Fortnightly Writing Contest: Drabble / Mini-Saga

CaptainD · Fri 29/07/2011 13:33:00

For the next writing competition, I have a challenge for you: write a drabble or a mini-saga. If you've never heard of those... a drabble is a story of exactly one hundred words, while a mini-saga is a story of exactly fifty words (that can include or exclude the title, whichever works for you). I've always found trying to tell a complete story in such a short space incredibly challenging and fun, so hopefully others will too.

Here are a couple of examples from my own meandering writing:

1/ Drabble

The alien looked at the ship's controls. This time it would work! There would be no mistake, not like the last time. Last time his ancestors had tried to contact the people of the planet earth, his father had gone down to the surface, and received a most unfriendly welcome. It was later discovered that his name translated into English ("Ivcumtodestroilahuminrase") was somewhat offensive to humans. But now, with his son bearing a different name (despite similar looks), the message of peaceful benevolence would come across.

This alien, the ambassador for his (its?) people, was called, translated into English:

"Dyeurflingskum".

2/ Mini-Saga

Vegetable wars

Fruits, legumes, vegetables; lend me your ears â€" or at least your tubers. I say to you, enough is enough! For too long we have had warfare; carrot against broccoli, cauliflower against tomato, kidney bean against celery. It is time to stop!

All I am saying is: give peas a chance.

So, over to you. Competition closes on 12th August.

Have fun!

And now, finally, I bring you the trophies!

Oliwerko · Fri 29/07/2011 19:10:05

Great topic, I've written some of these in the past and have to confirm that it's one hell of fun

CaptainD · Fri 29/07/2011 20:48:51

Quote from: Oliwerko on Fri 29/07/2011 19:10:05
Great topic, I've written some of these in the past and have to confirm that it's one hell of fun

Great, so I can count on at least one entry then?

Oliwerko · Fri 29/07/2011 22:49:58

You bet your socks, sir

monkeyislandfan#1 · Sun 31/07/2011 18:16:37

Sooo... can the drabbles/mini-sagas be Fanfic or not?
Just wondering.
I may enter, and I want to know.

CaptainD · Mon 01/08/2011 08:33:31

Quote from: monkeyislandfan#1 on Sun 31/07/2011 18:16:37
Sooo... can the drabbles/mini-sagas be Fanfic or not?
Just wondering.
I may enter, and I want to know.

Yep, any subject or style whatsoever, as long as it totals 50 or 100 words! 8)

CaptainD · Tue 02/08/2011 08:38:49

Has my lack of coming up with any trophies yet put people off entering?! :o

Oliwerko · Tue 02/08/2011 09:25:44

Chill out, it's more than a week until the deadline. Entries usually don't appear until the last few days

Ponch · Wed 03/08/2011 01:58:30

WHERE ARE MY TEENY, TINY TROPHIES?!?

LRH · Wed 03/08/2011 06:22:11

Felt like being Captain Bring-down this time. I wrote (unless I counted incorrectly) 50 words about the various wars during colonial America:

You're going, now. It's time. There is no choice, it's time.
It's time to watch villages burn and friends die.
Take this rifle and this knife. You're going to use them.
You'll think of your life and all its shortcomings just before you die.
Yes, that is your destiny... conscript.

CaptainD · Wed 03/08/2011 18:00:24

Quote from: Ponch on Wed 03/08/2011 01:58:30
WHERE ARE MY TEENY, TINY TROPHIES?!?

Hey I've made some, really lovely I assure you! :

It's just that they're on my work computer right now... and I'm at home...

Will put the up tomorrow.

voh · Thu 04/08/2011 14:27:08

Right down my alley! One piece of 100-word fiction coming right up!

Found in Space
I expected many things when I was chosen as the first human being to experience FTL travel. Hardships, things going wrong. Hell, I even expected to die. What I hadn't expected was this. None of the 'scientists' who had instructed me, had tried to explain what an FTL drive actually does, had seemingly known this was a possibility. Yet here I was. And so was I. Staring at one another.

â€œSo, you broke through the dimensional rift in that thing?â€ I said.

