Last Writer Standing Challenge

[donutsweeper]

What is your opinion on these sort of challenges?  The idea is everyone gets a prompt and the stories are posted anonymously and then people vote on them.  The writer of whoever wrote the lowest scoring story is dropped and the rest continue on to the next round where everyone's given a new prompt and the cycle is repeated until there's only one writer left.

It seems like, as a writer, you'd be setting yourself up for a lot of stress and heartache.  And, the weirdness of not being able to respond to comments or claim your work.  But it would be interesting to see what people say when they don't know who wrote what...

Anyone done one before?  Have thinky thoughts about them?

Comments

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

It's the same as 'Writer in a drawer' that...Waldo, I think...ran for Torchwood. You can post them yourself once the reveal's been done, so you can claim comments and credit then. I've done anonymous challenges (sga_santa, sga_genficathon) and all you have to do is track the entry to see what people think.

For me, I think it largely depends on the voting method and the maturity of the participants. Writer in a Draw was VERY well-run, and the voting was of the "why I did/didn't like this" variety, rather than just numbers. That seems fairer, because it brings it back to the personal - most writers know that they can't please all the people all the time, but as long as people are thoughtful about it, I don't mind so much. I think they had a bit of drama, but nothing serious and the mod kept a tight grip on everything. As long as everyone goes into it with the right spirit, I think they can be good fun. Also, it's a good way to stretch yourself, if that's what you're looking for.

Intervention may be required to stop me signing up, though. It's just my sort of thing...*meep*

[edited because apparently I suck at remembering the names of the things I do...]

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I vaguely remember the Writer in the Drawer thing.

It does look like after the voting closes, each week, you can repost your story where ever you want so I assume that means you can claim it then too.

The method for voting though doesn't seem terribly spelled out yet. hmmm

wait- I thought you were doing Nano? Could you do both?

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

So very much not. Doesn't stop me wanting to...

There are lots of details about the rules, but not many about dates. Sign-ups close on the 16th, and I'm guessing each round is a week. If they were, say, a fortnight apart, I might be able to manage something, since you can skip some weeks as well...

They do say:
(always with constructive criticism, bashing and voting for yourself are not allowed).

*smacks wrist* Dammit! No! Must. Not....

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

it is a little unclear how far apart the rounds are. Obviously there needs to be a day or so to allow voting and tally them because they'll need to know who got kicked out

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*nods* They say that the word limit will be low, so I'm guessing ten days or so to a round - a week to write, three days for reading and voting. Something like that. With various skips and suchlike, I could probably write minimally during NaNo and pick it up afterwards.

*headdesk* If I had a brain I'd be dangerous. I'm so not allowed to do this. So. Not. Allowed.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

No you aren't because you want a novel to come out of NaNo so you can go to writercon this summer!

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*pouts* You guys never let me have any fun.

*scuffs floor with toes* What if I do both? They're only little stories, and...and...

*sigh* I'm not even convincing myself here...

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

50k in one month. Plus everything else on your to do list. That's already a LOT on your plate

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*tilts hand* Yes and no. For me, it's sort of average ;-)

...and I was going to ask you to prompt me for my Teyla&Lorne fic that I'm blocked on, but I think I just had an idea...

*runs off*

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

YAY!! Go get writing girl!

[snakewhissperer.livejournal.com]

right...they were constructive eh...sure....

i wasn't seeing that.

[chatona.livejournal.com]

I don't know... I always thought those thingies were basically the perfect place for a lot of wank, but I never really looked into it. Hm.

No, not tempted to do so now, either. *scratches head*

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

it seems like it *could* be great but also has massive potential for disaster.

eh, I'd like the forced prompt idea, but that many gen h/c SGA stories in a row? Might be a bit hard to come up with

[chatona.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmm, yes. Good point.

... That's what you get the prompts for, though, isn't it. To help you come up with something. And hey, h/c. Hmmm, h/c!

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

true... hmmm... *puts on thinky hat*

gotta run- have a good night!

[chatona.livejournal.com]

Have a good day! *wanders off to bed since the internet is wonky as hell, anyway*

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

I haven't done a writing one, but I've done a few icon ones. The first one I was the first one kicked out and the second I won. It's definitely not fun to be the first one to go. The problem with these, I think, is that it's a very subjective thing. Art is so personal in one's tastes for it, so it really depends on what each person likes to get a vote.

I always try when giving negative comments to do a positive/negative thing. Like, "The colour is really nice, but it's a bit over-sharpened" or "I love the crop, but it's hard to make out the text". I think that goes over better than 'omg, that sucks!'

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

writing is like that too, subjective I mean

[snakewhissperer.livejournal.com]

i joined in on one and found it totally disheartening and really pissed me off as apparently i am crap at english grammar (after having it checked by 2 english teachers -not american, but english mind you) and a gwen hater (as i needed someone to give passwords to and she was the n00b and therefore the obvious choice...)..

i'd never enter one of those things in my life again.

its not worth the stress and utter upset from sheer spite.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

that's kind of what I was thinking might happen too easily

[snakewhissperer.livejournal.com]

honestly? make your own choice, but i wouldn't join i one of them again. Ever. And be prepared for harsh nasty comments, as they can be left anonymously, and that means people are spiteful.

[dr-is-in.livejournal.com]

I did writerinadrawer, both rounds. Things went really well in the first round, but the participation in round 2 doubled and there seemed to be a lot of questionable voting, especially as people who didn't follow the prompts/requirements were making it through.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

When it works I think there's a lot of potential for it being useful and interesting, but it could backfire

[dr-is-in.livejournal.com]

The thing was, people were ignoring the first 2 requirements in voting....does the fic sufficiently follow the prompt and does it include the bonus feature. A lot of times, people weren't including the bonus feature and they were supposed to. Then you have the problem with people voting for or against a fic because of a certain character or pairing.

I agree, when it works, it's a brilliant experience. But there is huge potential problems if every single possible detail is not thought of ahead of time and spelled out specifically.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

that's what I was wondering about. The one I'm looking at is for a gen h/c community so in theory should easily avoid the ship wars, but... the rules aren't terribly spelled out which makes me a bit nervous