SSSC Feedback and Suggestions

[Alverost]

With SSSC III concluded, I wanted some feedback from you guys on what you think of it so far, what suggestions you have and what changes you want to see.

First of all, I wanted to ask about:
What did you think of the new word count from 2k-6k (Old) to 4k-10k (New)?
What you thought about using 3 prompts?
Your opinion on having suggested prompts

And any other suggestions you may have or questions that you may have regarding the competition.

 

[Ddraig]

Prompts need to be weirder, thought provoking/creative and make everyone go just like wow I want to freaking write something even if I am bad at writing.

The last point cant exactly be achieved everytime and will probably sort itself with more runs on sssc but increase weird aspect.

Also get in some optional restrictions (that have no effect on who wins) for people looking for a challenge like say prompt 1 stories need to have atleast 3 simultaneous povs or have scifi genre or must be in form of official letters/ records or Have some ambiguity on who is narrating etc etc.

What did you think of the new word count from 2k-6k (Old) to 4k-10k (New)?

Dont mind but then more than one chapter should be allowed.


Again I am just a reader who doesnt participate in the contest so eh.

 

[Alverost]

Dont mind but then more than one chapter should be allowed.

The one post/chapter thing was implemented so it was easier to count the favourites (which are the votes)

Prompts need to be weirder, thought provoking/creative and make everyone go just like wow I want to freaking write something even if I am bad at writing.

Prompts will vary, SSSC III prompts were the weirdest so far but they received the least amount of stories compared to the previous competitions

 

[unice5656]

The one post/chapter thing was implemented so it was easier to count the favourites (which are the votes)


Prompts will vary, SSSC III prompts were the weirdest so far but they received the least amount of stories compared to the previous competitions

Speaking as a writer, prompts that are unreasonably specific and unsuited for the other contest requirements are going to lead to poor participation. "How to cook an egg" really isn't suitable for a minimum 4000 word story, whereas the other two are set-ups for complicated, longer stories. User-suggested prompts may or may not be fun, but you should have someone who can come up with good prompts amenable to actual short story writing in case the user suggest ones are unsuitable.

I've entered short story contests before, and my entries were always between 3k and 4k words. I don't know what your rationale was behind increasing the minimum count, but it makes no sense in the context of the minimum length required to tell a complete, coherent story.

The other thing is timeline. The shorter the time between when the prompts are announced and the submission deadline, the fewer entries you're going to get, especially with a longer minimum word count. Less than a month to write is unreasonable for anyone who has work/school and probably also an ongoing serial if they actually want to submit a quality work with editing an proofreading. I suggest you have at least two months between prompt announcement and submission deadline (and if you still want frequent contests, have overlapping contests).

 

[mrsimple]

I believe the SSSC was initially designed to get us writers out of our comfort zone and put in effort where we haven't before. I liked that. It was a challenge, rather than a contest where we made it easier for everyone to win.

The effort is the payoff. If I can't do it, then I can't. And the SSSC III was almost a no show for me. But I was lucky, and I hope whatever charm I had continues to get me in on time.

And to point out, I do have a twelve hour work hour with mandatory OT going on. Then there is the fact I have several series going on at once. Yet, I seem to be making an exceptional example here on how fortunate I've been. So, yeah, I appreciate the deadline, but I also feel like it has a double-edge: we've got those who are busy and put off working on their title until the last minute, then there are those who submit their title early and have a month (or two if that increases) of exposure.

Just think on that: exposure (advertisement) is a huge key in success. It can trump quality.

 

[unice5656]

Well, that's certainly one approach to writing. I certainly don't go for quantity over quality. Just because you have a busy schedule and managed to put a story out doesn't mean it's reasonable to ask people to do so for what's supposed to be a fun contest, especially on a recurrent basis if you want good participation with each contest. If you want to make it really fair, the voting period should start after the submission period ends, but that likely makes little difference compared to how popular the individual writers were before the contest started.

 

[Alverost]

So, yeah, I appreciate the deadline, but I also feel like it has a double-edge: we've got those who are busy and put off working on their title until the last minute, then there are those who submit their title early and have a month (or two if that increases) of exposure.

Just think on that: exposure (advertisement) is a huge key in success. It can trump quality.

Speaking as a writer, prompts that are unreasonably specific and unsuited for the other contest requirements are going to lead to poor participation. "How to cook an egg" really isn't suitable for a minimum 4000 word story, whereas the other two are set-ups for complicated, longer stories.

