First Official Facepunch Writing Competition! Fabulous Prizes! - General

Okay fuck it, I picked up an old story I'd been working on and finished it, Hopefully I submitted it right. Right now it's 23:15 here so I'm hoping everything I wrote isn't a result of sleep deprivation [editline]11:20PM[/editline] could any of the judges tell me if I subbed it correctly? also people were saying the theme is post-apocalyptic earlier, but post apocalyptic is a sub-genre, not a theme. A theme would be something like humanities capacity for self harm, or the distance between the classes.

[QUOTE=strayebyrd;23692443]Okay fuck it, I picked up an old story I'd been working on and finished it, Hopefully I submitted it right. Right now it's 23:15 here so I'm hoping everything I wrote isn't a result of sleep deprivation [editline]11:20PM[/editline] could any of the judges tell me if I subbed it correctly?[/QUOTE] You submitted correctly. If you feel like it's a sleep deprived mess, remember that you can change it in googledocs and our copy will be automatically updated.

To whoever wrote "Mike's Lucky Day," I lol'd.

Eh, I just hope True Hell seems better then I think it does. It just seems like it's missing some...pizazz. I don't know, it's just lacking something that I don't know what. Eh, maybe it'll come to me.

I've gotta say, It's really inspiring to see so many people dusting off old projects and finishing them, all for the sake of a £15 prize.

I really wanted to submit one story I wrote a few months ago, but then I saw the 2000 word limit and I couldn't. Called "Conducti Chronicon", was the story of four different mercenaries and thieves spread across a desert land, each one linked somehow to the others, until they all twisted together at the very end into one story.

[QUOTE=-Dazed-;23670916]We are somewhat strict on how we are accepting entries, so here's a mildly condescending guide for you ^-^. If you need to do it a different way we're here to help. Just email us your concerns and we'll address them promptly :siren: [b]DO NOT POST YOUR STORY IN THIS THREAD. YOU WILL NOT BE BANNED FROM THE COMPETITION, BUT YOU WILL BE REMEMBERED (in a bad way).[/b] :siren: [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/fpguide1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/fpguide2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/fpguide3.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/fpguide4.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/fpguide5.jpg[/IMG] You can go back to your google docs page to edit any time you want before the competition ends.[/QUOTE] Does it have to be Win95 as well?

I submitted my story. Never before in my life have I written something which has made me feel so bad. I've always thought that writing was a fun experience, but creating this was the opposite of fun: it was horrifying. I doubt that it will have the same sort of emotional effect on the readers as it did with me, but I want you to understand that I'm not just being melodramatic. "Darius Says Hello" fucking terrified me. I need a long shower and a good night's sleep.

i just sent mine in. Hopefully, you all got it.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;23695488]I submitted my story. Never before in my life have I written something which has made me feel so bad.[/QUOTE] My story made me feel relatively sad after I had written it. But I was thinking, and there's really a deeper meaning to my story that I hadn't previously recognize. I could tell if you want, though I can't post my story.

tell me if you didn't get or if there are any problems

What he's not telling us is that he's secretly storing all of our stories so he can use them in school and not have to write a short story ever again.

[QUOTE=DudeGuyKT;23695518]My story made me feel relatively sad after I had written it. But I was thinking, and there's really a deeper meaning to my story that I hadn't previously recognize. I could tell if you want, though I can't post my story.[/QUOTE] Man, sad isn't the right word. I feel [i]dirty, guilty[/i]. I feel wholly responsible for the horrific things the character I created did, and the crushing part is that I [b]am[/b]. The fact that all the characters in my story were fictional doesn't make me feel a whole hell of a lot better about that, for some reason.

[QUOTE=Viephemeral;23695542]What he's not telling us is that he's secretly storing all of our stories so he can use them in school and not have to write a short story ever again.[/QUOTE] Dammit! We've been foiled, men!

Gonna start later.

[QUOTE=Slacker996;23695413]Does it have to be Win95 as well?[/QUOTE] Haha... I just hate the Vista theme, so I use the classic theme instead. I think its much cleaner.

I am so depressed. So many people entering stories, and I haven't even had time to fucking start mine yet. :saddowns:

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;23695750]Man, sad isn't the right word. I feel [i]dirty, guilty[/i]. I feel wholly responsible for the horrific things the character I created did, and the crushing part is that I [b]am[/b]. The fact that all the characters in my story were fictional doesn't make me feel a whole hell of a lot better about that, for some reason.[/QUOTE] Case in point - I forgot who said it first, but writers have to have a masochistic side. I know where you're coming from, though. I grow very attached to my characters. Sometimes that's why I write comedy instead. I'm a better dramatic writer, but I've cried for my characters before. [editline]08:46PM[/editline] [QUOTE=Gmod4ever;23696422]I am so depressed. So many people entering stories, and I haven't even had time to fucking start mine yet. :saddowns:[/QUOTE] Ah don't worry. Just force yourself to write. If you wait for inspiration you won't get anywhere. Writers casually don't write any better in their moments of 'inspiration' than in their moments of self inflicted writing. It's all a mind game. Good writing is in the revisions, and not in the moment.

