2008 Survivor Literotica: Planning & Plotting

[fieryjen]

I don't get why everyone is so worried about the competition.

This contest is supposed to be about writing a lot. It's supposed to push an author to their limits, to challenge them to write as much as they can. Not to write more than the person in second place, but to write as much as possible. I've always understood the contest that way.

If you truly appreciate the contest in this spirit, scorecards should not matter. How much you write should not depend on whether others are breathing down your neck, but it should simply be all you can write. No matter where you end up on the scoreboard, the spot should be well-deserved, because you wrote your heart out and it was beyond your ability or circumstances to write any more than that.

 

[BOSTONFICTIONWRITER]

In a perfect world let there be cotton candy everywhere.

In a perfect world that is a nice sentiment, to not worry about scores and score cards, but just to write your heart out.

"Don't worry son. It's not if you win or lose, it's how you play the game."

"But Dad, that kid is 15 and kids aren't suppose to be more than 12 to play Pop Warner football. And he takes steroids, too."

"Just play your heart out son and I'll be ready to drive you to the emergency ward after the game."

Yet, FieryJen, what about the guy or gal who does not write their hearts out but just wants to fool everyone and win the Survivor contest by dumping 750 word stories at year end and then declaring on 12/31 that they are a contestant in the contest?

Is that fair? No, but that is the rules as they are now. Why would I or anyone write all year long for something like that to happen? That kind of sucks, don't you think? For me, it's not the money. It's the time spent writing and then at the end of the contest (sniff, sniff) the prize.

"I told ya, I go do it, Ma. This is for you."

Yeah, the writing is the best part of it. To me, it's all about the story. Only, it is nice to be challenged and recognized and to watch the scores of others competing against you during the year. That's what a contest is all about. Only, the way that it is designed now is a bit strange.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

I don't get why everyone is so worried about the competition.

This contest is supposed to be about writing a lot. It's supposed to push an author to their limits, to challenge them to write as much as they can. Not to write more than the person in second place, but to write as much as possible. I've always understood the contest that way.

If you truly appreciate the contest in this spirit, scorecards should not matter. How much you write should not depend on whether others are breathing down your neck, but it should simply be all you can write. No matter where you end up on the scoreboard, the spot should be well-deserved, because you wrote your heart out and it was beyond your ability or circumstances to write any more than that.

It just depends on the person. Some are in it to better themselves and compete only against themselves. Others are in it to WIN WIN WIN! Of course, those who are in it to beat everyone else are going to get bent out of shape about other contestants not updating scorecards.

Personally, I don't see the problem with letting people update them however they wish. Honestly, if I get worried enough about how someone else is doing and they don't have their scorecard updated, I just click on the nice little link Lauren provided to their memberpage and check to see how many stories they've written.

So my vote is to leave the rules about the scorecards as is. Besides, it would be a pain and a half for a moderator to have to manually check all the participants scorecards on a regular basis to see if they have been updated with every story they've written up to that point. It's just silly.

 

[BOSTONFICTIONWRITER]

Happy New Year

Now, I realize the problem with my suggestions.

It's not the ideas that I suggested, it is that I suggested them. Now, if they were suggested by someone else, more of you may have agreed with them.

No matter. I prefer knowing where I stand with my fellow writers.

Please forgive my intrusion to your sacred ground. I'll try and control myself from making any posts to any forum threads.

Thank you all so much for your indulgence and for being...yourselves.

Happy New Year

 

[fieryjen]

Now, I realize the problem with my suggestions.

It's not the ideas that I suggested, it is that I suggested them. Now, if they were suggested by someone else, more of you may have agreed with them.

No matter. I prefer knowing where I stand with my fellow writers.

Please forgive my intrusion to your sacred ground. I'll try and control myself from making any posts to any forum threads.

Thank you all so much for your indulgence and for being...yourselves.