Well, the winner for SSSC III was Ars and they submitted their story about 4 days before the deadline? So while yes you might get more exporesure it's not really a huge key that would overpower quality. And Ars story used the "How to cook an egg" prompt". Using Ars as an example again, they aren't even the most popular Author when comparing to the other Authors that entered. While yes individual popularity will affect the competition, it's not like a sure-win.

Regarding the prompt itself, SSSC III had people submit their prompt and it was more of a test run to see how it was going. As well as different authors have a different idea to what a contest prompt should be. Some want more open prompts while others want more specific prompts. Prompts will vary from vague to specific, I can't guarantee that everyone will like every single prompt that has been put out or will be put out.

In response to the word limit, originally there wasn't any minimum word count. However, someone suggested we should implement it to make it fair for the other authors so that someone doesn't submit a 200 word story as a submission or something similar. It was increased to 4k-10k as a test run to how it would work. Currently, I think keeping the maximum at 10k is fine but I may decrease the minimum with future contest but it should be said that the word limit can be seen as a test for authors. I will consider removing minimum word count for future contests and see how it runs and what other authors think of it.

On the amount of time authors had to write, I do understand that it's a problem. However, increasing the writing period for each contest have its own set of problems. If the competition were to say to be run for 2 months and they were bad prompts then in a way it would be a waste of time. With that said, future contest will experiment with different set time periods.

SSSC is a competition made to both be fun and challenging. Yes, not everyone will be able to participate due to obligations or due to them disliking the prompt of the contest. However, hopefully, there are still people who enjoy the contest.

 

[Arexio]

I'm all for decreasing the minimum to 2k for a short story.

I hear 4k words minimum, and my brain automatically said "For a short story? Nope, we're not doing that."

And I agreed.

 

[ars]

Agreed with Arexio, 2k sounds like a good minimum for a short story!

I have a couple of suggestions/thoughts:

1) For the prompts, it would be nice to have a variety of prompt types. For example, one could be the premise prompt like "write about how to cook an egg" or "the hero is locked away in a body part". Another could be something like, "Write a story based on the following things: a significant event, your fetish, and a genre that you normally avoid" (which is part of an actual prompt a friend gave me once!) Another could be something like, "Write about the worst thing that could happen to one of the side characters in your story". I think it would be interesting to encourage authors to think about things in terms of writing their likes/dislikes, or writing characters they don't usually think about.

2) About the voting stuff - in an ideal world, all stories would be submitted to a special category or intermediate party that would hold the stories until the submission period ends, so none of them show up on the site until the submission period is over. Once the voting period starts, all of the contest stories are published/displayed on the site at once, and readers can go check out all of the stories at the same time. In a super equal world, all of the stories would use the same cover art so that there isn't any visual bias.

It's a bit troublesome to set up, so it's just a thought

 

[S.D.Mills]

I think one prompt is better. It makes all the entries about the same thing. It's important to keep in mind the purpose of a contest, which is to challenge the contestants and give them a chance to show their best effort. A single prompt that is more open-ended than II and III is what I suggest.

I agree with @ars about a submission and release system. Have all submissions in by a certain date, then release all of them at the same time for voting. This is how a professional competition with an online literary journal would be done.

 

[Scribbler]

My preferred word count is 2,500 - 7,500.

I hated the prompts offered during the third competition so, so much! They were so ugh! How to cook an egg? Switched body part? Amnesia? Blegh on all of them! If I can sum it up in one sentence then I think a prompt is a failure! A good prompt needs a hook, twist, and build up. Or at least one of those. Here are the top writing prompts for the past week on reddit:

• In the future, illiteracy is the norm and implanted digital assistants convert text to audio. A child, who had his implant temporarily deactivated, learns to read. When the implant is reactivated, he realizes that what it reads to him is drastically different than what the text actually says.
• The Avengers gather to talk about something odd. They've all seen a single old man that pops up from time to time. He's been around for years without aging, been on many planets, has had at least a dozen different jobs, and never seems to stick around for more than a few minutes at a time.
• You can magically sense when a car you are driving next to is on a course to be in a fatal accident. The only way you can prevent that outcome is by cutting them off and slowing them down. You are this city's most unsung hero, known by most as 'that asshole driver'.

