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[Cyan]

Theme - "No Man's Land"

Word Limit: 2,000

Submission Deadline: Friday, March 27 by 11:59 PM Pacific.

Voting begins Saturday, March 28, and goes until Monday, March 30 at 11:59 PM Pacific.

Grace Periods: Each of the above deadlines will be followed by a 6-hour grace period. Submissions made after the end of the grace period will be ineligible, and votes cast after the end of the grace period will not be counted. Remember that these are grace periods, not extensions of the deadline--you should still submit your work or cast your vote by the deadline set above.

Optional Secondary Objective: Multiple senses

Try to include multiple senses in your descriptions. Not just how a place looks, but how it sounds, how it smells, the feel or temperature.

Submission Guidelines:

- One entry per poster.
- All submissions must be written during the time of the challenge.
- Using the topic as the title of your piece is discouraged.
- Keep to the word count!

Voting Guidelines:

- Three votes per voter. Please denote in your voting your 1st (3 pts), 2nd (2 pts), and 3rd (1 pt) place votes.
- Please read all submissions before voting.
- You must vote in order to be eligible to win the challenge.
- When voting ends, the winner gets a collective pat on the back, and starts the new challenge.

NeoGAF Creative Writing Challenge FAQ
Previous Challenge Threads and Themes

 

[Cyan]

Just so we don't get nothing but WWI stories, some other meanings:

The Oxford English Dictionary contains a reference to the term dating back to 1320, and spelled nonesmanneslond, when the term was used to describe a disputed territory or one over which there was legal disagreement. The same term was later used as the name for the piece of land outside the north wall of London that was assigned as the place of execution. The term was applied to a little-used area on ships called the forecastle, a place where various ropes, tackle, block, and other supplies were stored.

And as always remember that your interpretation can be metaphorical, allegorical, tangential, whatever.

 

[Pau]

Maybe I'll submit some Batman: No Man's Land fan fiction.

 

[Cyan]

Maybe I'll submit some Batman: No Man's Land fan fiction.

Ha! Well, we don't have any rules against writing fanfic. If it gets you writing, it's all good!

 

[Ourobolus]

Crap. I am just awful at exposition, IMO.

 

[Rock And Roll]

Congratulations on the win Cyan!

 

[Ourobolus]

Gonna do a story about two kids fighting in the backseat of the car. Expect toilet humor.

 

[Mike M]

Gonna do I don't know what.

 

[Red]

Subbin

 

[WJD]

Murder mystery set in an all-girl catholic school it is!

 

[Maklershed]

sub

 

[Charade]

Congrats Cyan!

And oh snap, I think I have a promising idea for this...

 

[LaMagenta]

Congratulations Cyan!

I can't believe I missed the horror challenge. This is a very busy month for me, but even if I can't write I enjoy reading the stories. BTW, am I allowed to vote if I don't write a story?

 

[Cyan]

Congratulations Cyan!

I can't believe I missed the horror challenge. This is a very busy month for me, but even if I can't write I enjoy reading the stories. BTW, am I allowed to vote if I don't write a story?

Absolutely! Only requirement to vote is reading everything.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

I might go for a WWI entry anyway. Just had a really neat idea regarding it.

 

[Izuna]

Mine might be the most OTT -- bad writing, but hopefully fun =)

 

[Figments]

Yee, maybe this time I can actually win.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Crap. I am just awful at exposition, IMO.

This isn't really exposition? Exposition is more "This flower makes me think of my long dead wife when I left her back in vietnam trapped in a crocodile" In my mind exposition has always been more like a plot drop.

Spoiler

I could be wrong. i'm kinda dumb with words :<

 

[Cyan]

This isn't really exposition? Exposition is more "This flower makes me think of my long dead wife when I left her back in vietnam trapped in a crocodile" In my mind exposition has always been more like a plot drop.

Spoiler

I could be wrong. i'm kinda dumb with words :<

Yeah, exposition is basically dumping information about backstory or the world.

 

[Sethista]

when will the hangout for writting be? I would like to participate this time

 

[Icyflamez96]

edit

 

[Mike M]

when will the hangout for writting be? I would like to participate this time

Sunday at 2 PST

 

[Tangent]

Congrats Cyan!!! A well-deserved win!

Just so we don't get nothing but WWI stories...

Gosh that wasn't even the first thing that came to my mind. Funny brains.

And as always remember that your interpretation can be metaphorical, allegorical, tangential, whatever.

I'll go with tangential.

 

[Cyan]

I'll go with tangential.

(Pretty sure I was thinking of you when I wrote that. )

 

[Izuna]

=!

Had to scrap what I wrote. Not because it as really bad, but because it had nothing to do with the topic...

 

[Cyan]

=!

Had to scrap what I wrote. Not because it as really bad, but because it had nothing to do with the topic...

Honestly that happens a lot. It's not a huge problem if your story idea ends up taking a bunch of turns and isn't as related to the theme as you originally thought.

