The Obsessive Refreshing Experience has been an interesting experiment in group dynamics, but not as much fun as I’d hoped. Everyone racing to comment has been kind of disruptive to the discussion threads here, and probably to your lives as well.
Maybe it’s time for a change.
So this is the last giveaway that goes to the first commenter. We’ll have to think of something more interesting. (And maybe not based on being fast, you know?)
In the last comment thread, Kim suggested that I ask a trivia question and see who answers first. That’s still time-based, but it could be more fun and less random.
So here’s a trivia question, and the first person to post the correct answer wins a sampler! (That’s right, I’m giving away two samplers today! Oh, the excitement!)
Question: In my book So Yesterday there are two characters who each have two last names (but both in different ways). Who are these characters? Please identify both characters by their one first name and two last names.
Is this question slightly confusing? Tough. It’s supposed to be. If you post a partial answer, don’t blame me if someone steals it from you and wins with the whole answer!
Let the games begin.
Also, let’s use this comment thread to come up with some other ideas. Is there any way to do this where you don’t win based on timing at all?
My next post will be in 48 hours, give or take 15 minutes.
xD or he could pick the 100th post. lol.
The problem is that the random number system would encourage folks posting many, many contentless posts in hopes of being one of those numbers, like putting lots of chips down at the roulette wheel. (Not that YOU guys would do that.)
What we’d all like it to return to the mannerly days of yore, when eveyone was all about the content. (Plus, saying they were first!) Mind you, there’s plenty of that going on over at Inside a Dog right now.
Anyway, I’ll keep thinking over the weekend.
Thanks for all your input!
Scott, what about a contest to figure out your middle name? Or something about you that no one knows? If your worried about people making too many random guesses make Hope I helped a little!
sorry my last post was messed up…I meant if your worried about random guesses set a limit. Such as no more than 3 guesses per person
Yeah but people could use different names & have more than one email.
omg!!! i didnt get first because i fell asleep. and i havent read so yesterday so i dont know the answer! scott, do a question for the uglies trilogy or peeps!
Perhaps you could randomly draw a name from everyone who comments or ask a question, start a comment, and give one away to the person who’s answer you like best. *Shrugs* They were the only non-time based ideas that popped into my head.
I meant to say start a discussion, not start a comment. *baffs self in head*
I like the writing contest idea. But Scott is right. He would have to judge them and read ALL the entries, and who has time for that??? Hmmm…thinking of a contest that is both fun and efficient is pretty tough. Trivia is good so that should keep going on. Hmmmm…
I agree with Katherine.
Ask a question.
Go through all your best answers.
Then pick the one you most like.
you could set a character limit on the answer for your question, too.. or maybe you could ask a question and set rules for the answer.. like you can only use one word.. and it has to be a tridecalogism.
Scott’s middle name is David.
I win! lol jk
i think a writing contest would be too much work for poor Scott, but something along those lines would be better. perhaps he can post some sort of a theme based on one of his books, or maybe just something totally random, (like what is the strangest ice cream flavor? or if you lived in the world after specials, what kinds of surge would you want?) and the best answer of couple for answers in the first 75 posts gets the sampler. i have noticed it takes just a few hours to get to 100 posts, so that is still somewhat time based, but if you go pee or go out to dinner you won’t miss out. also, it does take some creativity and brains, but it is shorter so i could see Scott almost enjoying judging something like that.
what does everyone think?
also, when are the Extras shirts being given out? and are there ugly pretty and special shirts?
they r going to be givin out on Inside A Dog but idk when.
I can’t believe it. At this rate, i’m never going to win…….unfortunately, i haven’t read So Yesterday so i don’t know the answer
Well, I guess the way you give them out depends on how many you have…
i like the question idea and the person with the best answer in 75 posts wins. but it cant be trivia (like the one up top). it would be like, would you rather live in the smoke, or get the operation to turn pretty? then explain why in under 100 words. (i just wrote a little over 50 to give u an idea how many words 100 would be.)
im gonna answer my own question. i would get the operation, even if i knew about the lesions. I HATE CAMPING so that is why i would get the operation, even if it meant losing everything i was. hmm… when you put it that way, maybe i would live in the smoke. hmmm… live in the smoke or lose everythingi was. yea, i would get the operation. (at least i would be a pretty)
I think the pick a favorite answer thing is kind of unfair. People might get mad at him for favoritism or say that people were sucking up and stuff.
