The Amazing What Now?
The amazing Blockheads, of course. This contest first saw the light as The Amazing Fictioneers, on December 15th. Since then, some changes have been implemented over at The Writers’ Block. Branching out into other genres, the original Fictioneers have now joined ranks with a number of incredibly talented poets and non-fiction writers.
Since we wanted to include them in our name, the powers that be decided to rename our little band of volunteers. The Fictioneers became the Blockheads. A name we all bear proudly.
Refresh My Memory, Tiny
I announced a contest, not for writers, but for editors. You see, at The Writers’ Block, we all help each other improve our writing. So whenever one of us wins a contest, it’s really a win for the entire community. When one of us does well, we consider that a success for all of us.
We are only able to produce the level of quality in our work with the help of the many volunteers who give their time and energy to help us edit our pieces.
Here’s How That Works
When an author finishes a draft and makes it as clean as they possibly can, they can submit it to the Critiquing Queue. We have one for fiction and one for non-fiction. Editors can access the draft via a Google Doc, where they will give the author feedback. This can be anything, from grammatical notes, to developmental notes, to “I like this.”
When the author has received enough feedback to work with, they can request for their draft to be pulled from the Queue. They can edit their draft based on the comments they’ve received. After editing, they can either resubmit for further polishing, of publish their post.
I originally planned to let The Amazing Blockheads run for two weeks, but since everyone was so busy with the holidays, I decided to extend the deadline for another week.
What We Did
People who workshopped a piece of fiction were invited to score their editors and submit those scores to me via DM.
I received a lot of results, both for our newer editors and the more experienced ones. However, the members with the rank of editor or mod were excluded from the final results of this contest, since the objective was to encourage newer editors to hop into our critiquing queue.
The editor who ended up with the highest score wins the prize of Writers’ Pick for Top Editor. Five others will receive additional prizes but will not be ranked. We don’t want anyone to feel like their work and effort is worth less than that of someone else.
Besides the scores given by the writers, members with the rank of mod or editor kept their eyes peeled for a likely candidate. Each of us was given the chance to nominate one editor (from the ranks of Honorary Member, Member or Blockhead. Afterwards, votes were cast to decide which of these nominees would win the prize of Mods’ Pick for Top Editor.
Stop Procrastrinating, Tiny. Tell Us Who Won!
The five top editors, as chosen by the authors are:
They will all receive a prize of 8 Steem.
Writers’ Pick for Top Editor is:
@caleblailmusikHe receives a prize of 10 Steem and 5 SBD.
Mods’ Pick for Top Editor is:
@johnkingwriterHe receives a prize of 15 Steem and 5 SBD.
He was also promoted to the rank of Editor.
Honourable mentions go to each and every editor who received a score.
You all work hard, not only at writing, but at helping each other improve your writing. I know I couldn’t be prouder of all of you, and I’m sure that each and every member of the TWB team agrees with me.
@AKSounder
@RhondaK
@Bex-DK
@ThinknZombie
@JonKnight
@Jayna
@Nobyeni
@Creatr
@XanderSLee
Big, Big Kudos
My thanks go out to everyone who helped me run this contest: each and every writer who took the time to score their editors for me, @Bex-DK for donating 15 steem to the Mods’ Pick Top Editor, and @GMuxx for donating a 5 sbd prize to both Top Editors. Also, @GMuxx, thank you for running the place we call home and for always being there for all of us.
And another big thanks for all of the support and encouragement that is so readily offered in our little (not so little anymore) family over at The Writers’ Block.
The Writer’s Block is a home to writers from every corner of the world, and from every discipline that involves the written word. I consider myself lucky to have found this amazing community. Not only have I found help, support and encouragement there, but I’ve found people who feel the same way I do about writing. I’ve found a second family there. Do you write? Would you love to be a part of a community that can help you learn and improve your writing skill? Our door is always open for kindred spirits. Come and pay us a visit by pointing your pointy thingie right here and clicking.