Now aren't those as cool as... as... icicles!? Reading those prompts revs my creative engines! Makes me squeal in delight at what I may possibly conjure up! And I think it should be only one prompt too! It incorporates the theme that it's a single contest and having one good prompt is easier than having two. Best to put all our eggs in a basket is what I'm saying.

 

[mrsimple]

What is the deal with all of these eggs!? XD

Agreed with Arexio, 2k sounds like a good minimum for a short story!

From where I came from, we had something called a "Mixtape" (not really a music mixtape), which was basically a short story anthology by various authors. The requirements were 2k - 4k, and sometimes we would do seasonal themes. So, yeah, I can already get behind this because I'm used to it. A 2k minimum has my vote.

2) About the voting stuff - in an ideal world, all stories would be submitted to a special category or intermediate party that would hold the stories until the submission period ends, so none of them show up on the site until the submission period is over. Once the voting period starts, all of the contest stories are published/displayed on the site at once, and readers can go check out all of the stories at the same time. In a super equal world, all of the stories would use the same cover art so that there isn't any visual bias.

It's a bit troublesome to set up, so it's just a thought

I really like this idea, but I suppose that would involve Tony? I could see us setting up everything, then tagging the upload for the contest. And Tony would just have to see the highlighted tag to know when to approve the submission. Am I making sense?

 

[Alverost]

2) About the voting stuff - in an ideal world, all stories would be submitted to a special category or intermediate party that would hold the stories until the submission period ends, so none of them show up on the site until the submission period is over. Once the voting period starts, all of the contest stories are published/displayed on the site at once, and readers can go check out all of the stories at the same time. In a super equal world, all of the stories would use the same cover art so that there isn't any visual bias.

It's a bit troublesome to set up, so it's just a thought

I think one prompt is better. It makes all the entries about the same thing. It's important to keep in mind the purpose of a contest, which is to challenge the contestants and give them a chance to show their best effort. A single prompt that is more open-ended than II and III is what I suggest.

I agree with @ars about a submission and release system. Have all submissions in by a certain date, then release all of them at the same time for voting. This is how a professional competition with an online literary journal would be done.

I'll talk to Tony and see if something can be worked out for it.

I hated the prompts offered during the third competition so, so much! They were so ugh! How to cook an egg? Switched body part? Amnesia? Blegh on all of them! If I can sum it up in one sentence then I think a prompt is a failure! A good prompt needs a hook, twist, and build up.

In regards to this, as I mentioned before, prompts will vary a lot. Authors have different preferences regarding prompts. Not every prompt will be to your liking.

 

[ars]

My preferred word count is 2,500 - 7,500.

I hated the prompts offered during the third competition so, so much! They were so ugh! How to cook an egg? Switched body part? Amnesia? Blegh on all of them! If I can sum it up in one sentence then I think a prompt is a failure! A good prompt needs a hook, twist, and build up. Or at least one of those. Here are the top writing prompts for the past week on reddit:

• In the future, illiteracy is the norm and implanted digital assistants convert text to audio. A child, who had his implant temporarily deactivated, learns to read. When the implant is reactivated, he realizes that what it reads to him is drastically different than what the text actually says.
• The Avengers gather to talk about something odd. They've all seen a single old man that pops up from time to time. He's been around for years without aging, been on many planets, has had at least a dozen different jobs, and never seems to stick around for more than a few minutes at a time.
• You can magically sense when a car you are driving next to is on a course to be in a fatal accident. The only way you can prevent that outcome is by cutting them off and slowing them down. You are this city's most unsung hero, known by most as 'that asshole driver'.

Now aren't those as cool as... as... icicles!? Reading those prompts revs my creative engines! Makes me squeal in delight at what I may possibly conjure up! And I think it should be only one prompt too! It incorporates the theme that it's a single contest and having one good prompt is easier than having two. Best to put all our eggs in a basket is what I'm saying.

If SSSC3 prompts were submitted to r/writingprompts:

1. You were on a cruise when a storm wrecked the ship and washed you away. You find yourself on a mysterious island. Though you're heavily wounded and dehydrated, you discover the eggs of a mermaid and recall the legend that eating a mermaid's flesh will grant immortality...
2. On your way home, searing pain knocks you unconscious. When you wake up in the hospital, everything seems fine; once you reach home, however, a strange voice rises from your body: "Hey kid, we need to save the world."
3. You wake up in a strange white box with no memories of who you are or where this is. You have the creeping feeling that soneone is watching you, and you know you need to escape.

