All righty, today's the day before the big day! Midnight, your local time, tonight, the contest opens! So, here's what to do for submitting.
Email your entry to us at TheVaccuumContests@gmail.com . In the email, we need your name, your age, the prompt, & the style of writing that your piece uses (poetry, short story, script, etc.). That's all you need to do. If you want to be really nice, you could put that same info in your document, as well, but if you don't, that's cool.
We also kindly ask that your pieces are sent to us to be compatible with Microsoft Word or, if push comes to shove, Notepad. If you cannot do any of those, just copy and paste your piece into your email.
Also, a lovely commenter asked if there were age restrictions or only people from certain countries could enter. I will have you know that there are no such restrictions.
Remember, 5000 words is your limit. No buts, no cuts, no coconuts. The prompt is "Nerdfighters".
Now, if you ever run into a prompt that you know nothing about, either 1)Look it up, or 2)Take the prompt and be creative with it, imagining your own definition to the word or phrase.
So, yeah, that should be it. Get to writing, and the contest opens at midnight!
- Katie
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
The Test Run Phase & Prompts
Hullo, fellow writers.
So, today, I want to elaborate on a couple of points that I think need a little more explanation: the meaning of a "test run" and how to deal with the prompts.
The test run is essentially the same contest, where you send in a piece according to the prompt, the judges judge it and give you feedback, then we select a Top Ten to post here for the people to decide on. The only difference between a test run and the real thing is that there's no money involved.
"WHAT?" you might shriek at your computer screen. "WHY DO YOU WANT MY MONEY, YOU BRIGANDS?!"
Well, firstly, thanks a bunch for using a classy word like 'brigands' to express your supposed offence. I shouldn't be happy about that, but there you go. Secondly, we'd want your money so that we can pool it all together to assemble the awards to your chosen charities. Sensible, fine, and, not to mention, incredibly un-brigandlike.
But why do I bring this up if we're doing a test run first, without ANY money involved? Well, just so you know what the future can hold for this contest if we get a ton of people entering and paying attention to the blog this time around.
In short, if we get a fairly large number of submissions, we know that we can acheive fairly high rewards for charities with the money we'd gain from submissions in future Vaccuum Contests. And you all are fans of that, right? I hope so. Not only that, but everyone gets feedback in any version of the contest, including this first one. It's a lovely thing, isn't it?
Moving on to the next point, the prompts are also in need of further explanation.
The prompt is something that you should have in your piece. It could be an object, person, idea, theme, quotation, et cetera, et cetera, and so forth. But what you do with it is your decision. It doesn't matter if it is central to the story, or if it is something briefly mentioned in your piece.
The point of having the prompt is so that the judges have something to unite the pieces around. And, not only that, but it may force entrants out of their comfort zones, and that is an incredibly good thing for writers to do sometimes. You might find things out about your writing that you've never known of before. You might have a blast writing it with the prompt. There are a lot of possibilities that can be done with prompts, and that's why we're using them.
Also, just as a brief aside, this contest IS open for people of all ages. So, if you're 90 years old and you want to enter, then, by golly, do so! And since a language that everyone here is familiar with is English, we ask that all submissions be in English. Just clearing up a couple of points that may have needed to be cleared up.
All righty, I think that's all I have to say for now. Remember the contest opens on FRIDAY, so start brainstorming/writing, spreading news of this contest like wildfire, and getting psyched, because all of us working in the Vaccuum Contests most certainly are! And, if you have any questions whatsoever, please email us at TheVaccuumContests@gmail.com or comment below!
I'll be back tomorrow with an entry with all of the requirements for entering!
- Katie
So, today, I want to elaborate on a couple of points that I think need a little more explanation: the meaning of a "test run" and how to deal with the prompts.
The test run is essentially the same contest, where you send in a piece according to the prompt, the judges judge it and give you feedback, then we select a Top Ten to post here for the people to decide on. The only difference between a test run and the real thing is that there's no money involved.
"WHAT?" you might shriek at your computer screen. "WHY DO YOU WANT MY MONEY, YOU BRIGANDS?!"
Well, firstly, thanks a bunch for using a classy word like 'brigands' to express your supposed offence. I shouldn't be happy about that, but there you go. Secondly, we'd want your money so that we can pool it all together to assemble the awards to your chosen charities. Sensible, fine, and, not to mention, incredibly un-brigandlike.
But why do I bring this up if we're doing a test run first, without ANY money involved? Well, just so you know what the future can hold for this contest if we get a ton of people entering and paying attention to the blog this time around.
In short, if we get a fairly large number of submissions, we know that we can acheive fairly high rewards for charities with the money we'd gain from submissions in future Vaccuum Contests. And you all are fans of that, right? I hope so. Not only that, but everyone gets feedback in any version of the contest, including this first one. It's a lovely thing, isn't it?
Moving on to the next point, the prompts are also in need of further explanation.