â€œI guess I did.â€ I said to my other self, glancing sideways to the now smoldering FTL drive.

CaptainD · Thu 04/08/2011 14:52:24

Two great entries so far! 8)

Now as soon as I find out how to get my trophies appearing... (or more specifically, the icon that will let me do it, which is stubbornly invisible...), you can see what my (less than) glorious graphical talents have come up with.

Trophies now added - long live the Count!

ArKaN01D · Thu 04/08/2011 18:16:09

Count me in!

I'll work on my entry today and it'll probably take a couple hours to get it quite right, though. I'm a shameless perfectionist. Anyway, I can even use this later for content in the ancient library in a game I'm working on.

CaptainD · Thu 04/08/2011 18:46:49

Quote from: ArKaN01D on Thu 04/08/2011 18:16:09
Count me in! I'll work on my entry today and it'll probably take a couple hours to get it quite right, though. I'm a shameless perfectionist. Anyway, I can even use this later for content in the ancient library in a game I'm working on.

I always wonder how much stuff created for these competitions ends up in games later on!

Look forward to seeing your entry.

Atelier · Thu 04/08/2011 19:39:11

My love has no limit, but my words are running out.

Do you remember that day in the snow, when you held out your hand to me? I see you now, holding out your hand to me. Your eyes were bright as stars, and your gaze melted my heart; then the clouds rolled over, and I fell into an abyss. I still scale the walls; abound with razor rocks of my own creation. Soon I will sit and dissect my dreams, in my disillusioned outer world.

My last three words carry the weight of my crippling burden… you never knew.

CaptainD · Fri 05/08/2011 08:40:36

I'm already amazed at the depth created by our three entrants in such a short space. Awesome work guys!

BTW anyone like the trophies (first post)? The idea just came to me, not sure if anyone's done it before?

kconan · Fri 05/08/2011 11:13:38

Quote from: CaptainD on Fri 05/08/2011 08:40:36
The idea just came to me, not sure if anyone's done it before?

Its a safe bet that this is the first muppet Dracula trophy 8)

voh · Fri 05/08/2011 12:39:10

I... I'm not sure about the trophies, to be honest

CaptainD · Fri 05/08/2011 12:52:13

Quote from: voh on Fri 05/08/2011 12:39:10
I... I'm not sure about the trophies, to be honest

Philistine!!!

voh · Fri 05/08/2011 13:25:35

Ah dangit, you found out my secret!

Also, check yer PM

CaptainD · Fri 05/08/2011 14:00:19

Hmm, you're probably right - the trophies should look like trophies, after all. I've updated them in the first post...

Will put all current entries together in one post a bit later, they're in danger of getting lost!

Oliwerko · Thu 11/08/2011 17:21:38

This was so much fun I had to do more, more and MORE!

Everything was different

At first I considered it plain unthinkable. When it crossed my mind again, I found it just impossible. I rejected it even when I knew already. I didnâ€™t want to believe it although I saw it coming. It was too beautiful to be true. You came, and everything was different.

Light

First it was only light. I donâ€™t remember much else. I was too scared, too confused. Things have been happening to me so fast last weeks. A lot of questions were left unanswered. I still had tears in my eyes. The headlights were close, but there was no way back.

Summer swim

The water was so fine. I feltâ€¦liberated. The sun was shining down upon me and I tried not to have anything on my mind, just the sharp sunrays reflecting in the waves in front of me. I closed my eyes and kept on swimming towards my fate, whatever it was.

Sunset

It was getting late. I opened the window and grabbed a glass of clear water. The air was fine. I was standing still, watching the sunset. If only everything was as tranquil and quiet as the orange sunlight. If only everything was so still as the water in the glass.

More than a friend

I woke up and saw her sleeping quietly beside me, her gentle eyes closed. She was beautiful, as she had always been. I had no more tears to run down my face anymore. She wasn't my girlfriend. But she wasnâ€™t my friend either. She was far, far more than that.

Ponch · Thu 11/08/2011 21:17:38

Planting a flag on this spot for a future story. I have an idea. I just have to get home and write it. 8)

BOOM! FLAG PLANTED!

