IWT8- The Results!

[Vesnic]

I noticed him lurking for awhile yesterday (and specifically checking out the IWT pages--I know this because I'm a stalker and enjoy tracking people's movements.). I noticed similar behavior on other occasions when he'd pop in without saying hello (or, apparently, giving any mind to my awesome suggestions on the Suggestions thread). I can only assume that he was really entranced with this contest and was self-motivating to keep up with things. It's nice to see all this happening, though I sort of wish he'd been around to do this kind of stuff back in '07-08. You know, for no particular reason.

In other news, Bat now hates me. I lose a lot of 'em this way. They think I'm cute and funny but then the opportunity arises for me to read something of theirs with a critical eye and...poof. The magic's gone!

Usoki, please hurry up with the damn topic already. I know it's fun to relish the in-charginess feeling and so on, but there's really no point in dragging this out for too long. If my experience is any indicator, the brilliant idea is not going to flash in your face just because you sit around for an additional week or two.

[BatCountry]

In other news, Bat now hates me. I lose a lot of 'em this way. They think I'm cute and funny but then the opportunity arises for me to read something of theirs with a critical eye and...poof. The magic's gone!

Wait...What?! Vesnic, I don't hate anybody! The main reason I entered this contest was to have people give me honest critiques of my writing! Out of everybody you gave me the best critiques to help me in the future. Magic's gone? Untrue. I am enthralled by your sorceress ways! I think you're funny but I don't know if you're actually cute. You could be a troglodyte, but I wouldn't know. I like to imagine that you're cute and I like to imagine that I'm Charleton Heston circa 1965 riding naked on horseback with you on a sandy beach, into the sunset.



Not sure why you got the impression from me that I was upset. Perhaps my rants on the critiques? 90% of the time, anything I say with malice or anger is usually a joke. I don't get angry easily, especially on the internet where I can't do anything about what anyone says anyway. You remember the post where I said I tend to date nutty chicks? Trust me, I have to be one serene mofo to handle those types of girls. I'm as calm and warm as a windless summer day Miss Ves. I'll give you a hint, if I'm actually angry, I don't say anything at all. I let the hatred consume me from within until I explode in a psychotic rage, murdering all in my furious wake.



So, yeah. Not mad. Actually enjoy all you crazy peeps. Consider me to be a peaceful monk who will occasionally laugh manically, waving a machete in your face just to frighten you, but will never hurt you. I just like the fear.

NOT MAD BRO. 4 REALZ.

[Vesnic]

Uh oh, you guys! The CandyMan is currently "reporting a post". You wanna take bets on whose it is, and why?

[End Master]

That would seem sort of odd for Candy Man as he's always been a thick skinned roll with the punches sort.

[Usoki]

Usoki, please hurry up with the damn topic already. I know it's fun to relish the in-charginess feeling and so on, but there's really no point in dragging this out for too long. If my experience is any indicator, the brilliant idea is not going to flash in your face just because you sit around for an additional week or two.

I see your point, and I'm not arguing with it. But I'd like to hear other people chime in on what they think of the possibilities and/or the technical/half-tech/non-tech grab bag. I am the final say in the matter, but there's not much point in having a contest if everyone hates the option I chose.

[Locke]

I see your point, and I'm not arguing with it. But I'd like to hear other people chime in on what they think of the possibilities and/or the technical/half-tech/non-tech grab bag.

Of the three potential themes you listed, I'd choose The Cynic; it's the most malleable to my mind. As BatCountry mentioned, all three have a strong say in the direction of the story, arguably more than "Science Fiction." My opinion probably counts for less, because I have yet to participate in the tournament, but you asked, and all other things being equal, I'd prefer a theme with a little more ambiguity.

I'm not necessarily opposed to the technical limitations (as long as they are reasonable), but I don't find myself drawn to any of them, and I'm not sure they will benefit the quality of the entries or enjoyment of the tournament. I have always enjoyed the somewhat lax and open-ended nature of the contest/rules.

