Druchii.net

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:08 pm**

*cough* Since last I heard, here, to be a moderator, you had to at least know something about what topic the forum was concerned, in this case, being mod of the History forum means you know a fair deal about fluff and aren't illiterate.

Point still stands. Knowing a lot about the background doesn't mean that you can be a good judge of story-writing ability, it means that you know a lot about the background. I'd go with an idea (in reflection) of choosing one person who we know is a good writer, and then adding one or two people chosen by the members. That way, there'll be a representation from all sides of the board, but the balance will sit with the members themselves, which is probably as it should be.

There's also the fact that reading 10+ two thousand words stories is a lot more of a pain than reading 10+ one thousand word stories.

I've never had any problems, but then, I'm a fast reader. If two thousand words is too much, then how about 1000-1500? It's what most schools tend to prescribe for their English subjects that I've seen, so it shouldn't be too hard for the members to come up with something that fits into those guidelines.

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:05 am**

Rork wrote:
If there's a central e-mail address (as there was for the last competition), getting hold of them is less of a problem too.

not everybody has an email adress. i dont for one. so i dont think emailing is a good idea. posting it on history under: competition: (title) sound good though

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:43 am**

Lamehk the Slavemaster wrote:not everybody has an email adress. i dont for one.

Oh? I regret to inform you that that means you provided us with a false email address when you signed up and are therefore in breach of forum law (probably). It's not like it's complicated to creat a free Hotmail account.

Getting the stuff to the judges will just involve emailing a Word document (you know that a one thousand word piece can't get any larger than 50kb, right? And that the size of your email does little to impact how fast it gets transmitted?) to an email address, most probably one of the judges' to keep things simple.

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:13 am**

A neutral shade of black. wrote:
Lamehk the Slavemaster wrote:not everybody has an email adress. i dont for one.

Oh? I regret to inform you that that means you provided us with a false email address when you signed up and are therefore in breach of forum law (probably). It's not like it's complicated to creat a free Hotmail account.

Something is wrong them, becuase you can't post untill your acount is activated, which is done via emailing. Nothing adds up!
If you posted the story on Dnet, i'm sure someone would copy paste it onto a word document, then send it via email for you, just making sure that it has your name on it!

Now thats all saughted i think it's time we organise, when to start writing (Now proberbly if you haven't already) a deadline when the stories have to be in and rules if any are nessesary.

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:36 pm**

Muse of Harganeth wrote:If you posted the story on Dnet, i'm sure someone would copy paste it onto a word document, then send it via email for you, just making sure that it has your name on it!

Nope - stories cannot be revealed at all. No sharing with fellow writers (except behind the judges' backs), no revealing plothooks or even concepts. Stories can and will be disqualified if this rule is breached (bascially meaning that if you say something about what you intend to write, you'll have to find another idea or your entry will be discarded). As I said, I intend to run this the ImpLit way.

Anyway, since this thread is all about discussing...

Druchii.net Story Competition April '06

Basic rules and guidelines

The competition format will be one thousand words, with a maximum 10% extra if you really need it. Anything beyond 1100 words will simply not be read when judging the story. Harsh, I know, but the trick is fitting a story in a thousand words.

Each competition will feature a particular theme around which the story should be articulated. The theme of this first story competition will simply be "The Druchii" for ease of participation, but will change with each new competition.

The judges' pannel reserves the right to discard any story they feel inappropriate (either because it does not conform to the competition's theme, or because it was found to be plagiarised, had little to no punctuation or other such insulting things). The judges' pannel cannot be held accountable for misplacing the participants' work, mixing up names, blowing up the server, causing the end of humanity or anything else.

Stories are to be written in secret. Anyone posting their ideas/concepts/etc. will be asked to write about something different. Anyone not complying and submitting an entry the contents of which have already been (partially or more) revealed will see their entry discarded.

The deadline is set to a month of the beginning of the competition. The estimated starting time of the competition is the first of April '06. The estimated closing time of the competition is the first of May '06, though entries may be accepted beyond that date if the judges are provided with a good excuse.

