[I'm currently tweaking it, so calm down. haha
]You all might be surprised to be actually reading this, but yes. It is true. I am holding my first multiround contest. Allow me to explain a little further & explain myself.
Take note: if you are a multiround regular/know what you are doing, skip to the application/contest page.
My name is Chase. I just had my two year AP birthday in February. Nobody celebrated it, because I have been basically dead to the world on AP. I’ve penned hundreds of poems & I know what I’m doing. I recently deleted all of my poetry in hopes to start new. With that being said, I’ve proven myself in the last two years to be able to write for just about any challenge set in front of me. Outside of multiround contests, I was one of the supports of the original quickie craze, which has now blossomed into… I will not go into that.
As a judge, I am honest & blunt. I have no problem telling someone I did not like his or her poem. I do have tack though. I will be respectful. This, however, does not mean I will baby or guarantee that I will enjoy your poem. I know what makes good poetry ranging from form, quickie, free-verse, rhyme & the sort.
After entering my fair share of multiround contests & finding success, I decided it’s my turn to repay some of these points. Actually, now that I think about it, they mostly came from the quickies. Oops.
I have a pretty bad case of writer’s block, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t judge a poetry contest. I’m hoping to spark my muse once again & finally write some amazing poems & hopefully, oh hopefully, be able to finish my first book, which I hope to have completed by the end of my senior year of high school.Oh yes. That reminds me. I’m 17 & have a life. Don’t like this? Don’t enter. :]
As for the layout of this contest, it’s a bit amorphous. Do expect twists, turns, secrets, immunities, voting, & other assorted joys. Justin makes it hard to top a multiround contest. We’ll see how I do.
Starting out, I will begin with this audition round. I am not sure how long this contest will be, but by doing quick math, it will be three months to four months. Yes, you read that correctly. Months. It may be less though, depending on the attitudes/chemistry of the group. This is my reasoning. Many multiround contests move much too quickly for you to get your assignments done. I totally understand! I have been there, writing a poem in the last 15 minutes before it is due. So I hope to allow plenty of time for poems to be turned in. With this being said though, that does NOT, I repeat, does NOT give you any excuse what-so-ever to be late. I am flexible & human, don’t get me wrong, but pure laziness will not be accepted. It is your job as a member of this group/contest/ect to notify me of any problems/situations you have going on. If you will not be online for some amount of time, you will need to let me know. Depending on the circumstances, you maybe have to complete additional assignments or simply step-down from the contest. As the contest host, I promise to judge your poems in a timely manner. It’s a mutual respect. Do not break it.
I kind of ranted there. Sorry. I have a tendency to do that at times. I’m not in the mood to completely lay out this contest to you now, but do know that there will be group work & individual work in the contest. You will be put on teams or groups & you will make a collaboration to be judged. Group leaders will be picked each week & full participation is a must. The losing team/teams each week will be required to vote one person off of their team.
During group work, to make sure things are kept fair, you will be assigned an individual assignment also. The weakest poem on the losing team will also be eliminated. If it by chance turns out the losing team votes out this person, the person with the second highest number of votes will be eliminated.
Honestly though, if I am to map all of this out for you, it loses the surprise & the excitement of not know what’s next. & those things I just said are subject to change. haha
What are you competing for you ask? A few things. First of all, there will be a hefty prize of points at the end of this contest. I have yet to determine a total, but just know that I am not cheap & I am not poor. Trophies will be handed out also & points will go to the finalists of the contests. Trust me; your labors will not go without rewards. Second, you will of course have a wonderful time getting to know other poets, rekindling lovely friendships & maybe jumpstart your poetic ability/muse. I almost barfed at how made-for-tv that sounded. Finally, you will play for bragging rights because who doesn’t want to say they won a multiround contest. Psh.
To be a part of this multiround contest, you will have to prove to me what talents you have as a writer. Enter something that showcases your talent & that you are proud of, not just something you think will impress me. I am more impressed by originality & a poem as a whole than someone who managed to compress words into a complicated form, only to lose the meaning & create a poem that I personally, just don’t want to read.
There are, in fact, a few hoops you need to jump through to apply this contest. First thing would be to write a fresh poem for this contest. It needs to show me where you stand as a poet & what kind of things you can bring to the table. Don’t focus on pleasing me. Just make it what you do best. Second, fill out the following survey/application. If you don’t know me, I really know how to play these multiround contests well. With that being said, I need to make sure talents & personalities will mesh [almost] perfectly. Please fill out this application & put it in your audition poem’s author’s notes. Even if I know you & I know what an amazing poet you are, you still need to fill it out, just so I can be equal & fair to everyone.
1. Name [Real & User]
2. Age
3. Amount of Poetic Experience
4. Typical/Strongest Style
5. Unusual/Weakest Style
6. Favorite Type of Inspiration
7. Amount of Multiround Experience
8. Some Accomplishments
9. One Fact I won’t Know About You
10. Additional Comments You’d Like Me To Read
That’s it for the application. I tried to make it so that I’ll get a gist of what you’re all about without you having to basically do a scavenger hunt of your life.
Also, I want you to know that by entering this contest, you are agreeing to a few things:
You will turn your assignments in on time & to the best of your ability.
You will participate & work with team members, not matter how much you may hate some of them.
You will not take anything personal that happens in this contest.
You will not throw fits/temper tantrums depending on the outcome of challenges.
You will respect me as the judge & realize the consequences of inappropriate behavior.
You will notify me of problems/extended absences.
You will see that my decisions are final law.
Those sound pretty stern, but basically, it’s not my job to babysit you. Most of you will be older than me anyways [maybe], so act with some maturity.
As a judge, I will promise to judge the rounds fairly & timely. I will keep honest records of voting & scoring. I will treat each participant of this contest with respect & take care of problems as they arise. Just remember, there is a social aspect of this contest also. If you piss a whole bunch of people off because you’re ignorant, arrogant & rude, don’t be surprised when you’re voted off by your team.
Wrapping this up, I’ll give you the Sparknotes to this contest so far:
This contest will be held by Chase, aka me. I can be wordy with explanations. The contest will be of multiple rounds lasting a week to two weeks in length. During this time, you will be asked to complete different challenges as a poet & writer. Each week, one poet will be voted off & according to my scores, the lowest scoring poet will be eliminated as well.
The contest will start as soon as I find roughly 14-28 poets I see talent in. To find this talent, you will enter in one fresh poem to this contest showcasing your skills & your view-point as a poet. You will also complete the survey/application so I will know what I’m working with & place said-survey/application in your author’s notes. You’ll agree to the “terms & conditions” like section I have laid out on the contest page.
I will judge poems/authors as they come in & start once I have the perfect group. I will close the contest & hand out shineys/points to the top poets & the fun will start there. Soon after, I will send out personal messages with more information.
http://allpoetry.com/contest/show/2395947
That's the link to the contest to submit your poems.
Sorry this was so long. I hope you can get my point out of this. If you have questions, IM me. I’m a friendly guy.
-Chase
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