Review Blitz 2021 - Discussion

[kintsugi]

Review Blitz II, Year 2021: Attack of the Reviews, the Sequel: A Love Story
*the best part about having events that span December-January is that the year is ALWAYS wrong

What is This?
Review blitz is a point-based review event that will run for four weeks in December/January. You can even get crazy prizes--last year we had reviews, art, custom one-shots, poetry, and more! TR had a wildly successful time with the 2020 Review Blitz--with nearly 200 reviews written across the community over the span of four weeks, it was a great way to wrap up 2019 and bring us into the most auspicious year where absolutely nothing bad happened ever, 2020.

And now we're back! As we reflect back on another crazy trip around the sun, spread some fanfic-flavored cheer to your friends with some good old-fashioned reading and reviewing! And maybe dethrone your friends as you stand atop a mountain of points.

Points
This points system is a bit tweaked from last year:
Points = [Number of chapters reviewed] OR [Total Review Wordcount/250, rounded down], choose lower.
Wordcount calculated by this word counter. Review wordcount does not include quoted words from the story itself.

Bonus Condition! Delibird Cheer! Each week, there will be a different theme, and if you meet that theme, you get an extra +1 points!

1. New Phone, Who This? Review a fic you haven't reviewed before. This can be claimed once per fic.
2. Story of my life. Review a story you've reviewed but aren't caught up on. This can be claimed once per fic.
3. Spreading the love! Review a chapter (or oneshot) with fewer than 4 reviews. This can be claimed once per fic.
4. Friendly fire! Review a fellow player in the blitz!

As host I'll be calculating points for everyone, so if that formula doesn't make sense that's actually fine--once the event opens, you will only need to post a link to the review + note if you adhere to the weekly theme. Example calculations:

Spoiler

• I write a review for four chapters of a story. The review is 1600 words long. By number of chapters reviewed, I would earn 4 points. By number of words written, I would earn 1600/250 = 6.4 -> 6 points. Choosing lower, this review is worth 4 points.
• I write a review of ten chapters of a story. The review is 800 words long. By number of chapters reviewed, I would earn 10 points. By number of words written, I would earn 800/250 = 3.2 -> 3 points. Choosing lower, this review is worth 3 points.

Prizes
TBD right now! If you're interested in providing prizes this year, DM me, post in this thread, or something and we'll set something up.

What are prizes? Last year we had a wide crop! Art, reviews, themed-oneshots, interviews, poetry, songs--basically anything that you'd be happy to receive as an author would probably be a good prize!

Timeline
This even will start in December at the earliest, but what time works best for you? Vote in the poll above (choose as many as you'd like) Regardless of start, this event will run for four weeks. The current times are:
December 6 - January 3
December 13 - January 10
December 20 - January 17
December 27 - January 24

FAQ:
Q: Is there a limitation on reviews that will count for points?
A: Reviews must have been posted after the event started. Reviews must be for a story that is at least partially on TR. (If the fic is not caught up on TR but you post a review for a future chapter offsite, this will also count). Otherwise, all reviews are eligible for points.

Q: I can't participate in a certain week/have joined late. Can I still play?
A: Yes. You can join at any time during the runtime, and word has it there might be secret prizes scattered throughout this time 👀

Q: [more questions? ask them here!]

Links from last year! For the interested:
2020 Review Blitz
2020 Review Blitz Post-Mortem
2020 Review Blitz Pre-Mortem

 

[kyeugh]

this has been the longest year but somehow it feels like the last review blitz was just a few months ago. exciting though! the new point formula seems nice and the themes look like a lot of fun, although i wonder how hard the third one will be to fulfill by the time it rolls around... 👀 thanks for arranging this again, kintsugi!

eta: should add that i have finals in early december and they run into the first timeslot. i voted accordingly but it seemed like it might be good to bring up, not sure how many other people it might apply to.

 

[IFBench]

Are the prizes only for the top 3 or so winners, or does anyone who passes a certain point threshold get a prize?

 

[kintsugi]

Are the prizes only for the top 3 or so winners, or does anyone who passes a certain point threshold get a prize?

Great question! Last year we had more prizes than entrants, so we were able to give prizes out to top 10 + give more prizes to those who ranked higher.

This year it'll depend on how many prizes we get + volunteer participation, but we're currently looking at trying to get prizes available at certain achievements/point thresholds.

 

[IFBench]

I'll try to join, but no promises. Sorry.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

COUNT ME IN, MOTHERFUCKERS.

 

[Namohysip]

I'm gonna link all Blacklight players to this post as well, because if you earn 15 blitz points or more during this event, you'll earn 50 points toward your Blacklight shop purchases! Additionally, if you manage to get 30 during this event, you'll also earn a Voucher! So to those who needed a little extra motivation to get involved in this event...

 

[Cresselia92]

Sounds interesting. I might participate. :)

 

[SparklingEspeon]

I'll sign up!

 

[Navar]

Nice, I think I'll join this one!

 

[Equitial]

Aww yissss!!! I dropped out last event but I want to crush it this time. Brace yourself, fellow TRers -- I'm coming for your fics!

