geisha

Thank you SacredCircle. Don't see anything wrong with your comments really, especially when you were trying to get them in quickly. I really appreciate the judges taking time to score. Very kind of all of you.

Loulou

Congrats Geisha, Tiamat and Wildcard, well deserved. I liked this prompt Eggo, I just didn't get chance, and saw it very last minute.

Triquediqaul,

Giving any story zero is pretty low. Only someone with incredibly low self-esteem would do such a thing. No piece is worthy of a zero, for the very fact that someone sat down and endeavoured to have a go. It happens that the piece you gave a zero to is worth much more. I'm surprised you were selected as a judge.

Oh, and it's 'put-downs' and 'constructive' and you don't need a capital for eighteen, in case you wanted to turn your expert eye on your own words. The second highest grade in a decade? You must have shagged every teacher that walked the halls.

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You attempt to pull four story lines together in two-thousand words and nearly pull it off - Eggo
We rarely buy unsolicited manuscripts, but my editor and I thought that this was a superior piece of fiction - Sunday Express magazine

edropus

The scoring here definitely makes me hesitant to ever enter one of these again. I agree 100% with Lou up there. If I had any weight anywhere I'd suggest Triq's scores be thrown out. I hope some real thought is put into selecting judges in the future.

Sorry if that comes off as harsh; it's just a disappointing event in what's normally the most enjoyable activity on this site.

Remedy

Congratulations to everyone. I didn't enter, of course, but I enjoyed reading your cover letters. Having gone over a couple dozen real cover letters (the place I work at is hiring), I have to say, yours were a lot more fun.

Don't forget complimented.

In any case, Triquediqual - your own grammar is awful, which is one of those things you generally want to consider when you're writing anything outside of poetry, at least if you plan on bragging about yourself. Furthermore, your entire post reeked of insecurity - the whole I'm-so-great thing sounded highly defensive (and made up, to be honest) when you had nothing to defend (yet). However, it did make me laugh.

I do sincerely hope you don't judge again.

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"I don't really trust a sane person." -Lyle Alzado

"Journalism largely consists in saying "Lord Jones is dead" to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive." - G. K. Chesterton

Hawke

Guys, these challenges are for fun. There are no prizes for the winners and no paddlings behind the barn for those who didn't score as high. It's an exercise, one I hope everyone who entered gets something out of. In all fairness, if it weren't for those who volunteered to judge, we wouldn't have a competition at all. So agree or disagree, but remember that the challenges are still a crapshoot and it is only individual opinion.

Gently, people, gently.

I thank all who entered and those who judged.

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Loulou

Take away our incentive why don't you, Hawke?

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You attempt to pull four story lines together in two-thousand words and nearly pull it off - Eggo
We rarely buy unsolicited manuscripts, but my editor and I thought that this was a superior piece of fiction - Sunday Express magazine

Tiamat10

You...um...er...I... Oh, never mind. Fun challenge all around. Many of the entries and some of the judges are particularly entertaining.

I'll go crawl back under my rock now.

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Wildcard

You and me both Lou...you and me both.

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"Even if you win for the short term, you'll ultimately fail, alive or dead. Imagine if the great men from the past - men who thought they were working to shape the world – could see what their efforts have yielded. There is no change. There is no hope. Marx failed. Hitler failed. Jefferson failed. I just don't try."
-- Reilly (Everyday Madness)

SacredCircle

That comment definitely make me hesitant to judge. . .

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Hawke

Sorry, but I'm not throwing any scores out. Like submitting to a publisher, agree or not, challenges are a crap shoot and open to personal opinion. I won't intimidate or scare potential judges into thinking I'll remove their scores if I don't agree with them or they don't stack up to the other judges scores - where's the fairness in that?

First and foremost the LM challenges are writing exercises. The entrants wrote. They enjoyed writing them... or at least I hope they did. They tried something different and maybe it'll spark an idea for a future work.

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"Promoting today's geniuses and tomorrow's giants."
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Brightside

Hey, congrates to the winners!! Though i found it really hard to score - and it was a learning experience for me. Did enjoy it though - i've even began reading some articles to improve my critical eye...

And who scores 0... where the spirit of the LM here???? Harsh i can understand, but down right nasty i can not.

There's a lesson here!

Quite what it is though...!! I'm not as clever as others...

Thanks all, enjoyed my first, if a little shaky, attempt at judging.

B.

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My website: Heresy

edropus

(Note: The quote is from Hawke, but was not written by Hawke)

Just read that over. All I'm saying is that this is more in the line of a personal attack then any kind of judging or critique. I'm not saying 'Pull his scores', I'm just saying that if it was my decision I would. Even in 'Critique and Advice' there are unofficial rules about constructive and destructive criticism. There's also just common courtesy and good manners. I agree that nothing should be done to discourage judges; but what about discouraging writers when they can expect to just be insulted?

Wildcard

Very well said Ed

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"Even if you win for the short term, you'll ultimately fail, alive or dead. Imagine if the great men from the past - men who thought they were working to shape the world – could see what their efforts have yielded. There is no change. There is no hope. Marx failed. Hitler failed. Jefferson failed. I just don't try."
-- Reilly (Everyday Madness)

Hawke

You quoted me when I didn't say it? *grin*

Okay, the bottom line is though I don't agree with all the comments from every judge on every work in every challenge (never have and never will, to be honest - no one can), I just can't go over scores and comments and decide which to post up on a challenge (unless they're outright threats or flames) and which to not. It's unethical and it's wrong. Plus, like someone recently told me, "If you start changing judges scores, then what would be the point of judges?"

All I know is I'm the second best judge anyone's ever seen... all the rest are tied for first.

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Raging_Hopeful

Hawke you're so nice and sweet That's why we love you.

But sorry, I'll have to back up everyone else up on their opinions. This round came off as rude, vindictive, and not in the spirit of LM at all. Sure, it's an exercise but its not supposed to be an exercise in ego or flexing power over those you feel you are "superior" to in writing. Overall I'm glad I didn't enter and am shocked at the outcome of scores. Hardly any helpful critique at all and if you offer to be a judge, you should really be ready to take the time to judge fairly, rather than to be judgemental. I believe there is a big difference there, maybe not in definition, but in intention.

Congrats to the winners and hey, congrats to everyone who took the time to enter! It was a difficult prompt (I personally couldn't come up with anything to submit) and Loulou, as usual, I admire your spunk in the name of fairness.

Cheers,
Linz

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