Escape Artists
The Arcade => Flash Contest IV => Completed Contests => Flash Fiction IV - Escape Pod => Topic started by: eytanz on February 27, 2016, 12:49:47 PM
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The Escape Pod Flash Fiction Contest of 2016 is about to enter it's voting period. This time, we have received a total of 132 submissions - a great showing, especially since this is the first contest where authors were limited to one entry each.
The stories have been split into 12 groups of 11 stories each. Stories are assigned to the groups randomly; authors will not be informed in advance which group their story is in.
In each group, pick up to 3 favorite stories to vote on. You are perfectly allowed to vote for less than 3.
The initial groups will be released daily, from March 1 through March 12. Each group will be up for a week.
Once the stories have been voted on, there will be a second round, consisting of 4 groups of 9 stories each. These four groups will be posted simultaneously, as most voters will have already been able to read them by then. The second rounds will also be available for a week.
The top 2 winners from each second round group will go up to the final, which will also be open for a week.
In order to avoid delaying the contest for tie-break rounds, which have proven to be frustrating for everyone involved, we have introduced new rules for handlin ties this contest, as follows:
- If there is a two-way tie for third place (or for second place in round 2), both stories will ascend, resulting in an extra story in the next round.
- If there is a three-or-more-way tie in the first two rounds, the contest runner (that's me) will select which two stories ascend. This is the only time in which I get a vote.
- If there is a tie for third place in the final round, the editorial staff will offer a contract to all the tied stories; if this is considered unfeasible (say, there's a 5-way tie), then there will be a tiebreaker round.
The full schedule is posted at the bottom of this post, after the rules.
VOTING RULES:
1. This contest is being run by me, eytanz, the Escapepod forum moderator. If needed, other forum moderators may be brought in, and that will be announced. If one of the moderators submitted an entry, they will not use any of their moderator abilities in the contest forums without disqualifying their entry.
2. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will receive a contract to be bought and produced as flash fiction pieces at pro rates. Contact will be established with the winning authors at the conclusion of the contest. Escape Pod's editors also reserve the right to approach non-winning authors and offer to purchase their stories if they so wish.
3. Stories will be posted anonymously. Authors will be revealed after their story either loses or wins the contest. Please do not try to guess at the authors, at least publicly. Those posts will be deleted and the poster will be warned. As an author, please do not try to garner outside support through blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. We cannot stop you, but I urge you to just link to the contest in general, not your story. That said, please do tell your friends about this contest and about Escape Artists! I will be keeping an eye on any fishy business, and if I think something is up, I will take action. It is easy to find cheaters. If we discover that an author has revealed their authorship of a story before it is allowed (in the contest threads or elsewhere), that is grounds for disqualification of the story. The contest is to be won on the merits of the story, not the popularity of the author.
4. As always, constructive discussion is encouraged about all stories posted in this contest. The key word here is constructive. Normal forum rules remain in place. Be civil and respectful. That's our one rule (http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=3289.0). Rude and unconstructive negativity will be deleted or edited, and the offending poster will be warned. This goes for authors as well. You are free to comment on any story, including your own, but keep it civil and respectful. I reserve the right to kick any author and their stories out of the contest should there be ample reason.
5. Creating multiple accounts to vote for a story will get you banned from the forums and your story kicked from the contest. If you are sharing a computer, living space, or router with someone else who will be voting or creating an account, make sure to message me. Failure to do so may result in various adverse effects such as account deletion and/or banning.
6. It is perfectly fine to vote for your own story. In fact, we encourage all authors to do so because that levels the playing field. Only avoid voting for your own story if you genuinely believe other stories should win over it, not just to be polite, please.
7. The voting polls will allow voters to change their votes; sometimes, people's impressions of stories change over time and we want to allow people to revise their votes if they honestly wish. However, if we catch people voting tactically (e.g. changing a vote from a popular story to a less popular story in order to weaken the competition in a round where their own stories participate), they will be banned from further votes in the contest.
8. In order to encourage more people to participate, the contest board (where this rules post is posted) is currently visible to everyone, including non-forum members. However, the submissions themselves will be posted in sub-forums that will be hidden and available only to registered members of the forum, and will remain so permanently. This will ensure that the entries are not available to a general audience and prevent them as being considered as published by most markets. If needed for outside publishing purposes, an author can request a story to be deleted. Simply message me on the forums or at eytan@escapeartists.net with your concerns. Note, however, that if you choose to withdraw and delete your story, we will not delete the comments made by voters in the story's comment thread.
