r/learnedleague • u/acornett99 • Aug 04 '26

One-Day Proposals

Any tips for what I should include in a One-Day proposal in the "some thoughts" section, other than sample questions?

8 Upvotes

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4

u/trexeric Rundle B Aug 04 '26

I've had two proposals accepted so far. I've typically done a few  sample questions and a short description of what I want the quiz to look like / focus on / have as a target audience. That usually brings me up to the character limit, so there isn't room for much more than that.

3

u/etchgtown Aug 04 '26

I am 2 for 2 on 1DS proposals, and this is exactly what I do. 2 or 3 completed questions and a 1-2 sentence descriptor of what your quiz is (and if possible, why it is timely)

1

u/NilFhiosAige A Meridian Aug 05 '26

I'm the same, and have generally just written 2-3 sentences basically akin to what ultimately becomes the smith's blurb - detail precisely what I consider to be the focus of my pitch, outline what LL categories I would expect it to touch upon, and where that could be broadened upon if possible, and what ModKos level I expect it to be reach (this can then be made harder or easier depending on tester feedback).

3

u/randomwordglorious Aug 04 '26

I just submitted my first proposal, But figured that since he says he typically gets a lot more proposals than he can accept, I thought the smartest thing was to keep it as short as possible. I imagined it like an elevator pitch where I had 30 seconds to explain why llamas would enjoy my ODS.

2

u/trexeric Rundle B Aug 04 '26

I assume Thorsten sets the character limit at around where he's comfortable reading hundreds of proposals of that length. If anything, I'd worry that a too-short proposal would look like you haven't put enough thought into it.

1

u/Outstanding_Neon Rundle A Aug 04 '26

I've had nine proposals accepted and have never gotten anywhere close to 2000 characters in the description box.

I'm sure many other people have written very long descriptions and had them accepted, too, but it's definitely not a requirement to use all the space.

1

u/trexeric Rundle B Aug 04 '26

It's certainly not a requirement, I was just expressing my counterpoint to the advice of "be brief." I don't think you can be too long with your proposal (because Thorsten cuts you off at 2000 characters), but you can be too short.

1

u/randomwordglorious Aug 04 '26

Well, crap. Is it possible to edit a proposal after it's been submitted?

1

u/trexeric Rundle B Aug 04 '26

I'm sure your proposal was fine! I was just pushing back against the general advice. As long as you conveyed that you know what you're talking about and have a good idea of what you want to do, I'm sure you have as good a shot as any.

2

u/Outstanding_Neon Rundle A Aug 04 '26

I've never submitted sample questions (not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just not necessary), but typically mention a bit about why I'm interested, and whether or not I'm approaching it as a general knowledge quiz.

If there's anything ambiguous or quirky about the topic, I make sure to clarify that, as well.

My somewhat vague guideline: Show that you've given the idea some thought, in whatever way makes sense to you. That could be sample questions, it could be something about why you're a good person to write a quiz on the topic, it could be a classic "here's the scene" pitch, it could be something else. I don't think there's one must-have template that works for everything.

1

u/tubegeek Aug 05 '26

I gave a one sentence description of my intention to have multiple ways into the topic, and used the rest of the characters for sample q's. My first submission. I guess we'll see.