Iron Quill Preliminary Round Voting!

[ThePandaDirector]

Limit to 1500 words, deadline 500 words per week.

Huh? Are you saying writers should have to produce 500 words a week (it's the use of "deadline" that confuses me)?

(Many writers are not good with arithmetic, close is fine, but no "all nighters at the deadline."

I'm terrible at maths, but I can read the word count on Microsoft Word ;) Also it's a maximum word count, I'd say with a 10% leeway.

I also don't know what you are referring to with "all nighters at the deadline". Do you mean you just don't want writers to be forced to write before the deadline (which hasn't really been suggested)?

By all means fair unfair and magical if needed, keep the stories in Malifaux Universe.

I can't make sense of this sentence other than you want the stories to be set in Malifaux. I do still think it would be fun to do a (single) round on something different, even if everyone had to do sci-fi; a change is always good.

Sorry if I'm misinterpreting you.

[Hardlec]

Not all people have Microsoft Word. Is paying Bill Gates going to be a requirement? I use a tablet PC.
500 words per week. Regular, weekly submissions. No stay-up-all-night and just make the final deadline.
BTW this site is very tablet unfriendly. I can't paste into a reply. I have no ctrl key.

[Mako]

I don't think a weekly requirement is right, not everyone writes in steady blocks like that. I know I tend to write in flurries, then do nothing for a bit, then write another burst. Which means 1000 words in one session when I've got the mood going, then maybe nothing for two weeks until I get back to it.

Speaking of getting back to it, I'll have my votes in on Saturday. If I don't, go on without me! Every time Ive sat down this week, someone's found something for me to do that's taken the evening out!

[ThePandaDirector]

Not all people have Microsoft Word. Is paying Bill Gates going to be a requirement? I use a tablet PC.
500 words per week. Regular, weekly submissions. No stay-up-all-night and just make the final deadline.
BTW this site is very tablet unfriendly. I can't paste into a reply. I have no ctrl key.

There's always OpenOffice and LibreOffice for those who care ;)

A tablet? Like an oversized iphone? Don't know much about them because ironically I don't want to waste money on smart phones and tablets (or a Mac for that matter). Don't know if your's is one that can have a keyboard attachement or something (or buy a cheap notebook laptop for under £100). I'm guessing you work at an office or a job that doesn't require a keyboard. I just know I couldn't live without one, and unfortunately most websites have yet to adapt to tablet technology (though I do believe this site was tested on the ipad). But I'm sure you could explain to Wyrd (try Ratty) the details of how this site could support them better yourself, I know they'll listen.

So yeah, I don't know how you're able to write large text anywhere else, if not here. Feel free to do anything you want to make it easier, whether that's posting 300 words, editing, posting another 300 words four days later, fine, so long as you state that it's not finished I won't read it until you ask me to. There's no need for anyone to either be forced to write the day before the deadline or for preset sub-deadlines, but everyone has their own method of doing things and I respect that.

edonil informs me results will be up Saturday, though if Mako needs one day more ("one day to a new beginning. Raise the flag of freedom high. Every man will be a king") I'm sure no one would complain waiting till Sunday =]

[UberGruber]

I think people should be able to submit any amount of text at any time and any amount of times between entries being opened and the deadline. That accomodates last-minuters, steady workers, erratic workers, fast workers and all combinations that I can see.

And we might take no story as finished until the deadline and no story as complete (which is different) unless it says END at the end. Then people know if they're looking at part of a story or the whole thing. But as we'd allow full editing -- any amount of changes -- until the deadline, everyone would have to make sure that after the they re-read any stories they'd previously looked at just in case changes of significance had been introduced.

In short, how one may post should be as inclusive as possible, I think with the only limits being the opening and closing of submissions.

I do, however, think that if we are to have a 1500 word limit then that should actually be the limit. Given that different word-processers count differently, clearly there should be some leeway. But I've yet to see as much as a 5% difference in count between word-processors, so I think anything that comes out as 1550 words would in fact be too long.

And presumably we have no minimum count (so a very short story would be acceptable if it managed to do everything required by the round).

[Mako]

Good news! The relatives that were the only risk to my reading tomorrow have decided to stay away, so nothing should stop me finally getting votes sorted!