Again, always remember our one rule (http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=3289.0). We want to keep this contest fun, constructive, and inviting. Criticism can be tough to take and tough to dish out. You can be harsh in your criticisms, but remain respectful to the author and other forumites and there won't be any problems.
Please read and re-read these rules before asking questions. That all said, any questions, comments, concerns?
VOTING SCHEDULE:
(Note that because of external constraints, I may not be able to open all polls at exactly the same time each day. In general, I will aim for 7am, GMT, as the opening/closing time for polls. If they start late, the missed time will be added on to the end).
March 1: Group 1 opens
March 2: Group 2 opens
March 3: Group 3 opens
March 4: Group 4 opens
March 5: Group 5 opens
March 6: Group 6 opens
March 7: Group 7 opens
March 8: Group 8 opens, group 1 closes.
March 9: Group 9 opens, group 2 closes.
March 10: Group 10 opens, group 3 closes.
March 11: Group 11 opens, group 4 closes.
March 12: Group 12 opens, group 5 closes.
March 13: Group 6 closes.
March 14: Group 7 closes.
March 15: Group 8 closes.
March 16: Group 9 closes.
March 17: Group 10 closes.
March 18: Group 11 closes.
March 19: Group 12 closes, round 2 opens
March 26: Round 2 closes, final round opens
April 2: Final round closes, winner announced
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By the way, if you just joined the forum to participate in the contest and need to post in order to protect your account from disappearing next time we do a spambot purge, this is a good thread to say hi in.
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HI
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Hi!
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Hi!
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8. In order to encourage more people to participate, the contest forum is currently visible to everyone, including non-forum members. However, once the submissions are closed the contest forum will be hidden and available only to registered members of the forum, and will remain so. This will ensure that the entries are not available to a general audience and prevent them as being considered as published by most markets. If needed for outside publishing purposes, an author can request a story to be deleted. Simply message me on the forums or at eytan@escapeartists.net with your concerns. Note, however, that if you choose to withdraw and delete your story, we will not delete the comments made by voters in the story's comment thread.
Eytanz, if all the stories are visible during the contest, this makes them de facto published if I understand correctly. I don't think we can make them visible, particularly considering the number of runner-up stories that wind up selling after the contest ends.
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This wording was copy&pasted from the pseudopod contest, and it clearly states that the entries will be hidden, so I'm not sure what you are referring to here.
That said, the wording is a bit inaccurate in describing the timing of the hiding, so I will tweak that now.
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Yo.
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This wording was copy&pasted from the pseudopod contest, and it clearly states that the entries will be hidden, so I'm not sure what you are referring to here.
That said, the wording is a bit inaccurate in describing the timing of the hiding, so I will tweak that now.
Thanks. I missed it the first time around, apparently. I did make a couple checks while that contest was running to ensure the stories were not visible to the outside. Wanted to make sure integrity was maintained.
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hi good day one and all
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Hey new people/authors. I'm looking forward to 'slushing' for EA again. Volunteer work #woot!
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Hi!
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Hi!
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Hello
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Hi, and good luck to all
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Dang... things have been a bit busy so I haven't checked in on the forums for a while, and there wasn't an announcement about it on Escape Pod. Looks like I missed submitting this time.
Well, good luck everyone!
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By the way, if you just joined the forum to participate in the contest and need to post in order to protect your account from disappearing next time we do a spambot purge, this is a good thread to say hi in.
Hello
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There are a lot of adele fans in this thread.
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Hi.
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Hello and good luck to all!
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Hi. Hadn't been able to figure out why my account kept getting deleted until I saw the post about the spambot purge. :)
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Hello from me too. Hopefully now my account won't keep getting deleted :)
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There are a lot of adele fans in this thread.
:D :D
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There are a lot of adele fans in this thread.
:D :D
You are only encouraging him. ::)
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Hi! I don't even know where to start exploring the forums - these places always seem so big when you first get started.
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Hi
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Good luck to all contestants!
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Hi all! This is my first time participating so I'm kind of excited! Really fun way to do contest. ;)
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There are a lot of adele fans in this thread.
:P
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Hello
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Hi all! This is my first time participating so I'm kind of excited! Really fun way to do contest. ;)
Hi Holly,
Welcome. My first contest was the pseudopod contest last year. I had a great time. Just remember, comments can sometimes be robust, but they're meant to help.
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Hi!
