Writing About Animals/Nature Contest (results posted!)

rhymegirl

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And he very well might if he had a lot to drink before bed.
 

dpaterso

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Heh, forgot I had a dentist's appointment... just back... mmfffle murrrgle ffflumpff.

I'll be a-postin' soon, got everything shipshape and ready to go.

-Derek
 

dpaterso

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OK, here we go...

You'll find the entries here, in Share Your Work > Other sub-forum:

Animals/Nature Contest entries thread (read only)
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135030

If you're not a regular visitor to Share Your Work, you'll probably be asked for the SYW password: vista

Let me know if any questions or problems. It's no bother to edit the entries if you spot any errors. Best if you PM me so you remain anonymous!

Entry titles:

The Cat Who Came In From The Cold
The Year of the Cat
Untitled #1
The Bravest Cat in the World
She-wolf
Tammy
Darkness to Darkness
A Tribute to an Inspiration
Betrothed To A Bird
The Blizzard Gift
Velvet Danger
Baby BJ
Kangaroo Kidding
Camel Crisis!
Javelinas Feed
Mom, The Moon Followed Me Home Last Night
The Cat-love On Her Own Terms
Destiny and the Tackroom
There Is One In Every Family
Bee Bothering
Not a Creature Was Stirring, Except...
Life on the Rock (As Told to My Wife)
Predator
How Sammy Became a Legend
A Friendly Warning
Real Heroes
The Sea
The True Story of The Little Red Hen
A Day in the Life of Moose
The Stroke of Midnight
The Knowing One
In Times of Triumph and Death
Soulmate
Terrapin Rescue
The Wee Mouse

I'm not sure when votes are supposed to be submitted by... 35 entries could be a lot of reading. March 31? That's Alleycat's or Frank's call (if it hasn't already been announced).

PM the titles of your 1st, 2nd and 3rd favorite entries to me. Keep it simple please, don't make me guess! :) Suggested format:

1st - Blowing in the Wind
2nd - Down in the Woods
3rd - Day of the Panda

How it works: 1st place votes earn 3 points, 2nd place votes earn 2 points, 3rd place votes earns 1 point. I'll do the arithmetic after voting closes and post the results.

If this is your first time entering and voting in a contest, and you're not sure how to proceed, allow me to suggest this: print off or otherwise list the entry titles (in a file, for example). As you read the entries, make a brief note of how each entry appealed to you, the things you liked about it, why it worked, or struck a chord. Give each entry star ratings *** if this helps. By the time you're finished, looking at your notes and whatever ratings you assigned might help you decide your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices.

If anyone else has personal advice they'd like to offer, please do!

-Derek
 
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Ken

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Great job Derek!
One question about the voting:
Can someone who's entered, vote for themselves?
(Doubt very much I'll be doing so myself with all the swell stories here.)
Looking forward to reading them all.
 

alleycat

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I'm not sure when votes are supposed to be submitted by... 35 entries could be a lot of reading. March 31? That's Alleycat's or Frank's call (if it hasn't already been announced).
I had orginally thought something like ten days for voting, but at the time I didn't expect quite as many entries as we have.

March 31st sounds like a good cut-off date for voting to me.
 

dpaterso

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Why, voting for yourself is unthinkable! :eek: So much so that I didn't even consider mentioning it.

Let's assume there's an "invisible" vote whereby all the participants have already voted for their own entries, so the playing field is level.

-Derek
 

DaddyCat

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Congratulations to all entrants! I see many outstanding pieces here, and I look forward to voting against myself at the earliest opportunity.

Derek, hope you don't mind, I grabbed your updated sig announcement and added it to my own.
 

alleycat

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I just printed all the entries. We've got enough for an anthology!
 

alleycat

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Would it be helpful if the voting rules and deadline for voting were also posted on the entries thread (in post #1)?
 

Puma

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I was really looking forward to reading the entries, but Derek's warning in his post about needing tissues was an immediate turn-off for me. Any chance there could be some warnings posted for the entries that are sad so there's some advance knowledge and anyone reading doesn't get caught unaware? Thanks! Puma
 

dpaterso

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I was really looking forward to reading the entries, but Derek's warning in his post about needing tissues was an immediate turn-off for me. Any chance there could be some warnings posted for the entries that are sad so there's some advance knowledge and anyone reading doesn't get caught unaware? Thanks! Puma
...Um, not sure why...? So readers can skip reading any entries that are sad? Who defines sad? Sad can turn into uplifting. If I made a mistake by posting that warning, say so, I'll remove it. If it stays, no one gets caught unawares.

