I think I finally got an idea. I'll see if I can meet the challenge.

Submitted stories should be original works written specifically for this challenge using the current challenge's guidelines, as this is a writing challenge more than a contest of previous work. Each participant may enter a single story.

Right?! Same. I keep signing up and maybe writing some, but I haven't finished one yet. 😅

As long as it meets the new challenge's guidelines (such as the length dropping to 2k words or less, the new first sentence requirement, etc.), then yes, you can enter it in this challenge if you did not enter it in May's.

We weren't sure of the date until we received all the entries. Now that we have, we can commit to revealing the winners the first week of July.

Yep!

@arleasialee4033 Yes, because AutoCrit is 100% web-based, you should be able to submit your story from your AutoCrit account from any device with a web browser.

We welcome all writers, from writers picking up the pen for the first time to self-published or traditionally-published authors. We do ask that your submitted short story be an original one that you wrote for the challenge, though.

Yes, the theme of this year's challenge is racing. We go into that and other guidelines in more detail in this video.

There is a transcript for this YT video. Will that help you?

Here is a link for signing up and more info. Hope something here helps. It is free and you don't have to be a paid member.

You can turn on closed captions for any of their presentations.

Racing theme, take that as broad as you want. A contest/competition of any kind, actual racing, even as broad as two people trying to complete something faster than the other. Word count is 1,000-5,000 total. It took a few minutes of scrolling through the transcription. Would be good for them to list those details in the video description after the stream is completed, or even on the landing page of their site. I couldn't find it on their site, but maybe I overlooked it.

Our topic this year is racing, and the story must be greater than 1,000 words and less than 5,000 words, with hard limits on both ends. More guidelines and additional information on what we expect to see regarding the theme are shared in the replay.

The theme is racing. It's announced at 37:21.

Hi @matthewpagenhardt5084 , if you'll please reach out to our support team via the help bubble in the bottom right-hand corner or via e-mail to [email protected] , we'll be happy to help answer any questions you may have.

We print an anthology for all the winners. It is created just for the winners and not sold to anyone else, so it's technically not a published book, but rather a special prize.

I think thats a fair point. Although I think its always nice to have a bit of personal interest for the book; when reading a book you get sucked in, so if the detective has no personal interest in solving the mystery then what is the point of the book besides a story with an end point.

@@shaylaanderson870 Isn't that Murder on the Orient Express? Does Hercule Poirot have any real personal motivation beyond being a detective on the scene? Keep in mind, I've only seen the film

@@Reggie2000 Poirot's character and personal motivation is that he refuses to let a murder go unsolved because a murder is a crime against humanity and the correct person must be brought to justice. In the case of Orient Express, while the victim wasn't a good person and insulted Poirot he still, if he deserved to die, should have faced a trial for whatever crimes he committed. Additionally once, he starts investigating and finds out about the other, older murder (being vague to avoid spoilers in case someone hasn't read a 90 year old murder mystery), his sense of justice pushes him to continue digging. It's a personal motivation but it's not what we would think when we think of the phrase. Additionally, he has ego. Poirot is, in-universe, the most famous detective. He wouldn't want someone to say there was a murder, Poirot was there, and he *didn't* solve it. Because then someone might speculate he *couldn't* have figured it out.

@@johnmartin4900 Thanks for that info. 👍 The following is not an argument. Just comments and a discussion. I see what your saying now on Poirot. I guess I never thought of it that way. So if your only point is to clarify who Poirot is, thanks. 👍 I guess two films was not enough for me to really understand him. I haven't watched the third yet, so I will look for that when I do. I do like what you said about his motivation, and will use some aspects of that to a lesser extent in my juvenile deceive series I want to write forvthe lead detective in 5he gang. That being an innate dogged determination and sense of ego. Nice. But, one, I don't think that can be every detective. Otherwise the detectives all blend in. And sadly, the mostly seem to. Which is why on the other hand, my female cozy mystery detective I created is thankfully none of those. No drive, ego, desire, or morals. Unscrupulous and lazy to a fault. ☹️🤣 But, are those traits enough to justify the idea that all detectives must have personal motivation. Because for me, what you said about Poirots personal sense if justice, and ego, are not really what I think is "personal" motivation in this day and age. It's like the old action star cliche. They killed his second cousins best friend... this time it's personal! Uh...... no. No it's not! You barely knew him! You meet him once in passing! LIAR!!! For me personally, personal motivation has to be tangible and relatable. And I'm not sure that I personally think of Poirots motivation as being those two things when someone says, "always make it personal". To me, those, and this is just my personal opinion, feel like cheap cop-outs to a modern more sofisticated reader. Probably not in the 1940s, but I don’t feel that can cut it in the 2020s. It's like, Murder She Wrote Jessica Fletcher was obviously Miss Marple. In the 1980s. No one wants to see that today. Right? The one most important thing I ever read on creating a mystery series, was that it's all about "how interesting is the detective." I 100% agree. I LOVE the visuals of Kenneth Branaghs films, and his acting. But I guess I don't personally find Hercule Poirot to be all that interesting to me. Once more, I have never read the books. Thoughts?

@@Reggie2000 For me, Poirot is super interesting. For different detectives, there's different quirks. I think you're judging him from the perspective of modern times, in that you've been exposed to many detectives throughout fiction. Poirot/Marple are some of the originators of the style of detective that focuses on Motive more than Means and Opportunity. Poirot likes to understand how people think. People fascinate him, even if he comes across in a very standoffish way. He's an observer of people first and foremost. He's not a technician like Holmes who will tell you how some mud on someone's shoe indicates something. The fact that the angle of the bullet had to come from a man doesn't interest him, because he's more inclined as to why this person would pull the trigger in the first place. I'm working on a series myself, and the first one involves pregnancy. The idea being that different people react differently when they find out they or someone close to them is pregnant. The detective, being married and his wife being pregnant, is struggling to determine whether he'll be a good father. Part of his personal motivation is figuring out why someone would murder a pregnant woman and whether there's some connection in the thought processes.

They do have a lifetime membership. I have one. They come up as specials. You should keep an eye out for the next time they offer it.

@@ronwilliams7631 That's the problem and that's why I say the dont have lifetime membership. Those who are committed to providing lifetime membership should be Scrivner, Pro Writing aid..... Anytime, anywhere, anyplace at a very affordable price.

We do have a lifetime membership special running right now here: www.autocrit.com/pro-lifetime/

@@AutoCritEditing Thank you for letting me know.

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