Mwc11 March / April Discussion

[Coop]

March / April Monthly Writing Contest : A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words

This is the discussion thread for the monthly writing contest. Yes, I have removed all references to Halowe'en from the entry thread and I implore you all to spot the deliberate mistake and apply to be judges / enter in this contest.

Contest Entry Thread to follow:

[Coop]

Entries thread

Happy writing, peeps!

[munio]

hmm, yes, yes i feel inspiration coming up
bideway paint seriously

[DeftAndEvil]

I guess I will submit an entry, because this can be--interesting; but I am offering to judge for this MWC.

[BrianEtrius]

This one sounds fun, so for the meanwhile I'll withdraw my name for judging. Instead, time for another Nightfly story. I've got some ideas floating around so let's see if they can fit themselves down onto paper.

[Coop]

At 3/1/11 04:39 PM, munio wrote: hmm, yes, yes i feel inspiration coming up

Good - I look forward to reading the submissions

bideway paint seriously

Yes - Why not? I have nothing else to compile these images with. Sure, I could have asked my girlfriend to compile them in GIMP, but she was busy and I wanted you guys to have as much time to write as possible.

At 3/1/11 05:06 PM, DeftAndEvil wrote: I guess I will submit an entry, because this can be--interesting; but I am offering to judge for this MWC.

Cool, I'll add you to the list. That makes you, sinfulwolf and I.

[Coop]

At 3/2/11 03:27 PM, JoeMation wrote: First place ... $50.

Store credit. hahahaha

Pass. No thanks, good luck to everyone that does enter though.

What's the matter? Newgrounds trinkets not good enough for you? We've got to start somewhere and until it gets established, we can't offer real cash to you or anybody.

[MegapiemanPHD]

What where the results of the last writting contest? I cant find the post.

[BrianEtrius]

As with most of my pieces, I've picked out the opening song to my entry; it's "Fortunate Son" by CCR.

It should be fun writing the epic battle......whoops, let's not like anything get spoiled yet.

[camobch0]

I love the series of images.

[Aniqaz]

I'm 99% sure it's a pansy.

[Zippy-MyMusic]

Alright, my story is up! good luck everybody!

[DeftAndEvil]

At 3/2/11 07:11 PM, DeadEndWorldStudios wrote: What where the results of the last writting contest? I cant find the post.

That's because it doesn't exist. I've finished ranking the stories and submitted the results to Coop. I am writing my in-depth reviews now and should be finished by the time the judges congregate. I can PM you a review of your story, if you wish. I will post, as last time, the results on my profile once the official results are announced.

[Coop]

At 3/2/11 06:57 PM, snoopychicken wrote: Anyone know the name of the flower?

It looks like a Pansy to me.

[Galneda]

Whew! I hate the "characters remaining" crap...mainly in reviews, but for the first time today, the BBS post character cap. I don't care if the length of my post disqualifies me, I had a lot of fun writing my entry. Thanks for the creative stimulation! I hope someone who more closely followed the rules wins. :D

[Galneda]

Oh! Do you guys still need judges?

[SkeletonGimp]

Another picture competition?

Maybe I can improve on my 3rd place entry. This time I have my flash stick handy so I can do the writing at home and upload here at work.

Shame most of the pictures are quite limiting, the ones that were available last picture comp I entered had more character. More to work with. I suppose I should stop complaining and appreciate the greater challange.

[DeftAndEvil]

As I peruse the few entries I begin to see a problem. The writers seem restricted, in a sense, by the fact that they have to incorporate the pictures into their story. That brings up a question, does the story have to explicitly state, or incorporate like Zippy's, the images? Or will a brief mention do? Also, I read ponyo's 4 lines and lol'd. That's what I mean, all the references and use of the images is extremely shallow.

[munio]

this is my sotry about a man in suit carying a flower, walking past a junkyard while it's raining
Wait actually it,s not: This is my story about robotninja's in space

[Coop]

At 3/3/11 05:23 AM, Phobotech wrote: Whew! I hate the "characters remaining" crap...mainly in reviews, but for the first time today, the BBS post character cap. I don't care if the length of my post disqualifies me, I had a lot of fun writing my entry.

