Alright, so... I remember seeing a notebook post about this contest maybe a week ago. You tried a new format and didn't think it worked, right? I can see that there haven't been any more entries since then either, which is a shame. Anyway, that is why I decided to review the contest.

I can't understand why anyone would dislike the format change. I mean, more options should be a good thing, right? I know that I would have trouble if there were only two genres and I had no experience or interest in one of them. It would be more of a challenge for sure, but you know... I would have assumed that the change would bring in more entries.

So, that makes me wonder if it isn't really just a matter of timing. January is a notoriously slow month around here, what with people returning from vacations and trying to get back into work routines and such.

There is another possibility that might add to the lack of entries though. Every time I see this contest (which is "Genre Times Two" usually, right?), I always think "You have to write a story twice, once in each genre". Whether that is true or not, I'm not entirely sure. I'm not a story writer. At any rate, people might see the "four different genres" and assume that they have to write 4 separate stories. That would be my assumption I think.

I just thought I'd throw some thoughts out there. It seems like a shame to give up the tweaked format so soon after trying, but without knowing why this month was slow, it's hard to make a decision I'm sure! I write poetry almost exclusively, but if I was to enter a story contest, I think I would be tempted to try this one.