WEEK ONE: RESULTS

[JennaGlatzer]

The votes have been tallied (thanks, Hero Melina!), and one finalist has been eliminated. That writer is...

hapsburg

Sorry to lose you, hapsburg. I thought your entry was original and memorable.

Our top 9 finalists for Absolute Write Idol are (in alphabetical order so no one gets paranoid!):

Blue Texas
DJP
firehorse
jdkiggins
pepperlandgirl
Rhush
rhymegirl
trumancoyote
[/url]William Haskins

Well done, writers! See you in a minute in the new sub-forum above, where I'll be announcing this week's theme and deadline.
[url="http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=133048&postcount=235"] (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=123781&postcount=42)

[three seven]

Commiserations Justin, and big congratulations to the Final Nine!

:Clap:


(And well done Melina, obviously!)

[Birol]

Sorry, Hapsburg. Remember, you did beat out two hundred and ninety-eight other individuals to make it this far.

[Melina]

Yeah, it's really too bad that anyone has to be eliminated. A bunch of people said when they voted that it was really tough for them to choose only one.

Hapsburg, congratulations on making it to the finals! That in itself was an incredible feat, and something of which to be very proud!

Looking forward to next week! Good luck to all who remain!

Melina

[zeprosnepsid]

I wonder if this will make people paranoid about voting last. In one of the other threads someone mentioned voting for Pepper because her entry was first (or rather that being the deciding thing when they couldn't decide between two).

But haps, your work is very good, no doubt!

But I didn't receive a check from you like I did from the two finalists I couldn't choose between. I guess you missed out on that memo =)

Just a reminder to the finalists -- I can be bought.

[KTC]

Congratulations to all! And Haps...I enjoyed your piece...you were a pro among pros.

I feel I can say now who I voted for. And having read all the entries my reason is just this, that it touched me, at the time, the most. I voted for Pepperlandgirl. At another time I could have read all ten and voted for another. They were all great and it was a hard decision to make. I'm enjoying this competition and the chance to read such varied entries. Keep up the good work, contestants!

[KTC]

Oh...one more thing. I have no need to see the numbers broken down, but I was wondering if you could tell us exactly how many total votes were cast? Just curious...

[Melina]

I don't see how it could hurt, but I'll let Jenna handle that one...

Melina

[dragonjax]

I wonder if this will make people paranoid about voting last. In one of the other threads someone mentioned voting for Pepper because her entry was first (or rather that being the deciding thing when they couldn't decide between two).
I can honestly say that where the entry fell in line had nothing to do with my decision. For the heck of it, for week two, I'll read #9 first and work my way up to #1.

[BlueTexas]

Congrats, everyone.

Hapsburg...I thought your entry was excellent. I'm glad I had the chance to read it.

[jdkiggins]

Haps, I'm sorry. :Hug2: Can't triple the size of the hugs, but if I could, I would.

Congratulations to other finalists. I see we have our work cut out for us this week.

Thank you to all who cast a vote my way. I didn't send checks or chocolate :) but I'm honored by your votes. :thankyou:

Joanne

[Rose]

I wonder if this will make people paranoid about voting last. In one of the other threads someone mentioned voting for Pepper because her entry was first (or rather that being the deciding thing when they couldn't decide between two).

I can honestly say that where the entry fell in line had nothing to do with my decision. For the heck of it, for week two, I'll read #9 first and work my way up to #1.

Plus, some people set it up so that the last item posted is the one that appears at the top of all the posts (I do that), and others set it up vice versa. Maybe this nugget of information will alleviate a little paranoia...?

These options can be set in User CP > Edit Options > Thread Display Options > Thread Display Mode > Choose "Linear - Newest First" or "Linear - Oldest First"

[JennaGlatzer]

I was wondering if you could tell us exactly how many total votes were cast? Just curious...

101.

Which means I'll be bothering the heck out of the rest of the site's members to vote in upcoming rounds. We can do better than that. Let's rock the vote, good citizens of Absolute Write! ;)

[Melina]

I concur! Let's really get out there and vote, people! I'd love to be a martyr and say it took me hours and hours to count the votes, but it wasn't the case.
All of you who did vote, thank you and congratulations! I'm sure the finalists appreciated your effort.