Happy New Year

I'd have disagreed with all this just as much if anyone else had suggested it. How lovely of you to jump to conclusions.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

I've had a chance to read through what everyone has posted so far. . . I'm still all for the date to sign up change; the Oct date sounds reasonable. Scorecards, again, I find as optional. Everyone can go check out a person's submissions to see where they stand in comparison to other writers. Word count... I'd still like to see go higher, simply because though some can and will write 1500 words of crap, it's not likely as many folks would try (maybe)... but I do know that this would add more work on the moderator's part and even I don't want to do that to them, they already do enough.

Personal comments... I wrote in Survivor 2006 simply because it sounded fun. I set my own mini-goals and when I achieved them I got all giddy. I refused my immunities because I wanted to attempt to write one story in every category. I completed that goal. I won't lie... I was thrilled when I saw that my mini-goals were able to get me into the top five and I left with fourth place. I also won't fib and say I was thrilled with some of the competitors that were in the contest, simply because of the quality of their work. But like we've all said... quality is judged by various people and what one of us may/may not like is different.

On a side note... I'll be introducing a new chain story sometime in Jan. or Feb. which will be a great way to get some chapters for the Chain Story category for those that aren't already in the other two I have running, so be looking out for it.

On the Bus is still open to have folks join, and the link is in the Chain Story Directory.

 

[DarkBee]

I am not gonna join next year's Contest, my production has stalled altogether for the last 3 months or so, and with my work and all I don't know if it will get back to what it was earlier this year.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I repeat that any change that involves a word count different from the Literotica-defined limit will be completely impossible to impose. There is no way to verify each story one by one. Same thing for a time-limit to update scorecards, even if the majority of contestants wanted it. There is simply no way to keep track of it, unless a moderator tried to track all the changes, each and every day, for each and every contestant. It would be a fulltime job and would require hundreds of pages of data constantly updated.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I repeat that any change that involves a word count different from the Literotica-defined limit will be completely impossible to impose. There is no way to verify each story one by one. Same thing for a time-limit to update scorecards, even if the majority of contestants wanted it. There is simply no way to keep track of it, unless a moderator tried to track all the changes, each and every day, for each and every contestant. It would be a fulltime job and would require hundreds of pages of data constantly updated.

I think of this as being reasonable. I still like the idea of a registration deadline for current members. New members can sign up any time after they join Literotica.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I'm planning to join for next year but my focus will be a little different. I'll be using it to relax and think about stories. I don't know what or if I'll write. (Alright, I do have one Novella I really want to write but I'm going to take my time with it.) I'm curious to see how many immunities I can get. There are a couple categories I don't really want to write for again.

I have no problems with any of the rules currently in place. I would think adding more would simply make more work for someone who already does this on a completely volunteer basis.

I would like to thank Lauren for her kind and courteous answers when I had silly questions this year. Thank you for making this contest possible by over seeing it. X 12

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I think of this as being reasonable. I still like the idea of a registration deadline for current members. New members can sign up any time after they join Literotica.

I think that if there is a registration deadline, it must be for everyone. Otherwise, I could spend 10 months writing, sit on the stories, register a new ID in November, spread out my submissions through those last two months, and sign up for the contest only on December 29th, rendering the rule pointless.

 

[starrkers]

I firmly agree with the registration deadline idea. It needs to be far enough from the end of the year for late registrants to have the opportunity to win, but also for other competitors to be aware of their competition, if that's how they want to play it.
It's pointless leaving it open for newcomers - anyone coming in after about September doesn't have enough time to make a decent go at it. And it would be open to abuse, as Lauren points out.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I think that if there is a registration deadline, it must be for everyone. Otherwise, I could spend 10 months writing, sit on the stories, register a new ID in November, spread out my submissions through those last two months, and sign up for the contest only on December 29th, rendering the rule pointless.

I have to agree with you. It would be easy for somebody to start an alt and post hundreds of stories and poems. That would be not just unethical but dishonest.