# Reviewing HOES



## Dave T Hobbit (Dec 3, 2009)

Both the number of entries and the number of voters have been very low for the past few months.

Rather than guess why this might be I am looking for honest feedback:


If you used to enter regularly and don't any more, why did you stop?


If you don't currently enter, why not?


What would you change and why?


What would you keep the same, and why?
I want as much feedback as possible. Although not every idea will be feasible, all suggestions will be considered; even the wacky ones.


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## gothik (May 29, 2010)

having had poor health over the last year (which i am now apothecaried fixed) i lost a lot of my ideas, couldn't get the motivation and a severe case of writers block didn't help. i have other things that i need to attend to which explains a lot of my less then handsome contribution to the HO community over the last year or so. 

That being said it would be a shame for HOES to end, as well as some of the most awesome amateaur writers we have here, it is also a foothold for new writers to showcase thier talents and get the feedback, good or bad, they need to expand thier talents.


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## Xabre (Dec 20, 2006)

Hell, if anything, I had been considering posting MORE stories to the HOES... or just posting in general. I have my elves that I've been submitting, another crazy idea that's percolating slowly... And a totally non-40k novel I've considered posting for people to look at when I slowly (SLOWLY) write more of it.


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## Myen'Tal (Sep 4, 2009)

> having had poor health over the last year (which i am now apothecaried fixed)


Glad to hear that .

I'm not sure why everyone has suddenly lost an interest, I agree, it would be a shame for H.O.E.S. to end, so I hope something happens.


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## Dave T Hobbit (Dec 3, 2009)

Good to hear that some people think HOES adds clear value. :good:

To answer my own question, I stopped because I don't feel utterly comfortable entering when I have picked the topic; although it probably doesn't give me a real advantage, it feels wrong.


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## Xabre (Dec 20, 2006)

Dave T Hobbit said:


> Good to hear that some people think HOES adds clear value. :good:
> 
> To answer my own question, I stopped because I don't feel utterly comfortable entering when I have picked the topic; although it probably doesn't give me a real advantage, it feels wrong.



Fine. Dave, next month's topic is Laughter.

Go.


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## VulkansNodosaurus (Dec 3, 2010)

Why did I stop? I'd like to know, too! I guess it's been a combination of lessened time to write, other projects piling up, loss of inspiration, and (and this is the only one that isn't personal to me) the fact that HOES is less interesting when there are only a couple of competitors.

So, what would I change, and what would I keep the same?

* Keep the word limit the same. Maybe have it doubled for the final contest of the year, but the scale of the stories is just right.
* Similarly, I don't think the format should be drastically changed. I do think more people from different parts of the forum should be encouraged to vote, somehow. But that's a matter of promotion.
* Alternatively, you could have HOES replaced by a rotating fiction contest. Something like:
January, July - Poetry contest
February, May, August, November - 1K-word story contest a la current HOES
March & April - Heresy Online annual anthology of original fiction
June, December - Themed 2K-word story contest. That is, instead of an abstract noun, have the prompt be "Ultramarines" or "_Renegades_ universe" or "The Sundering".
September & October - Heresy Online Fiction Competition
I have a lot of doubts about such an approach, but it's something to consider.
* If the way prompts are selected is an issue, you could have a poll at the start of the year, and choose the top 12. That might also be interesting in itself.
* Add some sort of competition with other sites?
* But no matter what, the foundation of HOES is competition. Friendly competition, of course, and everyone should be offering advice on others' stories (including me....), but it's still a contest (the _rest_ of the Original Works forum is for isolation and cooperation). That, above all, should be kept in mind while proposing sweeping changes.


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## Dave T Hobbit (Dec 3, 2009)

Xabre said:


> Fine. Dave, next month's topic is Laughter.


Cheers.k: Although, that only solves one month.

There are ways to solve it longer term. However - while I enjoy the format - I am busy enough on other projects that not entering doesn't leave a hole in my life. So I am not certain if introducing a new method just to allow me to enter (especially as it still might not be every month) would be worth it.

I will muse further.


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## unxpekted22 (Apr 7, 2009)

Many section on the site seemed to take a big hit after the hacker shut down.

The role play threads section has had similar issues. About two years ago the section was bustling with activity. Now its has slowed to a dreadful crawl over the past several months. Perhaps economic and financial burdens have caused people to focus on work and family more. Though it seems odd to think of that as a reason, I think there may be some merit to it.

A lot of people have moved on from warhammer due the tabletop range continuing to become more expensive. For many fans, the models and tabletop are the centerpiece of the hobby, so if they aren't focusing on an army of theirs, the rest of the hobby slips for them as well. The last thing I bought was the dark vengeance set, aside from the books.

I have always been into good stories and characters and whatnot so this has kept me grounded in the fiction aspect of the hobby.

I like the format of HOES myself. I enjoyed working with the word count constraint, since one of my big weaknesses as a writer is not being as concise as I could be. I tend to droll on when not needed, feeling the need to explain every little last thing to the reader.

And the random topics to mold a short story around is also a lot of fun.


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## HonorableMan (Apr 15, 2012)

For the past couple months I've had stories worked up, constantly reviewing and editing them and such, and then by bad luck ending up away from the computer the last day when I was planning to post them. That's all.

Kind of a shame, I had some good stuff going, but eh. Life happens.


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## Moriouce (Oct 20, 2009)

Just found the HOES and planing to join this very month! Don't know why I have misses this until now!


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## andygorn (Apr 1, 2011)

I've been on medication since late 2012. I can still function, but it's kind of cut me off from my inspiration side of things. Given that I transcribe the thoughts which come to me, rather than doing something like sitting down and writing about something, this has hit my story output really hard to almost nil


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## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

Been planning to get back on heresy-online however I've been hit by a plague of unfortunate events. My neighbors apartment caught fire and damaged my place, plus my wife's mother has cancer so we are trying to help her our. 

As far as HOES. I might have missed it, however, a yearly writing event which has a bigger story is always cool. Or even semi events that give bigger prizes.


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## Stephen74 (Oct 1, 2010)

I didn't know about it so have not posted. Just missed the july one so if there is one in August I'm in.


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