Counting on a bigger turnout for Week 2!

Melina

[Rose]

What if we (uh, you) set up a polling station at the top of the entries? All us civic-minded AV members didn't mind having to click the link for Melina's PM, and then type our choice in the subject line...but maybe making voting even easier would encourage the others to chime in.

And, how about a rep point for everyone who votes!

Just a thought.

[DJP]

Thanks to Melina for counting (the votes, of course) and thanks to everyone who voted. Hapsburg, sorry someone had to go, your piece really made me laugh.

[jdkiggins]

Thanks for letting us know, Jenna.
Thank you Melina for being vote counter. :Hail:

I'll agree that AW members need a boost for the voting. There were less votes than entries in the original competition. :whip:

Let's make this board rock even more in the next session.
:partyguy: :popcorn:

[mommie4a]

Just wishing congrats to the ten for making it tough. I prefer to keep my vote secret but I will say that it came down to eliminating entries with the most "nope, wouldn't do that" or mistakes or whatever. In other words, I started from the position that they were all stories that grabbed me - hands down, every one of them. So it got to the point of determining which ONE had the FEWEST flaws, again - just in my opinion. Kind of a strange way to describe it, but in the end, that was the only way I could make a choice, since they were all so strong.

Because as a nit-picky sour grape honorable mention, of course I'm looking for all the flaws in the finalists!!! ;) (wait - I should put that in the whining thread right!? JUST KIDDING! Thanks for giving me great bedtime reading - keep it up)

[ChunkyC]

Hapsburg -- sorry to see you go. All the entries were good. It's only going to get tougher picking a favorite each round.

And I echo the call for votes! Let 'em know you love 'em! Congrats to the nine moving on to the next round. Good luck, and continue to wow us, folks!

[Sarita]

Wow! I'm surprised at so few votes and a little disappointed :(

Hapsburg, great competing, man! So glad we had the chance to read your work.:Hail:

[Sarita]

:Trophy: Oh! And CONGRATS to the Nail Biting Nine!

[wurdwise]

Jeez. 101 votes out of 1600 members. Good gollly, Miss Molly, people! 308 entries, 101 votes, do the math, where the heck are the other 197 people that entered? Sore losers? Don't make me come in here! :box:

[Kim Gogo]

Congratulations to all who squeaked through to week 2. :Cheers:

Condolences to Hapsburg who wrote a wonderful piece. :cry:

Competition is tough at this point and it was no small feat to make it to the top ten. Talent abounds in this group!

I was one of those who had a difficult time choosing the top one. I wish that we could vote for the top three, at least, just to ease my mind that those who deserve to be in the top three won't get voted off just b/c not enough people logged a vote. :scared:

But, alas, the rules are set. What I will definitely do is keep track of those who I feel have excelled throughout the competition so that I can give them much-deserved kudos at the end of the contest.

*ding*ding* Round Two!

:Fairydust Good luck everyone!

And happy writing!

Kim

[Selina Sills]

Listen up, I have to tell you this.. It was between you and Pepperlandgirl for me. Something just pulled me a littttttle more to her... But I loved your entry. Wish I could've voted for two. Keep it up; you're awesome. I wish I could write half as well as you. Hugs!!! :Hug2:

Oh and yeah, where are the others who entered? Why aren't they voting?? That's not very nice. :Soapbox:

Hee hee. Bye for now, everyone.. Going to Corpus Christie for the weekend to play at the beach, see the town again and swim in the pools. :partyguy: I need the break; it's been a wild year so far. :crazy:

[KTC]

Okay...I'm changing my signature to rock the vote!

[Sarita]

Yeah, KTC! I think I'll do the same.

[awatkins]

:Hug2: Hapsburg

:snoopy: To the nine who must now start another nail-biting, nerve-wracking writing session!

[ShadowGuide]

Congrats to the finalists. Haps, take heart, I was one of the several hundred who didn't make it as far as you and you still impress the heck out of me.

