mainly though I'm just looking forward to receiving the judges' feedback on my own story and seeing how others do. I'm genuinely curious what the judges will make of my suspense story. I didn't score any points in Ch1 which means I have no expectations of advancing to R2 and actually, that really takes the pressure off! So not nervous, just looking forward to results day, and to cheering everyone else on! 

Jennwithapen wrote: I know it isn't an exact science, but what would you say is the cumulative point total that would most likely make it through?

Yeah, there's an email with a link to a table that shows the aggregate scores of the people in your group (all the groups, in fact), and the top 5 will be marked probably in yellow - that shows the 5 going through.

Good luck to everyone!!

Congrats on your second place finish in round 1!  That's an amazing accomplishment regardless of the round 2 results! <3 

‘Cause when you look at it that way the scores really are tight and it’s real tricky to get into that top 5! 

Technically yes but there are so many variables that can change things.  Last year I placed 11th in R1 and thought there was no way I would make it through but then I got 2nd in R2 and the top people in my group from R1 did not place in R2 pushing me through in 5th place with 19 points.  Genre and judges can mix things up a lot!

Very nervous that I won't make it to round 3.

Even though I like my second story better, in round 1 I only scored 14th place, so 2 points. I figure I have to place 1-5 with the round 1 top 15 not doing as well and I don't know how often that happens.

ALSO Very nervous that I WILL make it to round 3.

I've been sick for a week and still feel wiped out and have done no house cleaning or laundry... I'm starting antibiotics today, but I have a meeting tomorrow night, Wed I'm preparing for a class I'm teaching on Thursday. I work on Friday and I'm leaving to visit my son in another state on Monday.

I want to take it easy and just do chores on Saturday, but if I find out Wednesday night I made it, I will have to squeeze it all in before Friday night.  (My family have been helping with the kitchen and cooking, and their chores, so I don't want to dump it all on them right before I leave for a week)

Real life info dump.

Best of luck to all.

Hey Julia,

 

Oh yes, I was so bummed out about the 100 word challenge this year because I though it was my limit of what I could do (mediocrity). I couldn't even fall back on rushing it or anything else! It was a day of pity partying. Onward! 

This may be a big outlier, but it seems there's a wide range of scenarios where one could advance! 

That's amazing, well done! Maybe there's a little bit of hope to be had after all! 

So the list is ranked by the two scores combined and not just the round 2 ranking?

That is correct. Then, in case of a tie, there is some convoluted method using the two scores to find out who advances - you will have to look in the rules for that explanation as I have not a clue.

If it were me making up the rules, I would just advance the both of them as it would not make any difference to the next round, but I am not in charge, haha.

Whoa! Not advancing with 22? That's heartbreaking. 

Moving forward is a good way to look at it.

Thanks for the encouragement!

LivStrom wrote: I came 6th in R1 and really like my R2 story but as it's comedy I think it's even harder to guess what the judges will think than usual. My first year doing flash I didn't move on with 22 points, so even if they like my story it really depends on how consistent my groupmates are. At least I made myself laugh, so that's a win.

So true!  Mine was RomCom too and it could be corny to some and hilarious to others.

All I had was my husband and son to read it for beta and my son laughed out loud only once and my husband just smiled.  When I gave it to a female friend later, she laughed out loud a couple of times. So who knows!

Haha I feel the same way - I got 3rd in R1 but unless all my judges have warped senses of humour and don't mind historically inaccurate caveman slapstick comedy, I'm not expecting to be writing this weekend  

Got to say, dogs playing volleyball does sound pretty cool though! 

For anyone new to NYCM, be prepared for anything when the results come out! I've had stories of mine I thought were awful score well, and stories I loved not place at all (and which I've later had published). If you don't get the result you hoped for this time, it doesn't mean your story was bad, just that other stories fit best on whichever arbitrary list of things three random people were looking for. Another set of judges may have scored your group's stories completely differently - it really is such a subjective process.

I think that if its a tie, whomever scored higher SECOND round moves on?! I THINK! (could be completely wrong!)

Good luck, everyone! I'm nervous as usual. I'm going in with 15 points, BUT maybe you had to be alive in the 70s to enjoy my historical fiction. And my group who shared wrote awesome, serious, descriptively lovely music history pieces. And I assume the same of those who scored last time and didn't share. So hopefully not a crash and burn. I had fun writing it anyway. Super busy with visiting Americans today, so less time to stress it!

Tiebreakers for Total Points – If two or more Writer-Entrants are tied with the same amount of Total Points for the First (1st) Round, the writer with the highest placement in either of the challenges will advance. For example, if two writers are tied for 5th place with 16 Total Points, with one writer placing 1st (15 points) and 15th (1 point) in the challenges and the other writer placing 7th (9 points) and 9th (7 points) in their corresponding challenges, the writer who placed 1st in one of the challenges will advance because of the higher placement. If both of the Writer-Entrants highest placement is the same, then the Writer-Entrant that places higher in Challenge #2 will advance. Points are not used beyond the First (1st) Round of the competition, and the placement and point totals of each Writer-Entrant in the First (1st) Round will have no bearing on future rounds. 

Yep that's right, last year for short screenplay another writer and I got exactly the same placements (7th and 9th) in round one and two respectively, but because I came 7th in round one and they came 7th in round two, they advanced and I didn't.