Um... just a little misinterpretation there, methinks. You can have a story up to 4 posts in length, which is generally why we cap it at 5,000 words. Any more and you'd struggle to fit it in, plus they could get tedious for the judges to read.

Thanks for the creative stimulation! I hope someone who more closely followed the rules wins. :D

We'll see. There are still 42 days to go, for entries. I'm glad to see that we haven't had a glut of opening day pieces. One or two is tolerable and I am disappointed, as it seems that some people, despite being writers cannot be arsed to read their way through the rules and guidelines.

At 3/3/11 05:29 AM, Phobotech wrote: Oh! Do you guys still need judges?

Sure - you can join DeftAndEvil, sinfulwolf and I as one of the judges this time around. One more spot left, guys!

At 3/3/11 05:56 AM, SkeletonGimp wrote: Shame most of the pictures are quite limiting, the ones that were available last picture comp I entered had more character. More to work with. I suppose I should stop complaining and appreciate the greater challange.

Harsh - I thought they were quite ambiguous. Perhaps I should have butchered things from the Art Portal, or got an Artist to make four parts of a picture that I could have used. Who knows?

At 3/3/11 02:02 PM, DeftAndEvil wrote: As I peruse the few entries I begin to see a problem. The writers seem restricted, in a sense, by the fact that they have to incorporate the pictures into their story.

Again, it's down for interpretation - where is the flower? Who is the guy in the suit? Why a scrap yard? Are the ripples symbolic, or are they actually doing anything within the piece?

This is down to the writers to prove their skill. If you're looking for a laugh, head back to the Late Night Lounge and look back about 20-30 pages, when the last picture contest was held. XwaynecoltX gave us a composite picture and set us free to write on it. We came up with amazingly varied stuff.

At 3/3/11 04:28 PM, munio wrote: this is my sotry about a man in suit carying a flower, walking past a junkyard while it's raining
Wait actually it,s not: This is my story about robotninja's in space

See my above point :P

[Galneda]

At 3/3/11 06:23 PM, Coop wrote:
Um... just a little misinterpretation there, methinks. You can have a story up to 4 posts in length, which is generally why we cap it at 5,000 words. Any more and you'd struggle to fit it in, plus they could get tedious for the judges to read.

Ohhhhhh, I see where I got confused...5,000 words, not characters. I feel silly...now I kinda wish I didn't shave so much detail down in my entry to fit it all onto one post. It pays to be perceptive...

...I am disappointed, as it seems that some people, despite being writers cannot be arsed to read their way through the rules and guidelines.

lol, was that a crack that included me? Sorry :P

Also 42, for the win of life, the universe, and everything.

At 3/3/11 05:29 AM, Phobotech wrote: Oh! Do you guys still need judges?

Sure - you can join DeftAndEvil, sinfulwolf and I as one of the judges this time around. One more spot left, guys!

Awesome! I'll be an honest, critical, but open-minded judge.

[Flyingdingo0827]

Hey guys, I have a piece that I'm planning on splitting into three parts. Should I put all three parts in the same post or can I seperate them as long as I'm careful to submit the parts one after the other?

[Flyingdingo0827]

Genesis
by Flyingdingo0827

In the beginning, there was nothing an endless sea. A black void ran across the fabric of reality, staining it with oblivion. The creator, in its confliction, was hesitant to begin working on its latest project. It foresaw the beginning and it foresaw the end, why bother creating what will eventually decay anyway? Rather than face the turmoil of watching its work destroy itself, it watched the void and began to weep over the hopelessness that would've become existence. As it turned away from the universe, a tear fell into the inky blackness of the void. From that one tear, the building blocks of life began to grow, flourishing like a field of flowers in the eve of spring. The creator looked upon the world and felt pride as he watched it expand.

It watched everything that had come from the tear. It admired the beauty of the stars as they shone brightly against the never ending darkness of space. It studied the creatures that walked among the planets. It admired the seas that held a boundless bevy of creatures that swam just below its waves.

The creator studied the beings that lived within its creation and felt joy and pride as he watched the products of his creation. Though it was accidental, it still couldn't believe that such incredibly things could be the product of something so small. After watching his work for so long, it began to grow tired from watching so much happening at once. When it could no longer stand it, exhaustion finally overtook him. Before he completely gave into his own drowsiness it only had one thought.

