Fortnightly Writing Competition -SERIAL (Results)

[Ponch]

@Ponch - Haha. Sorry mate. It's not going to happen this time.

+Stu - I'm crushed! Crushed, I say!

[Baron]

Well, I guess that's that then.  I've got one word to sum up my impression of our contributors for this theme: prodigious.  It's good to see that there's still plenty of writing tinder out there if the right spark falls on it.

Now to voting.  You can vote up to twice per category if you just can't decide between your two favourites.  Categories are as follows:

Closure: Should Stupot be compelled to at least write a synopsis of what might have happened? (yes/no)
Best Character: the most believable/captivating/magnetic/unique character
Setting: the most vivid background world, or most gripping atmosphere
Plot: the best organized, coherent and well-executed story with appropriate pacing, climax, etc.
Word Choice: the technical art of combining words in a memorable way
Overall "couldn't-wait-for-the-next-episode" bonus point: an extra point for that intangible page-turner quality.

Voting will run for about 96 hours from this post, or until roughly Monday evening EDT when I will have time to add up all the votes.  Good luck to all participants!

[Haggis]

This competition  was an absolute blast, well done Baron.

It was exhausting though - I didn't publish any episodes at the weekend because, while I thought the effect of the weekend interrupting a weekday serial publication would be good, the honest answer is I needed the weekend to make a headstart on the rest of the episodes!

You can vote up to twice per category if you just can't decide between your two favourites.

I will utilise this happily because it really was very hard to pick winners!

Closure:- YES - I'm selfish and want to know what happened. NO - I respect Stu as an author, he must not be coerced into finishing something he was not happy with... (yes he should). Same applies to JudasFM!
Best Character:- Sinitrena & Ponch - There were lots of well written characters across the stories, but for me Sinitrena's murderer and the way in which we experienced her outer and inner personalities was nicely done. Tahoma Tommy was also very well written, but for me there was one scene stealer in Ponch's piece... Pierre 'the middleman' Lecocq. As the kids would say, he had me lol-ing.
Setting:- Ponch - Ponch created a diverse and expansive world which combined real world detail and geography (the phantom reefs were a nice touch) with fantastic invention. Over the course of the story it progressively darkened in atmosphere and character for the finale.
Plot:- Ponch & Sinitrena -  Ponch and his, what I call, 'kahki noir' was a real homage to pulp fiction. It started slow, hinting at something dark but restrained itself, before ramping up the tension to the point where even I felt uncomfortable about our heroes landing at PÃ,,“ Niho, the final two episodes superb, then that ending! I was hooked on Sinitrena's piece from the prologue, it was so strong it just sucked me into it from the off. Loved the inner thoughts of killer at the end of each part, holding it together on the outside while unravelling on the inside, and the 'twist' ending in the epilogue.
Word Choice:- Ponch - Again this was extremely close, and I almost tied it, but what swung it for me was how much Ponch was able to convey within the confines of the word limit. What on paper were short exchanges of dialogue revealed detail after detail about characters, plot, location, atmosphere etc purely through word choice. The first person account of the whole thing was also very believable. Like my cooking, extremely well done.
Overall "couldn't-wait-for-the-next-episode" bonus point:- Stupot... i'm still waiting! (Sinitrena & Ponch)

[kconan]

Closure: YES
Best Character: Haggis for Tarantopus AND Ponch for Pierre
Setting: Ponch
Plot: Sinitrena
Word Choice: Ponch
Overall: Sinitrena AND Ponch

[JudasFm]

I'm happy with the story but not with the fact that I wasn't able to finish it in time and I apologize to everyone. I'm not sure I have time to write the next 4 episodes, but I'll happily provide a summary for anyone who's interested

Closure: YES
Best Character: Sinitrena
Setting: Ponch
Plot: Sinitrena
Word Choice: Sinitrena
Overall: Sinitrena

[Sinitrena]

Closure: YES, but more regarding JudasFM than Stupot. I'd really like to read more, preferably as the actual story and not a summary, but I take what I can get.

Best Character: Haggis - Baron Vaistlande (who was also spelled Vaisteland at least once - misspelling character names is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, so I tend to notice it) is just such a lovely / loveable moustache-twirling, designated villain that I have to vote for him. He's a stereotype, certainly, but a well-used one. Unfortunately, in this case, the other characters are less of a stereotype and stay a bit bland and nondescript, despite recieving characterisation and backstory. I think the problem is the format of the story, here. Due to the fact that you choose to start at the end of the story, episode 54 of 60, we never get properly introduced to them. -- I also like Ponch's main character and Pierre as well as JudasFm's failed heroes but Haggis's characters are just this tiny bit more interessting for me this time.

Setting: JudasFM - This one was surprisingly difficult. As a matter of fact, I immediatly liked Judas's setting, but I did remember her other story and the world both theses stories are set in, so I had to sort in my head if it was actually something in this story that I liked or the things I remembered. We certainly don't get a lot here. Descriptions are scarce, the story is cut short (not to mention, therefore, shorter than the other entries) but we recieve hints of a larger world inhabited by diverse characters with different motivations, problems, and lifestyles. So, there are hints that there is more, even though we don't get to see it (yet).

Plot: Ponch

Word Choice: Haggis - It's an unusual style. There may not be impressive metaphors or particularly vivid descriptions, but I think a style that sometimes reads like a summary (and not just in the footnotes) - "His mind drifted into a flashback…" - as well as the footnotes lead to an interessting, albeit unusual reading experience.