Amy-La I agree that it would be a fun and creative way to win, but Scott said himself that he would have to read through and judge them all and he doesn’t really have time for that.
Hmm personally I like the trivia.
i think trivia is the best solution
This isn’t contributing, but I found a little bitty glitch in Midnighters.
Rex:When were you born, Jess?
Jessica:Huh? You mean this is because I’m a Leo?
And THEN, in book two, she says to Jonathan:
“Yeah, and I’m only two months till my drivers test.”
See, Leo is mid-July to mid-August. Jessica said it would be two months in September. If she really was a Leo,it would be more like ten.
Yeah, I’m enough of a nerd I’ve got nothing better to do than read my favourite books again and again until I find tiny little things like that. But still, did anybody else notice?
Trivia seems the best way to go to me. I can’t think of anything else, anyway.
Hello! I’ve been watching this game go on for a while. I haven’t bothered posting ’cause I’ve been at work earning $ for college practically every time Scott has posted. (note I said working for college. Yes, take pity on the poor girl who has to work so hard, she no longer has time for play anymore. (ya right))
But ’cause I too would really like to win, I thought I’d speak up with some ideas.
Personally, I like the drawing idea. It takes up less time than reading a bunch of entries. And really good art often pops out. It’s easier to judge in my opinion. Also you could have second and third place winners. Of course I wouldn’t do an art contest for all of them though.
You could also give a copy to who ever comes up with a super good contest idea that’s original and works well. 🙂
Hmmm that’s all I can think of right now. Hope I helped in some way!
Trivia works for me.
But none on The Last Days, because I still can’t find it.
Here, how about if I win, you just send me The Last Days? Haha.
Bak from Camp!!! I have no idea what to do a comp about. I like the first 75 post thing, but what about ppl who only have less that an hour a day spare time its still a timing thing,
i know alot of people are trying to figure out different ways to make this competetion/contest (whatever you would like to call it) better but writing and art work takes judging and time to upload plus its not totally based off scott’s books which the trivia works well, testing our knowledge of all his books (seeing who is a full front fan or just trying to get more sales..lol..) everyone is able to remember or look up the questions and doesn’t have to worry about talent or being judged, you would either be wrong or right not it was good but not good enough (kinda like how ally-wa keeps getting second) well thats all i have to say, i guess but even though scott is listing the times of when he will post i still end up staying up all night reading his books (they are way to addicting) (its 130am here… he he)
Sarah, I am in the same shape, but i can’t draw so thats out for me haha. I think that is limiting for some people who cant draw…
Everyone can draw, it just takes practise,
people!
i like what you said kheidi-la lol its 2:17 am and im reading maureens book. 🙂
ha! i cannot draw either. and i’ve had practice, believe me. i could probably get better at it with time (lots and LOTS of time), but some people are just naturally good at it. i still think the trivia is the best idea, as long as there are questions from all the different books (or trilogies, whatev) so that people who haven’t read every single one of the books still get a shot.
Hi! It’s me again! Well for the contest i suggest riddles about yous books. We would have to guess which character or event you’re talking about…
well… the trivia idea is good… but what if you tried to do a 50th post wins competition, but you can only post once (to win it).
or the (really ) short stories idea is good, but then you have to read all of them.
I’m just upset that you always post at like 1 a.m. (for me) because i live in the U.K.
riddles is good
ok well i think instead of the first person t opost everytime you post you shoudl pick a secret number and whoever answers on that number should get one, then it’s not a race and you dont have to first aslo totalt random and peopl aren’t freaking caus ethey lost they wont know and you can annonce the winner in your next post
This is another judging idea, but I was thinking that everyone could have a time limit to put one entry in. Say, 10 hours? Only one entry per person. And the entry would be something short, so Scott would be able to judge it really quickly. Like, the BEST FIRST SENTENCE. (That is not from any book, it has to be original) “Where’s Papa goin’ with that axe?’ or something like that is an example of an interesting first sentence from a book.