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Hi all! This is my first time participating so I'm kind of excited! Really fun way to do contest. ;)
Hi Holly,
Welcome. My first contest was the pseudopod contest last year. I had a great time. Just remember, comments can sometimes be robust, but they're meant to help.
Oh, I'm used to critiques so I'm ready to be cut to shreds. Do your worst! I'll do my best to hold back my inner critic and be nicer as well. (Although I do find it hard to ignore passive voice - that's when I get out my shears.)
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For my story, the most effective form of criticism I can imagine is votes, lots and lots of votes for it. Also, tell me that I'm pretty when you comment in the thread.
It's the only way I'll learn, people.
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Hello!
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Ooh, my account still works! Despite the fact that I apparently last posted in the second Flash Fiction Contest in 2010. The Escape Artists forum has a long memory.
I see that I also missed Flash Fiction Contest #3 in the intervening years, which was careless of me. Luckily I caught the tweet about this one.
Anyway, can't wait to get reading and voting again. Good luck to the authors!
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Hi! Good luck all!
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Ooh, my account still works! Despite the fact that I apparently last posted in the second Flash Fiction Contest in 2010. The Escape Artists forum has a long memory.
I see that I also missed Flash Fiction Contest #3 in the intervening years, which was careless of me. Luckily I caught the tweet about this one.
Anyway, can't wait to get reading and voting again. Good luck to the authors!
Welcome back!
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Hi, everybody!
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For my story, the most effective form of criticism I can imagine is votes, lots and lots of votes for it. Also, tell me that I'm pretty when you comment in the thread.
It's the only way I'll learn, people.
Dear Thunderscreech,
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Your story stunk, but you're pretty,
So I voted for you.
:D :D
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For my story, the most effective form of criticism I can imagine is votes, lots and lots of votes for it. Also, tell me that I'm pretty when you comment in the thread.
It's the only way I'll learn, people.
Dear Thunderscreech,
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Your story stunk, but you're pretty,
So I voted for you.
:D :D
I can feel the learning already! :D
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Hello, I'm new here and looking forward to this contest!
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Hi
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There are a lot of adele fans in this thread.
:D :D
You are only encouraging him. ::)
Don't listen to Shane. He is just jealous, and I haven't even made a Lionel Richie joke to go with the Adele joke yet.
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There are a lot of adele fans in this thread.
:D :D
You are only encouraging him. ::)
Don't listen to Shane. He is just jealous, and I haven't even made a Lionel Richie joke to go with the Adele joke yet.
You can stoop lower...
At least you're not reciting poetry to Thunderscreech.
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At least you're not reciting poetry to Thunderscreech.
YOU ARE ONLY ENCOURAGING HIM
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At least you're not reciting poetry to Thunderscreech.
YOU ARE ONLY ENCOURAGING HIM
I have some lovely works by noted poet Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Sussex!
BTW, waking up to new stories is a lovely reason to get out of bed, this is the best part of the whole thing.
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Howdy, all.
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At least you're not reciting poetry to Thunderscreech.
YOU ARE ONLY ENCOURAGING HIM
:D :D
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At least you're not reciting poetry to Thunderscreech.
YOU ARE ONLY ENCOURAGING HIM
WHY ARE WE YELLING?
Oh!
I think I've got it figured out. The reason you're upset is....
You're a Pink Floyd fan and you're upset that I mentioned two other musical artists before singing Comfortably Numb.
Hello? Hello? Hello? Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone at home?
Now we can get along, right? :)
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Hello? Is it me you're looking for?
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Hello. I love you. Won't you tell me your name?
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(ding dong) Hello, my name is Elder Price ♪
♫ And I would like to share with you
The most amazing book ♫
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(ding dong) Hello, my name is Elder Price ♪
♫ And I would like to share with you
The most amazing book ♫
:D :D :D :D
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hi
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HI!
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Hello. I love you. Won't you tell me your name?
Ooh! That's a good one, I forgot about that song.
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hi
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A couple decades ago, I got my first exposure to usability testing. This is where we would give folks off the street some cash to come in and do tasks from a list while we recorded their screen. We'd ask them to talk their way through what they were working on so we could understand why they decided to click certain things or type others.
Basically, can normal people use our software? That was the question we were asking.
Task: Turn off the firewall temporarily
Task: Create a network rule to allow Netscape Communicator
Task: Check for product updates
Stuff like this, we'd give a basic task and then we'd sit back and watch through the mirrored-glass (exactly like you'd find in any number of spy or law enforcement movies)
Now I've been working with this program for months and I know it inside and out. I know we're ready to go, anyone can use it and it's a really straight-forward interface so in my mind, this is a formality.
