The essence of roleplaying is writing. Essentially all a roleplay is, is a group of people collaborating on a novel, each one independent of the other. As with all things in life, some are better at writing than others, and it shows in the daily posts that we see within the guild.
A good writer can subtly hide an action in a post that means certain death for his opponent. There a thousands of slight of hand tricks that can be used within a post, and skilled writers take pride in using them.
So why am I jabbering about writing and skills and such? Well, it's because I am personally funding a Writing Contest. Its prizes, and the number of people that win a prize, depends entirely on the number of people that participate.
Prize Levels
So here is the breakdown of how many people participating equates to prize amounts, and even the number of winners.
2 to 3 Participants
This tier will yield only a single winner out of all participants. It would be disappointing to only have two or three participants, but still the winner would get a prize. For this tier, the prize would rest at ten million gold.
4 to 6 Participants
This tier will yield a first and a second place winner out of all participants.
First Place would win a whopping one-hundred million gold.
Second Place would win twenty-five million gold.
7 or More Participants
This is the highest tier and will yield a first, second, and third place winner out of all participants.
Third Place would win one-hundred million gold.
Second Place would win three-hundred million gold.
First Place would win one billion gold.
As a bit of a side note, and an incentive, all participants, regardless of score, will be awarded a consolation prize of one-hundred thousand gold for their efforts. For anyone that has issues with the amount of gold given as prizes, please do remember that I am personally funding this and my gold is not unlimited.
Scoring
Three judges will score each submission. Should a judge choose to submit an entry to the contest, that judge will be responsible for finding another individual to score his submission so that the three score standard can be kept.
The following is a breakdown of what fields will be scored, the requirements for each score within each field, and the way scoring will be done.
Post Length
Nothing is more daunting than clicking into a thread and seeing that one guy that posts a senior college level thesis paper as a post. But too much can be bad, however too little is definitely frowned upon. Many people suffer from Repeating Syndrome when making longer posts, that is repeating the same thought or action over and over again in the post.
Score of One
Post meets the minimum length requirement, or is exceedingly too long.
Score of Two
Post exceeds the minimum and is not overly long, however post does not exceed the minimum length significantly.
Score of Three
Post rests at a fair length. It's not too short, it's not too long, but it's still not at the perfect length. Still a good job, so do not feel bad for receiving this score.
Score of Four
This post's length is golden! It's long enough to make for a good read, but not so long that the beginning is forgotten by the end. The length is just right.
Note: These lengths are fluid based upon the style of your post. Simple posts are not expected to be as long as complex post. Just know that a simple post will loose you points in other areas.
Spelling and Grammar
Just as it is labeled, this section focuses on the spelling and grammar aspects of your post. Do you capitalize? Do you use punctuation? Do yo gramma be da propers?
Score of One
Frequent spelling and/or grammatical errors. At this level, you may need to go back to elementary school English class.
Score of Two
Noticeable spelling and/or grammatical errors. These errors do not make the post unreadable, but grammar Nazis rage at the post. At this level, individuals find the post somewhat difficult to enjoy and follow due to errors.
Score of Three
Few spelling and/or grammatical errors. Here we find the occasional spelling or grammatical error. Grammar Nazis only mumble slightly and most individuals find no issue with their ability to read and follow the post. The post can be enjoyed without a focus on errors.
Score of Four
Two or less spelling and/or grammatical errors. You use spell check! Well, that just a joke, but you probably reread your post before you submit and fix any errors. These posts are the most enjoyable and showcase the most caution given to word choice and sentence structure.
Post Flow
This is a simple go/no go portion of scoring. Essentially this section is based on how well your post flows together. Do the paragraphs lead into each other, or do they feel more like independent bursts of thought?
Score of One
Flow from paragraph to paragraph (or sentence to sentence) is disjunct. There seems to be little to no logical flow within the post.
Score of Two
Flow is good. Each sentence or paragraph follows the previous in a sensible manner. Transitions are not jarring to the reader.
Post Creativity
This is a large portion of your post. It is essentially how creative you are with writing. Is it simply a blurb of words that state facts, or can you paint a vibrant picture for all who read to enjoy. How fancy can you make your character's thoughts, words, and actions sound to the reader. Can you make me feel?????
Score of One
Someone vomited onto the page and called it a post. The length may be good, the flow may be good as well, however there is really no creativity to this post. Very little imagery is relayed to the reader. Just essentially not very creative.
