Picture Story Challenge, August 2011

A quick back-of-an-envelope calculation reveals that the word-count for the 60 stories is roughly 145,000, meaning, over 21 days, about 6,900 words a day - for a single reading of each story.
40 of the stories are under 3,000 words, and only 4 are over 5,000.

I do agree that it's frustrating as an author if people vote but do not read all the stories.

Having myself read exactly half of them so far, I note two interesting things. First, although most stories that specified the colour of the boat have said it was green (two I've read so far said lime green and one pea-green), two identified it as yellow.

I also find that my marking is rather polarised. Since I've never been so anti a story as to give it 0 and I do typically give one or two stories 10, the middle marks of the range are 5 and 6. Usually the marks I give stories are fairly evenly distributed, with a slight tendency for more marks around the middle range - 5s and 6s plus 7s, so middle to upper middle. But this time I'm giving very few 5s, 6s or 7s. I either like the stories very much, or not much at all.

Yes, indeed (pace Alef) there are many mishaps with the boats - but not as many as with the bottoms!

Whether people vote or not, I would say that having read 38 of the entries so far there are quite a few gems that I would not normally have discovered. In my view that is one of the beauties of these competitions; they encourage me to read stories that maybe I wouldn't normally choose, thereby broadening my somewhat limited horizons, and I can only commend the efforts of the authors I have read so far.

Unfortunately the word signposting has embedded itself into the semi-literate tosh that passes for writing in officialdom in central government, local government and possibly the worst of all NHS speak-the abysmal standard including literacy and over use of acronyms and the latest buzzwords has to be read to be believed.

I therefore presume that he was talking about proper signposts rather the ridiculous use of signposting.

Have just finished the 60 odd stories in the competition (phew!). What a high standard again! No doubt the two F's will emerge triumphant again, (pure coincidence of course!), but in a way everybody is a winner.

The 'two F's' - flopsy and Februs I presume? (Hey, we've been called FAR worse!). Well, I can assure you Februs won't be winning this challenge as he hasn't entered. I have submitted something, but as this is the sixth challenge and I have only won 1 previously, odds are I will not 'emerge triumphant again' coincidentally or otherwise!!!

The notion of winning really isn't half as important as participating. Some titles might win because they are the best, but sometimes the best aren't placed in the first six. Why? Because some authors only vote for themselves and no one else; because some people can't be arsed reading through some of the longer stories, or stories which feature an orientation not usually sought by the reader; because something with a catchy or raunchy title might pick up extra votes; or even by virtue of its positioning at the top or the bottom of the list a title might attract more votes than those stuck somewhere in the middle.

Does it matter? No, not to me. What does matter is fairness and participation and FUN - which is what these challenges are all about.

... From the Book of Flopsybunners, CH 9, V16-22

This cannot possible be from the King James' version as the previous chapters have been! On the other hand it makes a lot of sense!

Surely a flopsybunner is associated with floppy buns?

The sheer number of readers who actually vote on a story is perhaps the biggest factor. A widely read story that gets middling scores will beat a story that gets great scores but was not read by as many voters. It's the multiplier effect. That's why it is important that if you cast a vote, any vote, for one, cast a vote for all.
If nothing else, scan each story and give it a provisional vote then go back and try and do a more thorough review if you can.

Hey don't count me out just because I haven't entered! It is my software after all counting the votes so anything is possible ...