[Oct 2016] - Corpses - Voting Thread

[m3mnoch]

- Yes, Lanko is NOT in this contest 
He said that previously, but people still attributed to him five different stories. While honored to be attributed some very good stories, he is also sad that his word is held in such low regard 

BIG HUGS!

I know, I know, we wanted to try the Anonymous thing for an entirely different reason. But I would say the *guessing* has, even so, become my favorite "happy accident" of this whole experiment. I mean, Lanko just made a giant post on it!

omg -- watching this is so much fun.

GAMIFY* ALL THE THINGS!


* ahhh...  brings back memories of when "gamification" was actually born.  http://www.web2expo.com/webexsf2008/public/schedule/detail/2144

[Raptori]

- Yes, Lanko is NOT in this contest 
He said that previously, but people still attributed to him five different stories. While honored to be attributed some very good stories, he is also sad that his word is held in such low regard 

Blatant misdirection. 

I've only read 10, I can't join in the game yet

Sucks, doesn't it! 

[xiagan]

Nice post, Lanko!

Any reason you didn't mention that one story was attributed to me?
Frankly, I'm curious why only one person thought to do this. You know that I participated in the past and wouldn't an anonymous month be the perfect place for me to make a comeback?

Not saying I wrote a story, of course.

[Lanko]

Nice post, Lanko!

Any reason you didn't mention that one story was attributed to me?
Frankly, I'm curious why only one person thought to do this. You know that I participated in the past and wouldn't an anonymous month be the perfect place for me to make a comeback?

Not saying I wrote a story, of course.

Hm, didn't know that! Thought it was the same person who voted for Eclipse, Bea and various Anonymous 

[shadowkat678]

I'm honestly wondering what made people pick the two they did for me, considering I haven't entered a writing contest before. I'll just say, I'm not exactly the happiest with what I did this time. Started out okay, but think it went a bit flat.

[The Gem Cutter]

I have really, really enjoyed the Anonymous submission, and looking back at both the Corpses Discussion thread and this one, the many colorful, funny, and interesting posts stand out as a very high point in an otherwise dreadful November.

[shadowkat678]

I have really, really enjoyed the Anonymous submission, and looking back at both the Corpses Discussion thread and this one, the many colorful, funny, and interesting posts stand out as a very high point in an otherwise dreadful November.

Agreed. Even if I haven't been around much, mostly due to the last year for me being...draining. I feel like a walking corpse myself right now, but I'm rereading the stories right now, and they're really brightening my bad day. If in a slightly morbid way, being about death and stuff.

[Nora]

I haven't cast any guesses and I don't think I will either. I'm too unsure to find guessing amusing. Too much risk to go astray kills my drive to guess, but I'm enjoying seeing people play around a lot.
However next time anonymous shows up, I hope it won't be compulsory. The two things I dislike about it is the lack of freedom to edit (not happy with my formatting, would have done more edits if I hadn't felt like a pest bothering anonymous), and the fact that I've been sitting for weeks now on story material I want reviews and advice on, and the moment I publish them, people will immediately know what my story is. It's been pretty frustrating, waiting it out just so I don't spoil the fun for others.
I hope people will keep the option of signing off their work if they want to.

[shadowkat678]

I haven't cast any guesses and I don't think I will either. I'm too unsure to find guessing amusing. Too much risk to go astray kills my drive to guess, but I'm enjoying seeing people play around a lot.
However next time anonymous shows up, I hope it won't be compulsory. The two things I dislike about it is the lack of freedom to edit (not happy with my formatting, would have done more edits if I hadn't felt like a pest bothering anonymous), and the fact that I've been sitting for weeks now on story material I want reviews and advice on, and the moment I publish them, people will immediately know what my story is. It's been pretty frustrating, waiting it out just so I don't spoil the fun for others.
I hope people will keep the option of signing off their work if they want to.

I think optional would be pretty cool as well. If not doing a monthly writing thing with this, what if we hosted something that's informal for this?

[The Gem Cutter]

I would be happy to volunteer to help Anonymous provide ongoing edit support by continuously uploading edited versions. I like masking my work and knowing it's being taken at face value without thought to me (hyper-analysts like Lanko and M3mnoch notwithstanding  .

[Nora]

I would be happy to volunteer to help Anonymous provide ongoing edit support by continuously uploading edited versions. I like masking my work and knowing it's being taken at face value without thought to me (hyper-analysts like Lanko and M3mnoch notwithstanding  .

It's been a few months now, since posting through Anonymous has been an option. You can always do so if you prefer it.

