Generation 5 Bingo Writing Contest · 12:34pm Sep 16th, 2021
Are you ready to make history? To write one of the first G5 fics on the site?
This writing contest has an unusual premise: each author gets a different prompt.
Prompt cards look a bit like this.
Authors who sign up will be privately sent a prompt card with five random ideas that could be characters, places, items, or abstract concepts. They then try to write a story incorporating those five things.
Comment below to sign up.
191 places left
Prizes
The top 5 stories will get reviews from PresentPerfect and PaulAsaran.
I suppose I should mention that doing well in the contest is no guarantee of a nice, shiny, positive review.
— PaulAsaran
Stories will be judged on how well the judges enjoyed them, AND on how well they incorporated the ideas on their card.
Schedule
- APPLY NOW! — Comment below to sign up.
- The movie hits Netflix on 24 September.
- Prompts — 9 October — I’ll send you a PM with your prompt. You can still join after this date, as long as there are positions available.
- Deadline — 9 January 2022 — Stories must be published, completed and added to the contest folder.
Rules
Rules for prompts
- There are 300 prompt cards. Once they're gone, that's it.
- You may NOT request a replacement for a prompt card you dislike.
- You may only submit one entry for your prompt.
- You can reveal your story prompt if you wish, but nobody is obliged to.
Rules for stories
- Your story should incorporate at least two of the ideas from your prompt card, and up to all five. You'll score higher if you can use all of them well.
- You must follow all site rules.
- Stories may be up to 10,000 words.
- Mature fics are permitted.
- Stories should be tagged appropriately, in case there are subjects any of the judges wish not to read.
- Add your story to the contest folder before the deadline.
Rules for judging
We need judges! Comment here or PM me to volunteer.
- You may not judge if you’ve submitted a story (but you can apply for both now, and see if you manage to get a story done in time).
- You may judge stories written by friends, as long as you declare the link and do your best to be unbiased.
- The judging process is private. Please do not contact judges.
- Reading and judging a lot of stories takes time. Please be patient.
Final rule
Don't be unpleasant. I reserve the right to exclude anybody caught being nasty to anybody else, without explanation or appeal.
Questions
How do I sign up?
Comment on this post. I'll PM you a prompt card on or around 9th October.
Can I sign up late?
Yes, I’ll keep giving out cards until close to the deadline, but you won't be given any extra time to write.
Do I need to watch Generation 5 for this?
Yes, I recommend it. You might also get some G4 characters or locations that you may be expected to know, including some from the later seasons.
What does this blank tile mean?
Some of the prompts include combo tiles. These link two other characters in specific ways, such as "Sandbar remembers Smolder" or "Dr Cabelleron gets revenge on Quibble Pants".
If you aren't able to use the combo idea, you can still use those two characters in your story.
What if my prompt isn't something I want to write?
The card you're issued is final.
There's always more than one way to interpret a given prompt, so if the obvious idea doesn't appeal to you, try twisting it in a different direction. If you can't use all five of your ideas, you can still submit a story that uses at least two of them (although it probably won't be judged as highly).
I finished my story already! Can I get another?
If you enter a story that's completed and meets all of the rules, and have time to spare, you may request a second prompt card. Only once, though.
Only one of your stories will be allowed to win anything.
Can my story be a sequel? Can I do a crossover?
Yes, but stories should stand on their own. They may be sequels, or crossovers, or parts of your own AU, or even part of somebody else’s AU, as long as the story you enter is enjoyable on its own without any prior reading.
How will the stories be judged?
Each story will be judged by:
- Whether the judges enjoyed reading it.
- How many of the story ideas from your prompt card it incorporates, and how well it brings those ideas together.
- Correct use of the English language.
Remember, you must use at least two of the ideas from your prompt card. The more of them you use, and the better you can weave them together, the better your story will do.
Can I submit a ‘mature’ story?
Yes. Stories should be tagged appropriately.
Note that some of the judges may prefer not to read a mature story, depending on exactly what it contains, and this may affect your success.
Can I help you judge?
Yes please!
Judges will need to read a lot of stories, of course. The more people join in to help, the fewer stories each judge has to read. Judging does take a lot of time, so don't volunteer if you're going to be busy with exams or work around January 2022.
You can’t be both a judge and a contestant. However, this rule only kicks in if you actually submit a story, so you don't need to decide right away.
Judges may refuse to read mature-rated stories, or tags to which they have a severe allergy - let me know what your limits are and I’ll try to work around them.
Judges will need to be able to use Discord and Google Docs.