The lighter was out of fuel and so was the bike. He'd made the last few miles on foot with no water and no cigarettes.

The latter was the bigger hardship. Middle of nowhere, down to his last few bullets and now the nicotine shakes were coming on.

When the automated pump station came into view, the frustration faded only slightly.

It roared back when he saw the badly rusted valves.

"I'd walk a mile for a camel," Venn said to the desert and chuckled. To a thirst man dying for a smoke, there was a joke in there somewhere.

Atelier · Thu 11/08/2011 22:24:50

Rock dat Boat

The night was calm, and not a soul troubled The Freebooter on its anchorage, somewhere far, far out at sea. The breeze caught the sails gently and furled the mighty flag; the colours of fearless pirate No-nose Jimbo! His ship was of the cruelest fashion; it bristled with cannons, and dealt the fiercest blows on the Seven Seas.

Accordingly, The Freebooter was crewed by the biggest bunch of bilge-sucking hornswagglers ever to have lived… hang on!

“Hearties! Nights be mighty lonely on the seas! Let’s share hammocks!”

I must apologise. The epicness of our story has been somewhat spoilt.

CaptainD · Fri 12/08/2011 12:48:24

So, all the entries:

Domithian:

You're going, now. It's time. There is no choice, it's time.
It's time to watch villages burn and friends die.
Take this rifle and this knife. You're going to use them.
You'll think of your life and all its shortcomings just before you die.
Yes, that is your destiny... conscript.

Voh:

Found in Space
I expected many things when I was chosen as the first human being to experience FTL travel. Hardships, things going wrong. Hell, I even expected to die. What I hadn't expected was this. None of the 'scientists' who had instructed me, had tried to explain what an FTL drive actually does, had seemingly known this was a possibility. Yet here I was. And so was I. Staring at one another.

â€œSo, you broke through the dimensional rift in that thing?â€ I said.

â€œI guess I did.â€ I said to my other self, glancing sideways to the now smoldering FTL drive.

Atelier:

My love has no limit, but my words are running out.

Do you remember that day in the snow, when you held out your hand to me? I see you now, holding out your hand to me. Your eyes were bright as stars, and your gaze melted my heart; then the clouds rolled over, and I fell into an abyss. I still scale the walls; abound with razor rocks of my own creation. Soon I will sit and dissect my dreams, in my disillusioned outer world.

My last three words carry the weight of my crippling burdenâ€¦ you never knew.

Oliwerko:

Everything was different

At first I considered it plain unthinkable. When it crossed my mind again, I found it just impossible. I rejected it even when I knew already. I didnâ€™t want to believe it although I saw it coming. It was too beautiful to be true. You came, and everything was different.

Light

First it was only light. I donâ€™t remember much else. I was too scared, too confused. Things have been happening to me so fast last weeks. A lot of questions were left unanswered. I still had tears in my eyes. The headlights were close, but there was no way back.

Summer swim

The water was so fine. I feltâ€¦liberated. The sun was shining down upon me and I tried not to have anything on my mind, just the sharp sunrays reflecting in the waves in front of me. I closed my eyes and kept on swimming towards my fate, whatever it was.

Sunset

It was getting late. I opened the window and grabbed a glass of clear water. The air was fine. I was standing still, watching the sunset. If only everything was as tranquil and quiet as the orange sunlight. If only everything was so still as the water in the glass.

More than a friend

I woke up and saw her sleeping quietly beside me, her gentle eyes closed. She was beautiful, as she had always been. I had no more tears to run down my face anymore. She wasn't my girlfriend. But she wasnâ€™t my friend either. She was far, far more than that.

Atelier:

Rock dat Boat

The night was calm, and not a soul troubled The Freebooter on its anchorage, somewhere far, far out at sea. The breeze caught the sails gently and furled the mighty flag; the colours of fearless pirate No-nose Jimbo! His ship was of the cruelest fashion; it bristled with cannons, and dealt the fiercest blows on the Seven Seas.