[QUOTE=-Dazed-;23696424]Case in point - I forgot who said it first, but writers have to have a masochistic side. [editline]08:46PM[/editline] Ah don't worry. Just force yourself to write. If you wait for inspiration you won't get anywhere. Writers casually don't write any better in their moments of 'inspiration' than in their moments of self inflicted writing. It's all a mind game. Good writing is in the revisions, and not in the moment.[/QUOTE] I don't mean I don't have any ideas. I mean I have had literally no time to myself to write (at least, no more than fifteen minutes or so at a time). I really want to continue with this story I started a while back, but the word limit is really restricting it. I mean, it's already at two thousand words, and nothing happens. [url=http://www.mediafire.com/?0se0yf9v75chm94]Untitled[/url]

[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;23696683]I don't mean I don't have any ideas. I mean I have had literally no time to myself to write (at least, no more than fifteen minutes or so at a time). I really want to continue with this story I started a while back, but the word limit is really restricting it. I mean, it's already at two thousand words, and nothing happens. [url=http://www.mediafire.com/?0se0yf9v75chm94]Untitled[/url][/QUOTE] That's the challenge of a short story. Admittedly our limit is a little bit smaller (by about 1000 words) than most real short story competitions. But we did that for a couple of reasons. We didn't want to make our limit deadly strict like the professionals do, and we wanted to keep people from rambling too much. This 2000 limit allows people to go over, but also understand that too much more is completely unacceptable (we will not appreciate it if you're writing a 3500 word story. Also, budding writers tend to add a lot of extraneous bullshit. I wanted the limit to help people cut down on that.

Well if you consider my writing to be full of extraneous bullshit, then I suppose you can consider me out, since that story is how I write. I'm not going to even try and challenge myself to write a good three-page story if my writing is full of bullshit. When the competition for not-short stories comes around, give me a ring, though. I'll probably jump in on that.

[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;23696913]Well if you consider my writing to be full of extraneous bullshit, then I suppose you can consider me out, since that story is how I write. I'm not going to even try and challenge myself to write a good three-page story if my writing is full of bullshit.[/QUOTE] That's taking my words out of context... How could I be insulting your piece if I haven't even read it? I'm saying that new writers (including myself, especially) tend to add details that may be good in a novel, but don't work in short story writing. You need to clutch the plot for a short story. A good novel writer isn't necessarily a good short story writer, but it's hard to run a competition for long stories. There's a time and place for a Steinbeck-like tangential writing, but short stories isn't it.

[QUOTE=-Dazed-;23696941]That's taking my words out of context... How could I insult your piece if I haven't even read it? I'm saying that new writers (including myself, especially) tend to add details that may be good in a novel, but don't work in short story writing. You need to clutch the plot for a short story.[/QUOTE] I was implying you didn't read the story. :wink: As for the second part, I understand that. I write novels (or try to). Exclusively. If I'm going to even consider writing a short story, I'm going to need to start reading some. If only I didn't return that T. Coraghessan Boyle book of 70+ short stories he wrote...

[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;23697038]I was implying you didn't read the story. :wink: As for the second part, I understand that. I write novels (or try to). Exclusively. If I'm going to even consider writing a short story, I'm going to need to start reading some. If only I didn't return that T. Coraghessan Boyle book of 70+ short stories he wrote...[/QUOTE] Ah, indeed, I was trying to make that post a little more 'advice for everyone' instead of pointed towards you. Mah bad.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;23695488]I submitted my story. Never before in my life have I written something which has made me feel so bad. I've always thought that writing was a fun experience, but creating this was the opposite of fun: it was horrifying. I doubt that it will have the same sort of emotional effect on the readers as it did with me, but I want you to understand that I'm not just being melodramatic. "Darius Says Hello" fucking terrified me. I need a long shower and a good night's sleep.[/QUOTE] When the judging is over you should post it. In fact we should post everyones when the judging is over.

[QUOTE=Fenriswolf;23697266]When the judging is over you should post it. In fact we should post everyones when the judging is over.[/QUOTE] It depends on the number of entries, but certainly. At the end of the contest everyone will be informed of the results and asked for permission to post their story. The posting will go something like Winners: [insert winner's stories], Honorable mentions: [insert honorable mention's stories], and Other: [insert all other stories].

I'm gonna try to get a story in before the deadline. Can't think of a plot. I'm not much of a drama writer anyway, but I think I can do it if I just find a storyline... I'm great at writing individual scenes, dialogue, etc. I'm just terrible at creating a plot to build on in the first place.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;23695750]Man, sad isn't the right word. I feel [i]dirty, guilty[/i]. I feel wholly responsible for the horrific things the character I created did, and the crushing part is that I [b]am[/b]. The fact that all the characters in my story were fictional doesn't make me feel a whole hell of a lot better about that, for some reason.[/QUOTE] I know how you feel. I have one story I wrote where I knew that at the end, the character would commit suicide. But, as I wrote more and more on the character, I began to grow attached to him, I began to hate myself for planning his death like this. I grew more and more pissed until I just had the character shoot himself. Then I felt somewhat empty inside. [editline]10:59PM[/editline] Also, sad was the right word for me because of what my character had to do.

Do sci-fi

I started last night. War Drama FTW!