Overall: Ponch - Ponch's story offers the most reasons to keep on reading, even though the cliffhangers got on my nerves after a while, not because the cliffhangers themselves were bad, but because the resolutions in the next part were so disapointing (certainly a flaw many a serialised story that depends on cliffhangers has). Especially grating was, of course, the ending of part 4/beginning of part 5: in one part a man is decapitated for the shock value, in the next the characters have basically forgotten about it - there is no resolution at all, and even if the story would go on for twenty more chapters, I think it would be unlikely that this would ever come up again. Still, this story make me want more after each part.

[KyriakosCH]

Hi all

When is the next competition going to start? I actually am a published writer, and i mostly write short stories... So i am interested!

[JudasFm]

Closure: YES, but more regarding JudasFM than Stupot. I'd really like to read more, preferably as the actual story and not a summary, but I take what I can get.

Setting: JudasFM - This one was surprisingly difficult. As a matter of fact, I immediatly liked Judas's setting, but I did remember her other story and the world both theses stories are set in, so I had to sort in my head if it was actually something in this story that I liked or the things I remembered. We certainly don't get a lot here. Descriptions are scarce, the story is cut short (not to mention, therefore, shorter than the other entries) but we recieve hints of a larger world inhabited by diverse characters with different motivations, problems, and lifestyles. So, there are hints that there is more, even though we don't get to see it (yet).

Yeah, I shouldn't have entered with so little time left My mistake. If you (or indeed anyone) wants to read the rest as a story, I'd be happy to do it but probably via PM as I don't know how long I'd have before this thread becomes locked, and it's probably not a good idea for me to start a separate thread just for my own stories

[Sinitrena]

If you (or indeed anyone) wants to read the rest as a story, I'd be happy to do it but probably via PM as I don't know how long I'd have before this thread becomes locked,

That sounds great to me, but don't feel obliged to anything, write for fun and in your own time.

Hi all

When is the next competition going to start? I actually am a published writer, and i mostly write short stories... So i am interested!

Voting is open until Monday, then Baron has to count the votes and post the results - that's usually done on the day voting ends or the next. After that, the winner starts the new round. Here in the writing competition most people are fairly quick to do so, which means the next competition is likely to start Tuesday or Wednesday.

Until then, why don't you read the stories of this round and vote? We can always do with more voters.

[Ponch]

Ponch's story offers the most reasons to keep on reading, even though the cliffhangers got on my nerves after a while

But I love cliffhangers! They're so serial-y! In fact, I love cliffhangers so much that I...

[Ponch]

... Am now ready to vote (kind of a let down, I know, but I gotta keep the reader invested!)

Closure: Yep
Best Character: Haggis
Setting: Haggis (Love the pulp setting)
Plot: Sinitrena (Creepy stuff)
Word Choice: Haggis (again, very pulpy)
Overall: Haggis

[Baron]

Well, the results are in!  I was so impressed with all the thoughtful votes that everyone cast.  Hopefully Ponch won't win and revert voting to some archaic format with no feedback for the writers....

In third place, with seven votes, is Haggis.  I think this was actually my favourite piece, although only by a whisker.  I loved the word choice and over-the-top characters.  Please join us more often so I can read more of your work!

In second place, with ten votes, is Sinitrena.  Like many of the other comments, I'd like to mention how I was drawn in by the inner thoughts of Ethel as she struggled to satisfy the will of an uncaring goddess.  As always I look forward to reading more next time.

And finally, in first place, with twelve votes (if you count the hanging chads), it's Ponch!  Yours was truly a gripping tale, with excellent word-choice and good atmosphere.  It definitely was the piece that best suited the topic, so bravo to you sir.

Alas I am caught between family obligations at the moment and haven't had time to manufacture some much deserved trophies, but fear not!  They will be forthcoming over the next couple of days.  In the meantime, I turn over the duties of contest administrant to the capable hands of one Ernest J. Ponchworth, and sincerely look forward to the next topic. 

Hope to see everyone out again next time (bring a friend!), for the next exciting instalment of....



The Fortnightly Writing Competition!

[Haggis]

Congrats Ponch! Lecocq for the win!!

Also, I'd love to claim that I intentionally pulpified my writing style for the task...

[kconan]

That was an Innovative competition premise followed up with really good entries.

congrats to Ponch!

[Sinitrena]

Congratulations, Ponch

[Ponch]

Thanks, everybody!

I'm just getting home from work and I'll be getting on an airplane tomorrow morning, so everyone gets a four day break before I post the next theme on Monday. Enjoy this brief rest for your writing hand, and I'll see you all again in a few days.

[Baron]

Where could you possibly be going where it would take four days to get to by plane?  Unless it was a very small plane, and the destination was extraordinarily remote....  OMG!  Are you going to PÃ,,“ Niho?!?

Don't do it P!  For the love of pulp, don't do it!  Your massive semi-automatic Texan fire-power and even more massive Texan sense of macho bravado is no match for the slimy scaly thing that haunts those cursed shores!

[Ponch]

Ha! Actually, I'm flying out for my niece's wedding, then sort of an impromptu family reunion. It's gonna be a busy four days, and I'm taking the red eye out to boot. In fact, I have to get up in five hours, so I'm off to bed!

[Baron]

Why would anyone get married on PÃ,,“ Niho??!?  Your niece doesn't have slimy scales I hope....

[JudasFm]

Congrats to the winners! Well deserved! And before this thread gets locked, I'd like to add that I'm offering closure on my entry but only in episodic format via PM, so if anyone wants to know how it panned out, PM me (Sorry if that seems like too much of a plug; I just know one or two people were interested and I wanted to post this before the thread got locked )