Please post stories in the other thread. This thread is for discussion, questions, concerns, etc...
At 9/17/19 12:23 PM, Fro wrote: Please post stories in the other thread. This thread is for discussion, questions, concerns, etc...
Is there a prompt this year?
Or is it just a free-for-all?
At 9/19/19 01:27 PM, Timmy wrote:At 9/17/19 12:23 PM, Fro wrote: Please post stories in the other thread. This thread is for discussion, questions, concerns, etc...Is there a prompt this year?
Or is it just a free-for-all?
It has to be Halloween or horror related.
FINALLY ! Another writing contest :D
Prizes:
$100 to 1st place.
Woah!! Fro is really serious about this one, so we should be too !
Also, thanks for the heads up on posting to notepad and then over to newgrounds. (I'm assuming this will work for underlining?)
Spooky, creepy time, coming right up !!
*xin laugh*
I hope we get bundles of participants !!
Also, I'm guessing Fro is judging ?
*xin laugh*
At 9/20/19 09:26 AM, Xinxinix wrote: FINALLY ! Another writing contest :D
Prizes:Woah!! Fro is really serious about this one, so we should be too !
$100 to 1st place.
Tom is serious about it. :P
Also, thanks for the heads up on posting to notepad and then over to newgrounds. (I'm assuming this will work for underlining?)
I don't think any formatting comes across at all. That's why I liked copying form there into an old blog because it came perfectly clean and then I could work on the format in the blog post prior to actually posting it on newgrounds. That was actually a copy and paste before we had the edit post option though so it may be out dated information. Before, once you posted it you were done.
Spooky, creepy time, coming right up !!
This is my favorite time of year to judge competitions.
At 9/20/19 08:08 AM, LiamRomK wrote:At 9/19/19 01:27 PM, Timmy wrote:It has to be Halloween or horror related.At 9/17/19 12:23 PM, Fro wrote: Please post stories in the other thread. This thread is for discussion, questions, concerns, etc...Is there a prompt this year?
Or is it just a free-for-all?
https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1444937
I haven't done a prompt for Halloween in years because I'm always blown away by the crazy and creepy things people can come up with when they're not limited.
At 9/20/19 09:27 AM, Xinxinix wrote: I hope we get bundles of participants !!
Also, I'm guessing Fro is judging ?
Most likely just me unless someone volunteers.
With poetry being my first writing love, I'm going to attempt to prove you wrong (Fro!) by adding a short one at the beginning of my very short story.
At 9/17/19 12:23 PM, Fro wrote: Please post stories in the other thread. This thread is for discussion, questions, concerns, etc...
good morning afternoon or evening whichever the case may be... I have returned to rock the house, perhaps I will write a stroy perhaps not just to let you know sir I will be dedicating my time to the writeing forum here so if you need any help please let me know...
thnk you jason
In Case of Emergency Before 911 Pray 611 and Afterword Sing a Revolutionary 9611.
Genesis 9 Hebrews 11.Matthew 6 Luke 11.Psalm 96 Revolution 11 {Witness The Music}
At 9/23/19 12:55 AM, Peaceblossom wrote: For $100 I'll come out of hiding and give this a go. I recently submitted to a $1000 contest with an entry fee but I'm not feeling like I'll do well with that. I've got ghosts on the brain now. Let's do this!
Well this brings up an interesting concept. A very simple concept, but an interesting one nonetheless. We could attempt to run writing competitions again in the upcoming year if we held an entry fee and redistributed said fee to the top 3 winners. I always felt they had low turn out because there wasn't a prize involved, but we could do like a $5 to $10 entry fee.
How much was the entry fee for the one you entered?
I did poetry last year as a submission. This year I will be doing a story. Just hoping it turns out well.
I'm excited to see another writing contest. I'll try my best to get something submitted for this one, I was sad I didn't have time to participate in the contests earlier this year.
At 9/28/19 12:05 PM, Peaceblossom wrote: So I just read a few horror short stories in preparation for my entry. I've never been big into the horror genre before. I'd highly recommend to anyone writing a short story to give some of the classics a go. Poe has a mildly chilling mood that I find very relatable in his works, and he absolutely nails the feeling of mania / madness. Stephen King writes horrifying and chilling short stories if you haven't read them. The Jaunt left me spooked all morning.
I can't wait to see what this competition brings. I want to be spooked by you guys and hopefully the cash prize brings out some of the best from all of you. Good luck to everyone, I've finished outlining my tale and look forward to reading all of yours!
Yes, reading some horror is a really good idea, especially if you're new to writing scary stuff like I am :P
I recently finished Stephen King's Carrie which I think is great preparation because
- It's short and compact (like our own short stories are bound to be), and
- (Obviously) it's scary, shocking in places, and will teach you to ramp up that suspense and finish with a blood-soaked climax (if that's what you're going for).
