AnimeSuki Forum - View Single Post - EMDAS, AnimeSuki's Monthly Writing Competition (Rules/FAQ/General Discussion)

Hiroi Sekai · 2011-01-30, 19:20

AnimeSuki's "Elementary, My Dear AnimeSuki" Monthly Writing Competition
"The pen is mightier than the sword."

Thanks to milan kyuubi for the banner!

What is it?

EMDAS is a monthly contest based on SOTM, with a focus on composition of a literary sense instead of an artistic one. It is open to all members of AnimeSuki, and aspires to promote creativity and a desire to improve one's personal skills in composition.

Much like the SOTM contest, EMDAS allows 3 weeks for composing/submitting your entries and one week for voting before the next competition begins. Whoever wins the competition is given the right to decide the following month's theme.

How should themes be decided?

At the end of every month, a winner is chosen and he/she gets to decide what next month's theme will be. The theme must apply to a generally writable topic and specifics such as anime series and characters are frowned upon. For example, a good topic would be "vacation" as it allows for any user to step in and write about, while a topic like "Suzumiya Haruhi" will limit entries to the people who know more about the series and character.

As you've probably figured out by now, a theme cannot be used more than once. All themes must not involve anything that violates AnimeSuki's rules and regulations, and it cannot be 18+; let us make sure that this contest can be kept relatively clean for whatever aged reader/writer that comes along.

So, what are the rules?

1. Within the first 2 weeks of the month, the competition sits in a "creation/submission" phase. During this time, contestants may upload as many entries and edits as you like, in order to receive constructive criticism and maybe even proofread.

1A. While you are allowed to make as many edits and uploads as you wish in the submission phase, you must decide on a single finished product as your final entry. Be sure to edit your entry on the entries page accordingly, as the last draft made at the end of the entries period will become your permanent entry.
1B. Keep in mind that all entries need to have a minimum of 5 words, and a maximum of 1500. This will prevent entries that are far too long and unfair for the others.

2. All entries must be written in English. Multilingual entries may confuse the readers and voters. If you truly wish to incorporate a little bit of extra wording into your entry, be sure to add a referendum under your entry for people to refer to.

2A. All entries must use the standard, easy-to-read Arial or Times New Roman font. You must also refrain from using effects such as coloured and underlined text.
2B. To convey certain emotions, use proper punctuation and capitalization of letters. Also, be sure to proofread your entries to avoid grammar and spelling errors. All text should be aligned to the left, unless the entry requires otherwise. If you are to write dialogue between characters, bold lettering is allowed in listings.
Code:
Captain "Ship to starboard Mr. Hanks!"
Navigator "Aye captain." the navigator whispered.
2C. As for titles/chapters; the main title of your entry must be in Size 5 and all following chapters and headers must be Size 3. Words used in titles and chapters will not count towards the 1500 word count.

3. Any form of composition can be submitted. Be it a haiku, short story, article, sonnet, limerick, ballad, lyrics, or anything else you can think of, be sure to remember the word count limit. A word of warning: it's natural for somebody to consider a 1500 word short story to be better than a 50 word poem due to the amount of content - if you plan on taking the shorter entry route, be sure to do something to make your entry stand out.

4. All entries must be completely original. Copying/pasting excerpts from existing works is considered plagiarism and will result in an immediate disqualification.

4A. There will be times when you need to use quotations from an existing piece of composition. When you do use a quote, be sure to place the entire phrase in "quotation marks".
4B. In the spirit of originality, it is recommended (but not required) that you create a new entry instead of re-using existing works.

5. Contestants who wish to keep their entries private until after the submission phase had ended may private message the contest organizer with their entry. These entries will automatically be posted on the following voting thread to await judgement.

6. If a submission appears to be offensive or reportable in any way, edit out said material before posting an entry.

What are we competing for?

I certainly hope for fun! It's also a great way to improve your writing and composition methods by receiving constructive criticism and seeing other entries. The winner of every month's competition is given permission to choose the next contest theme and has bragging rights for that month. Heck, show off your winning entry via signature, if you wish!

So, is that it?

It certainly is! If any mods/admins or dedicated members would like to assist in the overview and maintenance of this competition and its threads, please send me a PM - would love to hear from you! Good luck to everyone!

"...And that was all she wrote."