Fortnightly Writing Competition: Reader's Choice (Results)

Started by Baron, Wed 17/04/2019 02:45:05

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Baron

Hello, and welcome to the Fortnightly Writing Competition.  Here we compete with words and wits to write the best composition on a given theme.  Submissions can be long or short, poetic or prosaic, published here or hoarded to yourself.... wait, not that last one.  Basically you need to write something on theme in the next two weeks and share it here in the comp thread.  Our theme this fortnight is...

Reader's Choice



This is how it will work.

1) Announce your intent to write something (this does not legally commit you to finish something, but allows you to maybe get started)

2) Wait 72 hours for someone* to post a simple scenario.  This might be something like troll goes to manner camp or witch gets part-time work as a line-chef.

3) Write!  Or don't write, I guess.  But it might disappoint your expectant fans....

4) We all meet up again in two weeks to vote on who we thought did the best with what they were given to work with.

5) Everybody wins!**

*Any AGS member is entitled to give one (1) other person a theme.  Any number of people can give the same person a theme within 72 hours of their announcement of intent, so that the writer might have several themes to choose from (or choose to combine them all?!?).  So that there is no confusion, with overlapping announcements, you must direct your theme at the intended recipient in the following format:

@Somebody: insurance salesman goes to war

In the highly unlikely event that nobody gives you a theme within the allotted time then the contest administrator will provide you with one.  If you don't like it, you can cherry-pick someone else's theme.  But if a reader has directed a scenario specifically at you, you must adapt it into your piece somehow (unless you have multiple scenario proposals to choose from).

**We all win by having great stories written just for us!***

***Actual winners may vary.  See contest rules for full details.

Potential voting categories:

Best Character: the most believable/captivating/magnetic/unique character
Best Plot: the best journey from A to B, told in a gripping way.
Best Writing: the technical category for polish, word-choice, conciseness, etc.
Best Use of Theme: who was best able to take a difficult theme and make magic of it. 

All submissions are required to be posted in this thread by Tuesday April 30.  Good luck to all participants!

JudasFm

I like this! I'm in if anybody wants to give me something to work with  :-D

Sinitrena

I'm in as well. Aren't I always?  :-D

So, if get more than one prompt I can choose between them? How about multiple entries in this round?
And are you sure two weeks are enough - waiting 72h for a topic removes three days of writing and thinking time. Additionally, not every aspiring writer will announce his intend right away. And some people might want to wait to give their one prompt to see who the potential writers are.

(Just as thought, but this topic might work better with a dedicated time to register as writer, then a time for prompts and then the normal writing time (or shortened, maybe one week instead of two.))

QuoteAny AGS member is entitled to give one (1) other person a theme.
And could I give this one person more than one theme?

WHAM

I would hereby like to declare myself intent on entering this contest of keyboards!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

Baron

Quote from: Sinitrena on Wed 17/04/2019 05:26:51
So, if get more than one prompt I can choose between them? How about multiple entries in this round?

Yeah, sure, why not?  Multiple entries are hereby allowed.  And yes, if you only want to write one entry, you must choose from the themes you are given (if you are given more than one), or combine them as you see fit.

QuoteAnd are you sure two weeks are enough - waiting 72h for a topic removes three days of writing and thinking time. Additionally, not every aspiring writer will announce his intend right away. And some people might want to wait to give their one prompt to see who the potential writers are.

Don't delay, act now!  ;-D  Given recent evidence, I don't think a lot of people will feel an intense need to start writing in the first 72 hours.  Someone who desperately needs an immediate theme is free to pester for one in the thread, and I'm sure some friendly AGSer would be happy to oblige them.  If we have any late joiners we can always offer an extension.  But for now the deadline stands.


Quote
QuoteAny AGS member is entitled to give one (1) other person a theme.
And could I give this one person more than one theme?

Nope.  You may hand out one theme to one person within 72 hours of their announcement of intent.  You can feel free to wait until hour 71 and see if anyone else provides an author with a decent theme, but if you don't give them a theme by hour 72 I get to (or they can cherry pick one given to any other contestant).

I hope that clarifies things.  Nice to see all the interest already!  ;-D

WHAM

Since it's quiet so far:


@JudasFm: "Wait, what do you mean this isn't a reality TV show?"
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

JudasFm

Quote from: WHAM on Thu 18/04/2019 10:48:04
Since it's quiet so far:


@JudasFm: "Wait, what do you mean this isn't a reality TV show?"

