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First of all. we're just shooting off our mouths (or keyboards). The decision whether or not to stage a contest is Sol's, not ours, although he does consider our input.  He is the one who arranges for judging, I believe.
Since the main purpose of tnbw is to learn through the process of critique, edit and rewrite, OF COURSE you're allowed to rework your story, right up until the cutoff date.
5,000 words is just a number. I don't know if I can meet that as a minimum, either. I'd like to hear from others about that.
And remember, we're just speculating.  JP

I vote for a horror story,too! To be completed by Halloween, the winner to be announced on October 31.

Sorry, njc. I just saw this today.

He came up behind her while she was otherwise occupied and tomed her. See what I mean? This could be misconstrued as sexual innuendo, if not downright porno, were it not for the picture.

Okay, now everybody go take a look!

"When I am reading a book and the author compares a sound to something I recognize,..."
What Dagnee said is right. If the general audience is on the same page as the author, the meaning is clear. This holds true for the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare and R.L. Stevenson, as well. Just try teaching high school English. 

That means we need to work from a universal pool of language, doesn't it? In other words, standards. I'm not saying that standards never change, nor that they shouldn't. Just that in writing, standards exist, and we might be better writers if we know what they are. 

After all, what's the point of writing if not to communicate?

If that's true, you must remember this:

Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp
Who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong
Who put the bop in the bop shoo bop shoo bop
Who put the dip in the dip da dip da dip
Who was that man
I'd like to shake his hand
He made my baby fall in love with me.

My friend Dottie's parents were the youngest of our group. One day we were listening to this song when Dottie's dad walked in and, out of the blue, asked in all seriousness, "Who put the bomp the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?"
And Dotties mother deadpanned, "I don't know, but he made his baby fall in love with him."

We didn't think parents knew the words to our songs! Though I must confess, there's not a lot to these lyrics!

Is that where you got the name for Bama Llama?

After a pleasant, sunny day, we had a wild rainstorm here last night--the kind that uproots trees and tears roofs off buildings. Although that's the accompanying wind, mostly. Kayaking in the Verde River should be pretty rough for a while. Anyway, that's what I did--spent the evening indoors with my dog.

Jack--
Glad everything worked out. Did you enjoy the eclipse? Nothing much changed out here. We had a heavy cloud cover, and it just felt like a cloudy day. What a letdown! Keep on keeping on--  JP

Sorry, I had to check my dogs to make sure they were in the house.

When you are in the Edit Chapter Info screen, you can simply change the chapter numbers by typing in the new number. I changed the higher number first, so I didn't have two chapters with the same number. It worked just fine. The reminder to read Chapter 26 first is still a good idea, for those who have kept up with your output.

LOL
My dogs are in no danger--I'd have to wake them up and force them to get off my bed and go outside!

On the other hand, I heard on the news today that tourists' use of sunblock is causing a coral reef to die. Since I neither use sunblock nor visit any coral reefs, I disregarded most of the announcement, so I don't know where this dying reef is. Hawaii, maybe?

This is a healthy discussion of the role of the reviewer on tnbw. I've said before that we more honestly should call what we do "critiquing" (is that a word?), which is not to criticize in the popular sense, but to analyze, assess and appreciate. A reviewer reads and gives an opinion.

I am grateful to all the people here at tnbw who through their thoughtful reviews have caused me to tear apart, reword and rebuild my stories. It is never more evident than when succeeding readers compliment my work. It's an ongoing process that has taught me a lot. The rewards are great--it's worth putting up with a few hard feelings at first.

My favorite reviewers are the ones who stick with me through an entire book. I try to return the favor. Thanks, everyone.  JP

Sounds like a good one, Mike!

Are you talking to me? I hope not--I do get carried away at times. Sometimes there's just so much you want to say, you'd like to sit down side-by-side with the writer and explain things. Didn't we used to have a forum for that on the old site?

You're right--it is discouraging to have so many negatives given on your work. I had been a member of tnbw for about three months when I just up and quit.  Not only was I inundated with remarks I know were meant to be helpful, I didn't understand what the remarks meant! Wasn't there a forum for basic writing skills on the old site?

Nowadays, I do a paragraph or two, and if it looks like there's too much to say, I just let my review be for those paragraphs. Then I explain I don't want to overwhelm the writer with too much feedback. Is there a better way to deal with the problem?