If the short story and poetry contests were blind, I think it would encourage participation because members might be more willing to take risks which they would not otherwise, and more importantly, each piece can be judged on its own merits and without biases. Instead of posting the writings, they could be PMed. When the contest is over, the winners’ names could then be revealed.
That is not a bad idea but, the real problem is how to get people who are not entering to participate.
On another site I frequent, the short story contests are presented anonymously, although the authors are revealed at the end. They have a thread for the contest, and each story is its own sub thread. The real hope is to get some critique on the stories, although the critiques are often just a few sentences long. Everyone who enters is supposed to vote, but anyone can critique/comment and can vote. After the voting, the authors are revealed. The stories are PM'd to one particular person, who posts all of the stories -- that way the person's name is not attached to his or her story. I think it works very well, because there is no chance of preconceived notions about a story, based on who wrote it. It also provides for some more honest feedback (and potentially voting).
It's a good idea, but it does have one serious drawback. Without seeing entries appear on a regular basis, it's even harder to keep participation going. This places more of a burden on the member running the competition, either to keep up with posting submissions as they arrive, or constantly reminding members to enter (which is a frustrating endeavor as it is!)
I see your point, Cogito. And I have no counter solution, advertising the competition to the community would present a problem, nor could I guarantee that a blind contest would increase participation. But it could, at least, be road tested as a theme.
FWIW - that other site I mentioned does post the stories more or less as they come in. Sometimes there is a delay if the person who is receiving the stories as PMs is busy. Sometimes a bunch show up at once. But it is enough that when you look at new threads, the story competition comes up.
Liz, If entries could be released in bunches that would go a long way in reminding members to participate, but it would be an additional burden to the members who run the contests. I suppose that it would be entirely up to them if that's how they would like to handle it.
I would like the Short Story Competition to be blind as well. Also, I would like the voting results to be hidden until you actually vote. (Right now, you can see who has the most votes before actually casting your vote.) But yes, we need more participation in the voting. Like, right now we only have 9 votes, but we have 15 entries. I mean, what does it say if the people who enter don't even vote? We should have at least more than the total of the entries. Here are a few suggestions: Blind entries Blind voting Current Voting Thread Stickied Announcement Thread in another Forum (Like the Poetry Contest announcements.) Move all non-current threads to the archives Also let me say, that Lemex does an amazing job with the contest. It's a lot of work that he does pro-bono. ~ J. J.
