Biweekly Haiku Contest I (Trial Run/Read thoroughly before posting)

I discussed this idea with Slayr231 and he said it would be okay for me to start this contest. If anyone has any criticisms or questions, please direct them to me via PM or VM. This is only a trial run to see if this gets any attention. If mods feel like it's too problematic, close it down and tell me why.
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Rules and Entry Information

1.) Signups are determined on a first-come/first-serve basis. Entrants must submit an entry when they ask to signup, otherwise their spot will be forfeited to the next contestant who enters a poem. Slots will not be saved if people ask to reserve them.

2.) This is a haiku-only contest, meaning that entrants are expected follow a five-seven-five syllable format for a three-line stanza. Poems will be proofread before being added to the entry list, and ones that come close to the format may still be added so long as they come within a few syllables of the requirement.

3.) All poems must incorporate a select theme each round. Due to writers' interpretations of themes, entries will not be turned down so long as the theme is at least referenced in the poem. However, poems that have nothing to do with the theme at all will be disqualified.

4.) The entry period ends the second Wednesday after this thread has been posted, or whenever all slots have been filled. Voting will commence afterward and be conducted via ballots submitted to me by Private Message or Visitor Message. Voters are only allowed to vote for three entries per contest. In the event of a tie or lack of votes, I will make the deciding vote. Votes will be tallied on the Sunday after the entry period ends.

Round Theme: Nature (Not Pokémon-related)
Entry Deadline: Wednesday, November 20th, 2013
Voting Deadline: Wednesday, November 27th, 2013

*Rules, timescales, and other parameters are subject to change without notice.

Entry List

1.) By Rococo
A frozen river
A dormant time in all forms
But life merely sleeps

2.) By LostinKalos
Fireflies are flying
While wingless birds are slowly dying
The way of life, that is

3.) By Slayr231
Sprouting from the ground,
Slowly stretching for the sky,
Never rushed, perfect.

4.) By AlexOzzyCake
The pure blessing, Earth
Waited to break through the frost
Now emerges strong

5.) By Cutlerine
A thin snarl of wind—
The forest shrugs its shoulders—
Leaves, and then silence.

6.) Frost (By BlahISuck)
as the first light breaks
countless sunbeams dance across
a crystal clearing

7.) Birth (By Manska)
Bleating, scared and wet
The newborn opens it's eyes
To a brand new world

8.) Winter (By ProjectMisfit)
The snow falls,
With a chill overwhelming,
While we seek warmth.

9.) By Khawill
Forgotten flowers
Forced to grow all by themselves
And yet they all thrive.

10.) By bobandbill
Screaming, whistling,
Scratching off branches and leaves,
Pounding at the door.

11.) By isthatyoudan
The small hidden spring
Hear the sounds of the water
A fish passes by.

Hm, I'll assume that by 'Haiku', you mean english Haiku, and not traditional. (DON'T even get me started on the difference between syllables and on. . . !)

Also, personally I think that maybe a panel of three judges should serve as tie-breakers. But, anyway.


Username: Rococo
Entry:



Yeah, I don't write haiku all to often, and even less english haiku. . . xI

Oh yeah, first entry *****es! >:D

I can't say I'll enter because I would be terrible at it, but I support this thread and will be reading :3 Good idea.

Rococo said:

Hm, I'll assume that by 'Haiku', you mean english Haiku, and not traditional. (DON'T even get me started on the difference between syllables and on. . . !)

Also, personally I think that maybe a panel of three judges should serve as tie-breakers. But, anyway.


Username: Rococo
Entry:

"Autumn trees
The death of seasons
It's truly not the end?"
​

Yeah, I don't write haiku all to often, and even less english haiku. . . xI

Oh yeah, first entry *****es! >:D

Click to expand...

1.) English Haikus are the only ones I can accept for this, as this is a predominantly English forum and I already layed out a specified style. I'm not saying that traditional haikus are bad, but English is my native tongue and it's difficult for people to judge things based on alternating styles.

2.)I've ran similar contests like this on other sites, and judges have proven unreliable. They almost never do their jobs or don't get back to me when I need them to.

