Mwc9: May: Crunch Time! : Talk!

[gumOnShoe]

Please limit all discussion of this months writing competition to this thread. Please wait to post here until the official contest rules have been posted and linked to in the next post. Thank you. :D

[gumOnShoe]

POST ALL ENTRIES HERE

Discussion.gogogo()!

[gamerpeepinpa]

Alright, I may actually be able to squeeze this in, surprisingly enough, despite the time limit, though I'd have to finish it around next week or so (that is, if I don't get lazy), because I'd have to be studying for my finals in two weeks. My only fear about this is that people decide not to do it because of the time restraints and also because the restrictions on genre and whatnot, which could mean less competition :\

[Gagsy]

So wait.. As long as we write about real people who live in a real world the story can pretty much be about anything? Something that is happening in that persons life that is completely plausible, or whatever. Skies the limit almost?

[gumOnShoe]

At 5/17/09 03:47 PM, Gagsy wrote: So wait.. As long as we write about real people who live in a real world the story can pretty much be about anything? Something that is happening in that persons life that is completely plausible, or whatever. Skies the limit almost?

Yup. :)

[Gagsy]

At 5/17/09 03:50 PM, gumOnShoe wrote:

Yup. :)

Ok I'm so entering this one. Idea already formed and shit.

I want to be careful though, what I'm thinking.. I wouldn't call horror, but elements of the story could indeed make people feel a bit uneasy, but it's totally something that happens irl.

[Sentio]

At 5/17/09 03:47 PM, Gagsy wrote: So wait.. As long as we write about real people who live in a real world the story can pretty much be about anything? Something that is happening in that persons life that is completely plausible, or whatever. Skies the limit almost?

I must admit I'm a tad confused by this one as well. I get that it has to be about real people in the real world doing real things, but what exactly do you consider genres? For example if the story involved an entirely believable romance would that be allowed, romance being a genre?

Word limit or time limit doesn't bother me though, I don't have much time anyway and I rarely write more than 2000 words! I should squeeze an entry in somewhere in the next two weeks.

Also can't resist pointing out the error in your thread declaring it the April contest... sorry!

[gumOnShoe]

At 5/17/09 03:52 PM, Gagsy wrote:

At 5/17/09 03:50 PM, gumOnShoe wrote:

Yup. :)

Ok I'm so entering this one. Idea already formed and shit.

I want to be careful though, what I'm thinking.. I wouldn't call horror, but elements of the story could indeed make people feel a bit uneasy, but it's totally something that happens irl.

Just be careful to stay away from genre.

[4urentertainment]

Wow, didn't expect the contest to be up so fast. And two weeks, damn, but I WILL submit a story.
A very interesting contest to say the least.

[TheLameSauce]

plausibility is the key, not actuality, correct? believably fictitious characters experiencing an invented plot that fits the constraints of reality would be okay, right?

[Gagsy]

At 5/17/09 03:54 PM, gumOnShoe wrote:

Just be careful to stay away from genre.

What I'm thinking is basically a monologue. That's ok right?

[gumOnShoe]

At 5/17/09 04:07 PM, TheLameSauce wrote: plausibility is the key, not actuality, correct? believably fictitious characters experiencing an invented plot that fits the constraints of reality would be okay, right?

Everything sounded okay except inverted plot because I don't know what inverted plots are. You'll have to explain that to me.

[SeaBoundRhino]

I'm definitely entering. I doubt I will win, but I could use some help with my writing.

A newcomer approaches :O!!

This is definitely going to be an interesting contest. Despite the restrictions on specific genre choices, I'm pretty sure this theme generally has a much larger scope for entrants in comparison to previous contests. On top of that, I think literary fiction really clicks with more than a few writers around here, so I'll be looking forward to reading the efforts once more. I agree with gumOnShoe that this is a challenge though, for most people here I would've thought. I'm not entirely sure what the turn-out will be like (I've been surprised before), but I think the shift in word limits was a great decision given the circumstances.

Again, I'm not entering this month due both to exams, and an eagerness to develop myself independently for a while. At this stage, if a contest is decided on for next month, it's unlikely I'll be entering that too, but you're not losing much really. Seeing as I'm judging this time around (thanks gum!), I won't be giving my little comments as the contest goes along, but I should have some feedback for all entrants come results time.

