# SDMB Short Fiction Contest, May 2012 edition - Logistics Thread. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419 "2012-04-30T15:48:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/1 "2012-04-30T15:48:34Z")
Hello and welcome. We’ve had eight Short Fiction contests so far, in May 2010, September 2010, over the holidays between 2010 and 2011, February 2011, April 2011, June 2011, September 2011 and late 2011/early 2012. They’ve been tremendously fun, and there has been interest expressed in doing another. I’d like to congratulate our past winners once again - **The Hamster King** , [May 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563348), for _Quarrantine_ **Spoons** , [September 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577967) for _Homeward By Polaris_ **Spoons** , [Holiday Edition 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=591295) for _He Knows a Lot of People_ **Justin Credible** , [February 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=599219) for _Happy Valentine’s Day, Sweetheart!_ **MsWhatsit** , [April 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=607505) for _The Brickites_ **Savannah** , [June 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=615807) for _The Summer Place_ **jackdavinci** , [September 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=627138) for _T-shirt Junction_ **cmyk** , [late 2011/early 2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=637708) for _Time and Time Again_ So, I’d like to suggest the following - the contest will run from 9 AM EDT, Friday, May 4th, 2012 until 10 PM EDT, Monday, May 14th, 2012. That’s an extra-long period of 10 days which covers two weekends. Any writers interested in participating somewhere within that time can send an e-mail to sdmbpoetrysweatshop at gmail dot com - the required photo and the obligatory three words will be in an out-of-office auto reply. The writer will then have 60 (sixty) hours from the time and date of that auto-reply to submit a story of no more than 2,000 words. The story can be any style or genre, but it must centre around 3 randomly selected words and one randomly selected photograph. (These requirements are partly to ensure no one dusts off a story they’ve been working on for months, and partly because it’s really interesting to compare what different writers do with the same source material.) No specific theme this time - let your imaginations run free. Sorry, but the contest is open only to Dopers - Guests, Mods, Administrators, Members, Charter Members, Goats, Squids, people with funny titles - but contestants must have the right to post here. I will start an Anthology Thread of all the stories I’ve received around 60 hours before the close of the contest. At 10 PM EDT, Monday, May 14th, 2012, entries will be closed and I will establish a multiple-choice poll in the Anthology Thread. A week later, the poll will close and we will declare a winner. A couple of editorial/logistics points to bring up. I will be doing some very minor editing - just for appearance on the computer screen, I will ensure that there are double returns between paragraphs. I would also strongly prefer that all the stories have a title, and if they don’t come with a title, I’ll refer to them as Untitled (First few words of the opening sentence.) If you use special text (italics in particular, but also bold face and underline.), please mention it in the return e-mail - the codes don’t always come through properly in gmail and I do try to respect writers’ conventions. Sometimes this means doing a search word by word to make sure the codes get written correctly. Also for legibility and appearance, I would like to post the first ~ hundred words or first paragraph, whichever is most coherent, in the open reply. Then, I will put the rest of the story in a spoiler box. Then I’ll have another spoiler box with the author’s name. The reasoning here is to avoid the Gigantic Wall of Text effect. I’m open to other people’s suggestions here, though I thought this worked very well the last few times. I quite like the multiple choice polls and I would like to keep that as a feature of the Short Fiction contests. Placing the writers’ names in spoiler boxes also seems to be a good compromise between giving credit where it is due and keeping the voting based on the merits of the individual stories, to the extent that is possible. I think that’s everything - I’m hoping many of you will be interested in giving it a go sometime in the next few days. Best wishes, Le Ministre de l’au-delà ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/2 "2012-04-30T16:09:44Z")
Er, a little fuzzy-headed this morning; do we send the email in -now-, or at the beginning of the contest period? ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/3 "2012-04-30T16:54:25Z")
I’m in for this one - I have a weekend off coming up where I have no other obligations, and I’d love to jump in! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/4 "2012-04-30T17:04:23Z")
> [@ArrMatey](#): > > Er, a little fuzzy-headed this morning; do we send the email in -now-, or at the beginning of the contest period? At whatever point in the contest period where you feel you have 2 1/2 days to write… For instance, if you want to start right at the beginning, send something at 9 AM EDT this Friday - that will give you until 9 PM Sunday, May 6th to write something and send it in. If next week is better, try Wed. at 2 PM, whic will give you until Sat. at 2AM to write… ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/5 "2012-04-30T17:14:58Z")
Ah! Nice system! I think my hat shall be thrown into the ring. …Then I’ll go pick it up. It’s my hat! ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/6 "2012-05-01T02:33:40Z")
Busy as usual, but I should find some time yet again. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/7 "2012-05-01T03:41:19Z")
Great! Looking forward to it! ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/8 "2012-05-01T05:21:09Z")
I will do or do not, but I will not try. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/9 "2012-05-01T13:22:28Z")
Whether or not I have time to actually submit a story, I’ll definitely read the entries and provide some feedback. Thanks, as usual, **Le Ministre de l’au-delà** , for putting it together. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/10 "2012-05-01T14:33:24Z")
Awesome sauce. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/11 "2012-05-01T14:59:28Z")
> [@ArrMatey](#): > > Ah! Nice system! I think my hat shall be thrown into the ring. > > …Then I’ll go pick it up. It’s my hat! First off, can’t resist linking to: [That’s my hat!](http://xkcd.com/377/)[I **like** my hat.](http://xkcd.com/405/) And I’m looking forward to this too. Haven’t written a short story in a little while. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/12 "2012-05-03T14:19:45Z")
Just a quick bump for people not on my mailing list - we start in less than 24 hours! ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/13 "2012-05-03T23:06:27Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Just a quick bump for people not on my mailing list - we start in less than 24 hours! Feeling interested… I think I will take part! ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/14 "2012-05-04T07:25:44Z")
I think if I’m going to get in on this round, it’ll have to be this weekend. I’m hoping I’ll find the time! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/15 "2012-05-04T13:03:43Z")
The auto-reply is set - we are off and running. Good luck, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/16 "2012-05-04T16:39:03Z")
One more chance to be mercilessly criticized and humiliated in public? I accept! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/17 "2012-05-06T23:30:20Z")
**JoseB** and **Puddleglum** , I’ve got your stories - well done! I’ve just submitted mine, making three so far. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/18 "2012-05-07T01:31:33Z")
…and another great story from **chrisk**! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/19 "2012-05-07T14:05:02Z")
And another fine submission from **GIGObuster** - great! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419/20 "2012-05-07T21:12:02Z")
**Woeg** just wrote something really cool in about 5 1/2 hours! Well done! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-short-fiction-contest-may-2012-edition-logistics-thread/620419.md?page=2)