Contest Theme Suggestions

[nautics]

I second "No litrpg/ecchi/isekai/smut/transmigrated/reincarnated tags." While there's nothing necessarily wrong with these kind of stories, I tend to see them a lot on here. And I think a contest is a good way to encourage people to diversify their writing.

I really like the idea of horror. It's fitting of the season and there's a lot of different ways people could take it. Or even if not strictly horror, at least something with similar themes.

 

[Sigkusanagi]

Yeah, horror is my choice as well.

 

[Yairy]

I support @Mihou @UMR_00 Suggestion too. A horror theme would be awesome!

 

[AkalE]

Maybe the contest could help scribblers dabble into a little different?

So I'm suggesting we have one that is fantasy without the usual crutches of webstories. So no litrpg, isekai, reincarnation.

 

[YuriDoggo]

No horror!

 

[binarysoap]

No horror!

Given that a contest sponsor seems to support that idea, and quite a few others, too bad.
I mean, that's why there's usually 3 themes to pick from though. Just don't choose the horror option.
Also, if a lot of people on here don't like reading horror, writing horror is just killing off their chances, so less competition
we all know it is less on how well you write than what you write that gets you more readers

 

[Panzerinsnow]

Horror is an absolute pain to write/ reading. I would love some xianxia, comedy and Sci-fi story.

 

[Deleted member 36018]

I write horror. I vote horror.

 

[Wintertime]

LiTRPG, Modern Fantasy (Gates), Time Travel.

 

[HJ]

Horror is a bit difficult. Can we water it down to mystery, thriller, or psychological?

 

[Yairy]

Horror is a bit difficult. Can we water it down to mystery, thriller, or psychological?

I think anything that's on the kinda creepy scope is good enough to be honest. Horror is like comedy in some ways. It has to hit at the right points at the right times. And I guess that could be a little difficult for those who don't do it much.

 

[GDLiZy]

For those who say horror, I bet they won't use it even if it's one of the suggested themes. No one here like horror, no one here read horror, so the theme is abandoned and those who write it won't win the contest because the audience won't enjoy it.

And by forcing "no overused cliche," people will just not join, not adapt.

 

[Sii]

For those who say horror, I bet they won't use it even if it's one of the suggested themes. No one here like horror, no one here read horror, so the theme is abandoned and those who write it won't win the contest because the audience won't enjoy it.

And by forcing "no overused cliche," people will just not join, not adapt.

I agree with you. No matter how cool it would be to see a horror contest, it just isn't realistic to expect the audience and the writers to enjoy them. Horror is hard to palate and hard to get in to for most people, both writers and readers. It isn't as instantly gratifying as the most popular genres on here and because of its nature there is rarely a "good" or "happy" ending.

 

[Yairy]

Then what would you suggest @Sii @GDLiZy ? Don't you agree that it's kind of getting redundant seeing the same popular things over and over? I think many of us can agree that we want something fresh at the very least.

Not saying I agree with the idea that horror isn't fun because I completely disagree. I use to write mainly horror, thriller and, psychologicals and people find enjoyment in them. Not all horrors need to be tragedies. There are all kinds of things you can mix in to make it unique. Think about shows like Madoka Magica. That is in a sense horror.

 

[GDLiZy]

Then what would you suggest @Sii @GDLiZy ? Don't you agree that it's kind of getting redundant seeing the same popular things over and over? I think many of us can agree that we want something fresh at the very least.

Not saying I agree with the idea that horror isn't fun because I completely disagree. I use to write mainly horror, thriller and, psychologicals and people find enjoyment in them. Not all horrors need to be tragedies. There are all kinds of things you can mix in to make it unique. Think about shows like Madoka Magica. That is in a sense horror.

People write what they want. If you restrict them, they just won't join the contest. I doubt that most of us want something "fresh" when the trending is just about the same stuff. Do you read tragedy, let alone thriller and horror? Most of you won't because it's not happy ending, not fun, not a light read, depressing etc.

The audience simply doesn't like horror, and the authors here mostly don't like them. Even if they join with the "horror" genre, it's gonna be slapped in arbitrary and called it "horror" because it has a waifu ghost. Kinda defeats the purpose, isn't it?

See the previous contest, "reincarnated as a non-human" theme? See how many of the supposedly non-human MC suddenly gain a human form and everything else is literally just human but more power or with a different name.

 

[AkalE]

People write what they want. If you restrict them, they just won't join the contest. I doubt that most of us want something "fresh" when the trending is just about the same stuff. Do you read tragedy, let alone thriller and horror? Most of you won't because it's not happy ending, not fun, not a light read, depressing etc.

The audience simply doesn't like horror, and the authors here mostly don't like them. Even if they join with the "horror" genre, it's gonna be slapped in arbitrary and called it "horror" because it has a waifu ghost. Kinda defeats the purpose, isn't it?

See the previous contest, "reincarnated as a non-human" theme? See how many of the supposedly non-human MC suddenly gain a human form and everything else is literally just human but more power or with a different name.

Seems more like a problem of abusing loopholes.

 

[ChronicleCrawler]

People write what they want. If you restrict them, they just won't join the contest. I doubt that most of us want something "fresh" when the trending is just about the same stuff. Do you read tragedy, let alone thriller and horror? Most of you won't because it's not happy ending, not fun, not a light read, depressing etc.

The audience simply doesn't like horror, and the authors here mostly don't like them. Even if they join with the "horror" genre, it's gonna be slapped in arbitrary and called it "horror" because it has a waifu ghost. Kinda defeats the purpose, isn't it?

See the previous contest, "reincarnated as a non-human" theme? See how many of the supposedly non-human MC suddenly gain a human form and everything else is literally just human but more power or with a different name.

I kinda understand this sentiment. Rather than pure horror which is a vague concept. We should use something different. Something easier would be ideal. Nevertheless, on a personal level, I still encourage horror=scary or part scary as one of the themes. Well, never hurts to try something new. After all, it'll probably within the bounds of Halloween holidays.

 

[Suryae]

You know, rather than just horror, how about comedy horror?

To those who don't know, basically earlier part of Watamote.

I would like to see cringe stories that would torture your very soul, because at one point of your life, you've been done that same cringe worthy act.

 

[Zero300]

Retelling a nursery rhyme using different genre.

 

[nautics]

Honestly, the whole point of there being themes is to challenge participants to write something they normally wouldn't. Otherwise, what's the point of even having themes?