Accordingly, The Freebooter was crewed by the biggest bunch of bilge-sucking hornswagglers ever to have livedâ€¦ hang on!

â€œHearties! Nights be mighty lonely on the seas! Letâ€™s share hammocks!â€

I must apologise. The epicness of our story has been somewhat spoilt.

Ponch

The lighter was out of fuel and so was the bike. He'd made the last few miles on foot with no water and no cigarettes.

The latter was the bigger hardship. Middle of nowhere, down to his last few bullets and now the nicotine shakes were coming on.

When the automated pump station came into view, the frustration faded only slightly.

It roared back when he saw the badly rusted valves.

"I'd walk a mile for a camel," Venn said to the desert and chuckled. To a thirsty man dying for a smoke, there was a joke in there somewhere.

voh · Sat 13/08/2011 00:33:22

Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid question, but is there voting involved? If so, when? :p

CaptainD · Sat 13/08/2011 01:25:05

Quote from: voh on Sat 13/08/2011 00:33:22
Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid question, but is there voting involved? If so, when? :p

Not a stupid question at all!

Since the competition closed after 12th August, voting is now open. Stupidly I am still awake long after midnight, so I can tell you this now instead of later.

Voting begins!

Oliwerko · Sat 13/08/2011 08:21:29

If that's the case, Atelier gets my vote

kconan · Sat 13/08/2011 08:52:19

Voh

voh · Sat 13/08/2011 12:48:41

Ponch!

CaptainD · Sat 13/08/2011 13:32:14

Another stupid question - if I set the competition, am I allowed to vote?!?

voh · Sat 13/08/2011 13:35:19

Yes!

Ponch · Sat 13/08/2011 18:12:15

Voh

Atelier · Sat 13/08/2011 18:13:20

Atelier, obviously.....

CaptainD · Sun 14/08/2011 11:33:24

Quote from: voh on Sat 13/08/2011 13:35:19
Yes!

In which case...

Domithian

I was impressed by many of the entries, but Dom's entry just blew me away with it's emotional resonance. Also it gave me the chance to say "emotional resonance", which (hopefully) makes me sound smarter than I really am.

Any more votes to come? Atelier's stands at zero, as votes for yourself count as -1...

(Only kidding... but it would be nice if you did a proper vote! 8))

Atelier · Sun 14/08/2011 13:33:15

Domithan.

CaptainD · Mon 15/08/2011 20:02:32

So overall...

Winners: Voh and Domithian both got 2 votes

[

Runners Up: Ponch and Atelier got a vote each

3rd: Oliwerko, who also wins the coveted Most Prolific Entrant award!

Thanks all for your entries!

Voh and Domithian will have to co-host the next one I guess?

Dualnames · Mon 15/08/2011 20:19:48

Ah, the count as a trophy ...

Shamefully i wanted so bad to enter this one, but when my inspiration hit me, the voting had already gone half-way. Congrats to both voh and Domithan.

Oliwerko · Mon 15/08/2011 21:51:46

Yup, congrats voh and Domithan!

I guess co-hosting can be fun, I don't remember one so far. Could yield quite funny results, two people choosing different topics and them mashing them together

LRH · Tue 16/08/2011 01:46:28

Thank you! Hmm, sorry I missed out a bit. I was in the city for the weekend. How should we work out co-hosting?

voh · Tue 16/08/2011 12:31:06

Discuss it in PM?

Thanks for the votes, it was nice entering this contest again!

LRH · Wed 17/08/2011 01:05:44

Quote from: voh on Tue 16/08/2011 12:31:06
Discuss it in PM?

Thanks for the votes, it was nice entering this contest again!

sounds good.

voh · Sun 21/08/2011 12:20:47

Domithan and yours truly have commenced our super-secret plans for fiction domination! Stay tuned!

Dualnames · Sun 21/08/2011 12:32:04

Quote from: voh on Sun 21/08/2011 12:20:47
Domithan and yours truly have commenced our super-secret plans for fiction domination! Stay tuned!

Yay, I also believe that's the fourth tie in a fortnightly, and we always get awesome entries and themes, so yes, totally hooked there.