I PMd the person I voted for, but I am willing to explain the why: The person I voted for left me with images, words, dialogue that stayed with me for days. That's what won me over. There is absolutely no way anyone can write with the hopes of doing that for an editor or critic they don't even know! That said, everyone who has made it thus far is top notch for a reason. Don't forget it. Give yourselves a hug for me.

[skylarburris]

Congrats to the finalists. Sorry to lose one. You are all great writers.

[Moondancer]

Will you still announce the theme of the week? I didn't place in the finals in any way,lol, but I find the themes a nice little exercise to work through. I have been working hard making money at my "day" job so I wasn't around to vote but will do my best to vote in the next round.

Ignore the request I made. I feel so far behind. Some threads I'll never catch up again. I just saw the forum up top where the finalists are posting.

[Susie]

Dear Finalists,

Roses R Red
Violets R blue.
Many congrats!!!
To the nine of you!!!

Much good luck in the continuing weeks, and sure wish there didn't have to be any eliminations. Hapsburg, I loved your entry!

Warm regards, Susie:)

[Celeste]

Congratulations to all! :Clap:

[Samm]

Congratulations to all finalists! :hooray:

I was unable to vote, unfortunately, due to connection difficulties. :Hammer: Happy writing during round 2!

[SueB]

Sorry people, I could not vote. I was away for four days, taking care of a very sick grandson. Got home Wednesday night, turned on the computer and read all the entries. Finished at 10;50--too late to vote. But I did think that all were really great pieces. Haps, all I can say is "You are a winner!" No one can take that away from you. Congratulations! For all of you who are now 2 time winners--double congratlations!
SueB

[BlakeOvard]

Since only 101 of us voted, can I up the numbers next week by voting more than once? We can get the number up to around a thousand if we could all vote multiple times. I think a good number would be nine votes per person...

[soloset]

I wasn't sure it'd be fair for me to vote given that I started lurking about a week before the contest. But I'll start if nobody throws anything at me! =)

[hapsburg]

Finalists, I bow to you. Congratulations!

To those who offered feedback and consolation I thank you. This past week has been so busy that I am only just now discovering the results. Everything happens for a reason, and I never expected to get this far. It actually works out well, as I am having to fly out tomorrow for work and won't return for over a week, hence I could not have participated in week 2. (and sadly won't be able to vote either:() But I will be back to see your works in round 3!

[trumancoyote]

I'm sorry to see you leave, Hapsy.

I know it's little consolation, but I really enjoyed your entry -- I didn't find the protagonist the least bit unlikeable.

But then, Zach has questionable morals :) Hehehe.

[Melina]

I wasn't sure it'd be fair for me to vote given that I started lurking about a week before the contest. But I'll start if nobody throws anything at me! =)


Yes, please do vote! All members are eligible, no matter how recent the lurking began! :Thumbs:

Melina

[Sarita]

I know it's little consolation, but I really enjoyed your entry -- I didn't find the protagonist the least bit unlikeable.

Same here. I thought he was living out what any normal person would want to do if given the chance. Heck...I see half a dozen people I'd love to zap every day. ;)

[rhymegirl]

Before we turn in our next assignments, I just wanted to say:

You did a great job on your story, Hapsburg. I felt sorry anybody had to be eliminated.

Thank you to the people who voted for me and/or sent me some very nice comments.

Good luck to my fellow contestants in the upcoming week!

[firehorse]

What if we (uh, you) set up a polling station at the top of the entries? All us civic-minded AV members didn't mind having to click the link for Melina's PM, and then type our choice in the subject line...but maybe making voting even easier would encourage the others to chime in.Someone else suggested having a 'vote' button on each entry, kind of like the rep scales. I think more people would vote, but I'd also imagine it's a great deal of back-end work, and I don't know if you can track IPs for multiple votes that way. (But the rep points we give are tracked, so presumably a vote icon could be tracked too?)

Just another thought...
skc

[mdmkay]

I wasn't quick enough to vote last week but I'm looking forward to this round. I read all the entries and was very impressed. Congrats Hapsburg for having gotten to the finals. Considering the high caliber of authors that reside on these boards, just making it to the finals in an admirable feat, and something to be proud of. Congrats to the final nine and good luck.

[mudflat_marsh_hawk]

Congratulations everyone. Good luck with this week's topic.