-Derek
 

Puma

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Any story that ends with an animal dying, I'm not really interested in reading. I deal with enough animal issues on a day to day basis that I would not by choice read a sad story for "pleasure". I see enough sad and bad. Puma
 

dpaterso

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Any story that ends with an animal dying, I'm not really interested in reading. I deal with enough animal issues on a day to day basis that I would not by choice read a sad story for "pleasure". I see enough sad and bad. Puma
All I can offer by way of suggestion is that perhaps members who have read all the entries can make note, either here in this thread or via PM, of titles that might fall under this category. And you hold off from reading the entries until there's more info and opinion available than just my personal perception. I can then "star" the entry titles, or whatever method of identification suits.

-Derek
 

Ugawa

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I can't wait to start reading :D.

x
 

alleycat

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All I can offer by way of suggestion is that perhaps members who have read all the entries can make note, either here in this thread or via PM, of titles that might fall under this category. And you hold off from reading the entries until there's more info and opinion available than just my personal perception. I can then "star" the entry titles, or whatever method of identification suits.

-Derek
I'm reading through the stories now. It will take me a little while to get through all of them.

If you like, I could send you a list of the ones that might need a "forewarning". I hope this would mainly be used to prepare a reader for a possibly sad ending or episode, rather than avoiding reading a story entirely. Someone might have written a really great story that necessarily includes animal neglect, cruelty, or the death of a beloved pet (I'm guessing for the most part; I've only read three of the stories so far).
 

dpaterso

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That would be great tho' I hope it doesn't reduce your enjoyment. For the record, I can't remember seeing any neglect or cruelty elements in any of the entries, but each has a broad spectrum.

-Derek
 

Puma

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Alleycat - As Derek said, don't put yourself out or reduce your enjoyment because of me. I should have thought about the possibilities of what might show up earlier - but I didn't. That's my fault, not yours or anyone else's. I've sent Derek a pm with some other option thoughts. I'll wait a while and see whether you or anyone else makes any comments as to content and then decide whether I'm going to read all or none of them (if I only read some of the entries it wouldn't be fair to vote). Puma
 

mayamolly

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Yay!! I'm excited! I love how different these stories are... I feel like I can even see the genres in which each writer works through the stories. Are there any stories about dogs? After a brief look-over, it seems there are a LOT more about cats. I wonder what that says about writers? Probably that we're classy and independent. :)

Also, as a complete newbie, I wonder if there is any place for us to post written feedback for each other? This is my first time submitting work, and while winning would be great, I would love getting constructive feedback from people even more. I guess the answer is that next time I should just post under SYW rather than enter a contest? :)

Thanks for all your work, Derek!!
 

alleycat

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Also, as a complete newbie, I wonder if there is any place for us to post written feedback for each other? This is my first time submitting work, and while winning would be great, I would love getting constructive feedback from people even more. I guess the answer is that next time I should just post under SYW rather than enter a contest?
Comments will be allowed on the individual stories after the voting ends. We want people to read the stories first, however, without being possibly swayed by someone else's comments.
 

smoothseas

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Also, as a complete newbie, I wonder if there is any place for us to post written feedback for each other?

Thanks for all your work, Derek!!



I’ve been enjoyin’ what I’ve been readin’ so far. Good job everyone!

Like May. I, too, would like to be able to leave a comment or two. But with the way the posts are currently threaded, it doesn’t seem possible.

And yes, thanks for all the hard work, D. And a special thanks to Alley for making this a reality.
 

alleycat

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Alleycat - As Derek said, don't put yourself out or reduce your enjoyment because of me. I should have thought about the possibilities of what might show up earlier - but I didn't. That's my fault, not yours or anyone else's. I've sent Derek a pm with some other option thoughts. I'll wait a while and see whether you or anyone else makes any comments as to content and then decide whether I'm going to read all or none of them (if I only read some of the entries it wouldn't be fair to vote). Puma
I'm of two minds about flagging certain stories as having details that someone might might disturbing. I know we sometimes do it for stories in SYW (generally for adult language, disturbing or violent imagery, sexual references, etc.), but in a contest like this it's a little like saying "You might not want to read THIS story, part of it is really sad."

I've only read part of the stories so far. Yes, there are some sad parts in a few of the stories, but so far I haven't seen anything that a typical reader can't handle who knows beforehand that stories concerning pets and animals are often bittersweet.

I think Derek's warning at the top of the thread is enough. It gives a warning, but doesn't tell anyone to avoid any particular story. We might get Derek to bold or "box" the warning, but other than that I think it's enough as-is. Just my opinion; I'm trying not to play judge any more than I have to since I have a story entered myself.
 
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