Help and Directions

Directions for Using Votepages

Votepages is in BETA which means it is still being developed but we have released it to let people try it out. If you are a developer and have some ideas for us or have used Votepages and have feedback, email it to votepages at gmail.com.

What is a “Votepage”?

A votepage is a piece of creative writing like a screenplay, novel, poem, etc. where one person starts writing and then lets other writers enter submissions to continue the piece. In order to make it interesting and fun, the submissions to continue the Votepage are voted on by other writers. Once a submission reaches enough votes, a winner is determined and the submission period continues until a draft of the votepage is completed. The game was created to help practice creative writing and make it fun and competitive.

Starting a Votepage

When you start a Votepage, you are the administrator. You create the initial idea for the Votepage and then release it to other writers for submissions and voting. You are encouraged to submit and vote on your own votepage. When you start your Votepage you create a title for it. You then write a description. The description tells everyone else what the Votepage is about and how you believe that it should be written. Tell others if it is funny, sad, romantic, etc. After writing the description you pick a category like short story, poem, etc.

When starting a votepage there is a check box that says “Automatically start”. This means that you would like to start the votepage with the default settings and start the votepage right away. The default setting is set for 8 total parts, three submissions per part, and 4 votes for a submission to win. There is a 200 word limit for each submission. If you would like to set the number of submissions, votes, and word limits you should un-check this box. If you un-check this box, after you click “Create Votepage” you need to go to File->Administer Votepage to change the settings and then go to properties to start the votepage. If you have never started a votepage before we suggest not making it too long and we suggest using the automatically start option.

After you create your title and your description you write the first part of the votepage. This is what other writers will see and submit their writing as a continuation from when the votepage is first started. An example might be “Jane met John and they fell in love. They got married and then along came”. This first part that starts the votepage is the only part that is not put up to a vote. This part is automatically included.

Submitting to a Votepage

If you see a story on the dashboard that says “submission period” that means you can write a submission for the next part of this votepage. Before you submit to a votepage you should read the PROPERTIES. This will tell you the word limit, number of parts, number of votes needed to win, and the description.

You write your submission as a continuation of the writing on the left. If you would like to see your writing as part of the overall votepage hit “preview” and your writing will appear below the previous parts. You can only submit once to a votepage. Please make sure there are no mis-spellings or obvious errors in your writing. The votepages.com application does not have a spell check yet.

After you have finished your submission and are satisfied with your contribution, hit “Submit Votepage”. Please close your tab and head back to the dashboard by clicking the black x. After you submit your writing, it is placed in the ballot. The ballot needs to have the necessary number of submissions in order to be open for a vote. So if you go back to the votepage you just submitted to and it still says “submission period” that means the votepage is waiting for more submissions. Why not email your buddies and ask them to submit? If you are on the dashboard and see “voting” that means the ballot has the necessary number of submissions to be open for a vote on which submission is the best.

Voting

Voting is very easy. Just click on a story in the dashboard that says “voting” and read through the submissions that are in the ballot. Read through all of the submissions by either clicking on the text in the ballot or clicking preview so that you can see the submission as part of the overall text. You can only vote once per votepage and you can vote for your own submissions. You can read how many votes are required for a submission to win in the properties for the votepage. After one submission gets the required number of votes to be included in the votepage it will be included as part of the overall text and the votepage is then open again for submissions or it is complete if the number of submissions set by the administrator has been reached.

Publishing and Creating Drafts

After the number of winning submissions decided by the administrator has been reached, the votepage is ready to be published or opened for a second draft. If the administrator started the votepage and set it to “automatically start and publish” the story will be included in the library immediately.