Quinton- Ya, I thought about that. It’s true though, some people just can’t draw no matter how much they practice. Which is unfair. But so is trivia ’cause some people have jobs and other things. It has nothing to do with who’s the greater fan (aren’t we all because we are here?) and more to do with, who has the $ to own the books, and who has the time?
But I do like Lydia’s idea with the secret number. That’s the kind of innovated thinking we need. I also like the riddles ’cause that way we don’t necessarily need to have the books on hand to find the answer. We’d just have to use our own heads.
You could also do something like a scrambled word. Something from the books.
For Example: sdondemae
Which is Desdemona (From Midnighters)
or: starpaie vpetisio
Which is Parasite Positive (From Peeps)
It takes a little thinking and then people can’t be sad when they don’t have a book to look riddles up. It can range from easy to hard depending on the word(s) and stuff.
🙁
I can’t think of anything…..
So with teh contest thing. If you wanted to see how many of us are stalkers..you ask a question about yourself and sees who answers right. Thta would be creepy yet hilarious at teh same time XD
Virginie, the French girl, if you see this, I just wanted to say I’m from Montreal and my first language is French. On se comprend toutes les deux! Lol sorry didn’t know what else to say in French.
Anyway, the trivia is better than just the first comment, but I think it’s still crazy. Fifteen minutes before the question was answered. Sheesh! I can never compete with that, even if it’s only because I can’t remember when you say you’ll next post.
Man this sucks for people without high speed internet
My initial idea was for the last commenter to get the prize, but that might get too tricky. So I’ve got no ideas. I’ll have to think a little more. Maybe you should pick a random numbered post to win and make it different each time. (Well, then people might post ten times in a row…) I give up. My brain is dead. I’d just stick with the trivia and hope people stop freaking out and getting the right answer after 15 minutes.
I can’t think of anything that doesn’t involve speed, randomness, or judging…so at the moment I think it would be best to pick a random number (like 146) and give the sampler to that post. Obviously, that would have problems too, but it would be better than obsessive refreshing.
Okay so i was reading the comments (yes that is how boring my life is i try to read EVERY SINGLE comment before i post one) and i noticed scott asked for some new ideas for the contest so here are mine:
1. First person on Scotts doorstep tomorrow wins all the samplers to distribute at will.
2. Scott takes the books over to a local park sits on a bench and tosses the books onto the ground. I’m sure that all his desperate frantic readers will come flocking in seconds (like pigeons to breadcrumbs).
Just kidding. those are not my real ideas. i’m just trying to make a point that this whole contest thing is getting out of hand. and i hope that no one makes a surprise visit to scotts home anytime soon. my serious idea is this:
3. stick to the trivia! I personally think it is a pretty good idea (and i’m not just sucking up to you. but if you want to give me i sampler/t-shirt for being nice feel free). but maybe instead of asking just one question , make a whole quiz. then it may take a little longer than 15 minutes to answer.
i’m really glad you got rid of the first-to-comment-wins thing. that was insane.
lol. I really like this trivia thing, but I don’t actually own any copies myself… I’ll have to like, go hoard them all from the library.
No matter what kind of contest you do, it will always be somewhat random, because there’s no way to completely eliminate it without being unfair to other people. So you have to choose between randomness and fairness. The trivia is also good because it shows who the nerdiest fans are, and therefore who is most deserving of a prize, although it is slightly unfair to those who have just recently heard of Scott or haven’t spent mondo amounts of time rereading Scott’s books. But nonetheless, nerds are cool, and nerds deserve books.
ok surely whoever gets the samplers will like post it on the net for everyone to read ? so who cares who gets it , just so long as whoever gets it cba to type it out for everyone.
but im guessing whoever gets it cba to type it out so yeah the trivia thing is a good idea, or you could like play a wheres wally style thing by posting something on your site people have to find ?
uh i think typing out the whole sampler and posting it on the internet would be like illegal. unless like scott or his publishers did it. i dont really know tho. where’s wally is fun!
Marflanda: you are right. nerds do deserve books. but seriously scott why dont you just like sell the samplers on ebay $$$? or give them to goodwill?? or go out on the street corner and give them to random people who pass by??? i dont think i really even want a sampler anymore. i know i’m just going to go right out and but it anyway.