the thing with this is, how do you judge a plot when the plot is someone’s own experience, especially a traumatic one. like, is that even ethical? i wouldnt want to judge these stories because id feel so bad about not liking a plot when that plot is someones experience of smth traumatic. i really dont believe they thought this through and did this for minority authors because if they did theyd have scrapped this whole contest, id bet money a straight, white man came up with this whole thing
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Yes thriller gang!
I will read said essay!
I think having BIPOC writers judge/at least help with the judging process sounds like a great idea!
I agree with this on several points. For one, it really does come off as performative, even if that wasn’t their intent–and it seems to divide everyone into categories. For instance, you (the general “you”) see someone writing a story about anxiety and then think, “Oh, that’s the Author with Anxiety™️,” which is not always ideal. On that note, one may wonder, “Covfefe, why are you thinking of entering, then?” The truth is, I enjoy storytelling and putting my own spin on prompts. But I likely won’t, and probably shouldn’t, win. I don’t want to be a source of controversy because I’m not an ethnic, racial, or sexual minority. My anxiety is real, but it is not debilitating and does not necessarily have a massive impact on my daily life. (I’m categorizing myself. Which is bad. People shouldn’t be consigned to labels alone. They should embrace or reject labels as they see fit.) Which brings up the “whose trauma is the most interesting” aspect of your argument. I don’t want to accidentally trivialize anyone else’s problems because I don’t know what they’ve been through. That is also a problem with this contest: I go, “Oh, but X is a much more dire and permeating issue than my thing, so maybe I’m not marginalized? Maybe I shouldn’t enter because I don’t have severe anxiety?” So this contest is a VERY slippery slope.
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i totally agree with you, i had an idea aa a result of this contest as well but i wont be entering it just because i dont really wanna support it. but you cant blame anyone who does, because at the end of the day, it will do the job of giving voices to minority groups, even if thats the only good thing about it lol
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My story idea is a thriller about getting trapped in a simulation. I like the idea, but I’m not sure if I should enter because ye olde anxiety isn’t severe (and I’m actually not sure if it’s considered marginalized??? I don’t want to appropriate a label). Maybe I could write the story independently. That honestly might be better.
I think they’re judging how you resonate with the community about whatever makes you special.
Although working on smaller, specific themes are more realistic (there are teenagers who are writing too, they might confuse things).
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i mean tory did say stories about mental illness fall under the prompt, so its allowed it just depends what you want to do, the idea sounds very interesting tho!!!
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Honestly, Egg Salad Sandwich probably would be a far less controversial contest…there have already been debates on the contest thread.
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That makes sense. But I still fear there will be backlash no matter how the winners are picked (maybe they could do it semi-randomly to ensure fairness?).
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Backlash is definitely expected. Since Episode isn’t a small community per say, it’s like every 1 out of 10 stories or issues brought up almost always raises chaos
Long rant btw
In one thread, there are people genuinely confused when the character has, I presume neutral 4-5 skin tone while being labelled as black and Caribbean.
Common knowledge about black people is that they have dark skin tones, about the Episode skin tone’s scale 07 and above, a prime example being African-Americans.
This got me wondering: I understand, it’s a POC character, but the label “black” contradicts to the definition we have existing. The character doesn’t even look black, and for a minute there I thought the author was trolling. But can you blame me? I mean, I definitely don’t envision an Asian when you tell me someone is white 
Believe me when I say, I love diversity. It’s heart warming to know everyone is proud of who they are instead of being forced to live up to the “standards” society has set but I hate to see people keep on changing and challenging the boundaries. If the character has tanned skin tone, maybe it’s better to label them as Caribbean right away instead of saying they’re black? It’s a decision that a lot of authors need to make, but I fear how many could make the right one…
Same. I usually make reading lists for contest stories, but I doubt myself that I’ll make one for this one. I’m not really fan of stories about mental illness and very realistic stories 
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What bugs me about this contest is that it feels like Tokenism: The Contest.
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I bursted out laughing at this
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