[The Gem Cutter]

Right. As a frequent poster, I'm sure no one would expect  but then, even with anon, some have tracked down my clever diction, colorful use of language, and distinctive use of the Oxford Comma 

[J.R. Darewood]

Nahhh, I'm pretty sure you all's guess for the Gem Cutter is wrong and mine is right...

Well, that was quite a giveaway! Remember there are 3 stories (Bridge Battle and both poems) attributed to him, and he only appears there... except for the lonely guess at Fashion Monsters. So that's yours! 
[/quote]

OMG @Lanko your second long post is pretty genius.  I think I need to refer to you as Sherlock from now on. I seriously love that long post of yours, it's amazing.

I only meant to say I didn't think he wrote "The Bridge Battle" specifically, though I'm dying to find out who did!!!  I'm super curious about that one. I feel fairly certain about who wrote 3 of the stories, and Gem Cutter is one of them!

I will say that I'm pretty flattered by the people who mistakenly attributed better writers than I to the story I actually wrote.  I wonder, @m3mnoch if it might be possible to color code the guesses so that they're linked to the guesser?  Or put it in a table?  Seeing who guessed what is almost as exciting as knowing who actually wrote the thing...

The two things I dislike about it is the lack of freedom to edit (not happy with my formatting, would have done more edits if I hadn't felt like a pest bothering anonymous), and the fact that I've been sitting for weeks now on story material I want reviews and advice on, and the moment I publish them, people will immediately know what my story is. 

Don't worry @Nora I guessed which is your story anyway right off the bat... okay maybe I entered two guesses...

I'm with you on the wanting to revise thing.  I re-read mine and some of my mistakes made me cringe.  So awful.  (That said it does make sense to have something consistent so that everyone is reading the same thing regardless of when they get to it).  I really don't think voluntary anonymity would produce the same fun effect, but what if it was only anonymous for like 2 weeks, and people could guess away, and then the second week the authors got revealed?  Would that be a good compromise?

(Here I am talking above my station, making suggestions when I never enter the competition-- and probably won't be able to much in the future due to time constraints and the fact that word limits and rules and prompts and whatnot make the possibility that I'll have an idea that fits and time to write it a very rare coincidence-- for whatever reason with prompts and word limits I have a much easier time writing outside of the fantasy genre-- fantasy+prompts+word limits = dry AF.)

Anyway, I'm just throwing that idea out there as an outsider....

[Lordoftheword]

Don't worry @Nora

I'm with you on the wanting to revise thing.  I re-read mine and some of my mistakes made me cringe.  So awful.  (That said it does make sense to have something consistent so that everyone is reading the same thing regardless of when they get to it).  I really don't think voluntary anonymity would produce the same fun effect, but what if it was only anonymous for like 2 weeks, and people could guess away, and then the second week the authors got revealed?  Would that be a good compromise?

(Here I am talking above my station, making suggestions when I never enter the competition-- and probably won't be able to much in the future due to time constraints and the fact that word limits and rules and prompts and whatnot make the possibility that I'll have an idea that fits and time to write it a very rare coincidence-- for whatever reason with prompts and word limits I have a much easier time writing outside of the fantasy genre-- fantasy+prompts+word limits = dry AF.)

Anyway, I'm just throwing that idea out there as an outsider....

I think it's a test of patience, and I also believe anonymous contests will keep people involved and possibly bring more people into the contest (if that appeals to anyone  ). As I've said before, I might not have even joined in the fun this month if it hadn't been anonymous. It can be a tad intimidating stepping into a forum of amazing writers and trying to assert yourself.

BUT, I do think the 2 week compromise is a fantastic idea @Bradley Darewood - first two weeks try and read the stories and place your votes, and then the following 2 weeks we can revel in the excitement of seeing if we guessed correctly as well as provide our critiques for the authors starving for that feedback.

Also @Lanko - that Sherlock Holmes breakdown was incredible. Keep being awesome! 

[Nora]

Gosh, I really hope we're not going to go over that debate again and make anonymous submission a permanent, compulsory thing.
Anonymous submission is always possible, if you feel better without having your name associated to you. I'd be glad to see a lot of anonymous subs on a permanent basis, with people who don't mind (or need) signing off their work can do so (as in, if you re-use characters or delve back into old plots, what's the point of anonymity?). But I think a lot of the fun in this guessing game is that it's new. I doubt we'd be this excited every month all year round.

I'm not feeling impatient about anything related to this contest, I'm feeling impatient about the 4,000 words I wrote on top of the 1,500 ones and have been wishing for review and advice on, but can't publish anywhere without spoiling the fun for either everyone, or everyone with writing group access.