Flash Contest Format

[kailhofer]

I like it anonymous, but that should be no surprise, since that's the way I always did it. Doesn't mean the other way is wrong, of course.

Participation is more important than the particulars.

[Lipinski]

Writers are the representation of the human nature. The leading edge of emotions. The prow of dialogue. Scouts of a civilization advancing and declining.

Writers are happy, moody, sad, crazy, intelligent, stupid, biased, neutral... basically they express in writing what is truly the human condition.

Now. Saying all the (censored) words above. They are also herd animals. Choosing their favorite watering hole, favorite food, favorite sexual identity... Most writers write in similar fashion making identity easy for readers to identify. Yet, some writers can be multiple identities and wear the cloak of obscurity. Alias's. Tweaking style and words. These types of writers are excellent.

Still, I'm in the camp of having such challenges being anonymous until after the readers decide for themselves if what they are reading is worthy of consideration.

For example: My name is President Trump and I just wrote this - "Spot the dog chased after the ball."

Because I just let the reader know my name is Trump, many readers will gag and say that "Spot the dog chased after the ball." was the worst piece of writing ever read.

Now, on the other side: My name is President Obama and I just wrote this - "Spot the dog chased after the ball." Holy (censored)!!! That's the best bit of writing ever to grace the words of man!

So, anonymous is best for the best results of judgement. Personal bias is just too prevalent in today's society.

Also. As to format of the contest. I enjoy the 1000 words or less. I hate 'The End' on every story. Why have the end when the end is obvious?

Also. I firmly believe in no barriers of language or adult situations. If anyone actually believes a two-year old logs on to a computer, finds a website like Aphelion. Clicks on the forums and reads stories where a (censored is censoring a censored censore) then that two-year old is no different than all those other 'children' in today's world of smart phones, video games, and life.

I mean, just look at how they are teaching very young children about oral sex, cucumbers on condoms, but... yeah, ranting a bit but society is truly hypocritical with thoughts of children and what they do. And for a further example of what children do, my neighbors 11 year old son plays 'fingers under the blanket' on the school bus with a local ranchers daughter only a few years older. And so it is.

Anyway. I like the challenges. I admire those who volunteer to run them. And that's my input regarding flash contests. Oh, and since the word, 'flash' connates the idea of fast. How about having a challenge where there is a premise and a 24 hour window to submit and another 24 hours to vote? I know it would be hell for a volunteer to push all that through but maybe have open submissions where people did submit using their real name or alias or whatever... Let the thread become alive with editor oversight to keep the crazies and hate out of it.

[Megawatts]

I like the anonymous approach since it doesn't give the read a clue about the author. However, the author's style might come through but that will be minimal.

[Lipinski]

Great story Tao. The parasite is off (censored) dolphins in Florida today but sent smoke signals saying it hopes your feathers suffer from premature ignition. I'm kinda hoping it gets caught in a rip-tide, but knowing it, it does indeed seem to possess a unique survival skill.

And Iain, a stupid question on my part, why do the stories and such have to have 'the end' at the end?

[kailhofer]

And Iain, a stupid question on my part, why do the stories and such have to have 'the end' at the end?

Because putting "The End" at the beginning would just be confusing. Duh.

Just kidding. Well, I can't speak for which traditions Iain will follow, but I can tell you why I started doing it in the challenges oh, so many years ago. It was to make sure there was no mistake about where one writer's work ended and another began, especially in that the stories would be posted in one long post without any bylines on them. I didn't want there to be even a chance that a writer could misunderstand and think another author was taking or being given credit for something someone else wrote, because obviously those authors technically owned those words they wrote. It also lets a humble editor know they got the whole story submitted (which connects to the last point of the following paragraph).

The next logical question would be why then was "The End" included when the stories reposted later? In part, tradition. Also because after the authors included it to meet the rules, it was part of their work and needed to be posted as a part of their piece. But mostly it was because there are a lot of flash stories that stop suddenly, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusion, and if a reader doesn't get the author's intent, they can easily think a part of the story is missing.

[Lipinski]

The end, to finis... lead to the mind thinking...Deeba deeba, that's all folks! like on the old cartoons they used to show on television.

I now see the reasoning behind 'the end' as how the threads are portrayed. But, just like a plastic five gallon bucket showing how a kid is not supposed to stick their head in or risk drowning, or the labeling of plastic that it will suffocate a person if sticking the bag over their head... I feel society is steered too much regarding common sense.

"Warning: this posting may cause long periods of uncontrollable bowel functions if read before consuming ten cups of coffee. Side effects of reading this post include nausea, giggles, eye blinking, inhalation of air, exhaling of air, gas, acne... and if you drank ten cups of coffee you may experience the urge to climb a mountain, ride a bicycle around the world, or lead to the addiction of eating bagels covered in cream cheese and pickles..."

[kailhofer]

I now see the reasoning behind 'the end' as how the threads are portrayed. But, just like a plastic five gallon bucket showing how a kid is not supposed to stick their head in or risk drowning, or the labeling of plastic that it will suffocate a person if sticking the bag over their head... I feel society is steered too much regarding common sense.

Oh, I agree about being steered too much in terms of common sense.

However, about those warning labels, my wife studied about them when she was learning to be a paralegal. She told me that in every case where you see a warning label on a product it is because someone was actually horribly injured and/or killed in that manner. Manufacturers are not allowed to put pre-emptive warnings, believe it or not (as I understand it).

The real case of that lady burned by the McDonalds coffee was much, much more on the woman's side than McD's lawyers and marketing dept. presented it to America. The show "Adam Ruins Everything" did a whole segment on it.

[Lipinski]

I heard the same thing, which reminds me of a saying, 'if it has been thought of, it has been tried...' Yikes! Having personal 'relations' with a porcupine while wearing an empty five gallon plastic pail on the head and wearing shoes with untied laces...while having a midget wrap the whole scene in saran wrap (or empty plastic bread sacks)

Your post reminded me that people have been killed or seriously hurt in the most amazing of ways. Thus, that thought lead me to remember a series of books I do enjoy reading, Darwin Awards.

Thank goodness people make crazy decisions, it makes for excellent writing inspiration!