Autumn Contest Comment

Tau · #1 08-13-2013, 12:02 PM

Please post all comments in relation to the Autumn Contest here.

GaryFagan · #2 08-21-2013, 03:57 AM

those are some excellent stories in the prose section, Agatha and URL, thank you for sharing your talents with us. And Agatha, that poem is really well crafted. I look forward to reading what else gets submitted.

#3 08-21-2013, 09:54 AM

Thanks, your story is good also. I can't write poetry so I won't be competition there.

Horse · #4 08-23-2013, 11:56 AM

I'm new here, so forgive my ignorance. How strictly must a story adhere to the theme, 'Hidden'? May it be somewhat abstractly?

Also, I enjoyed the entries so far.

carri · #5 08-23-2013, 06:44 PM

I really loved the story "Hidden Depths" by Agatha. Really well written and with a nice message. Plus, it was complete. The other two were incomplete.

Horse · #6 08-23-2013, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by carri

The other two were incomplete.

Excuse me if I consider that to be a matter of opinion.

Loz · #7 08-24-2013, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by Horse

I'm new here, so forgive my ignorance. How strictly must a story adhere to the theme, 'Hidden'? May it be somewhat abstractly?

Also, I enjoyed the entries so far.

It's a pretty open theme, so play with it and have fun.

GaryFagan · #8 09-01-2013, 06:29 PM

my story in the prose section is intentionally incomplete. Its like when a favorite show ends on a cliff hanger that you think hey they'll tell us what happened next season...only to find out the show was cancelled. What ultimately happened to the investigator and the sisters is where the theme of Hidden comes into play.

Shikoba · #9 09-07-2013, 09:56 AM

I really liked the Hiding Place, the ending was a nice twist. However, I find that the incomplete stories may be necessary if the writer wishes to continue it. Also, I find it rather compelling to continue the read, rather than deem it incomplete. So far, I find there is a good chance for any of the writers to win.

FX Lord · #10 09-07-2013, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by Shikoba

I really liked the Hiding Place, the ending was a nice twist. However, I find that the incomplete stories may be necessary if the writer wishes to continue it. Also, I find it rather compelling to continue the read, rather than deem it incomplete. So far, I find there is a good chance for any of the writers to win.

That's very generous of you Shikoba, nice to know someone read it .

I have read the other stories which didn't exactly fill me with confidence. There is some quality work there. In particular, ''Hidden Depths'' stood out for me for its engaging style and characterisation. I didn't really agree with Kate's take on the situation. However I do understand, given Kate's age, why her interpretation may have differed from my own.

I don't want to put any spoilers down so if Agatha Christie needs clarification of my point then please pm me.

Some of the most memorable stories are 'incomplete' - that is part of the reason they are so memorable, why they stick with us. 'Systematic Disunity' I believe they call it. There was always an element of it in the films of Alfred Hitchcock, or episodes of the Twilight Zone. An unresolved story can linger in our mind after the story ends like the image of a long extinguished flame burned on our retina.

#11 09-08-2013, 08:34 AM

My entry is one of the "incomplete" ones. Maybe I was being too clever. As I wrote, and watched my word count, it occurred to me that I could use the word count limit in my story. As I crept up on 2000 words, I decided to just whack it off at that number rather than try to rewrite it to solve it. So, in a way, it becomes "hidden" in two ways: the motives of the suitor are hidden and the end of the story is hidden.

Kravorkian · #12 09-14-2013, 09:17 PM

I love the themes in a lot of these contests. They actually give me a starting point for stories that end up going places I never expect them to. I've missed the deadline by just over an hour for this one, but I can't wait for the next contest to be posted so I can use the theme for another story starter.

Good luck to all the authors/entries!

Agatha Christie · #13 09-16-2013, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by Kravorkian

I love the themes in a lot of these contests. They actually give me a starting point for stories that end up going places I never expect them to. I've missed the deadline by just over an hour for this one, but I can't wait for the next contest to be posted so I can use the theme for another story starter.

Good luck to all the authors/entries!

Yes, writing to haphazard 'prompts' is good. Gets me writing stuff I would never ever have thought of and a good opportunity to experiment. Keeping appropriately 'on topic' so that readers can clearly see and understand how the 'prompt' is utilised, is the biggest challenge I find.

Kravorkian · #14 09-16-2013, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by Agatha Christie

Keeping appropriately 'on topic' so that readers can clearly see and understand how the 'prompt' is utilised, is the biggest challenge I find.

And that's what makes it so fun!

Crump · #15 09-21-2013, 01:43 PM

Hmm, I'm in two minds about this. I enjoyed Gary's story to a point, but wasn't satisfied by it. This competition doesn't place any demands except a word limit, so an unfinished story is a perfectly valid entry, but I was unable to fully judge it. I think, in the end, it didn't make any difference and that the entry I voted for is the one I would always have voted for, but I can't be sure of that.

FX Lord · #16 09-22-2013, 12:47 AM

Erm... I don't know what to say, except thank you to everybody who has voted so far.

I'm starting to feel a little embarrassed, if I'm honest, by the way the voting is going. I actually thought I might be lynched for my story, given certain grimm aspects.

TomBird · #17 11-14-2013, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by Tau

Please post all comments in relation to the Autumn Contest here.

One big question: Where/When are the fiction writers' contests? Poetry is okay, but story writing is where it's at!

Tom

Tau · #18 11-14-2013, 11:14 AM

The currently are no contest running, but there should be one starting in the next week or so.

Nacia · #19 02-24-2014, 11:29 PM

whatever happened to these contests?
they used to be really good

FX Lord · #20 05-20-2014, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by Tau

The currently are no contest running, but there should be one starting in the next week or so.

How difficult is it to run a contest? You pick a theme and off you go. It doesn't require a great deal of work that I can see.

After I won the last one I was all geared up, ready to see if I could repeat the feat. But it never came...

Disappointing. ;(

Tau · #21 05-20-2014, 10:42 PM

That works alright when all you are doing is picking a theme, but as the contests are tied into the WBQ, it is slightly more complicated. Also the WBQ is on hiatus right now, which mean that the contests are as well.

Now I could just throw a theme at you all to work with, but with no prise and no framework how is that different then something in the Prompts and challenges section, or even the general fiction section?

FX Lord · #22 05-22-2014, 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by Tau

That works alright when all you are doing is picking a theme, but as the contests are tied into the WBQ, it is slightly more complicated. Also the WBQ is on hiatus right now, which mean that the contests are as well.

Now I could just throw a theme at you all to work with, but with no prise and no framework how is that different then something in the Prompts and challenges section, or even the general fiction section?

For me there are two differences.

First of all, it's a competition which in itself is a motivating concept since it pits writers against each other.

Secondly, having read many of the challenges in the Prompts and Challenges section and having felt invariably uninspired, there is the brevity of choice that came with the competition. I personally find the Prompts and Challenges too specific, like being in school. A single word theme gives you a lot more latitude.

I didn't enter the last contest for prizes. It was nice to have a story published in the WBQ (even though someone decided it was a good idea to put a big spoiler at the beginning in the shape of a picture of a discarded oven), but it was far from a motivating factor.

Perhaps I'm different from everyone else? I don't know. I would just love to try another contest that's all.