Oh, and I love gumOnShoe for his last line in the entry thread:

Protip: If you want to win, double return between paragraphs!

Seriously, I sometimes think that's as important (if not a little more in some cases) than spelling, grammar and punctuation in these contests. I partially bring this down to the colour scheme of the forums. It's not the site's fault at all, it's just worth noting that even to those who want to read entries, seeing as big block of white text is hardly appealing. Sure, I can copy and paste into Word or whatever, but if you're catching someone tired who just wants to sit back and read... I don't know, I think a reader's own attitude when reading something is important to how the writing is seen. Some call it concern. Others call it being anal.

Good luck to prospective entrants. There was probably something else I wanted to add, but it's gone. Ah, oh well.

[TheLameSauce]

At 5/17/09 04:25 PM, gumOnShoe wrote:

At 5/17/09 04:07 PM, TheLameSauce wrote: plausibility is the key, not actuality, correct? believably fictitious characters experiencing an invented plot that fits the constraints of reality would be okay, right?

Everything sounded okay except inverted plot because I don't know what inverted plots are. You'll have to explain that to me.

lol, invented....invented plot...sounds good. just wanted to verify i didn't have to use real people or real places. hope to have something good to offer.

[TheReno]

It seems to me, everytime I read the constraints of theme, that story basically has to go like

Bob went to the store and bought some eggs, he then went home and cooked them, and then he ate them, and then he went to sleep early because he had to wake up early. etc etc

Boring is basically what I want to call it. How do you not put a story into a genre? I mean really.

a good story that is

[Gagsy]

At 5/17/09 04:30 PM, TheReno wrote:

a good story that is

I'd say your imagination needs work then. I've only entered one contest, but read up on the rest of them. This seems the easiest one to me in all honesty.

It's not hard to picture a story and and write it from a narrative angle.

[darknessdweller]

Wow, I bet this'll be better than the last one!@

[gamerpeepinpa]

At 5/17/09 04:30 PM, TheReno wrote: It seems to me, everytime I read the constraints of theme, that story basically has to go like

Bob went to the store and bought some eggs, he then went home and cooked them, and then he ate them, and then he went to sleep early because he had to wake up early. etc etc

Boring is basically what I want to call it. How do you not put a story into a genre? I mean really.

I think if you've been writing a story about believable people in believable settings throughout the contests, it's pretty much the same thing here. The stories just aren't "a day in the life of blah blah," you can have murders, suicides, etc. as long as it can and does happen in real life. I think the main thing here is Reality.

[gumOnShoe]

At 5/17/09 04:30 PM, TheLameSauce wrote: lol, invented....invented plot...sounds good. just wanted to verify i didn't have to use real people or real places. hope to have something good to offer.

You can invent people and places yes. I don't know why I read that as inverted, and several times too. :P

Sounds good to me. I just don't want to read about the Kindom of High Elf and the evil Pit Lord Drossnex of Quanta Betta 12 who's magically creating a warp drive gun in order to obliterate Zarkox 7. And then Jesus Raptor comes down and saves everyone. Also, some kid has magical powers, btw.

At 5/17/09 04:30 PM, TheReno wrote: Boring is basically what I want to call it. How do you not put a story into a genre? I mean really.

You go out and live a little and have fun, get a little hurt, find something new, meat new people, meat weird people. If you find real life so boring, its going to be hard to connect to your audiences in your writing.

Ever read The Outsiders? Is that boring? I mean, its not THE MOST AMAZING STORY EVER, but could it happen? Sure. Is it boring no! Is it genre? Absolutely not.

[TheReno]

Lol the 28 zombie series could really happen. Da vinci code could happen. Doomsday could happen. But they all have a genre, you dont want a genre. No life isnt boring, but its not that good of a read. Take the average joe shmo and tell about his day, yeah there will be high points, but it wont have any meaning as is apparent you crave. Unless each story has their main character die in some heartfelt way, these stories (as writ out by your rules) will be devoid of any meaning whatsoever, and will wind up being boring as shit.

