Write With Your Power XII
TALES!
OF!
INTEREST!
TALES!
OF!
INTEREST!
Overview
Welcome to the latest installment of the Write With Your Power contest! I've done my fair share of judging, as you know, but I haven't judged in a fair while now. I'm excited to step to the mantle once again. tmw_redcell is an ancient mythical beast that may or may not exist. Some say he judged the original Write With Your Power. Some also say they have frequent intercourse with Bigfoot, so take these claims with a grain of salt.
At any rate, we feel we've got something very fun in store for you.
The prompt for WWYP XII is:
Write a story where it turns out it's Man.
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For this WWYP, we were smitten by the idea of expanding on a humorous idea. It began as a joke. How far could you take this idea, really? Writing stories where it turns out it's Man?
Ultimately, as we explored as many possibilities as we could, Redcell and I found that there was a great deal of versatility with the prompt. What's the "it"? What does "it" being Man mean? What does this reflect about the world of the story you wrote, and the people within it? For that matter, how does it "turn" out to be man? It isn't necessarily a man stepping out of a pod chamber, that's for sure.
Once we established this, we knew we had a goldmine here. You can be as literal or figurative as you want. You can write a comical story, or a dead serious one. Your execution of the prompt -- and the creativity with which you do so -- are going to be paramount in this contest. It's all you, baby!
Have fun with this like you know you can, and I'm sure we'll have just as much fun reading it!
Now for the stuff you've probably read already but read it again:
Rules
1) NO PLAGIARISM- If your entry is found to be plagiarized, you will be banned from the contest and further repercussions will be enforced. Do not do it. Period.
Deadly Turnip Corollary- No posting any stories that have been previously posted on another forum or website, even if you were the original author. All stories must be first seen here to be eligible for competition.
2) Post your story in a thread before the deadline - Currently, the deadline is negotiable. We're aiming for a month deadline (06/24/10), but we're open to extension. We'll have a better idea of this once word of mouth spreads and people start entering. When you post your thread, make the title of the thread "WWYP XII -*Your Story Title Here*" and I will sticky it and you will be set. However, the stories will be locked at least by midnight on the deadline and you will no longer be able to edit them, so make sure you have it exactly the way you want it by the deadline. Also, post the word count at the beginning of your story just so we have a ball park estimate of how long it is.
Also in regards to this, Redcell and I are keeping the "Set in Stone" date option. For those that have judged before, you know how hectic it is to get all of the entries done once the deadline hits. So, if you finish your story and PM me telling me your story is absolutely finished in every way shape in form, I will lock the thread and Redcell and I will judge it whenever we have the time and record the comments/scores. So there should be no difference in the final placings and Redcell and I will have an easier time judging
3) Follow the Word Limit - Since we're real men, the word limit will be 10,000 words. These boundaries have a little leeway (if you have 10,200 words you're perfectly fine) but if you write a 20,000 word story then it will be taken into account in the judges' placings. Although we're being incredibly lenient with the word limit, if you go over by a substantial amount it will still hurt you significantly. This, however, should not be a problem.
4) Have Fun - Really, the point of this contest isn't to just win or place, but to write something you enjoy and have a good time doing it. So try to place, but don't be discouraged if you just barely miss the cut.
And on line with the last rule, Redcell and I decided to keep the option available to new entrants that may be a little intimidated in entering a a writing contest for the first time. For them, they can have their story reviewed and critiqued by the judges but not actually have it scored against the other stories. If some one wishes to do this, just make the title of your thread "WWYP XII - *Your Story Title Here* (NS)" so we know it is a Non Scoring entry.
Judging
Currently the judges are:
1) EE
2) tmw_redcell
He who must not be named will have no part in judging whatsoever.
The Judging Rubric
The judges will grade the stories based on the Scurvy Rubric, listed as follows:
Adherence to Prompt -
Virgilijus - How interwoven is your story to the guidelines? If the prompt were a genre, could some one read it and instantly know the prompt was fantasy or satire? If they can, you followed it well. If not, you avoided it too much. Also, the prompt should be well utilized: a story that requires a mythical object should use it for all its potential worth, not merely mention it and check it off the list.
Matt - These points should be easy to earn. How well did you engage the guidelines? Did you engage them creatively? Did you engage them with your power? If I ask you to use a gun in your story, will you give me knife? Take risks, but don't disregard our basic expectations.
Tone -
Virgilijus - The overall mood of the story; the feeling that you get when you read it. This is made up by the setting, characters, dialogue, and the imagery. Unless it is directed by the prompt, the tone for each story should be different, but they should all impact the reader. A good tone should get the reader immersed in the story, whether or not it is from blissful country sides or horrifying mad men. How real is your story in the readers mind?
S*** - Tone is made up of character (do your characters seem real? do they talk real? are they interesting), setting (Does your story have a sense of place? Of time? Are we always oriented?) and imagery (can we see what's going on?)
Style -
Virgilijus - This is what separates your story from others of the same plot. How do you describe people, actions, and places? What rhythm do your words have? How quickly do you move the plot? Style is your paintbrush to show why your painting of little girl is different and more powerful than some one else’s.
S*** - The most technical of the categories. Did you use proper spelling and grammar? Did you try to push the envelope with your sentence structure? Did you construct the plot in a significant manner? This category relies heavily on phrasing and specifics.
Enjoyment -
Virgilijus - Enjoyment is the immediate and long lasting appeal of your story. While we were reading it, was it a page turner? After we finished, did we sit and think about the theme or the final scene? Is your story an accomplishment, or just words with a beginning, middle and end?
Matt- An enjoyable story brings plot elements and theme and, frankly, everything listed above together in a way that is both memorable and engaging. We're talking about the WOW factor here, and these types of points aren't easy to earn.
The judges will only present the final placings of the contestants once the contest is over.
Awards
Due to the new "Free Avatars for Everybody" policy here at SWF, the awards have changed slightly.
1st Place - Smash Writer Status, Custom Title, and a third prize to be determined
2nd Place - Smash Writer Status and a Custom Title
3rd Place - Smash Writer Status
Any questions? Concerns? Comments? Insults directed at S***? Fire away. We especially love the S*** slapping part.
And always (always, always) remember to...
Write With Your Power!