The prompt is something that you should have in your piece. It could be an object, person, idea, theme, quotation, et cetera, et cetera, and so forth. But what you do with it is your decision. It doesn't matter if it is central to the story, or if it is something briefly mentioned in your piece.
The point of having the prompt is so that the judges have something to unite the pieces around. And, not only that, but it may force entrants out of their comfort zones, and that is an incredibly good thing for writers to do sometimes. You might find things out about your writing that you've never known of before. You might have a blast writing it with the prompt. There are a lot of possibilities that can be done with prompts, and that's why we're using them.
Also, just as a brief aside, this contest IS open for people of all ages. So, if you're 90 years old and you want to enter, then, by golly, do so! And since a language that everyone here is familiar with is English, we ask that all submissions be in English. Just clearing up a couple of points that may have needed to be cleared up.
All righty, I think that's all I have to say for now. Remember the contest opens on FRIDAY, so start brainstorming/writing, spreading news of this contest like wildfire, and getting psyched, because all of us working in the Vaccuum Contests most certainly are! And, if you have any questions whatsoever, please email us at TheVaccuumContests@gmail.com or comment below!
I'll be back tomorrow with an entry with all of the requirements for entering!
- Katie
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Hullo.
Hey, everyone!
I’m Katie, and I’ll be maintaining the info on the Vaccuum Contest tumblr and blogspot! I’m sure that Tessa will occasionally pop back in for a post, but for the most part, you’ll be reading my stuff.
So, I bet you want some further information on what you’ll be dealing with at with the judges. Well, here’s what they’ll be looking at when your 5000 word piece is being read.
CRITERIA:
- Clarity of Purpose (Is the piece good, entertaining, interesting, et cetera?) —-40 points
- Coherence of Delivery (Does the piece maintain the reader’s attention well?) —-20 points
- Efficiency of Language Use (Is language used well?) —- 20 points
- Accuracy of Mechanics (Spelling and Grammar) —-10 points
- Prompt Usage (How creatively is the prompt used?) —- 10 points
This is what the judges will be using to judge your pieces. All this being said, I’d recommend using both a spell-checker and finding a friend to read through and critique your story before you send it to us.
The details of how to submit your story will be released on June 30, the day before the contest begins on July 1. The submission period ends on July 31, at Midnight in your local time zone. We will be judging your pieces during August, and the winners should be announced in mid-September. We will also be getting your pieces back to you, critiqued by your judges. The judges will give pointers on how to make your piece better. We figured that everyone deserves this, because that’s been something that has annoyed a lot of people in the past about writing contests. You enter something in, and then you never find out what it was that made you win or lose. I personally find that frustrating!
So, yeah, that’s all for now! Have fun, and start brainstorming!
- Katie
I’m Katie, and I’ll be maintaining the info on the Vaccuum Contest tumblr and blogspot! I’m sure that Tessa will occasionally pop back in for a post, but for the most part, you’ll be reading my stuff.
So, I bet you want some further information on what you’ll be dealing with at with the judges. Well, here’s what they’ll be looking at when your 5000 word piece is being read.
CRITERIA:
- Clarity of Purpose (Is the piece good, entertaining, interesting, et cetera?) —-40 points
- Coherence of Delivery (Does the piece maintain the reader’s attention well?) —-20 points
- Efficiency of Language Use (Is language used well?) —- 20 points
- Accuracy of Mechanics (Spelling and Grammar) —-10 points
- Prompt Usage (How creatively is the prompt used?) —- 10 points
This is what the judges will be using to judge your pieces. All this being said, I’d recommend using both a spell-checker and finding a friend to read through and critique your story before you send it to us.
The details of how to submit your story will be released on June 30, the day before the contest begins on July 1. The submission period ends on July 31, at Midnight in your local time zone. We will be judging your pieces during August, and the winners should be announced in mid-September. We will also be getting your pieces back to you, critiqued by your judges. The judges will give pointers on how to make your piece better. We figured that everyone deserves this, because that’s been something that has annoyed a lot of people in the past about writing contests. You enter something in, and then you never find out what it was that made you win or lose. I personally find that frustrating!
So, yeah, that’s all for now! Have fun, and start brainstorming!
- Katie
Countdown: 3 days
THREE DAYS UNTIL OUR FIRST CONTEST, PEOPLE
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT WHENEVER I READ CAPSLOCK I ALWAYS HEAR SHOUTING IN MY HEAD
--
Other News:
Intrepid followers may have noticed some changes in the rules for this contest. These changes are as follows:
- Word count limit bumped up to 5000 (from 2000)
- Prompt has been added: Nerd fighter
Please make sure you review the new guidelines!
- Contest Vaccuum
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT WHENEVER I READ CAPSLOCK I ALWAYS HEAR SHOUTING IN MY HEAD
--
Other News:
Intrepid followers may have noticed some changes in the rules for this contest. These changes are as follows:
- Word count limit bumped up to 5000 (from 2000)
- Prompt has been added: Nerd fighter
Please make sure you review the new guidelines!
