cheatsheet and faqs

will anything actually make a difference?

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Various contests do a cheatsheet of sorts where you're told which genres/story endings/pairings/members to go for if you want a better chance of winning.  While I'm a very picky reader in terms of quality, provided the quality's there, there's actually very little that makes a difference to whether or not I'm likely to favour one story over another.

There are, however, some exceptions.

- I'm not a fan of horror or a.  While a is prohibited from this contest (I'm not a fan of gratuitous scenes), I am open to reading horror.  However, please be aware that horror isn't really my thing and I only tend to read it if it's really good.  Beyond those two, I'll read most things happily, though I particularly like action, adventure and fantasy.

- I have a preference for EXO.  I do read about other groups, but I'm not as involved in their fanficdoms.

- Romanised Korean does not sit well with me.  Unless the word doesn't have a direct English equivalent, please don't use it.  It looks tacky and unprofessional, and if you think about it, if you set a story in Korea, unless it's stated that your characters are not Korean speakers, the English in your story is effectively Korean, or a translation of it.  When translating, you render everything that you can into the target language.  You don't leave random words in the original – imagine something translated from Spanish that leaves pepole with "Que?" he said, looking around.  "Porque?  It's not fair.  Porque do I have to do that?"

- Good vocabulary, spelling and grammar will increase your chances.  I try to be understanding in cases where English is not an author's first language, but you're still more likely to win if the spelling/grammar/vocab is correct and polished.  Beta readers and co-authors are allowed, so if you think it might help, it might be worth asking somebody you trust to check your story over for you.

faqs (This section will be updated if there are more questions)
1. why is this contest only for entries with OCs or bromance/non-romantic if there are no ocs?

This is for two reasons: a) idol x idol (of any kind) doesn't float my boat – just reading preferences – and b) one of the prizes for a lot of the winners is a feature in my recommendations list, which only recommends OC fics, or fics that just have heaps of bromance but no idolxidol//yuri romance.  It's just catering towards a specific audience.

2. how long will it take for the winners to be announced?

This is category-dependent and will also depend on the number of entries.  I would hope to announce the winners of 'Fast Track' shortly after the New Year (January 2016), since that one finishes at the end of November.  'Short Haul' will probably be in February of 2016, and 'Long Haul' will probably be at some point in the summer (July or August 2016).  For the themes, I will hold onto the best ones in their theme from both 'Fast Track' and 'Short Haul' and put them up in a nominations category.  When 'Long Haul' is finished, I will add the best ones in their theme to the nominations and select from there.
 

3. HOW does the "readers' choice" award work?

In November, once entry deadlines have closed, I will update this story with a link that you can put in the foreword of your story and supply to all your readers so that they can vote for your story (it will give a list of titles of all potential stories categorised by theme and they vote for the story they like best in each theme).  For anybody writing one-shots/who has a fic marked completed before this point, it might be worth letting your readers know beforehand so that they know to stay subscribed and come back to vote.
Similarly, I will provide a link when entry deadlines close for the 'Short Haul' and 'Long Haul' categories respectively, and again will list the titles categorised by theme, and the readers may vote for the story they like best in each theme.  This amounts to a total of nine prizes – 'Fast Track' Silent Love, Exodus and Enter the Unicorn, 'Short Haul' Silent Love, Exodus and Enter the Unicorn, and 'Long Haul' Silent Love, Exodus and Enter the Unicorn.
 

4. what happens if I don't finish by the deadline?

That depends.  You may either pull out or re-enter in a different category.  For 'Fast Track', you will have to decide whether that is 'Short Haul' or 'Long Haul', depending on what you have been writing.  For 'Short Haul', there are no extensions, so if you don't finish by the deadline, you have the option of lengthening your story to the required minimum for 'Long Haul' and entering it there.  For 'Long Haul', please message me explaining that you haven't finished, and just continue updating.  I won't disqualify you if you do so, but you will no longer be eligible for 1st or 2nd prize, or for the theme prizes (you will, however, still be in with a shot for 3rd place or an honorary mention).

5. Can I combine m