If you have been following the Blogable Fiction Marathon these past two years, you know the entries should’ve opened on Valentine’s Day.
However, we have decided to take this year off, and rethink the marathon.
Where we enjoyed the marathon the past two years the same way we hope you did, not all went smoothly behind the scenes. The voting system we used – Crowdsignal – has changed the way they work, and it’s easier now to abuse the system and vote for yourself over and over again without us knowing. To prevent this, we will have to take a subscription on it, which is too expensive, as Blogable is an act of love, and not a place where we earn our daily bread.
Except for the voting system, there are many other things to think of. Will we change the structure of the marathon? Will we keep it on WordPress or move to another platform? Should we bring on more people to help with the administration behind the scenes?
You see, there’s much to contemplate. We want to keep on having fun, and want you – writers and readers – to enjoy it too, hence the reason we need to brainstorm about the marathon’s future.
Also, if you have any ideas you want to share, please do so in the comments section.
May More: I would just like to add that we really want to come back next year with a fresh layout and as Marie says a voting system that is a little more full proof. I also think we would somehow like to simplify things so that the marathon isn’t something separate from what we do online daily but becomes part of that in some way. And perhaps also becomes more a part of our community too.
Getting older makes us all realise how precious time is and how important it is to be happy with what you do each day.
I totally echo that last bit May has said. Think of this as part of a decluttering process in our lives, to make sure we use our precious time the way it makes us happy!
Hello to you both. Thank you for this update; it seems a sensible decision, and I’m all for decluttering! And, as I think you already know, I’m definitely supportive of tightening up the voting system (and in favour of heavier weighting for jury scores). I shall miss having the prompts and deadlines – I’m finding motivation very much in short supply at the moment – but I shall look forward to a refreshed Fiction Marathon in 2024. Love to you both. Elk xx
I will miss it this year, but looking forward to the new and improved version next year.
I love this marathon, but I think taking a year off and making necessary changes makes sense. The voting definitely needs to be fair and I really like the idea of putting more power in the hands of the jury members.
But I’ll be looking forward to the next one! Xox