ocalhoun's Big 250k Contest 122 members · 133 stories

The deadline has arrived and submissions are now closed.
Thank you to everyone who participated!
Contest results are now available!

Hi, everybody! To celebrate having finally hit a quarter of a million readers, I'm going to sponsor a contest. (Besides, I've had 'run a contest' on my to-do list for a long time now.)
There will be $250 in prizes! (Not coincidentailly, $1 per 1k readers.)
Of special note is a $25 prize especially for new writers who have never published anything on Fimfic before, as well as a $5 prize for the best story written by a writer with less than 100 followers. So if you think you're too inexperienced to hold your own in a contest, you have good reason to participate anyway -- you've got a great chance at winning one or both of those prizes!
Not to mention, there are 30 different fun prizes to try for, so you've got a great chance at winning something!

No, this isn't self-promotion-y at all! :raritywink: Why would you ask?




:rainbowkiss: The Prompt :rainbowkiss:

Write a continuation, spin-off, or sequel to one of my existing stories.
You can find them all in this group folder for your convenience.
Dirty little secret's stories are also fair game.




:trixieshiftright: Rules :trixieshiftright:

Word Count: Between 1000 and 15000, by Fimfic's word count. (No fudge factor for Fimfic's counter bieng wonky. Take that into consideration while you're writing, or edit it afterward if you need to.)
Qualification: The story must be a sequel, continuation, or spin off of one of my existing stories (including dirty little secret's). It needs to be immediately apparent from the description which story it's based off of. (The easiest way to make sure you satisfy that requirement is to put a link to the original in the story description, or mark your story as a sequel to the original.) It must be a standalone story, not a single chapter of a larger story.
Deadline: Your story must be published to Fimfic between now and March 31st. It must be submitted to to this group in the 'Contest Entries' folder before midnight PST on March 31st. It must qualify all other requirements before March 31st. Stories edited after March 31st will be disqualified. No deadline extensions or late entries will be allowed: three months is plenty of time to write and edit a short story. Be proactive and avoid the deadline crunch by getting things done early.
Multiple Entries: Multiple entries are allowed and encouraged. Submit as many as you like.
Plagiarism: Having up to 10% of your story copy/pasted from one of mine is okay, since they need to be based off that. Directly copying other contestants will result in immediate disqualification. (Coincidential similarities are okay. Copying is not.)
Vote Rigging: Evidence of vote rigging will result in your story being disqualified from the 'People's Choice' prize. (Telling your followers to vote is allowed. Telling your followers to vote for you is not allowed. The vote is a measure of how much people liked your story, not a measure of how many followers you have.)
Disclaimer: Contest rules, prizes, and description may be changed or added to without notice. (An effort will be made to inform contestants, but it's not guaranteed to be successful.) Contest may be canceled at the discretion of ocalhoun if there are less than 5 contest entries. Any prizes that no story qualifies for will not be awarded. Any prizes for which two or more contestants are tied will be split between those contestants. Personal information may be required for the delivery of prizes.




:yay: Prizes :yay:

Grand Prize ($100) A winner is you! Shut up and take my money.
Consolation Prize ($30) Well, you're not the best, but second best is still pretty good, right? (Not really. If you're not first, you're last. Everybody knows this.)
Best Newbie ($25) Your very first published story is the one you submitted to this contest. Not only that, you did better than all those other newbies!
People's Choice ($20) You sure know how to please a crowd! Your story was voted highest by the readers in the contest's poll. You were also voted 'most likely to succeed' in your highschool yearbook. Now it came true! (Be sure to review the rules about what is and isn't allowed when it comes to encouraging people to vote!)
Green Thumb ($5) Your story has the best upvote/downvote ratio, as judged by Fimfic's 'sort by rating' algorithm. Finally, a use for all those votes!
Originality ($5) Your story blew my mind, and it probably rearranged more than a few headcanons.
Bright Idea ($5) Regardless of how well you pulled it off, that was one heck of an idea to write! A good idea is half the battle.
Execution ($5) Regardless of how good or bad your story idea was, you sure did a good job of writing it! Because even a turd can be polished.
Homage ($5) You did a really great job of replicating the tone, consistency, and/or theme of the original story, really doing it justice more than I could ever have asked for. Are you sure you're not me?
Teh Feels ($5) You wrote the most adorable cutefic, the steamiest clopfic, the most heartbreaking tragedy, or the most hilarious comedy, or all of those at the same time, why not? You did the best job of making me feel the feels.
Popularity Contest ($5) Your story attracted more readers than any of the others. Must be doing something right!
Early Bird ($5) You were the first person to submit a (valid) story to the contest. Here, have a $5 worm. (Important change: Because I messed up on setting the folder permissions and may have prevented people from submitting stories early on, this prize will be awarded based on the date/time the story was published to Fimfic, not when it was submitted to the group.)
Best Little-Known Author ($5) You have under 100 followers, but damned if you didn't manage to write a solid story anyway! Looks like you deserve more followers than you've got.
You've Probably Never Heard Of It ($5) Of all the stories you could have based yours on, you chose the one with the least readers. You truly are a master of obscurity.
WTF ($5) You made the craziest, crackfic-iest, most nonsensical story of the bunch. Papa Discord is proud.
White Badge of Honor ($3) For the best story that's based on one of dirty little secret's stories. You work hard for the money -- so hard for the money.
At Least it Doesn't Suck ($3) Your story got the least downvotes. That's something.
Story Spammer ($3) You took a shotgun approach to entering this contest: more stories means more chances of winning, right? You submitted more stories to the contest than anyone else.
Forever alone ($1) Nobody wants to read your story. There it sits, forever ignored. At least you get a dollar.
In the Red ($1) Your story has the worst upvote/downvote ratio, as judged by Fimfic's 'sort by rating' algorithm. It's okay. Probably just a bunch of drive-by downvoters who didn't even read it, right?
The Group Maniac ($1) When you click that 'add to groups' button, you mean business. You've added your story to more groups than any other contestant. When they call you the Group Maniac, they do so with a deep respect in their voices.
Master Procrastinator ($1) You were the last person to submit a (valid) story before the deadline. You really know how to show all the other procrastinators how to do it ... tomorrow.
Longest ($1) When you start pushing those keyboard buttons, you just don't stop! Your story is longer than any other contestant's.
Shortest ($1) When people say 'brevity is the soul of wit', you take it seriously! Your story is shorter than any other contestant's.
Judge a Book by its Cover ($1) You've got the very best cover art. That's something we can all appreciate. Somebody frame this thing!
Follower Bonus ($1) The best story, out of all the ones submitted by my followers. Your loyalty is very appreciated.
Tough Luck ($1) Your story was the least popular in the contest's poll. Bummer.
Surprise! ($1) Your story was the most surprising, either because you're a master of the twist ending, or maybe because you don't quite know what the tags mean.
Sales Pitch ($1) You sure know how to write a story description!
You Tried! ($0) Everybody deserves a participation prize! Even if you don't win any other awards, you still get a story-tagged blog post announcing your contest entry, and a spot in my new userpage box for spin-offs.

