First place wins
Two professional tools for master storytellers. The perfect combination.
Second through to fifth places each win
Beemgee to outline and develop the material, ProWritingAid to check and edit the text.
You’ve got an idea for a novel.
Perhaps you want to take part in NaNoWriMo. Before you start writing, you’ve got some thinking to do. What’s your novel going to be about? Who are the main characters? How does the plot work?
Outlining the narrative and developing the characters is essential to creating a satisfying novel.
Sign up to the Plot of Gold challenge and receive 10 specific tasks that will help you get your story material into shape. By completing the tasks, you’ll be finding your plot and your characters, defining exactly the ins and outs of your narrative. After the challenge, you’ll be able to enter your outline in our competition. And better still, you’ll be ready to write your novel!
How it all works
You’ll find lots of information about the intricacies of developing story material in the Beemgee tool – especially by opening the | ? | help texts and clicking the “More about …” links.
Instructions about how the tool works are gathered here.
The freebie code provided by ProWritingAid gives you access to Beemgee PREMIUM functionality for the duration of the Plot of Gold challenge. Log in to Beemgee PREMIUM to complete the tasks we set you. Every three days or so we will send you an e-mail telling you what you need to do. Completing the tasks will help you compose your plot and grow your characters. You’ll gain a complete understanding of your story – what happens when to whom and why. You’ll be in complete control of your narrative.
There is a simple form at the bottom of this web-page. Fill it out and click the checkbox to accept our notifications and tasks. You will receive an e-mail containing a confirmation link. You must confirm by clicking this link in the confirmation mail (check your spam if it doesn’t arrive immediately).
Once you have confirmed, you will be able to log into Beemgee PREMIUM by clicking LOGIN on www.beemgee.com (or going directly to https://www.beemgee.com/app/login). During the course of the next 30 days you will receive ten tasks via e-mail.
How to submit
To take part in the Plot of Gold competition when you have completed the ten tasks of the challenge, send your project link to goldplot@prowritingaid.com. You can do this directly through the Beemgee web-app with the share function (the share icon top right in the tool – don’t forget to enter your e-mail address too so that we can reach you in case you win!)
To be entered to win, your full outline must be submitted by 15th November 2017.
As prizes we’re giving away four yearly subscriptions to both Beemgee PREMIUM and ProWritingAid PREMIUM and one lifelong subscription to each!
Good luck!
When will the winners be chosen?
The jury will sift the entries after end of submissions. Since the last date on which the Plot of Gold challenge may be begun is the 15th of October 2017, the final submissions must be in by the 15th of November 2017. We will choose the winners by the end of November 2017.
How do I take the challenge?
You’ll find the participation form at the bottom of this webpage. By filling it out and clicking START NOW, you are doing two things:
After you have confirmed your participation, you will be able to log into Beemgee PREMIUM, thus unlocking full functionality of the author-tool. To begin a project, give it a working title. As with all of your input, you can change the title of your project at any time.
Each of the ten tasks will encourage you to work on specific aspects of your story outline in the Beemgee tool. After you have completed the tenth task, two things will happen
Don’t worry, you will still be able to access, edit and work on your project – just without PREMIUM functionality. Should you want to re-activate Beemgee PREMIUM, you will be able to do so by signing up for a regular 12 month PREMIUM account (SIGN UP on www.beemgee.com). See pricing.
How do I outline my plot with Beemgee?
When you LOG IN to Beemgee PREMIUM you can access all your projects via the global menu (a sandwich icon top left of the tool) and use all of Beemgee’s PREMIUM features.
The tool is a web-app that features a tour which you can turn on and off at will (show or hide). Advice on what each of the many features are good for is available through the context sensitive | ? | help texts. Here you’ll also find “More about …” buttons which will each lead you to an article with in-depth background information on the specific aspect of storytelling the feature deals with.
You don’t need to be logged in with a PREMIUM account in order to use the tool. Each project saves itself automatically (there is no save button), and a project link will always open the current state of the project. You can send yourself the project link from the tool using the share button top right. You can send the link to collaborators too, but beware that anyone with the link will be able to edit, change or delete parts of your project! So be circumspect when sharing.
Who chooses the winners?