As people started doing the tests, I first began to question the criteria used to pick them. Were these actual adults who could hold normal jobs or did they need constant care? I couldn't understand why they messed up SO MANY THINGS.
"Why doesn't he click the button RIGHT THERE?" I'd ask someone next to me after watching a tester spend a couple minutes hunting for an option.
Later, another new member to the team shook their hands over their head. "I don't get why she doesn't drag the icon into the folder! Has she even USED a computer before? Just drag it!"
"He's in the wrong screen! Why does he think he can make a firewall rule HERE?! I think this is a prank. Nobody could be this thick!" I said to the other team member. They nodded their head
The seasoned developer in the room, would wave at us to quiet down. "Just listen to what they're saying", she told us. "This is why we're doing this."
We finally quieted down when one of our eruptions could be heard through the glass and the person running the test asked us to quiet down. When we listened, we began to actually hear what that developer wanted us to look for. No, it wasn't obvious that they needed to drag something into a folder. Creating the firewall rule in this screen might make sense if they expect this part of the product to work like that other part they tried earlier. That button... I knew that button would take them to the option needed, but that was because I'd played with the product for months. With time, I grew to appreciate these tests because they showed me what we needed to do to make our products better. I started being able to see some of the problems ahead of time, early in design, and that saved us money and schedule. I grew to be better at my job and eventually to really look forward to these sessions.
Reading responses to my story feels like I'm riding an emotional time machine. I'm that younger version of me again. Instead of a mirror-wall, it's the anonymity of the contest and the need to not post (because of the danger of revealing which story is mine) that separates me from the readers. "No", I want to post, "that's not what I meant at all! The character is supposed to be like XXXX, not YYYY. You're wrong!" "That's not it at all, that was on purpose!" I want to tell another poster. After reading a couple responses and yelling at my monitor, I hear that voice from my past again and this time, I really listen.
"Just listen to what they're saying", that developer murmurs to me from the 1990s. I haven't spoken with her in years, but I can still hear that advice like I'm back in Pre- Dot Com Santa Monica. I pause. If I'm going to become a better writer, I can't expect to hand-hold my audience. My story needs to be self-contained, if it needs explanation then I've screwed up. "This", I hear her say in my mind, "is why we're doing this".
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A couple decades ago, I got my first exposure to usability testing. This is where we would give folks off the street some cash to come in and do tasks from a list while we recorded their screen. We'd ask them to talk their way through what they were working on so we could understand why they decided to click certain things or type others.
Basically, can normal people use our software? That was the question we were asking.
Task: Turn off the firewall temporarily
Task: Create a network rule to allow Netscape Communicator
Task: Check for product updates
Stuff like this, we'd give a basic task and then we'd sit back and watch through the mirrored-glass (exactly like you'd find in any number of spy or law enforcement movies)
Now I've been working with this program for months and I know it inside and out. I know we're ready to go, anyone can use it and it's a really straight-forward interface so in my mind, this is a formality.
As people started doing the tests, I first began to question the criteria used to pick them. Were these actual adults who could hold normal jobs or did they need constant care? I couldn't understand why they messed up SO MANY THINGS.
"Why doesn't he click the button RIGHT THERE?" I'd ask someone next to me after watching a tester spend a couple minutes hunting for an option.
Later, another new member to the team shook their hands over their head. "I don't get why she doesn't drag the icon into the folder! Has she even USED a computer before? Just drag it!"
"He's in the wrong screen! Why does he think he can make a firewall rule HERE?! I think this is a prank. Nobody could be this thick!" I said to the other team member. They nodded their head
The seasoned developer in the room, would wave at us to quiet down. "Just listen to what they're saying", she told us. "This is why we're doing this."
We finally quieted down when one of our eruptions could be heard through the glass and the person running the test asked us to quiet down. When we listened, we began to actually hear what that developer wanted us to look for. No, it wasn't obvious that they needed to drag something into a folder. Creating the firewall rule in this screen might make sense if they expect this part of the product to work like that other part they tried earlier. That button... I knew that button would take them to the option needed, but that was because I'd played with the product for months. With time, I grew to appreciate these tests because they showed me what we needed to do to make our products better. I started being able to see some of the problems ahead of time, early in design, and that saved us money and schedule. I grew to be better at my job and eventually to really look forward to these sessions.