Never read any of King's short stories though. Hopefully I'll find time to read the Jaunt before I've finished writing my own story and it'll influence it for the better.
At 10/1/19 09:21 PM, Peaceblossom wrote: Normally I would have waited til near the end of the contest to post my work, however I felt like I wanted to set the bar early with my piece. If anyone would like to offer their thoughts / cc on my work I would very much appreciate it. I'm also willing to offer a critique on anything you have written if you would like :)
Now that I've got this banged off, I may start another! Thanks everyone!
I thought your story was excellent! Your prose flowed smoothly and your dialogue was realistic and natural (dialogue is something I always have trouble with myself). I guessed what the twist would be before it was revealed but that wasn't really a bad thing (deceiving the reader is always difficult). The build up to the reveal was steady and gradual, not too slow, not too fast, and very suspenseful.
It's entirely possible that this one will win (but I'll do my best to give you a run for your money :D). I plan to post my story a little later this month. A short critique would be great once I post it. Good look to you and everyone else entering the competition!
Thanks for the response! Glad you enjoyed it. I've definitely identified you as my biggest competition. I really liked your past works in these contests and I look forward to reading yours.
Oh thanks so much! Really glad my writing's being appreciated.
I thought that I was not going to make one this month, but I pushed through it and made the longest short story I've made so far. All I need to do is wait for Icedragon64. I want to see what sort of story he'll come up with. :)
TheVanillaLog
In an attempt to avoid doing my homework, I just might sit down and write a spooky story.
Writing this comment because I want indentations in my story and for some reason whenever I copy/paste a story here it removes all my indentations. This is a test.
This sentence has one indentation.
This sentence has two indentations.
At 10/19/19 09:52 AM, LiamRomK wrote: Writing this comment because I want indentations in my story and for some reason whenever I copy/paste a story here it removes all my indentations. This is a test.
This sentence has one indentation.
This sentence has two indentations.
Right, so Newgrounds always removes indentations. That's kind of annoying but no big deal.
At 10/19/19 09:52 AM, LiamRomK wrote: Writing this comment because I want indentations in my story and for some reason whenever I copy/paste a story here it removes all my indentations. This is a test.
This sentence has one indentation.
This sentence has two indentations.
Try indenting on a news post and make sure it looks good there, then you can copy it over on to the writing competition.
At 10/19/19 09:58 AM, Fro wrote:At 10/19/19 09:52 AM, LiamRomK wrote: Writing this comment because I want indentations in my story and for some reason whenever I copy/paste a story here it removes all my indentations. This is a test.Try indenting on a news post and make sure it looks good there, then you can copy it over on to the writing competition.
This sentence has one indentation.
This sentence has two indentations.
You can also use the justify button. I think that's what it's called.
Center
Right
At 10/19/19 10:00 AM, Fro wrote:At 10/19/19 09:58 AM, Fro wrote:You can also use the justify button. I think that's what it's called.At 10/19/19 09:52 AM, LiamRomK wrote: Writing this comment because I want indentations in my story and for some reason whenever I copy/paste a story here it removes all my indentations. This is a test.Try indenting on a news post and make sure it looks good there, then you can copy it over on to the writing competition.
This sentence has one indentation.
This sentence has two indentations.
Center
Right
Can't indent on news posts either. It's ok, I'll separate my paragraphs with spaces between them instead. Thanks anyway.
At 10/20/19 12:01 AM, Peaceblossom wrote:At 10/19/19 10:07 AM, LiamRomK wrote: Can't indent on news posts either. It's ok, I'll separate my paragraphs with spaces between them instead. Thanks anyway.I was trying to find a workaround for this for stylistic reasons but I decided against trying to hack something in with Unicode characters or something similar. I also wanted to start my first few words with small caps but again if I did it in some sort of janky workaround I thought it might not work on all browsers or computers and be inaccessible to some readers. I'm sure that with everyone on a level playing field for formatting we'll all be judged the same.
True. I'm going to try five spaces for indenting instead.
At 10/20/19 06:23 AM, LiamRomK wrote:At 10/20/19 12:01 AM, Peaceblossom wrote:True. I'm going to try five spaces for indenting instead.At 10/19/19 10:07 AM, LiamRomK wrote: Can't indent on news posts either. It's ok, I'll separate my paragraphs with spaces between them instead. Thanks anyway.I was trying to find a workaround for this for stylistic reasons but I decided against trying to hack something in with Unicode characters or something similar. I also wanted to start my first few words with small caps but again if I did it in some sort of janky workaround I thought it might not work on all browsers or computers and be inaccessible to some readers. I'm sure that with everyone on a level playing field for formatting we'll all be judged the same.
Crap, that doesn't work either! Haha. You're right, if nobody can indent we'll all be judged the same.