 

[DeliriousAbsol]

I'm pretty excited for this =D

 

[K_S]

I've got a small list of stories I mean to review. Having a time frame may make me go a bit faster through the lot.... I'll sign up as a participant and do what I can.

Some questions though.

I'm presently working on a review aka detailed analysis of a writer's work on this site via PM. May I post the part of that to be completed in December towards my word point total/count? I'm about 3/4ths done with the promise I made (a line by line analysis of a chapter of their multi chapter fic) and I'd planned to have the last segment (the last five pages) started and wrapped up first week of December.

If not, I promised them a review on another section of their story in a public forum, may I contribute that to the tally even though I've done a review previously with them on a specific span of that tale via PM?

It's not much, but may I offer my services as a prize. Say, an depth review (aka line by line dissection, with the author of course directing as to what they want put under the microscope) of one of the winner's story of choice? I'm not one for art, and it's all I can think to offer off the top of my head.

 

[kintsugi]

I've got a small list of stories I mean to review. Having a time frame may make me go a bit faster through the lot.... I'll sign up as a participant and do what I can.

Some questions though.

hey! sorry for the late reply--I kept thinking I'd already answered this.

I'm presently working on a review aka detailed analysis of a writer's work on this site via PM. May I post the part of that to be completed in December towards my word point total/count? I'm about 3/4ths done with the promise I made (a line by line analysis of a chapter of their multi chapter fic) and I'd planned to have the last segment (the last five pages) started and wrapped up first week of December.

Only the chapters reviewed after the event starts will count. I can't/won't police what you've written before or after the open date, so it'll be on your honor for what portions of the review/which chapters you log for points, but I will trust that you will only log word count/chapters reviewed based on content you've produced after the event opens.

If not, I promised them a review on another section of their story in a public forum, may I contribute that to the tally even though I've done a review previously with them on a specific span of that tale via PM?

If it's a different chapter, that would be eligible for points separately (again assuming that you write that review after the event opens).

It's not much, but may I offer my services as a prize. Say, an depth review (aka line by line dissection, with the author of course directing as to what they want put under the microscope) of one of the winner's story of choice? I'm not one for art, and it's all I can think to offer off the top of my head.

That's lovely! <3 I'll be organizing prize volunteers into groups in the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled!

 

[canisaries]

december is almost free for me so i hope to participate

 

[kintsugi]

Voting is now closed! Review Blitz will start on December 13 at 00:00:01 EST (countdown here)! It will last four weeks, ending on January 10 at 00:00:01 EST (here).

Week 1 will begin when the event opens.
Week 2 will begin on December 20 at 00:00:01 EST (countdown)
Week 3 will begin on December 27 at 00:00:01 EST (countdown)
Week 4 will begin on January 03 at 00:00:01 EST (countdown)

Additionally, some clarification on the rules:

1. New Phone, Who This? Review a fic you haven't reviewed before. This can be claimed once per fic.
2. Story of my life. Review a story you've reviewed but aren't caught up on. This can be claimed once per fic.
3. Spreading the love! Review a chapter (or oneshot) with fewer than 2 reviews on TR. This refers specifically to an individual chapter, not the total number of reviews on the fic, and can be claimed once per fic.
4. Friendly fire! Review a fellow player in the blitz!

old themes, for archival purposes:

1. New Phone, Who This? Review an author you haven't reviewed before.
2. Story of my life. Review a story you've reviewed but aren't caught up on
3. Spreading the love! Review a story with fewer than X reviews
4. Friendly fire! Review a fellow player in the blitz!

 

[Flaze]

Sount me up for this.

 

[kintsugi]

hiyo! quick announcement for prizes:
This year, we'll be doing a ladder lottery. For every 10 points you earn, you'll get one randomly-rolled prize from our volunteers! There's a wide and exciting variety of prizes this year, including character sketches, drabbles, reviews ... rack up as many points as you can and find out!

Additionally, for Blacklight participants:
At 15 blitz points: 50 points toward your Blacklight shop purchases!
At 30 blitz points: you'll also earn a BLC Voucher!

(for non-BLC participants, the 30 point threshold can be substituted for a roll on the lottery)

I have reached out to all prize volunteers that I know of--if you didn't get a message from me today and still want to volunteer for prizes, let me know!

 

[kintsugi]

final announcement!

Winning The Throne
In addition to the prize wheel, at the end of the competition there will be prizes for the participants with the most points! You will be able to select from:

• An Alola Dex or World Myth Encyclopedia Entry for a Pokemon of your choice by Persephone
• A custom song from Tanuki
• A poem on a subject of your choice from Tanuki
• A 1,000 word short fiction piece on a subject of your choice (must be about Pokemon) from Windskull
• A custom map of a location of your choice from unrepentantAuthor

and maybe more? call me if ur interested

Prizes will be selected in order (i.e. first place will get first choice; second place will get second choice; etc)

 

[kintsugi]

FYI: all info in this thread should be superceded by the main thread now. discussion can still continue in this thread, but if there is conflicting information, this thread's info will no longer be updated and you should refer to the main thread.