Reading responses to my story feels like I'm riding an emotional time machine. I'm that younger version of me again. Instead of a mirror-wall, it's the anonymity of the contest and the need to not post (because of the danger of revealing which story is mine) that separates me from the readers. "No", I want to post, "that's not what I meant at all! The character is supposed to be like XXXX, not YYYY. You're wrong!" "That's not it at all, that was on purpose!" I want to tell another poster. After reading a couple responses and yelling at my monitor, I hear that voice from my past again and this time, I really listen.
"Just listen to what they're saying", that developer murmurs to me from the 1990s. I haven't spoken with her in years, but I can still hear that advice like I'm back in Pre- Dot Com Santa Monica. I pause. If I'm going to become a better writer, I can't expect to hand-hold my audience. My story needs to be self-contained, if it needs explanation then I've screwed up. "This", I hear her say in my mind, "is why we're doing this".
This post was one of the best I've ever read explaining why the writer has to sit still and listen to the readers.
When the readers don't like something that the writer wrote, this may be a matter of opinion; one person could love what another hates, and vice versa. But when most readers misunderstand what the writer meant, it's definitely the writer's fault.
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The seasoned developer in the room, would wave at us to quiet down. "Just listen to what they're saying", she told us. "This is why we're doing this."
Y'know I do usability testing often. Indeed content-specific usability testing in many instances. And yet the analogy to how the strangers read my fiction never occurred to me. Thanks for that, it's going to be a useful extra mental tool for listening to feedback.
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Whoa, that is a great analogy, Thunderscreech. Great enough that it would be cool to share it beyond this contest. Do you have a blog? Would you be interested in a guest post on mine?
Seriously, really good, really solid idea there.
This can be one of the really difficult parts about starting to write is learning to take feedback. I've seen so many times a new writer just explain in response to a critique. No matter how much the explanation makes sense, the story won't be published with an explanation, so the story's gotta handle that itself.
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Thanks! If you think it's worth sharing, then sure. I've never done a guest post anywhere (excepting those times when I broke into computers as a teenager but those were less 'guest posts' than 'un-approved console login messages'), sounds neat. My blog (alphahole.net) is more of a place where I post silly pictures and personal stories and has the ongoing readership of an archived geocities page (infrequent and typically accidental).
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Hey! :)
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As of this morning, all stories have been posted - we will now have a week to wait while the remaining groups are voted on, and the round 2 groups will be posted next Saturday.
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A week each for these last two rounds is brutal! The round 2 threads are ghost towns, the only thing changing is the 'view' count on the voting threads. :D I can just imagine offices around the world with authors mechanically clicking 'Refresh' as they gaze into their flickering monitors. "Did someone vote? No. How about now? ....no. (pause) There, I showed self control, I didn't refresh for almost a minute, has anyone voted? ...........no. k. Ok, we'll get through this. Only 11 days to go. (click)"
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A week each for these last two rounds is brutal! The round 2 threads are ghost towns, the only thing changing is the 'view' count on the voting threads. :D I can just imagine offices around the world with authors mechanically clicking 'Refresh' as they gaze into their flickering monitors. "Did someone vote? No. How about now? ....no. (pause) There, I showed self control, I didn't refresh for almost a minute, has anyone voted? ...........no. k. Ok, we'll get through this. Only 11 days to go. (click)"
By gar Thunderscreech! Talk about exaggeration, I only logged on 7 or 8 times today, at most, to check if the vote tally has changed. Nope, hasn't changed... *wanders off to sleep until Saturday.
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I only logged on 7 or 8 times today, at most, to check if the vote tally has changed.
A true ascetic! Your self control is humbling, I shall endeavor to- brb, gotta go check tally.
Sorry, what was I saying?
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You gotta give both the office people and the weekend people a chance to read the stories and vote.
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Hi everyone!
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I feel really bad for not participating in the voting and reading - was very busy with work and traveling schedules :(
Didn't even vote for my own story, not that it would have helped.
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I feel really bad for not participating in the voting and reading - was very busy with work and traveling schedules :(
Didn't even vote for my own story, not that it would have helped.
It's not too late to make a difference in the finals. Currently third place is tied, so every vote really does count.
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Not a big deal, but are the entries ever officially 'rejected' on Submittable?
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Not a big deal, but are the entries ever officially 'rejected' on Submittable?
Mine was FWIW.
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Not a big deal, but are the entries ever officially 'rejected' on Submittable?
Mine is still marked as "in progress"...
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Ha - I just got my rejection ;D Thanks for clearing that out guys ;D
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Just got mine too. I had assumed it rejected a while ago, but good to get confirmation of it. :)