The Story

The Result Of The Challenge

The same word repeated over and over. That was the story that won the challenge. A thousand words, and every one the same. No change.

The creator had not observed the rules set down for the challenge, even though they had used but one word.

The challenge was for a one thousand dollar reward, so there were many entrants who thought they had a good chance. That was before they saw the result.

All the other entrants were not happy, actually, they were very angry. They had put a great deal of work and had been superseded by the awful story that the judges had chosen. They stated that the story was perfect to be chosen as the tale went way beyond what was expected for the challenge.

Over A Barrel

Readers and creators became very unhappy but the judges were unswayed by the plethora of texts and letters that they were sent on the subject. They set the rules and they could choose any story because they were the judges not those who wrote the words.

Almost everyone who entered thought that the result was very flawed and wrong.

But what could they do?

Maybe refuse to pay the monthly fees? But the challenge was only a small part of what the fees gave them. They could not lose what else they got from the company.

A Legal Matter

There was some talk of could the case go to Law but sense knew that half an hour of legal help would cost a thousand dollars so that thought was dropped as well.

The company and the judges owned all, they were the gods here and the judges were the law.

There would be more challenges and hopefully, the judgements would be closer to perfect. The challenge result was probably a one-off, but the creator of that story would be shunned, but the judges were to blame.

Rules Are Rules, Morons Are Morons

When you become a member of a club or group, then the group sets and uses the rules for the best. Often the members may not agree, but accept judgements because there's much more good than bad for them.

Members saw the company and judges as morons after the result, but they knew there would be more challenges to come and they could forget that story even though they knew the result was wrong.

And A New Challenge For All

The challenge came and members had another task to keep them busy. The new one had the entrants focused on the new thousand dollar story. Money can sway people to the path that the donors want.

The memory of the one word story sank and the focus on the new one surfaced. The new challenge tales began to flood, and that was now the focus for everyone. 'Twas strange how the work of the past were forgotten because of the focus on the new.

The company worked the model so that members would concentrate on the now, not the past. All that mattered was the current challenge, and the words flooded.

Redeemed

The creator of that story entered a tale that followed the rules for the new challenge and stated that that story had been a joke. They were shocked at the vehemence that was generated from other creators but understood what had happened.

Everyone saw that the judges were solely to blame for what had happened, and the creator was accepted. They all saw that from the joke an awful mess had resulted. and the company and judges were the only ones to blame, no one else, not the creator at all.

Then they all joked, "Could we enter a story, you know, the same concept and what would be the result?". There were lots of other mad proposals such as symbols to tell tales and creators started to grow closer, although the judges and company were not trusted at all, that would take a few weeks or months or even years.

Often unexpectedly good results can occur from bad starts. That challenge was a wonderful example. People talk, but now they see just a fault on the path of the journey of all creators.

Humans can work together for the common good, and most people see that you cannot blame someone for a joke they made when someone takes that joke and makes the joke a thousand dollar top of the class.

So Forward

More challenges came, and more and more people grew the ranks of creators. Dramas, Fables, short novels, and novellas all flowed through the system. There was so much to read, and for the judges to judge.

Often they messed up but the members knew that was the state of play, but the good more than balanced the bad.

All systems have problems, but they should be addressed, and there should not be blame but all should work to resolve whatever has happened.

Although often a stand has to be taken there should always be room for manoeuvre from all parts of the commune.

And Further Forward

The company and judges heard what the members had to say and started, very gradually to take on what they had been sent and members saw that the system got slowly better, and that made the overall mood better too.

There were no more events comparable to THAT STORY, and trust began to grow. That made everyone more comfortable. Member churn (those that left) started to reduce.

The company was more open, the members felt they were really part of the journey and each day seemed closer to perfect.

Myths, Comedy, and Legends were sources for much of the tales that were produced for the challenges. Creators saw that they could draw from a bottomless well of fabulous words that would never run dry.

Each day was better than the last and each day everyone had new tales to share and more tales to read.

Everyone looked and thought "These words are wonderful"