A battle of the mind, any fictional writers fancy a competition?

I don't actually know if this is the right section for this type of thread. I was going to post it under general chat, but then that does specifically say "Anything your heart desires can be posted here (assuming of course there's not already a different area for it)." and hence I am posting it here.

Right! What I thought was that since there are loads of writers here on DP, there must surely also be lots of people with an interest in fictional writing. Sadly, the market for fictional work is rather small, and thus quite a few of us don't get a chance to practice our art in exchange for financial reward.

My solution to this problem is simple: let's arrange a competition! I haven't gone to the length of considering what rules would be in place yet as I don't know whether there is any interest, but my basic thoughts are:

1. There would be a set theme, which must make out the basic premise of the short story. Some basic parameters will be given, e.g. a few rough characters, a situation, perhaps a setting. These must form the basis of the story, though a lot of artistic freedom would be given.
2. A certain word limit would be agreed upon, perhaps around 2000-2500 words?
3. Each contestant would have to pay an entry fee prior to the start of the competition, something small, I'd suggest between $1-5
4. 100% of the entry fee money would be put towards the prize pool, payout levels would depend on the number of contestants. For example, if there are less than 5 entrants the winner gets all the money, between 6 and 10 2nd place gets money back, and so on.
5. A time limit would be agreed, perhaps 24-72h, if it is too long (I'm speaking from experience) interest tends to cool off a bit much.
6. Competitors may cast a vote, but not on their own entry.
7. A winner is decided through the votes cast, within a specified time limit, by fellow DP members.

Would anyone be interested in this sort of competition? It's a great chance for writers to practice their art, as well as show of their versatile writing skills to potential customers!

 

Sounds fun. A digital point flash fiction contest. Is it possible we could get a DP moderator to moderate it, hold the prize money, distribute it, and that sort of thing?

I'm interested.

Vago

 

Glad to hear that someone is interested, hopefully more people will be as well. It would indeed be fantastic if we could get a moderator to, at least, hold and distribute the prize money - if that is not possible, though, I would be fine letting whoever has the highest Feedback score - and is willing to do it - do it.

Now, surely there must be at least a handful of other aspiring writers out there?!

 

Good enough for me.

Instead of DP members deciding, we could also try a participant's vote (Participants must mandatorily vote for the entry they liked best other than their own). After the votes are tallied, whomever leads, wins.