You’ve taken a look at your Summer Residency 2010 schedule and noticed on Monday night after all is said and done, there is something called Late Night: Flash Slam at the hotel. You wondered what that was exactly. Quite simply, everyone is invited to participate in a flash fiction slam. You will read – nay, perform – your own piece of flash fiction in a contest-like atmosphere with judges (TBA), fellow competitors and an audience that may or may not be hooting and hollering. Prizes may be awarded.
So make sure you bring a work of flash fiction to the residency. Because this isn’t a writing exercise. We will not craft these works on the spot and then perform them. Imagine the crap we’d be shoveling. There’ll be a signup sheet floating around, or perhaps secured to a table in the place where we eat. Depending on interest, we might have to cap participants so don’t dilly dally.
Dave
Basics
Each piece will receive a score on a scale of 1-10 (full and half point increments) from each judge with a time limit of 6.5 minutes. Participants must provide an accurate word count prior to performing.
Judging
Participants will be judged on literary merit, length, as well as performance.
Scoring
A “degree of difficulty” handicap will be put on each piece based on word count as follows, with progressive half-point deductions placed on each range (highest score possible in parenthesis):
1-200 words (no handicap)
201 words to 400 words (9.5)
401-600 words (9.0)
601-800 words (8.5)
801-1,000 words (8.0)
Over 1,000 words (7.5)
For example, a story that is 848 words that received a 9 from a judge would be scored as a 7.2 (9 x .8 = 7.2)
One point per score will be deducted for every 30 seconds you exceed the limit.
Notes
Judges may deduct points if they sense the work being read is not flash fiction (for instance, if they suspect it is, say, technical writing or poetry)
Scores will be disclosed at the end of the competition so not to inadvertently penalize or benefit stories read first.
6 comments:
I'm in, Dave! Can't wait!
This looks like it will be a lot of fun. Nice add-on:)
Cool event. On the handicap thing - is shorter more or less advantageous?
The handicap assumes that the shorter the story the more difficult it might be to pull off excellence. It's like degree of difficulty in diving. The reward is big if you can pull off a more difficult dive but you also run the risk of making an enormous splash. Risk and reward.
Got it. Thank you David.
Can props be used?
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