The flip side of r/writingprompts is that because the story is pretty much written out for you, people only read the "best" top upvoted one, and no one reads the others. I don't have the patience to read 10 of the same story, and I don't think most other people do, either...

 

[Scribbler]

If SSSC3 prompts were submitted to r/writingprompts:

1. You were on a cruise when a storm wrecked the ship and washed you away. You find yourself on a mysterious island. Though you're heavily wounded and dehydrated, you discover the eggs of a mermaid and recall the legend that eating a mermaid's flesh will grant immortality...
2. On your way home, searing pain knocks you unconscious. When you wake up in the hospital, everything seems fine; once you reach home, however, a strange voice rises from your body: "Hey kid, we need to save the world."
3. You wake up in a strange white box with no memories of who you are or where this is. You have the creeping feeling that soneone is watching you, and you know you need to escape.

The flip side of r/writingprompts is that because the story is pretty much written out for you, people only read the "best" top upvoted one, and no one reads the others. I don't have the patience to read 10 of the same story, and I don't think most other people do, either...

Alright

 

[Alverost]

If there aren't any more suggestions/feedback then the competition will be held next week.

 

[Ai-chan]

With SSSC III concluded, I wanted some feedback from you guys on what you think of it so far, what suggestions you have and what changes you want to see.

First of all, I wanted to ask about:
What did you think of the new word count from 2k-6k (Old) to 4k-10k (New)?
What you thought about using 3 prompts?
Your opinion on having suggested prompts

And any other suggestions you may have or questions that you may have regarding the competition.

Ai-chan agrees with @unice5656 on the subject of time. Ai-chan thinks 4 things need to be changed.

1) The length of time that one prompt lasts
- This is to provide people with enough time to consider their story. Ideas do not come easily, and some people find it hard to find stuff to write when the prompt is too weird. If the length of time is too short, then most people will not be able to find time to get the idea and develop the idea. It is the same with NaNoWriMo, except NaNoWriMo's deadline is not a hard limit, it's only to encourage people to finish their novels within a month, if they can.

2) The length of time between prompts
- By making another prompt shortly after another, writers will feel tired as it will start to feel like it's work and not hobby. Sure, it's voluntary, but so does overtime. If you do the same thing repeatedly for a long period of time, you will burn out. In the case of authors, if they participate in prompts one after another, their stories will be neglected and eventually they will feel lethargic and too tired to even work on their own stories. You should space them out longer, like one prompt two months after the previous one is concluded especially for the size and the expected level of professionalism.

3) 'Uniqueness' of the prompt
- While getting people out of their comfort level is fine, ideas that are too 'unique' may be hard to handle by most people. Writing prompts are not about 'unique' and 'different' but more about raising the skills of the author. In that sense, you can even make a prompt where the author must write a story about "daddy and baby" in a romance and fantasy genre. A prompt should not be too hard on the author.

4) The length of the prompt
- Prompts aren't supposed to be demanding. It is to bring authors out of their comfort level, but it's not to provide unnecessary stress. Generally, a story prompt that is not a real competition would ask for 1000-2000 words, as you can tell an interesting story with just that much words. It's not demanding on both the author and the reader. If there are 10 submissions, readers can read all 10 in one sitting without feeling tired.

 

[ars]

@Ai-chan 's notes all sound great! I like all of her suggestions!

 

[Alverost]

Ai-chan agrees with @unice5656 on the subject of time. Ai-chan thinks 4 things need to be changed.

In retrospect, writing period last 3 weeks which is 1 week short of NaNoWriMo and NaNoWriMo ask for a 50k word series. But yes, I can try and increase the time limit for the next competition.

As of now, the previous competitions have been experiments and so will the future competitions. Hence, there's only around 1-week break between each competition. Of course, if you can't participate in the next competition right after, you don't have to. With having one competition per month (approximately) there different pros and cons.

 

[Lukha]

I think the competitions have been quite fun to read so far! However, I think something that could be cool to also see is the ability for there to be more flexibility in a writer's creativity. For example, instead of being a stereotypical story, maybe you can introduce other mediums like poetry and script-writing. And also, in addition to your regular prompts, maybe you can also include like a raffle of genre+item thing to provide the theme for the next competition. (Example, use a randomizer to choose your genre and item; i.e. Horror + Window. Comedy + Chair. Tragedy + Comb.)

I think adding a little more spice in every competition can be rather interesting.