I'll be happy with just a theme, a theme with a grab bag, or several "a la carte" grab bags (eg one for character, one for scenery, one for whatever randomness you come up with, etc). I'd prefer at least a vague theme to tie the whole thing together, even if it's just a couple of cryptic words, but I suppose the "grab bag" approach or some other kind of direction could also work in the absence of a theme.

[End Master]

We tried the technical thing with the Infinite Loop story and everyone got unmotivated pretty fast with it, even you who originally suggested it!

We also tried the whole artsy thing with attempting a story with deeper meaning and such but again everyone lost motivation and Ves had to slap on porn just to get people to submit something.

The grab bag approach seemed to work well with getting more people to join. I actually didn't mind Drag's suggestion and could still see it working for a larger story. I'd say make the words or phrase choice an even 10 though just to give a little extra breathing room for story variance.

As for your ideas:

Prophecy: I don't think anyone on here has actually written a contest story concerning one so maybe it would be okay. Despite the challenge of trying to NOT make it cliche you'll probably get some grumbles about it being a "boring" idea.

Clueless Outsider: I'm guessing this one might be leaning towards since you are asking for something a little different than the norm around here. People might appreciate this one more than the prophecy one, but then again you could still get grumbles about it.

The Cynic: Pretty sure this is every protagonist I've ever written and at least one character that everyone else has written on here as well. Anyway this one is going to be the easiest for everyone to do if you choose this one. (And then get grumbles about it for not being different enough. You can't win, just pick what you want!)

[BatCountry]

I say you do an anything theme with a grab bag of ten, non-technical items. Prophecy, Cynic and Clueless Outsider could be part of those ten grab bag themes.



Like I said before you could narrow it down by making an "anything" theme into one of the larger genres of writing. Horror, Adventure and Romance are big ones I don't think have been used in the contest before. I for one would love to read a romance story by zac!


I see there was a "From Hell" contest. Maybe a "From Heaven" contest would be interesting.

[donteatpoop]

Create 10-15 character profiles (or even characters) and have everyone incorporate at least three of said characters in the story.

Just thought of that one and figured I'd throw it out there.

If you don't feel like making those characters, have everyone pitch in and make a few.

If you don't choose this, and I ever win; I am going with that.

[zac6251]

No way bat, no way in hell am I ever going to write a romance story.

[Vesnic]

Create 10-15 character profiles (or even characters) and have everyone incorporate at least three of said characters in the story.

Just thought of that one and figured I'd throw it out there.

If you don't feel like making those characters, have everyone pitch in and make a few.

If you don't choose this, and I ever win; I am going with that.

Yes! This idea is awesome! We need something that will be similar enough in each story to make an intelligent comparison, yet interesting enough to motivate people to participate. As long as these characters, or character types, are engaging and writable, then I think this is the best idea yet. I throw my lot in with the poopyman.

[donteatpoop]

They can't be too detailed though, or it'll be too much of a challenge and people won't play. So they would have to be detailed enough to be clearly seperate characters, but vague enough that it won't take too much work to incorporate them into the story.

[Usoki]

I have to admit, that does sound pretty awesome. I'm pretty sure as long as the character list errs on the side of 'huge', it shouldn't be too big of a deal. I mean, it's not like the story is limited to these characters. Or that these characters will be limited to certain genres or plot events.

[donteatpoop]

And by having others submit characters, they will be more invested in the contest (in theory anyway). If not in the writing, we should get more voters. Maybe.

[Usoki]

Yeah, I know. If it were me, I'd be pissed not to be able to submit a character. But there has to be some sort of structure to how that works, or it's going to be a godawful mess of three page psych evaluation sitting next to three short sentences containing more grammatical errors than words. And I'm a power-tripping bastard, so I'd like to have some sort of "Your character is terrible, and so are you" say in the matter. Especially if people try and pass off a near-clone of one of the existing characters as being okay.

I'd be tempted to invoke some sort of "you can't use your own character" rule, but I don't want to follow it, and I'm not so far intoxicated with power as to be a hypocritical asshole. Especially if I also invoke a limit as to how many characters can be made.