At 10/18/19 11:18 PM, Peaceblossom wrote:At 10/16/19 01:32 PM, Kiwi wrote: In an attempt to avoid doing my homework, I just might sit down and write a spooky story.Just read your story, and I really enjoyed it. Not your typical horror story but chilling and dark nonetheless. Loved the rhyming, and very relatable I think for most of us.
Best of luck to you in the contest! If you have more stuff like this I'd love to give it a read.
Hey, thank you!! This means a lot coming from you, you've written some really good content on here over the years. I thought about doing a few more, like a mini series spooky Halloween kinda thing, but the stories are easier to piece together in my head than to actually write on paper haha
I goring to try to make a funny and stupid story for this competition. but musty stupid.
I am not win, but at least I try.
I like Pizza!
At 10/26/19 03:28 PM, Peaceblossom wrote: @LiamRomK I just noticed you posted. I will have to give this a read when I get the chance and I'll try to get back to you with some feedback if you'd still like! I'm very excited to read it. Noticed it was a long one too! Best of luck in the contest!
Sorry about the long post. I really did intend when I started it to be less than 5000 words. While I was writing it I was thinking it was quite good but as I read over it to spellcheck and polish it yesterday I realised it really wasn't that great. Posted it anyway.
I just posted a second story for fun. It's my first time trying to write something more dialog driven and I'd appreciate any feedback anyone has. Thanks!
I'll be glad to read another one of your stories. Really liked your first one.
Sorry about the long post. I really did intend when I started it to be less than 5000 words. While I was writing it I was thinking it was quite good but as I read over it to spellcheck and polish it yesterday I realised it really wasn't that great. Posted it anyway.
Please ignore that mopy post I just made. I was in a bad mood yesterday, haha. My story isn't bad at all and I would appreciate a short critique if you get the time to read it.
I just posted a second story for fun. It's my first time trying to write something more dialog driven and I'd appreciate any feedback anyone has. Thanks!
Another great story, dialogue is definitely your strong point. The only critique I would have is that the shock ending, while introduced gradually, sort of comes from nowhere. I'd recommend introducing some subtle hints in the first part of the story that suggest the surprise to come without giving anything away. Otherwise, excellent.
I think we all feel good and bad about our work, differently on different days. I really liked it. Some of the best horror happens in space and sci-fi settings. I always forget about these settings, but the cold expanse of space and the emotionlessness or robots and AI systems have always been a spooky and uncomfortable thing to play with. You did it really well. It was long but I don't see anywhere that you could have removed detail and still had the same emotional impact. I think AI going haywire is a very real concern, even moreso today. You look at HAL in 2001 a Space Odyssey and they didn't have AI systems at the time, but we have self-driving cars that learned to drive (ie weren't just programmed to drive with rules) and this becomes reality more and more every day. If I had one negative thing to say, I'd say that sometimes you explain how people are feeling rather than showing us how they're feeling through actions, which might just be a personal preference of mine, but I think it makes the read more enjoyable when the reader has to interpret actions as emotions. It just helps me connect to the characters and empathize a bit more. Overall a very good read. Keep writing, man!
Thanks for all that. Yeah, believe it or not I've never seen 2001, but I know its really famous and important so I should really get around to watching that. I based Aima off rogues AIs from video games like Portal and System Shock (but I think Aima had less of a pesonality). You were right that I need to show character through actions more. I think I'm so comfortable in narrating all the time that it makes my dialogue and character action suffer. I'll try and amend that in my next story.
Thanks for the feedback. I know it was a little surprising and fast, and the voice of my characters didn't seem consistent with any single English dialect. I was trying to show them getting drunker, but for some reason they regressed into Southern United States 1930s people? Haha. This could use some workshopping before I posted it for sure, but it was just supposed to be fun and add some extra content for anyone interested in this contest. I pulled a lot of inspiration from Salinger on this. His endings can be quite surprising in his short stories, though I think he includes a lot more depth to his characters which is what makes his stories good. He wrote a lot about the upper class post wwii and their strange struggles and what made them bad people and lonely and miserable. You should check out A Perfect Day For Bananafish if you get the chance.
I will. That reminds me. I did listen to The Jaunt in the end. I think if I had time to write another story I'd make it more compact and build it up to one big scary bit near the end like Stephen King did.
Oh one more thing I wanted to ask: HOW THE HELL DID YOU MANAGE TO USE INDENTATIONS ON A NEWGROUNDS POST? You were able to put them before paragraphs and dialogue. I tried all sorts before I posted my story and was never able to make it work.
Just got my story up there - would have loved a couple of extra passes at it but I'm at a wedding for a few days so won't get a chance unfortunately.
Looking forward to reading everyone's stories! If anyone wants to send me feedback, or would like some feedback, that would be great!
