and you know these people get rejected WHY? Because you know these lovely gentlemen personally? I was more responding to the issue of comprehension of entries as a reader of the column, not with aspirations for submitting, forget actually getting ink. I figure, what you are saying notwithstanding, if I can't understand other people's entries, how am I going to meet her high standards? Usually my comprehension issues are basic vocabulary or lack thereof, not "conceptual".
--- In [email protected], "Randy Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Ellen supposes: > > > > "who's too dumb for the style invitational. The Empress has set up an > SI hotline for SI comprehension emergencies caused by the "huh?" > reaction to SI winning entries. Nice to know I'm not alone in my > ignorance--apparently SI ignorance is enough of an epidemic to justify > the hotline. OK I feel better now. > > > > "not that I would actually USE the hotline because I think most cases > of SI confusion can be cured with a mild dose of Merriam-Webster with > wikipedia chaser, but it's nice to know it's there. > > > > ----------- > > > > Speaking as someone who occasionally gets "ink" in the Style > Invitational, > > I can tell you that many regular CONTRIBUTORS don't always "get it" > either. > > > > It's not intelligence, it's HOW you're thinking as you read the Invite. > > The secret is, you often need to take a leap from what first springs to > mind. > > The winning entries are sometimes "layered." > > > > The E seems to prefer if both contributors and readers have to WORK at > it a bit; > > I assume because that "A-ha" moment makes it better (kinda like holding > > out during good foreplay). > > > > She's been criticized by some regular contributors for being partial to > > "Clever but not Funny" (CbnF) answers. Some of those contribs used to > have > > better luck getting ink in the Czar's regime (he was more partial to > poop jokes). > > > > So if you ever enter, I recommend that you: > > 1. Take something you think is really funny (and not OBVIOUS to > everybody). > > 2. Twist it a bit - play with the words so they incorporate a pun, or a > > famous saying, or have something "extra." > > 3. Edit it to be as short as possible. "Brevity is the soul of wit." > Plus, she's > > more likely to print shorter answers, because then she has more room to > get > > more funny answers on the page. > > 4. Refine and tweak for a few days, until it's perfect. > > 5. Repeat. Send about 10 entries for contests that aren't too wordy, > > and 5 for the longer ones (like poems). You can put them all in one > e-mail. > > There's usually no limit, but she gets a ton of entries, and you really > don't > > want to overwhelm her, waste her time on sub-par entries, and piss her > off. > > So edit yourself - just send your very best. Also, she's nice to > newbies, > > so don't be afraid. > > 6. It all takes some work - the final results have to seem natural, not > forced. > > Don't be discouraged if it takes you several weeks to ink. You'd be > surprised > > at how many entries she still rejects by even the old pros (Chuck Smith, > > Russ Beland, Chris Doyle, Brendan Beary, Kevin Dopart). > > > > Randy >
