Why do an open vote? Why not give every participant a single vote with the only rule that it can't be used on their own story. Keep it anonymous - votes sent to the organising admin, for example. Highest voted at the end of a time period wins. The anonymous submission thing can stay if people are really leaning towards that, but a single vote saves having to work out the 'this got ten 5-star ratings but this got twenty ratings and it comes to 4.72 so which one wins' thing.

These shouldn't be judged like standard 'library?' submissions. It should be a straight up competition.

 

I like GL's idea, but suggest a modified version. With his, the only people who would be able to rate are the writer's themselves. Is this what we want? Might it be better to give perhaps 5 votes per registered DLP member?

Also, are we going unbeta'd on this? I vaguely recall that early on we were talking about purely solo efforts, but that may have changed.

 

Realised it looked that way after posting lol. You ninja'd me on an edit. I basically meant DLP members who are paying attention to the competition, not solely contributors. Single vote per member. Eliminate all bias and popular sways, make it so that every member's vote is for the story that person thinks should win. Number of votes revealed when the authors are as the winner's announced.

Unless categories are used, in which case it'd be one vote per category.

While personally I think it'd be a better competition unbeta'd, if it's decided it's kosher I'll shotgun you if you're willing, Voice, and offer the same in return if it's wanted.

 

I like having a minimum. Again, as was mentioned, effort counts. I think a 10K min and a 20K max makes sense - that's actually a good length for a good oneshot anyway...

 

HUh, seems I'm a day or so late to this party.

I have a dark!Harry story idea, but I was intending to delete the outline. It was just a bit too twisted and I couldn't really ever see myself writing it... but if there was a contest, especially a contest with Reservoir Dog pseudonyms, well I might be willing to go there. I could easily make it 10K, and yeah I think a word minimum is a good idea.

I would like to run it by a beta tho, I'm rather busy right now (and that probably won't change for the next month or so), and I know the story would probably be full of little stupid errors if I didn't have a beta check it over.

 

I think a beta for grammatical errors should be allowed, but the idea should stand on itself for the contest.

 

I'm in... I suppose I should start plotting something out. Then again, outlines are for bitches, right?

I'm sorry to say Drunk!Katie will not be making an appearance.

 

Dude - Drunk!Katie would guarantee a win.

Also, who makes outlines? Fuck that shit.

 

Should it be just Dark!Harry or just dark themes? Can it be a Dark!OtherCharacter story?

 

I wanna write me some Dark!Dumbledore. Just for the fuck of it.

 

Ya'll need to read Potter Law number 1. That is all.

/kidding.

I'm sure the Dark Arts section, the original inspiration for this, would be open for other characters. And I don't think anybody will make a rule forcing the writer to make Harry the main focus.

That said, I would love to read a Dark Dumbledore sans all the stupid manipulation people throw at such a character.

 

Sounds interesting. Maybe a competition will be enough to get me to write something of a little length. Maybe. Damn good idea either way.

 

I vote no on a cap for the maximum number of words simply because I'd like to participate in this little endeavor. If I was writing a complete story, even as a one-shot, I know I would overshoot 20k.

By far.

/has no readily available ideas for dark!fic

 

Not me obviously! And yes, Drunk!Katie is made of win, but it certainly would not guarantee me a win against the best that DLP has to offer.

DarkLord!Hagrid on the other hand...

Muahaha, can't steal my idea now bitches.

 

Averis, if you write DarkLord!Hagrid I'll pay you. Seriously. And I bet I could get other DLPers to pay you as well.

 

Ahem, fuck you.

And fuck you too.

 

haha - my lack of outline writing has gotten me into trouble before.

 

In.


Filler filler filler.

 

I should rephrase - I write a lot of outlines - but I never follow them. I have an idea in my head of where a piece is going, of course, and I know how I want things to end before I start them. But I also recognize that things change as I'm writing, and that sticking slavishly to an original outline is foolish when something else arises through the process of writing. Thus no outline is ever the true skeleton to a story that I write.


Also, sometimes I just don't write on in the first place.