A jury composed of publishing and storytelling experts from ProWritingAid and Beemgee will choose the winners.
What are the criteria?
We’re looking for strong narratives driven by the clear motivations of the main characters. At least two main characters should be fully developed in the character-builder tool – go to CHARACTER in the top menu, once you have typed the characters’ names in the character cards in MULTI-view, click SINGLE-view, then succinctly answer as many of the questions as you can. The PLOT should contain at least 40 plot event cards with brief titles (think beat sheet) and including most of the following attributes: characters, location, point of view, motifs, storylines, structure markers. In particular, the description field for each plot event card should contain a very brief description (one or two complete syntactically correct sentences) of what happens, in order that these texts may be displayed as continuous copy in the STEP OUTLINE.
In the end, you will be able to export a complete project PDF, including all your character sheets with their respective dramatic functions in the narrative, the plot events including their attributes, and the step outline.
Based on the project PDF we will look for
Why won’t the Beemgee browser-app open?
If the Beemgee tool does not seem to start, please check your browser settings. Beemgee cannot be opened in private modus. Adblockers may also prevent the software from running. The web-app saves information in your browser so that the software does not crash in case of a weak or unstable internet connection and you can continue working if you go offline. That’s right, if you open a project and then go offline, you can still keep using the tool. Any changes you make to your project will be synced as soon as you are back online. This technological safeguard requires that information be saved in the browser’s cache, which is not permitted in a browser set to private. (In our experience, it is often Firefox which seems to be set to private by default – go to preferences or settings).
You can tell that your registration was successful and your account is active by logging in (LOGIN on www.beemgee.com). A project looks much the same if you open it without being logged in as it does when you are logged in to PREMIUM. The difference is that when you are logged in to PREMIUM all the PREMIUM functions work.
Furthermore, when you are logged in you can access features such as MY PROJECTS in the global menu – the sandwich icon top left.
Does the Beemgee browser-app work on a smartphone?
Beemgee works on desktop computers in the all the popular browers. The software also works on most mobile devices such as tablets, though some browsers may not be supported.
However, the software is not designed to work on smartphones.
Update: What to do in case of input loss
In the last couple of weeks since the beginning of the Plot of Gold Challenge we have noticed that there are certain edge cases where individual users have lost part or all of their input. In the overwhelming majority of cases, way way over 99 %, this is simply not an issue. But for the unlucky few who are affected by this problem it is of course deeply frustrating – as it is for us. There seems to be a particular combination of factors involving the location, device, operating system, browser and internet connection of the user that can lead to input loss. We are in the process of implementing safeguards to on the one hand forestall such issues, on the other to aid recovery should they occur. We have installed a backup system which saves all projects separately and will help us to retrieve any lost input. If you experience problems, contact service@beemgee.com and provide the following: name of the project, project URL, and a date and time just prior to the loss of input.
Furthermore, we recommend you a) do not work on the same project simultaneously on more than one device or in more than one window or tab, and b) do export your project at the end of each longer session.
How do I cancel my free Beemgee subscription?
ProWritingAid has given you a month of Beemgee PREMIUM for free so that you can take the Plot of Gold challenge. The special Beemgee PREMIUM plan you are subscribed to ends automatically shortly after the final task of the challenge. The plan does not run on, you are not required to provide any payment details, and you do not need to take any action. Your free account simply expires.
During the time you are registered for your free Beemgee PREMIUM plan from ProWritingAid it will not be possible for you to SIGN UP for a regular Beemgee PREMIUM account with the same e-mail address. After the free Beemgee PREMIUM plan from ProWritingAid expires you may SIGN UP for a Beemgee PREMIUM subscription (see pricing) and unlock all PREMIUM functionality again.
What happens after Beemgee PREMIUM expires?
You can continue to work you on your Beemgee project for free, just without PREMIUM functionality. Open the project with the unique project link. That means it is advisable to bookmark or save the project link somewhere safe.
Of course, if you want to continue to use features such as the PDF exports, detail views of the character sheets or the step outline, plot attributes such as motifs, structure markers or point of view after the Plot of Gold challenge is over, then you SIGN UP for a regular PREMIUM account.