Life is good...

%u2022%u2022%u2022

When the creator awoke from its slumber, it felt incredible as it watched the world's progress to completion. It knew that this was its magnum opus and it knew that nothing could ruin such a paradise.

That's when he appeared from behind the creator.

He wore a clean, pressed suit that ran black with the same inky darkness of the universe. His skin was as dark as a shadow, a swirling mass of chaos that surrounded its frame, obscuring his features in spite of the light that surrounded him. In spite of the shadows surrounding his face, the creator saw an awful smirk on his face that reminded it of each and every time he'd ruin its creations.

The creator jumped up and leapt in front of the world.

The man simply laughed as he watched the creator try to protect the world but when he was finished, he raised both his hands in mock surrender.

"Don't worry yourself friend, he said slyly as if he were having a casual conversation, I'm not here to destroy all your hard work; I'm here simply to make a suggestion."

The creator was weary of his words from past experience, times long past when he allowed his naivety to cloud his judgment.

"What is it?" The creator asked carefully.

He approached the creator like a lion stalking prey, inching himself closer and closer as he watched his "friend" with cold, calculating eyes. As he crept closer, his attention refocused itself from the nervous creator to the budding world expanding itself behind it. When he finally approached touching distance, he grabbed the creator lightly and rested an arm on its shoulder in a somewhat friendly matter, as if the creator was truly his friend.

"Look at this...thing," he said with open contempt as he motioned towards the latest creation in front of them,"that you've made. Now, now, now, don't get me wrong, to the average, untrained eye it may look like paradise there. Green plants, happy people, and all that but it seems as if you've forgotten one vital ingredient to this wonderful creation."

He was a mean spirited thing but he was also very clever. He knew that the creator was a perfectionist, a being who wouldn't allow imperfection to exist unless it was there to correct it. In the brief seconds that passed as he walked towards his "friend", he'd come up with a plan that would put an end to the world.

Of course that was his duty, he who was the destroyer.

"What's missing, I've made sure that everything was perfect and as far as I can see, nothing important is missing."

The destroyer knew he had the creator in the palm of his hand.

"Well you see my friend, what you forgot to add was free will."

"Free...will?"

"Yes, free will, the ability to choose between good and evil."

"Why is free will so important?"

"Because my friend, without free will, the beings of your world will never realize true happiness, everything that you've made will essentially be a lie to them and more to the point, you'll be cheating them out of true life, to live rather than to simply exist!"

The creator had never realized how important a concept such as "free will" was to its creation. He knew that he couldn't allow such a gift to be withheld from its inhabitants so immediately began to rectifying his blunder.

As the destroyer watched the creator fall for his plan, he quietly walked away with a wicked grin on his face as he appreciated the irony of what was to unfold.

%u2022%u2022%u2022

When the creator awoke, he realized the folly of his actions. Before its eyes, the world began to decay as its inhabitants foolishly undid all that it had done. All across the world, the creator saw various acts of carnage and depravity, so much so that it couldn't stand to watch anymore. Death and carnage rolled over the ground like a crimson wave of destruction. Pollutants leaked into the atmosphere graying the skies with poison and disease. Most of all the seas themselves turned grey as the lifeless corpses of its inhabitants skirted along the surface.

The creator broke down and wept as it realized the stupidity of its actions. Once again, he'd allowed the destroyer to trick him into ruining another of its creations. Bitter tears ran down the creator's face as it watched in dismay as everything that he'd made slowly ruined itself. He realized that there was nothing he could do besides sit back and watch the end come.

"No!" The creator said as it stood up in defiance.

The creator wasn't going to allow the destroyer to claim another of its creations. He realized that now was the time, enough was enough. Immediately, he set to work on a new creation, something that would counter what the effects of "free will" had on the world. He knew that such a job would be too big for one concept to handle so he created three concepts that would set about to fixing what was ruined.

To one concept he gave the job of decisiveness, the ability to gain determination in the face of adversity, to stay on the righteous path of good to combat the wicked temptations of evil. To this concept he gave the name "Will".

