OK, just as a general mention before hand since I missed this post in June...
- Advertising on Reddit might bring fresh blood about. r/fantasy or r/fantasywriters would probably be receptive. That last one has a calendar for the whole year of topics :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WTb5nbgYdbd7DevHLKzTdxbrJNG2sFvs/viewand it never seems to stem the flow of submissions. Of course, they can afford people to cherry-pick their topics because they have a way larger pool of potential writers. This being said they have zero rewards beyond the possibility someone will comment on your story and tbh that's a little dry for me. even the purely neural boost of pleasure knowing "you've won!" is better than nothing, or the rather dry self satisfaction of 'having written a thing'.
This being said I have zero issues with pre-released topics. I sometimes submit a story within the first week of topic coming out, and having nothing to do for an entire month has never sat really well with me. On the other end of the spectrum, when I am writing at the last minute like this month, I don't think about next month's topic, it isn't a distraction at all.
I don't know, I really don't see the issue and generally prefer the idea of seeing the topics ahead, because if I really hate/can't come up with something for this month, then I have nothing but frustration, and no opportunity to work on a different topic.
It's also relevant in my case, I guess, that I'm not really active on the forum at large. So if the contest is bad for a month it's most likely me not showing up at all and most likely getting distracted doing something else for then god knows how long. But it's very much just my case.
- What do you think of setting 3 subjects in advance?
- Did increasing the word limit to 2000 help you, is it something you'd like to continue?
- Is voting in 3 weeks ok?
- Do you like the critiques?
- I like it, I'd like it to stay like that.
- It let me be a little more generous, but after 5-6 years of writing 1,500 words stories here, it made little difference in the end. Still ok with it tbh.
- With only 5 stories it was most certainly ok, I voted the same day.
- I haven't had any critiques so I can't say anything on that front.
Xiagan and I are also thinking of the next 3 months and we had an idea: let's have the last 2 winners suggest a theme each, and Xia and I will come up with the third.
This seems like it will invite repetitions (though I could work extra hard to win xmas so I can make february fan fic free haha) and I personally don't care about it at all. I like the element of being forced into a subject I wouldn't usually tackle. The surprise/constraint is part of the fun of the exercise. I think I'd struggle to come up with something that wasn't already done and is a good theme and something I like... Sounds like a headache I don't want. But if it helps make people come in... then sure.
I think more than anything the contest needs fresh blood. I've invited a friend to join... but yeah, we need advertisement first and foremost, and forums aren't that hype any more these days. It's a tough battle.
Getting published was one of the main cruxes of the contest. This still not working is a massive bummer.