It's been a fair while since I've posted at all (I have been voting though), and longer since I entered the contest, but I really can't ignore this thread.
The biggest thing for me that attracted me to this site and the contest (I would say forum but I've been exceptionally guilty of rarely posting anything beyond contest-related stuff - but that's just me) was the exposure. What kept me going through story after story was the excitement in the threads over topics, ideas, and the informal (and more formal) feedback we would get.
Some of this seems to have dwindled. The exposure is quite a stark one. Beyond the handful of voters (I assume mainly the writers but I know there have always been several avid readers), there's little sense that anyone reads the stories. And some of them are frankly amazing. I doubt there have been (m)any I would consider undeserving of a vote. As others have already mentioned, getting more attention to the contest would go some way to reinvigorating it.
As would a much quicker turnaround on publishing the winners on the main site. I have not checked when the last one was, but I believe my story from 'Ships' along with Jenny HJ's that tied with it, has not seen the light of day. And that was a considerable time ago. I think there's plenty from before that too.
Cross-platform promotion of it would help massively with this. Encouraging some level of feedback might also be helpful (but we'd have to be careful with this one). After all, we all have egos and feeling like we have written something worth reading can be a significant boost in itself - even if you've not managed to sway a vote.
On a personal level, it would be a massive shame for the contest to wither away. It's gave me a significant personal boost in my writing - and at times when I have really needed it. If not for the fact that writing has felt like pulling teeth for probably around 18 months, if not for some personal issues with it that I am struggling to work through, I would (hopefully) be entering regularly again - regardless of what I feel about the topic. If anything the ones I thought I liked the least gave me the greatest challenge and pushed me.
So on a side note - if there's anything I can do to help keep this going, in whatever format is decided, I will do what I can. Even if it means creeping out of my cave and back into sunlight.