To the next concept he gave the job of revision, the ability to redo one's life to walk along the path of salvation, the chance to repent one's sins in spite of one's past actions. To this concept he gave the name "Change".

To the final concept he gave the job of foresight, the ability to see the good that lies beyond one's own perception, to see the light that lies just beyond the darkness. To this concept he gave the name "Hope".

When it had finished, he sent the concepts into the world, hoping that one day they would be able reverse the damage that it had done to itself. The creator knew that it would take time for the damage it had sustained to mend but he believed that one day they would succeed.

All that was left to do was to wait.

[Flyingdingo0827]

Because I'm a colossal idiot among idiots, I obviously submitted my work into the wrong thread. I went ahead and submitted my work in the correct thread so you can go ahead and delete my recent submission from this thread. If you can't however than that's okay too but nonetheless I'm really sorry for my error.

Sorry for my mistake and I hope this doesn't ruin my chances in the contest.

-flyingdingo0827

P.S. I didn't change anything when I submitted my contest entry into the correct thread (except for two minor instances where I replaced a some symbols with asterisks to indicate a break in the story) but if you need to make sure, feel free to compare them against one another.

[SkeletonGimp]

At 3/3/11 06:23 PM, Coop wrote:

At 3/3/11 05:56 AM, SkeletonGimp wrote: Shame most of the pictures are quite limiting, the ones that were available last picture comp I entered had more character. More to work with. I suppose I should stop complaining and appreciate the greater challange.

Harsh - I thought they were quite ambiguous. Perhaps I should have butchered things from the Art Portal, or got an Artist to make four parts of a picture that I could have used. Who knows?

yard? Are the ripples symbolic, or are they actually doing anything within the piece?

It's because of the ambiguity that I feel they're limiting. The fact you have to include all four pictures and they don't obviously connect leaves me lacking inspiration on how to tie them together.

As you know, I have a big thing for character and linear story line and those photos from last time oozed with it. You felt like there was a story to be told from these pictures. Had this been a challange to pick one of the pictures, it would have been a bit easier. I suppose though that's my linear thinking getting in the way of things. I'm too stuck in convervative styles, in part due to my traditionalist Grammar School up bringing.

Either way, I appreciate this competition and will try to get a piece together for it. 6 weeks is enough time and I intend to make it work. This format is a challange if every competition was as simple as we want it we'd never advance our skills.

[SkeletonGimp]

At 3/4/11 03:31 AM, SkeletonGimp wrote: yard? Are the ripples symbolic, or are they actually doing anything within the piece?

Derp.

Sorry to double post, but this little bit quoted above slipped through my cut down when quoting you Coop. It has nothing to do with my previous post.

That is all.

[Galneda]

At 3/3/11 10:27 PM, Flyingdingo0827 wrote:
%u2022%u2022%u2022

What are these, and why do they appear twice? I know they can't be intentional, but what could cause this?

[BrianEtrius]

At 3/4/11 03:31 AM, SkeletonGimp wrote: As you know, I have a big thing for character and linear story line and those photos from last time oozed with it. You felt like there was a story to be told from these pictures. Had this been a challange to pick one of the pictures, it would have been a bit easier. I suppose though that's my linear thinking getting in the way of things. I'm too stuck in convervative styles, in part due to my traditionalist Grammar School up bringing.

Interesting, you're looking more towards the denotations than the connotations. Well, my advice to you is try making the focus on one picture but incorporate elements from the others in as well.

At 3/4/11 02:47 PM, Phobotech wrote: What are these, and why do they appear twice? I know they can't be intentional, but what could cause this?

They are intentional; they are space markers but NG doesn't have them as part of the font.

[Flyingdingo0827]

At 3/4/11 02:47 PM, Phobotech wrote:

At 3/3/11 10:27 PM, Flyingdingo0827 wrote:
%u2022%u2022%u2022

What are these, and why do they appear twice? I know they can't be intentional, but what could cause this?

When I first wrote the story, I used bullets (as in those dots used to list items) to indicate a break in the story. The reason they appear twice is because the story is separated into three sections or parts. So that's what caused that to appear and why they appear twice, hope that clarifies some things.

[Galneda]

Right on, thanks for clearing that up