Hello everyone! I still have a research paper to finish writing, so I'll keep this quick.

There are just THREE days left until the contest deadline! As a reminder, the countdown timer is linked on the foreword, so you can use that to keep track of exactly how much time you have left! Currently, a little over a third of the submitted entries are complete, so if yours is still incomplete, good luck on finishing it! If you need an extension, please contact me! And if you haven't submitted your entry yet, please do so ASAP! Time is ticking, so you don't want to miss out!

I also want to say a big thank you to KnoW_logic, and Black_Listed for donating karma for the Best Of prizes! It's wonderful that such lovely souls are willing to give back to the community! :') I'll announce what the final amounts for the karma prizes are when I close the contest. If you'd also like to be a karma donator, please contact me so we can discuss the specifics. I will repay you for your generosity!

So, in regards to story settings, it would be very much appreciated if you all could please UNCHECK the Subscriber Access Only option. It makes it easier for me to judge the stories, since my subscription page is a mess (just like my life lol). I will not disqualify you if you have the option checked when the contest closes, but to make it easier on everyone and so that I don't have to bother you to change the setting, please have it unchecked by the contest deadline of December 15, 2017 at 11:59PM PST. I promise that I will have all of the completed entries judged as quickly as possible, so you can rest assured that your story will remain unlocked for a short period of time. I have never had a problem with this request when judging stories for the past six rounds of my other writing contest, so I hope this is okay with everyone. In terms of judging eligibility, I will do a final sweep of the entry list when the contest closes by checking the time-stamps of when each story was last updated and that each story is marked complete. If the story is not marked complete, has a time-stamp past the deadline, or is inaccessible, it will be crossed off of the entry list and disqualified from judging. The only exceptions are entries that have been granted extensions. I will not be posting timers for those stories, so please be aware of your respective deadline and timezone. All deadlines end at 11:59PM PST. Let's try to minimize the number of crossed-out entries by finishing everything on time! :)

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact me via the comment box, my wall, or private messages. I respond to all messages within 24 hours.

Until then, good luck on finishing your stories and to anyone who's still studying for finals!