Poetry isn't exactly my forte, but what the heck, I'll give it a shot.

Sprouting from the ground,
Slowly stretching for the sky,
Never rushed, perfect.

I'll give this a go but don't expect anything even remarkably good!

The pure blessing, Earth
Waited to break through the frost
Now emerges strong​

Might change it a little before the deadline if I think of something better... assuming that's allowed haha.

Let's give it a shot, shall we? Something autumnal, I think, for this special time of year.

A thin snarl of wind—
The forest shrugs its shoulders—
Leaves, and then silence.

Frost

as the first light breaks
countless sunbeams dance across
a crystal clearing

Never tried anything like this before but here we go

Birth

Bleating, scared and wet
The newborn opens it's eyes
To a brand new world

Winter

The snow falls,
With a chill overwhelming,
While we seek warmth.

Question:

1.) Signups are determined on a first-come/first-serve basis. Entrants must submit an entry when they ask to signup, otherwise their spot will be forfeited to the next contestant who enters a poem. There are only fifteen slots available, and spots will not be saved if people ask to reserve them.

Click to expand...

What is the reasoning for this? If there's more than 15 entries, I think it would be better to allow them to enter rather than prevent them - after all, if we want activity in the section then we should promote as much of it as possible, not limit it. If there is a reason for this limit (and if so, then why 15?) then I'd like to see it explained, because none have come to my mind as of yet, beyond maybe too many to choose from (and I don't feel that reason is quite enough to outweigh my point above).


Anyways, if it is needed, reserving a spot. Too tired to write one now, even if it is a haiku.

bobandbill said:

Question:
What is the reasoning for this? If there's more than 15 entries, I think it would be better to allow them to enter rather than prevent them - after all, if we want activity in the section then we should promote as much of it as possible, not limit it. If there is a reason for this limit (and if so, then why 15?) then I'd like to see it explained, because none have come to my mind as of yet, beyond maybe too many to choose from (and I don't feel that reason is quite enough to outweigh my point above).


Anyways, if it is needed, reserving a spot. Too tired to write one now, even if it is a haiku.

Click to expand...

I had issues on another forum where people were signing up and not submitting anything. For that reason, I instituted the "no reserving slots" rule.

Also, I wasn't sure how popular this was going to be in terms of people entering, so I didn't want to get overwhelmed by a sudden onslaught of entries that I can't keep up with. But, considering how many people seem interested in this, I may allow for more people to enter now.

Forgotten flowers
Forced to grow all by themselves
And yet they all thrive.

Old Note: Alright, I've updated the first post with all entries thus far and a few minor changes. I'm going to let as many people enter as they want to. Also, I'm going to allow short poems close to the format I laid out get submitted so long as they're close (if you're off by a syllable or two per line, that's okay). Lastly, I would like people to PM/VM me if you have any more concerns or want to make your entry in private. I've had at least one person do that already.

Current update: This contest is still open for anyone who still wants to enter. Also, if you've already entered and want to change your poem, you still have time to do so. Just send me a PM.

Well, I was have asleep when I first posted here, so here's a poem that's actually haiku:


Next time I try to write or post poetry when sleep deprived, somebody slap me. X)

Screaming, whistling,
Scratching off branches and leaves,
Pounding at the door.

Updated. The deadline remains Wednesday, November 20th. I'm on Central Standard Time, so if new entries aren't in by 11:59PM (CST) Tuesday, they won't be added the following morning.

Okay, nature poem, let's do this!

The small hidden spring
Hear the sounds of the water
A fish passes by.

That's all that I can think of. Like it?

This is the last day for voting. The turnout thus far has been dismal, so I don't think I'm going to continue this after this round is over.

Wait, voting? @_@ I miseed the-oh, you deleted your other posts. Hmm.

For the record, I think double posting to make announcements here is just fine. By removing older posts though stuff can just be missed.

I'd suggest maybe extending the voting by a bit longer. Maybe even a separate thread with a poll so to draw attention to it if you'd like. Maybe it was because I was on a trip, but I didn't realise at all voting had started.