Im gunna write a story regardless, but dont be surprised if it crosses your lines a bit.

[TheLameSauce]

At 5/17/09 04:49 PM, TheReno wrote: Lol the 28 zombie series could really happen. Da vinci code could happen. Doomsday could happen. But they all have a genre, you dont want a genre. No life isnt boring, but its not that good of a read. Take the average joe shmo and tell about his day, yeah there will be high points, but it wont have any meaning as is apparent you crave. Unless each story has their main character die in some heartfelt way, these stories (as writ out by your rules) will be devoid of any meaning whatsoever, and will wind up being boring as shit.

Im gunna write a story regardless, but dont be surprised if it crosses your lines a bit.

you realize you don't have to write anything? you realize you can enter whatever you want, and it just won't get judged? you realize they don't have to host a writing contest to begin with? you're being a little bitch and it's adding bad vibes to the competition.

[gamerpeepinpa]

At 5/17/09 04:49 PM, TheReno wrote: Lol the 28 zombie series could really happen. Da vinci code could happen. Doomsday could happen.

The key thing is it's believable. People don't just run around everyday solving puzzles or whatever happens in The Da Vinci Code.

Murders and suicides are very believable, and the story doesn't even have to involve death in any way whatsoever. Life is much more interesting than that.

I think a good writer on this sort of theme would be Alan Sillitoe, who is possibly more familiar to British users here more than any other group, but I think a lot of what he wrote is very much along the same lines gumOnShoe et al are hinting at if you're struggling to find a "point" or that the theme possibly sounds "boring". Sillitoe's stories take a lot from the writer's working class background, and play around with what's there. One of his stories, "On Saturday Afternoon" is one of my favourites: it involves a young boy who accidently stumbles upon a man trying to hang himself in his house, basically. Another, "The Match" revolves around a man watching a football match, and then going home and hitting his wife, if memory serves me properly.

They aren't rollercoaster situations, but they're interesting to read about, and I think a lot can be gotten out of them.

That's my interpretation anyway!

[TheReno]

Im just saying, someone on here could write this fantastic story, and you could disqualify it for being a little too much in one genre or the other. The outsiders could be disqualified (your example of this type of contest entry) cause its a drama/suspence story.

[gumOnShoe]

These are other writers who do a good job at it. Note, some of them dabble in other things, which is perfectly fine, but they all are great.

Tobias Wolff
A. M. Homes
Steven Millhauser
George Saunders

Tobias Wolff's writing is exactly in the grove of this competition. I think anything you read by him would probably be acceptable in this contest.

Please note, A.M. Homes writes stories that do belong in this contest and stories that really wouldn't. So be careful if you want to base your works off of her kind of story.

Millhauser floats on the edge of acceptable for this contest depending on what you are reading. He's very good at what he does, but its often very surreal.

George Saunders is sometimes in and sometimes out. He's mostly out, but several of his stories are very interesting nonetheless. I would recommend being careful about what you read of his if you are trying to get ideas for this competition, but I would highly recommend reading his work at some point.

The point is though, that all of these writers pretty much stay away from genre as central themes. You'll find some sci-fi, paranormal, and fantastic elements in Millhauser & Saunders. But they do not govern the works. And, moreover, the works are actually about people! (not events or extraneous plots)

[gumOnShoe]

At 5/17/09 05:19 PM, TheReno wrote: Im just saying, someone on here could write this fantastic story, and you could disqualify it for being a little too much in one genre or the other. The outsiders could be disqualified (your example of this type of contest entry) cause its a drama/suspence story.

A story like the outsiders wouldn't be disqualified. You can have drama and suspense in your story, with out writing a cookie cutter recipe story.

[lolwtfmudkips]

ill offer a prize too. I'll build something for them in garrys mod like a giant newgrounds penis or something.

[Gagsy]

So this is my story. Don't intend to submit just now. I would really appreciate opinions on it first as I don't want to offend anyone.

Read with caution.

[TheReno]

So my question to you after reading that gum, is would the movie Bringing out the dead fit into this category? If so then I am sorry for misunderstanding what you said. Mah Bad. If not then we has issues.