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At 8/5/09 01:57 PM, Squishy69 wrote: shit

Hey, if you can't accept what the judges say, don't enter.

At 8/5/09 09:02 AM, Scarab wrote: amador10 - 6.5-7/10.

Finally, is an island specifically part of the plot? It might be implied, but I didn't pick on it so much. It's not a bad entry overall, and the thought is clearly there, but I unfortunately found the execution lacking in some places, as I've said above.

Well, the island is just said once, and then it is left to the reader to logically think why it is set on an island or something. And I suppose my piece would've done good with at least one proofread. I just wrote as I went along, never thinking about the whole thing.

Thank you kindly for the criticism. And congratulations to all the winners.

At 8/4/09 10:52 PM, WritersBlock wrote: TheThing:
Theme: 3/5
Structure: 4/5
Total: 7/10
Comments: I thought you did quite a good job with this story. It has a sense of tragedy, of themes holier than thou, and the way that it is written really reflects that. It's not as powerful or moving as it could have been, but it has elements of sadness without stressing on the present themes. You don't try to ram beliefs and ideals down our throats, you just present them "as is", and for that I think this story is written particularly well. That being said, I didn't feel as attached to your story as I could have, you had a pretty good balance, but I think if you had tilted slightly across and drawn me more into your story, that would have just sealed the deal.

Well, I've been writing on and off, but only in the last few months have I really gotten a lot of great tips on writing in general. I'm hoping with more practice I can improve my skills, and I know that these contests do help.

At 8/5/09 09:01 AM, Scarab wrote: TheThing - 7.5/10.

The inspiration you noted identified the sort of idea you wanted to discuss, so that was a plus point. I also think you used the island well, and the language served the purpose skillfully. A lot of the words were well chosen whether they were describing the island in a more concrete way, or whether they were designed to be abstract. I do think that the entry could be extended, though I also believe that it could go overboard if it was extended too much. The ending could possibly be built on if you managed to maintain the general balance of physical description and abstract metaphoric images to show the ideas up. An interesting entry.

I don't think I could have made it any longer without it feeling longer. I said what I wanted to say in the space needed to say it. I might have been able to draw out the ending a little more, but my descriptions of Humanity were running low and there isn't much more to say.

Oh, and thank you to everyone who judged the submissions; I know it may have taken you a little longer this time, but the reviews were great, and probably helpful to most of us.

Thanks to all of the judges so far for all of the helpful feedback and kind words.

Okay, I don't think this was answered, but how do the money winners get their prize? I'm essentially just very curious. I'd really appreciate if somebody told me how it all works.

At 8/7/09 05:28 AM, Peaceblossom wrote: Okay, I don't think this was answered, but how do the money winners get their prize? I'm essentially just very curious. I'd really appreciate if somebody told me how it all works.

gum PMs tom with the winners and tom puts the store credit onto your account. you should see it when you're on the store. That's how it worked last I heard.

I WOULD post my scores.... but my laptop is down and that is where I wrote out all of my reviews and scores and what not. So much for that huh? I do remember that most of the stories were crap and Coop and Rape and Peaceblossom were my top 3 stories.

I define crap as having a score less than 4.

Most of them I gave 1s.

All I can say to the mass people out there is proof read, proof read, proof read! I know it has been stated many times already, but it is so so important. When there are dumb mistakes like usage errors or problems with tense, it throws the reader out of the story. If you had an interesting story and some of these errors then I probably looked over them and based the score more on the story itself. Usually not the case however.

ANWAY... if anyone is just desperate to hear MY take on their story then just ask. Ill reread it and let you know.

At 8/7/09 06:29 AM, ForNoReason wrote: ANWAY... if anyone is just desperate to hear MY take on their story then just ask. Ill reread it and let you know.

Bad idea, I know, but I'd really like to know what you thought.

At 8/7/09 11:55 AM, speeling wrote:

At 8/7/09 06:29 AM, ForNoReason wrote: ANWAY... if anyone is just desperate to hear MY take on their story then just ask. Ill reread it and let you know.

Bad idea, I know, but I'd really like to know what you thought.

Samesies for me. This is my first MWC, and I'm trying to improve my writing. It's gotten better over the last 6 months or so, and I'm hoping that writing once a month would help.

At 8/7/09 11:55 AM, speeling wrote:

At 8/7/09 06:29 AM, ForNoReason wrote: ANWAY... if anyone is just desperate to hear MY take on their story then just ask. Ill reread it and let you know.

Bad idea, I know, but I'd really like to know what you thought.

Ditto on this. I'm just curious as to how shitty my first real attempt at this was.

Argh! I feel like I really could have gotten somewhere if I'd known about this sooner!

I got a 6.5 for approximately an hour and a half of rushed an un-thought-out writing.

That's rather upsetting, honestly. I think there needs to be a better way to learn about these. =\ Does August even have a writing contest?

At 8/13/09 04:43 PM, bahamalama wrote: I got a 6.5 for approximately an hour and a half of rushed an un-thought-out writing.

As I mentioned at the top of my scores/comments, my scores are generally used for me; it's so I can look through all of the entries at the end and judge my top selection on my very igid personal scale. Your overall score would've been something different, putting the other judges into account. Overall, I'd be happier with people taking stuff out of my comments than the numerical scores, as much as I know how much the numbers do matter as a way of evaluating some work easily. Eh, just keep that in mind is just what I'm saying!

Does August even have a writing contest?

Yes: talk thread, entries thread. WritersBlock is the organiser.

You can generally find these things for now by searching for "mwc9"on the BBS search.

At 8/13/09 04:54 PM, Scarab wrote:

:happier with people taking stuff out of my comments than the numerical scores, as much as I know how much the numbers do matter as a way of evaluating some work easily. Eh, just keep that in mind is just what I'm saying!

Oh of course! I read each review, and I got two 6.5's and a 5, so =P
And I will keep everything that's been said in mind. When I wrote in the lyrics, they had a meaning. Then I saw that I had 15 minutes left and went "Oh fuck!"

and THANK YOU for the links! I might get writing!