Score of Two
A fair attempt at creative writing has been made. Some imagery is relayed to the reader and a hint of feels is present. The reader can almost put his/herself into the character's position and feel their thoughts, however there is still a sense of lacking to the creativity of the post.
Score of Three
A good attempt at creative writing. Imagery is present and displayed proudly to the reader. While reading the reader becomes somewhat lost in the post, reading with intrigue and interest. I can feel your feels, almost think your thinks, and see your sees. Overall well done. Be proud of this.
Score of Four
Oh....mah....gawd. The imagery within this post is simply astounding. The scene has been created so vividly that the reader can see it within his mind with little to no effort. Characters seem more real due to the heavy presence of thoughts and feelings coming from the character. Very excellent job in writing this post. Publish this shizz.
Post Beauty
This is how your post simply looks. Given that it is not as important as the content of your post it will only yield up to two points, however I recognize the time it takes to code a post to make it look pretty and all, so it has earned a slot in this rubric.
Score of One
This post is somewhere between plain and hurriedly thrown together. Little color and/or coding use. The post is there, but nothing about it attracts the eye.
On the other hand, there is so much that my eyes bleed! There's way too much going on here! You've cluttered your posts with graphics and/or shapes. Possibly you use too many colors. Don't splash the canvas with all your paint. Possibly random graphics and/or shapes that have no connection to the other graphics, etc.
Score of Two
It's so beautiful! Obvious effort has been placed into the creating of this posting template. Graphics, shapes, and colors are used in a way that fits somewhere between too much and not enough perfectly. There is a sense of unity about the post that makes the reader feel that everything within the post is connected.
The Math
Each judge will mark a score for each category for each post. This means that every post will receive a score from every judge. Once the judging is finished, the scores for each contestant will be PMed to that contestant so that he/she may see how they were scored by each judge. This serves as a way of showing you where you may improve, and where you did well.
Overall scores will be posted for all to see, however. This way we can post the ranking of all of the contestants, because....well, that's what makes it fun.
The scores posted will show the overall score given by each judge, and then the total overall score from the combination of judges' scores. Here is an example, which also shows the maximum avaliable points:
Post Length
4
Spelling and Grammar
4
Post Flow
2
Post Creativity
4
Post Beauty
2
Total from Judge 1 = 16
Now lets assume that the contestant got a perfect score from all three judges.
Contestant One
Judge One = 16
Judge Two = 16
Judge Three = 16
(color=purple]16 + 16 + 16) / 3
= 48 / 3
= 16
Any questions, just PM me. But this is what a perfect score looks like, math wise.
The Requirements
1. Your post must be at least five hundred words to be considered for this contest. I strongly recommend that your post is longer than this, but it is your choice. Still, the 500 word minimum must be met to be eligible for any place and/or the consolation prize. I would also recommend a post that does not exceed five thousand words, but use your best judgment. Make it as long as you think it needs to be, or as short as long as it meets the minimum.
2. This should be a new post. Not something that you have already used and just copied and pasted from a roleplay or sample or anything like that. That being said, it is probably impossible for any judge to know if you do this. We just trust that you will write a new post. However, if it is found that you have just copied another post you will be disqualified immediately. If you steal someone else's post, however, you will be reported for stealing intellectual property. I will personally report you to the Gaia staff, with full screenshots of your post and the original post. I promise that.
3. You may use a posting template you have already. I do not expect you to buy art or anything like that, just for this contest. Feel free to use a posting template you have already. Just write a new post within it.
4. This does not have to be AATW, or DC Universe related. You want to write a post as Kuthulu, go for it. Be a Might Morphing Power Range? Sure! Post anything you like, as long as it follows the Gaia ToS and guild regulations. The theme is yours to choose. I will say that if everyone posts an epic tale of their character fighting off hordes of enemies, it will get boring for the judges to read, which may unintentionally harm further scores. Just be creative. If you chose to do a fight scene, and your posting right after another post about fighting, then just makes yours more interesting and creative!
5. I know I don't have to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. No trying to bribe or coheres any judge. Any judge that tells me that they are being harassed by bribe offers or complains from contestants will be believed. I trust my judges. As it stands, all judges, save for me, shall remain anonymous. True, up to two people made discover who one of the other judges is, however, I trust that person to keep the information secret. This prevents anyone from writing a post in a way to cater to a specific judge. I may be the exception, but that would still leave two unbiased opinions of the post.