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I must say that I think the Iron Yaoi Writer event was rather interesting. I was not sure what I expected. As mentioned, 5 contestants were selected to write a story using 10 'secret ingredients': 10 words to be incorporated into the story. They were given 20 minutes to write their stories. Meanwhile, the rest of the audience had a chance to watch some AMVs or chat or read.
The contestants, at the end of the 20 minutes, read their stories and the audience voted for the best (by applause).
The winning story was very well written, incorporated all 10 words, and had a bonus of being read by someone with an English accent (she was from Leeds, England, I think).
I would love to see this back next year, but have a few comments.
1) Shorten the time to write to 10 minutes.
2) Increase the number of words to 20. Writers must incorporate AT LEAST 10, but do not need to use all 20. Writers using all 20 receive an extra prize even if theirs is not the winning entry.
3) Not to take anything away from the winner, for her story was excellent, but it appeared as though several people recognized her as an established fanfic writer (one of the contestants said she would participate but already knew the other writer would win). I suggest asking that contestants be someone who has written only for fun, or not had more than 2 or 3 stories posted or published, or has never written yaoi themed fics. This to encourage other writers to want to have fun with this, and not be worried about losing. And yes, I realize the audience wants to be entertained with the stories, but I think they will be with newbie writers' efforts.
4) Packets of Pocky as prizes was a fun idea! Maybe next year, the different flavored Pocky along with the regular chocolate.
5) Not sure what to do with the audience during the writing period. Someone thought the AMVs might be too distracting, but the stories still turned out pretty good so I don't know if the writers were distracted at all. (They were all at the back of the room). Maybe some puzzles or quizzes handed out on sheets to complete. Like how many pairs can you name or word search puzzles with seme/uke names (hmm, maybe I can make some of those ...) or pass out crayons with pictures to color ... hmmm, maybe I can make some of THOSE.
6) In addition to the fan favorite by audience applause, have a small panel (even if only 2 people) to act as judges to determine a winner following certain protocol: number of secret word ingredients used; creativity; originality; unexpected use of word, etc. I realize this last may not be feasible but it's worth asking for. :wink:
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