Is this the concept, or a line that has to be included?  ???

WHAM

Quote from: JudasFm on Thu 18/04/2019 12:45:15
Is this the concept, or a line that has to be included?  ???

Could be either, could be both. Hell, it could be the name of a show featured in the story.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

Baron


Sinitrena

@WHAM: ...dancing on top of an erupting volcano...

Another question:

QuoteIn the highly unlikely event that nobody gives you a theme within the allotted time then the contest administrator will provide you with one.  If you don't like it, you can cherry-pick someone else's theme.
Could I cherry-pick a theme set by myself in this case?

Baron

Oooo!  Good question!  I'm going to have to say no, since the whole intent of this round is to write a story for someone else.  So you can cherry-pick any theme not set by you.

Stop finding loopholes in my carefully calibrated plan, Sinitrena!   ;)

Sinitrena

Pfff! This is a writing competition. Express yourself properly and I won't need to look for loopholes.  :=  :P

Sinitrena

I think my 72 hours are up? BARON, ANYONE -- I need something to write about!!!

Frodo

Sinitrena...

You are bitten by a zombie.  What happens next? 

Are you immune to the bite?
Do you have X amount of time to find a cure \ antidote?
Do you join a zombie cult, and start the world's first 'Equal Rights For Zombies' group?
Are zombies just misunderstood victims who just want a quiet life?
Do you go on a hunting spree, determined to infect as many people as possible? 
Something else entirely? 

JudasFm

Quote from: Sinitrena on Sat 20/04/2019 05:41:00
I think my 72 hours are up? BARON, ANYONE -- I need something to write about!!!
@Sinitrena Someone gets a journal in the mail from a person they only met once before, or have no close connection with (a former classmate they never really hung out with, someone from an online forum etc). The journal leads them to a secret. The story must reveal the secret, but you're free to start at a point after the character's received the journal  :-D

Frodo

WHAM 

You are given the chance to go back in time and change one event.  It could be something that happened last week, or something that happened 1000 years ago. 

What event would you change, and what are the consequences of chances that event?  How would it change the present, or even the future? 

Frodo

Judas

You already have a theme from WHAM.  But since I gave a theme to the others, I'll offer one to you as well, so you have a choice. 

Aliens have landed on earth. 

Are they friend or foe?
Have they come to take over Earth, or do they need our help with something?
Are they just curious explorers? 

Sinitrena

For three days no theme and then I get two in the exact same minute...  (laugh)

Frodo, according to Baron's rules, you're only allowed to give one person a prompt. But if you want to retract one of them before he decides to chose which to allow (who knows what our moustache-twirling dictator decides to do?  ;)) I suggest you take the one back you gave to me. I hate Zombies and I love JudasFm's prompt, so there's next to no chance I will write anything for your prompt, sorry.  :)

Oh, and because it's easy to overlook up above, with all my rules nick-picking, I'll repeat my prompt for @WHAM: ...dancing on top of an erupting volcano...

Frodo

Quote from: Sinitrena on Sat 20/04/2019 08:11:14
Frodo, according to Baron's rules, you're only allowed to give one person a prompt.

Sorry, I misread it.  I thought it was one theme to a person (but thought I could give one theme to several people)   :embarrassed:

Okay, since you don't like zombies, I'll retract that. But HOW can you not like zombie???   :shocked:
And I'll also retract Judas.
So WHAM is the one I'll offer a prompt to, if he wants it.   :smiley:

JudasFm

Quote from: Frodo on Sat 20/04/2019 08:22:31
Quote from: Sinitrena on Sat 20/04/2019 08:11:14
Frodo, according to Baron's rules, you're only allowed to give one person a prompt.

Sorry, I misread it.  I thought it was one theme to a person (but thought I could give one theme to several people)   :embarrassed:

Okay, since you don't like zombies, I'll retract that. But HOW can you not like zombie???   :shocked:
And I'll also retract Judas.
So WHAM is the one I'll offer a prompt to, if he wants it.   :smiley:

Actually, that's how I read it too. Shame it isn't, it would have given us a much wider range to combine and work with.

Drat, I loved your prompt. I really, really would have loved to write it, the one from WHAM isn't really sparking much in the way of creativity...  :~(
Still, rules are rules!

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