Total prize pool: $250
Maximum possible prizes for one single story: $217
(But you'd need one hell of a story that checks off a lot of boxes in order to pull that off! Not to mention, it needs to be the longest and the first submitted, so you'd better get typing!)
(All winners will get recognition in one big blog post, as well as on the front page of this group.)
Prizes can be claimed through Paypal.




:duck: How To Enter :duck:

Simply add your story to this group in the 'Entries' folder before March 31st.
Make sure it follows all the rules, or it could be disqualified! If I see that your story is going to get disqualified and there's time before the deadline, I'll try to tell you what's wrong.




Now, you might be thinking that this all seems a bit like wanton self-promotion. :trixieshiftleft:
And yeah, it kind of is. :rainbowwild: But hey, why not?
:ajsleepy: And maybe it'll quiet down some of those people who keep shouting 'MOAR', 'SEQUEL', and 'ANOTHER CHAPTER' at me.



Disclaimer which is apparently required by US law:
All may enter except where prohibited by law. Contest held under the laws of Bonner County, Idaho, USA. Contestants must be of legal age in their country and state of residence; by entering in the contest, you confirm that you old enough to legally compete. Contest runs from December 31st 2015 to March 31st 2016. Prizes will be awarded through Paypal. No purchase necessary. Contestants release ocalhoun of all liability resulting from the contest. By entering, you agree to the rules of the contest and that all judging is final. See main contest page for detailed rules and requirements.

Comments ( 57 )
  • Viewing 38 - 57 of 57

408670
Another one rides the bus!

*Starts humming "another one bites the dust"

408617
As long as it gets in. :twilightsmile:

408575 Cut it a bit close, but such is life.

408548
My contest is helping people grow! ^.^

408549 Welp. Fixed. There you go!

408541 Yea, well I had to get it approved first. Can't submit it until it's approved. There [not] fixed now.
Geez. Mods occasionally take a while.

408541 I'm on the last chapter now. Just trying to work out the dynamics before the ending. Following the format of the original story, too, so it's a bit clunky to me. I don't normally write in first person.

408529
408536
Um, guys? I don't see either one of those in the group's folders...

Tonight, the final one-shot has emerged. Unimaginable, the prequel to unforgettable.
There. Done.

408528 I'm calling it 'The Support Group' at the moment, don't think it will change though.

408523
One nobody else has done?
Now you've got me intrigued!

408519 I've got one more for you, Ocal. It's just about done. It should be out by tonight. I don't think anyone's given this one some love yet.

408519 Aww, thanks.
Also, I love that hashtag. #DealWithIt

408454
Just people taking chances for prizes. ^.^
That, and the deadline's coming.

408515
Sweet, sweet. Let me get some blog posts out there.

I wrote a sequel to your Frostbite the Snowmare. Hope you like it! I put A Frosty Chill through a moderator queue to be safe, so it may be a while before I can post it here.

What is it with people just throwing fics into this group? :rainbowlaugh:

408257

i just realized i'm canadian

That's a hell of a thing to just now realize.
How long have you been Canadian without knowing it?
Have you talked to your doctor about it?

As for your question...
Officially: No! You're completely banned from participating.
Unofficially: What I don't know can't disqualify you. I'm not about to let a few silly laws get in the way of a good contest.

408130
Well, at least you remembered while there was still time.

  • Viewing 38 - 57 of 57