Judges and voting

The board of judges will be made up of the following people: two as of yet undetermined moderators or Initiative members and two regular users. Keep in mind that judges cannot participate in this competition.

Upon reaching the deadline, the judges' pannel will convene and decide upon a shortlist of the best stories. These will then be submitted to the public in a poll so that they may inform the judges of their particular preferences. In case of a tie, the judges may decide to impose their decision.

Placing and awards

There will be three finalists, chosen by the poll. So as not to discourage any of the participants, all three finalists will receive the same award: [Note - the following is highly speculative and depends upon my coaxing the adequate people into doing this for us] a custom title until the next competition ("Druchii.net Story Competition Finalist, Xth Place") as well as having their work featured in the Druchii Herald.

In addition to this, the judges may, if they feel that the people's opinion did not properly reflect the quality of the stories presented, designate another participant to receive the "Judges' Best" award and custom rank.

There y'go. Modelled loosely on ImpLit's highly successful contests. The one thousand word limit is here to stay, since its function is to spice the whole thing up by making it somewhat harder to produce a finished piece.

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:51 pm**

I'd recommend a less wordy custom title for the finalists...

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:57 pm**

firstly, i'd just like to say this is a great idea. As one of the original entrants to last years contest (i believe only 10 or 11 people entered in the end!) I shall certainly be giving it another go this year.

@ general kala - as you seem to know / remember the most from last years contest, i don't suppose you'd know if the stories from that competition are still stored somewhere by Druchii.net? I only ask as thanks to changing PC's and being rather thick I have lost my entry from last year, and would like to get hold of a copy if theres one about.

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:07 pm**

Rork wrote:I'd recommend a less wordy custom title for the finalists...

Yeah, well, I was actually planning on finding something clever. I will have by the time this ends, anyway.

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:22 pm**

in the rules it refers to each competition, how many will there be?

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:10 pm**

A neutral shade of black. wrote:
Lamehk the Slavemaster wrote:not everybody has an email adress. i dont for one.

Oh? I regret to inform you that that means you provided us with a false email address when you signed up and are therefore in breach of forum law (probably). It's not like it's complicated to creat a free Hotmail account.

i meant that its my parent's i used and i cant readily acsess it. it was with special permission that i used their's

i agree with the rules. and i will certainly be entering

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:16 pm**

Lamehk the Slavemaster wrote:i meant that its my parent's i used and i cant readily acsess it. it was with special permission that i used their's

Why not get yourself a hotmail/yahoo/etc. address?

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:53 pm**

Raziel02 wrote:in the rules it refers to each competition, how many will there be?

How the hell am I supposed to know? :lol:

More than one, in any case - possibly one every three months, or one whenever I feel like it, plus one for special events (Christmas, etc.).

Anyway, I'll go make the announcement in the History forum.

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:56 pm**

@ Stuntykiller - Sorry bud. None of the other entries are in any of the forums that I have found. Alas, I've lost my entry as well due to a virus infection on my home PC.

Glad to see that you are taking the reigns on this one ANSOB. It's good to see such enthusiasm from everyone. There are a lot of really good writers floating about this site. Look forward to reading some of the entries.

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:55 pm**

General Kala wrote:Look forward to reading some of the entries.

And sticking the winners in the Herald, yes?

(Edit - Yes! - Kala)

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:44 pm**

Rork wrote:Why not get yourself a hotmail/yahoo/etc. address?

i try but my parents dont have time to set it up and im rubbish at the technical stuff on computers

well anyway. the compitition it should be good now that the rules seem ok. will we be pming the mods? or just posting on a sticky

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:11 pm**

Lamehk the Slavemaster wrote:i try but my parents dont have time to set it up and im rubbish at the technical stuff on computers

All you need to do is enter your name and address...

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:16 pm**

I think he is subtly asking for an @Druchii.net !wink!
*just kidding*

Of course it would be an honour

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:31 pm**

Ilokir wrote:I think he is subtly asking for an @Druchii.net !wink!

Even I don't get stuff like that

.

Posted: **Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:23 pm**

Rork wrote:Even I don't get stuff like that .

Is Kitrik still selling those, by the way?

Druchii.net

Story competitions