I think my chances this round are pretty low, I came 11th in round one which is a big hill to climb, and I'm not sure my story was clear enough, but still clinging to hope by my fingernails, it ain't over till the fat lady sings (and I'm not singing yet!!)

*I will definitely still do this.

Anyone else feel that if they don't get through to the next round it'll be a shame that they cleared their weekend? 🙃 I want the results early so I can start making arrangements if I'm suddenly free! 

At this juncture, I'd need a miracle—best of luck to all of you. I've read some excellent stories.  

Fingers crossed for the 100 tomorrow.

Yeah, that is why I would advance both. I just could not live with hurting someone like that. I know it is just a contest, but people put so much of their selfworth into scoring - every contest we hear from formites how  crushed they are and to bump someone for a tie..could not do it.

I have 13 points (3rd in R1) but anything could happen tonight. I’m trying to prepare myself in case I don’t place. As for clearing my schedule if I’m not writing, I’ll at least beta for other people and turn my attention to my Globe Soup genre mashup. I will make progress on something! 

And 500 results are in only three weeks. So soon we will go through all of it again.

As for the timing, I don’t expect to see results within the next 11 or 12 hours based on what had happened in the past. So, go enjoy your day because nothing will happen anytime soon. 

Ah thanks for the support! it's ok now, after the tears and recriminations ended I took it as a spiritual fifth place - but you're right, I think they should just advance both in that situation, it felt pretty sh*tty at the time and an extra person would have just been weeded out in the next round so where's the harm? 

It's probably part of the reason I'm so annoyed about short screenplay ending - I never got my vengeance!

It can feel that way but I always find something fun to do instead. Though in the last few comps, I've taken to just making a few plans anyway. The less confident I am, the more aggressive I am with plan making.

The weekend where I decided to catch a flight somewhere and then got through was a bit of a mistake but we live and learn.

Tbh I have Sunday plans, so I'm being a but dramatic for the sake of justifying my impatience 🫠.

I often only give myself half the weekend to write, something of a dangerous game, but with such a short time between results and the challenge I'm not particularly willing to gamble the whole thing.

gvmhell wrote: Last year, I did not place in Round 1, placed 2nd in Round 2, and did not advance with only 14 pts. This year, I placed 8th in Round 1, and I'm hoping I place high enough in Round 2 to get an advance, but I understand the competition is tight and the scoring can get high! I'm excited to see the results, regardless (and impatient). :)

2nd place is great!

I came in 14 in Round 1, and after reading your post here, I realized, I'll be happy if I just do better in Round 2. :)   

I think the biggest reason I'd like to move on is the chance to write another story, but who says I need a contest to do that? So, if I don't move on, I plan to spend time this weekend writing anyway.

To Julia and anyone else who may be looking for another opportunity to write, check out the Globe Soup Genre Mashup that is currently underway with stories due in a month or Writers Playground, which starts tomorrow and runs for 10 days. The WP judges give great feedback too. 

There’s always another contest, right? 

If there is a real shake-up in a group where writers who placed high in R1 don't place and/or place low, then it leaves the door open for some non-scoring R1 writers to advance with 14 or 15 points. 

It hasn't happened to me, but it does seem to happen to at least one or two people every Flash competition. It's rare, but it happens.

But now that the work day's over, I'm VERY impatient.

Good luck, everyone!! <3 

I'm trapped in a loop with Globe Soup. I bought three early tickets and drew three genres I don't hate, but not the one I wanted. I know which one of the remaining tickets it CAN'T be, but not which of the other two it must be. I'm stuck between "just write something for what I got" or "keep trying to get that one I liked the sound of."

I JUST DID THIS 

I didn't think to do it but I will now!

And THIS is why you are one of my favourites on this forum! 

The desperation is REAL!!! 

With 3 hours to go, the anticipation is mounting!!

The excitement is palpable! There, I finally used that word.

is? do you not use that word often?

It IS a thing!! There's a "Chat" link at the top of the page, join us!!

Why can’t I see this? Is it only on desktops?

On mobile if you go to the very bottom it says "Mobile | Classic". Tap "classic" and you'll get the Chat link! Hope it works!!

Good luck to those who are moving on!

I've learned a lot from the first two challenges of this competition. I loved my first story and thought it was one of my strongest-ever pieces, but it wasn't very unique. My second story had a few more warts but was a more unique take on the prompts and fared better. Excited to see what this weekend brings!

R1: 14th

R2: 15th

Well... I'm disappointed, I'll admit it. 

I'm going to work on my own story this weekend and write at least 1000 words!

Was not expecting that! 

5th place in R1 means I get to go through.

So grateful to get to write another story this weekend, and surprised!

I'm not moving on this year. Points were pretty fair for my two stories this time. The top onea in my geoup were all on their game...5th place had 23 and first place had 30. 

Next year, I'm gonna need a weaker group.

Good luck to y'all who will be writing this weekend!

I&I

I came in 6th overall for my Group.  The gap between moving forward and not making the cut is so thin but also so large.

Looking forward to getting the feedback from the judges so I can polish up the extended version to submit for publication once the time-hold passes.

Congrats to everyone who made the cut, and especially to those who shouldered me out in Group 84!  Good luck this weekend! <3