Does the freebie code work for a regular SIGN UP?
The code “goldplot” provided by ProWritingAid is not a discount code and has no effect in a regular SIGN UP to PREMIUM. The goldplot code unlocks the Plot of Gold challenge and can only be applied on this webpage in this form:
TERMS for the Plot of Gold Challenge and Competition
The following terms cover the Plot of Gold Challenge and Competition run by Beemgee GmbH (Beemgee) and ProWritingAid / Orpheus Technology (ProWritingAid).
2.1. Taking part in the Challenge and Competition is free of charge and does not require you to make any purchase.
2.2. Anyone aged 14 years and over may take part.
2.3. Participants must register for the challenge on the webpage https://www.beemgee.com/plot-of-gold/. Participants must enter a valid e-mail address, username, password and the code “goldplot” that provides access to the free plan for Beemgee Premium. By using the goldplot code the participant is agreeing to these terms. Registering is only possible online. To take part in the competition at the end of the challenge, participants must complete their story outline in the Beemgee tool. Submissions must be sent to goldplot@prowritingaid.
2.4. Each competition participant may enter one story outline. This may not be based on a published work.
2.5. Employees of ProWritingAid or Beemgee and their families may not enter the competition. Submissions from organised entities, institutions or companies specialised in mass competition entries will be excluded.
2.6. Every participant may enter only once. Multiple submissions will be excluded.
2.7. The Challenge may be started at any time between 12.9.2017 and 15.10.2017. It lasts for thirty days. At the end of the thirty day period participants may enter their story outline in the Competition. Deadline for entries to the competition is 15.11.2017.
2.8. The winners will be chosen by a jury and informed via e-mail. Winners have 14 days in which to accept their prize. If a winner fails to react to the e-mail and accept the prize, the prize will be null. The public announcement of the winners will take place on the websites and social media channels of Beemgee and ProWritingAid.
2.9. By taking part in the competition, participants confirm that they are the holders of the copyright to the story, are free to enter it in a competition, and that the story is as yet unpublished. The participant guarantees that the rights of third parties will not be infringed. Should third parties make legal claims, neither Beemgee nor ProWritingAid shall be liable.
2.10. Beemgee and ProWritingAid may exclude participants from the competition if the interests of either company are damaged by the submission, especially if the submitted content is legally or morally dubious or unsuitable, if the participant does not adhere to these terms, or if the participant disrupts the Challenge, Competition or the websites or software of Beemgee or ProWritingAid, or seeks to manipulate or damage these, or acts in an unfair manner towards other participants.
2.11. There can be no exchange of the prizes for cash.
3. Beemgee or ProWritingAid are not liable for any damages ensuing from the Challenge or Competition unless either company is severely negligent or breaks the terms.
4. ProWritingAid and Beemgee reserve the right to cancel the Challenge or Competition at any point should circumstances make this necessary, especially if technical or legal problems occur and the proper running of the Challenge or Competition can no longer be achieved.
5.1. The content and/or data participants enter as part of the Challenge and/or Competition will be saved electronically on secure servers in Europe and will only be accessible to participants and anyone who has access to a participant’s username and password. Beemgee and ProWritingAid will access only content submitted to the Competition in order to evaluate submissions and determine the winners. Neither Beemgee nor ProWritingAid will access or make use of content and/or data from the Challenge or the Competition in any other way without express permission by the participant, who remains copyright holder. Beemgee and ProWritingAid may contact participants regarding the Challenge and Competition and services related to either.
5.2. Beemgee and ProWritingAid will observe all data protection regulations valid in the EU. Participants have the right to have their data deleted (mail to service@beemgee.com).
These terms are binding and without legal recourse.
Get a month of Beemgee PREMIUM for free with the freebie code provided by ProWritingAid. The challenge and your free 30 day plan must begin between 12.9. and 15.10.2017. Both the challenge and the free plan end after 30 days. Your free plan will not be automatically continued – you do not need to cancel your free Beemgee account. After the end of the 30 days you will still be able to access your story project through its unique link – but without PREMIUM functionality.
Start now and take the Plot of Gold challenge! Enter a user name, your e-mail address, a password and the freebie code.
Freebie code: goldplot
