Thinking Of Starting New Simlit Contest...Thoughts?

I'm tagging people who have posted to lisabee's simlit contest recently in order to make sure people who might be interested in this actually see this post (see previous entry above). I hope that's okay with you. I won't tag you in future updates--this is a one-time thing. If you want to keep up with any future info, you can always click the star to follow this thread, assuming this project moves forward.

@AnnoyingTiger, @breckenridge, @Cement, @Charliimai, @darkchadmeister, @divanthesimmer, @Dollyllama108, @Karababy52, @katrinasforest, @LauraAnneB, @lillibattenberg, @lisabee2, @Minraed, @Orchidah1, @Pinmat135, @Roomouse, @Qnshr5, @shera20, @SoulGal7

Sounds fun! I might submit every now and then and see how it goes.

Looser censorship I can definitely go with so I might submit depending on the themes presented.
I'd also like to suggest a higher word count for entries and that screenshots should be optional... working with images can be a hindrance to some authors.

@QueenofMyshuno I like the concept a lot, and I appreciate timing it so it's not like there's two projects "due" at once. I'd be up for it. :)

hm maybe. if you just tell me what i need to do in simple steps, it could possibly work. I don't know that I could do it every month but I'd do the first one if everyone else is.

I do like the idea of your irl friends voting, although they may not get the inside-jokes and sim-specific quirks that we would, like Dolly's Raven poem.

@divanthesimmer @NyteRose @katrinasforest @breckenridge Thank you for your feedback! :)

@NyteRose - Good idea about the higher word count. I know I struggle to get under those really low word counts. What do you think of a 3,000 word limit? Also, what do you think is a hindrance to posting pictures? Is it that the person doesn't know how or something else? I have a couple of ideas for that--1) posting a tutorial on the blog on how to post pics, or 2) Maybe I would post the winning stories on the blog itself; if so, I could allow people to make their submissions via email/Word, and then they could put their pics in that? Let me know what you think.

@breckenridge - Good point about non-simmers not getting sim-related humor or other content. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I could have some guest judges from the simming community, and have different judges each time? What do you think of that idea?

"QueenofMyshuno;c-17387233" wrote:
@divanthesimmer @NyteRose @katrinasforest @breckenridge Thank you for your feedback! :)

@NyteRose - Good idea about the higher word count. I know I struggle to get under those really low word counts. What do you think of a 3,000 word limit? Also, what do you think is a hindrance to posting pictures? Is it that the person doesn't know how or something else? I have a couple of ideas for that--1) posting a tutorial on the blog on how to post pics, or 2) Maybe I would post the winning stories on the blog itself; if so, I could allow people to make their submissions via email/Word, and then they could put their pics in that? Let me know what you think.

@breckenridge - Good point about non-simmers not getting sim-related humor or other content. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I could have some guest judges from the simming community, and have different judges each time? What do you think of that idea?

I might know a few people who could be judges. @CathyTea and @lisabee2 are loyal readers and they aren't biased or anything (and Cathy will most likely get the humour). I'm sure there are many other writers fit for the role, but these two are the first people I think about when it comes to anything SimLit-related.

@QueenofMyshuno - It's an interesting concept. I think the word count of 3,000 words is too much. Maybe this could run over a 2-month period instead of each month, as I always struggle to get things done in a month and never end up doing it.

Perhaps we could just write something about the item that you have chosen, if simmers are having problems with posting pics. Or just limit the pics.

As far as the 'looser censorship', not sure about that one. The reason I contribute to the Simlit Challenge is because it is a family-friendly board, and that is what I like.

I still think that your idea is great. Hopefully more simmers will reply. Thanks for tagging me. :)

@QueenofMyshuno I was thinking 1500 word limit? And what I meant about the hindrance of screenshots is some authors prefer not to have pictures and use text only. I prefer not use screenshots in my stories, just text.

@QueenofMyshuno Thank you for tagging me! :) I might consider entering a new SimLit challenge, at the very least I would read the stories. I love reading SimLit!

I like the idea of using something; an object, room or Sim etc. as an inspiration for our entries and the fact it would be open to the style of writing.

I agree that having guest judges from the SimLit community might be a better idea. I think it would be helpful too if these judges were to maybe write a short paragraph as to what they liked about the writing and perhaps constructive criticism for how they feel the writer could improve. Something similar to what some judges do in the Modeling contests or even in Build-n-Share. I would leave it up to the entrants whether or not they want this kind of critique though.

I also struggle with word limits. I usually write way too much, end up not wanting to make too many editing cuts because it would hurt the vibe of my story and decide not to enter at all. Perhaps 1500-2000?

I understand the intention behind making it a rule participants must comment on other entries, but sometimes Simmers don't have time or are too shy to make comments. I personally think it might make some think twice about entering just for that reason. I know for myself, I read many, many stories, but I don't always comment for lack of time. However, I do give them a 'like' at the end of chapters just so they know I read and liked it. If this rule ends up being a part of the challenge though and I decide to enter, I would make sure to comment something. Even if it's only a 'Great story' or 'Thank you for sharing' etc. Would that work? Or were you thinking something more indepth?

So, entrants wouldn't be able to post a link to the entries here on the forum? Or are you suggesting that entrants don't start a new thread on the forum to write their story that could possibly be censored? Strictly links to stories off site are not censored on the forum as far as I know. I read at least three stories that have links here that sometimes contain NSFW images or text and the moderators have never had a problem with links to those kind of stories. At least the ones I read haven't been censored. Have others had links censored because of what the stories contain?

Lastly, I don't have a problem with text only entries, but I wonder if they would be considered 'SimLit' if there isn't at least one image of Sims or something depicted from inside the game. What exactly is the definition of SimLit anyway? Doesn't it have to be Sims related in text or text and images to qualify? Now if the text contained Sim phrases or references to the game somehow and clearly was written using the game as inspiration, I guess that would be considered SimLit, right? I don't know...

Just my thoughts... hope they don't sound too harsh or critical. o.O I'm glad you're thinking about doing this, it sounds like it has potential to be a fun project. As I shared from the start, I'll at least enjoy reading the entries if I don't enter anything myself.

Happy Simming! :)