- Contest Vaccuum
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Our First (pre)Contest!
Our first contest will begin July 1st, 12.00 am local time. Meaning, once it's midnight in your area of the world, you can start writing!
There is no entry fee for this contest, as this is just a preview. We want to know if anyone's interested.
Prompt: Nerd fighter
Max word count: 5000
Submissions CLOSE on July 31, 11.59 pm local (your) time. So you've got one month to write something amazing!
For writing and submission rules, visit the FAQ page.
--
OTHER STUFF
Okay everyone, using the entry fee money to decrease world suck, instead of buying winner prizes = awesome idea. But everyone enjoys a little recognition, don't they?
We're asking YOU (yes, you) to email, tweet, write, message, text, and talk to your favourite authors, telling them about this contest, and asking them if they would be willing to be a Celebrity Shout Out. What a Celebrity Shout Out does is read out the winning entry in a video.
Always wanted to show John Green your writing skills? Ever wondered what Lemony Snicket's voice really sounds like? Now's your chance!
[*Note: Please do not try to contact writers who are deceased. That would involve way too much necromancy and I doubt anyone is prepared to deal with the consequences. No matter how cool it would be to have Shakespeare or Plato read out your stuff, they're busy being dead, so we musn't bother them.
Thank you,
The Management]
There is no entry fee for this contest, as this is just a preview. We want to know if anyone's interested.
Prompt: Nerd fighter
Max word count: 5000
Submissions CLOSE on July 31, 11.59 pm local (your) time. So you've got one month to write something amazing!
For writing and submission rules, visit the FAQ page.
--
OTHER STUFF
Okay everyone, using the entry fee money to decrease world suck, instead of buying winner prizes = awesome idea. But everyone enjoys a little recognition, don't they?
We're asking YOU (yes, you) to email, tweet, write, message, text, and talk to your favourite authors, telling them about this contest, and asking them if they would be willing to be a Celebrity Shout Out. What a Celebrity Shout Out does is read out the winning entry in a video.
Always wanted to show John Green your writing skills? Ever wondered what Lemony Snicket's voice really sounds like? Now's your chance!
[*Note: Please do not try to contact writers who are deceased. That would involve way too much necromancy and I doubt anyone is prepared to deal with the consequences. No matter how cool it would be to have Shakespeare or Plato read out your stuff, they're busy being dead, so we musn't bother them.
Thank you,
The Management]
Monday, 6 June 2011
These Words Ring True
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. " Benjamin Franklin
The Vaccuum Contests
Writing competitions happen everywhere and most of them follow a set format:
1. Submit entry fee
2. Look at rules and requirements
3. Write madly!
4. Submit
5. Win! Or not. Winners get the entry fee money, and/or a publication of their work
But what if that money went elsewhere? What if, instead of supporting a starving artist, it went to a charity, a charity that decreased the amount of starvation in the world? What if the 'Grand Prize' was to choose the charity that you felt needed it most? What if, instead of writing for self-gratification, or for that bit of cash, or for that chance of recognition, contestents wrote to change the world, for the better?
Hi. I'm Tessa Simpson. And these are the Vaccuum Contests.
What we need most right now is dedicated volunteers who are willing to give their time and energy into making this project a reality. We need people willing to spend their internet moments talking to writers and spreading the word, getting this idea out there. We need people willing to contact published writers, asking them for their support. We need people willing to throw money at this project. We need you.
They say the pen is mightier than the sword. I say, text can change everything. We can do this!
There's a group at Your Pants (a forum site) that's set up for discussing and organzing this.
There's also a Facebook group! The Vaccuum Contests
Suck up World Suck! Write to Right the World!
1. Submit entry fee
2. Look at rules and requirements
3. Write madly!
4. Submit
5. Win! Or not. Winners get the entry fee money, and/or a publication of their work
But what if that money went elsewhere? What if, instead of supporting a starving artist, it went to a charity, a charity that decreased the amount of starvation in the world? What if the 'Grand Prize' was to choose the charity that you felt needed it most? What if, instead of writing for self-gratification, or for that bit of cash, or for that chance of recognition, contestents wrote to change the world, for the better?
Hi. I'm Tessa Simpson. And these are the Vaccuum Contests.
What we need most right now is dedicated volunteers who are willing to give their time and energy into making this project a reality. We need people willing to spend their internet moments talking to writers and spreading the word, getting this idea out there. We need people willing to contact published writers, asking them for their support. We need people willing to throw money at this project. We need you.
They say the pen is mightier than the sword. I say, text can change everything. We can do this!
There's a group at Your Pants (a forum site) that's set up for discussing and organzing this.
There's also a Facebook group! The Vaccuum Contests
Suck up World Suck! Write to Right the World!
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