If you’re interested in helping, just drop a comment below.
oh good, I couldn't remember what it was I'd agreed to do recently. XD Looking forward to it!
Let's see what happens!
Hello. I would like to invite you to repost the contest in the Hall of Contests group. This is a group for spreading news about contests and for archiving.
Thank you very much and hope the contest will be successful.
5582650
Hmm. Does this count as SFW or NSFW?
I don't expect many mature stories, and the contest certainly isn't made for NSFW.
5582654
As long as the topic of the contest is SFW, it can be posted in the SFW group.
Sure, I'll throw my hat into the ring.
Well, I could give this a try
Eh, I’ll give it a shot
Sure, I'd like a card!
i.redd.it/an250kw6fwb31.jpg
I would very much like to participate! I'm signing up for this.
images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41rTC6I8bsL.jpg
...although I kinda hate the prompt system but what ya gonna do
I'll toss my name into the hat too, why not?
I'm interested. Sign me up!
Sign me up!
5582654
After some considerations, I decided to volunteer to be a judge. Here is my resume (i.e. a list of mini-reviews I have done) for reference:
I mostly focus on overall story structure, character development and underlying philosophy, as well as plot holes, scene writing and author's creativity.
5582707
Accepted, noted, and thank you.
I can leave you as a contestant for now, and then decide closer to the time?
Hell, I've already written three fics for this damn generation, might as well give this contest a shot. The prompt system sounds interesting too. Sign me up.
heck I am in
5582708
Of course. I don't intend to enter as a contestant myself, so don't need to worry about that. If you're willing to have me as a judge, feel free to PM me.
And as we're in the middle of the pandemic right now, and I'm gonna have my first shot of vaccine on exactly 23rd this month, if you contact me and find no reply within 1 week, take that as I am incapacitated, or dead.
Just to be sure. Have to prepare in this day and age.
I would like a card, please.
The first Generation 5 story contest..... I already have two ideas for Generation 5 ponyfics, at least one of which will get written and released soon, but I am going to be a part of this.
I officially request a Generation 5 story prompt, please. 
Sure, I can try to give this a go again
Huh, this could help me get into Gen 5. Sure sign me up!
I'd like to join, please.
Sign me up!
I was wondering when the next bingo would be.
I'm in.
Ah, judging these is always fun, if you're willing to put up with my pedantry...
5582921
I shall match it with my own pedanticism.
Sounds fun, count me in
story me give
Sure, I'll try entering.
Haven't had much luck with this sort of thing in the past, but I'd be more than willing to take another crack at it. Sign me up!
Being a judge at the last contest was fun!
So if you want to put up with me once more, I'd like to join your team again. ;)
5583562
Appreciated.
I'll attempt my redemption in writing, let's just hope school isn't cruel with me by those days. Sign me up!
Sure. I'll give it a try, if only to train myself at writing G5.
I’ll see if I can go for writing and judging. I may like to write a story on G5, but I’m not sure if I’d have enough free time with all the other stuff going on to do that, if the card I’m handed is viable for me, that is. Judging I doubt would be as lengthy, but should still be something entertaining and challenging enough for me to do these days.
I commented on the other post, too, but just in case I throw a comment here too.
I'd like to write a story for this contest.
5583767
Noted, as both contestant and judge. We can decide closer to the deadline.
5582696
But random prompts mean more fun, yes?
I don’t know when I will be able to watch gen 5, so writing for it might be a bit difficult for this contest (especially considering that I plan on watching as blind as possible). However, I’d be willing to judge, as odds are that when the time for judging rolls around I will have had a chance to watch it.
5583803
I know some people might not see the new movie straight away, which is why I've got a nice long deadline on the contest. Hopefully 3 months is enough for everyone.
Even so, I'm glad to have another judge on board. The more of us there are, the less work we each have to do.
Count me in!
I‘m would realy like to be a jugde, when you need somebody. Because in writing english I am not so Perfekt, i can not write my own story 😅
5583796
They do! I'm just worried about getting a prompt that is dumb and very outside pony-related stories, because I'm not usually friends with the Random tag. Don't mind my fretting, I think it's a good and fun idea.
5583870
well, I’m sure the prompts will be very pony related. But I do suppose that the prompt could also be very dumb. But I suppose that’s kind of the challenge. Taking a prompt that’s outside of your normal range and making it fit into what you’re good at writing.
Or vice versa, stretching yourself to write something that’s very different for you.
Not gonna lie though, seeing you and some of the others here in the ring kind of scares me
5583862
Another judge is welcome. Thank you.
Did it work? I sign up on other one but not sure if I should sign this post up just in case.