 

[Mike M]

Yeah, my route of inspiration has left me with something that's in no way identifiable with the theme, but I'm pressing ahead anyway because fuck everything.

 

[Ourobolus]

Yeah, my route of inspiration has left me with something that's in no way identifiable with the theme, but I'm pressing ahead anyway because fuck everything.

Sounds like you're heading into No Man's Land.

 

[Red]

Any recommendations for < 2,000 word fiction? I don't read a lot of flash.

 

[Ourobolus]

Any recommendations for < 2,000 word fiction? I don't read a lot of flash.

Just pick any of the ones I've written here. Top-notch, the lot of them. These peasants here don't understand my genius.

 

[Sethista]

Sunday at 2 PST

6 pm brazil time, I can make it, cool.

 

[Ashes]

Any recommendations for < 2,000 word fiction? I don't read a lot of flash.

Go nuts:
http://www.onlineclasses.org/resources/the-50-best-short-stories-of-all-time/

I read all of those in a single summer for a Gaf Masterclass thing.

My favourites are probably not on that list. Namely, Joyce's The Dead. & Checkhov's The Misery.

 

[Red]

Go nuts:
http://www.onlineclasses.org/resources/the-50-best-short-stories-of-all-time/

I read all of those in a single summer for a Gaf Masterclass thing.

My favourites are probably not on that list. Namely, Joyce's The Dead. & Checkhov's The Misery.

The Dead flirts with the novella at nearly 16,000 words.

Misery is a good recommendation at around 2,000. The list you provided has a huge variation in word length, but I'm specifically looking for stories that are 2,000 words or less. Short shorts or flash fiction. Thank you for the help though.

 

[Cyan]

16k would typically fall under novelette at least.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Go nuts:
http://www.onlineclasses.org/resources/the-50-best-short-stories-of-all-time/

I read all of those in a single summer for a Gaf Masterclass thing.

My favourites are probably not on that list. Namely, Joyce's The Dead. & Checkhov's The Misery.

Pretty good list. Can never go wrong with Catherine Mansfield.

The Dead flirts with the novella at nearly 16,000 words.

Misery is a good recommendation at around 2,000. The list you provided has a huge variation in word length, but I'm specifically looking for stories that are 2,000 words or less. Short shorts or flash fiction. Thank you for the help though.

You can always google "short stories" That'll probably yield a couple online magazines and such with some stories closer to the word limits we use.

 

[Izuna]

Oh holy shit, I thought the deadline was today!

 

[Cyan]

Oh holy shit, I thought the deadline was today!

Noooooope, you've got another week. We run these every two weeks.

 

[Red]

While we're throwing out short story recommendations I figure I may as well contribute. The short which had the greatest impact on me was Emily Ruskovich's "Owl," one-story magazine's issue #190. Issue #198, "An Inventory," by Joan Wickersham, was also poignant and memorable.

@Ashes:
The Dead is an old classic, but I've always thought Joyce was a little too puzzling for casual reading. His stories beg for critical analysis and don't offer much up on first, second, or even third readings. He was very much a product of his time and place. The Dead is the only story in all of Dubliners that really spoke to a profound world, the rest spoke to the profane. What's most interesting about the collection is you can experience his growth as a writer as you pass from story to story. Outside of maybe After the Race all his shorts are worth the while of careful readers, even if their secrets won't properly reveal themselves without a full course of study.

 

[Cyan]

Just as a reminder, the hangout will be in about two hours.

 

[Cyan]

Hangout is up! Quote to see link:

For any new folks, the writing hangouts are structured as ten minutes of chat, thirty minutes of writing with mics off. A webcam or even a mic are not required, and everyone is welcome.

We'll start at 2. I'm going to need to duck out a little early today, so I might have to ask someone else to time the final writing period.

 

[Sethista]

Hangout is up! Quote to see link:

For any new folks, the writing hangouts are structured as ten minutes of chat, thirty minutes of writing with mics off. A webcam or even a mic are not required, and everyone is welcome.

We'll start at 2. I'm going to need to duck out a little early today, so I might have to ask someone else to time the final writing period.

.

 

[Red]

Pro Multis (1983 words)

Password:

 

[Jack Remington]

Gonna try to enter.

 

[Cyan]

Great hangout, folks. Impressive turnout!

I'll have to remember next time that when there are new folks we should all introduce ourselves and not just assume everyone can match gaf handles to faces.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Great hangout, folks. Impressive turnout!

I'll have to remember next time that when there are new folks we should all introduce ourselves and not just assume everyone can match gaf handles to faces.

My handle is perfect because people see my name and instantly know. The only one who probs beats it is Mike

 

[Sethista]

Great hangout, folks. Impressive turnout!

I'll have to remember next time that when there are new folks we should all introduce ourselves and not just assume everyone can match gaf handles to faces.

Great turnout indeed, it was alot f fun, and helped me alot alot with my story.

We did talk about a cool idea in the hanging out that we need some feedback from everyone,

What if we compiled all winners into a short story book format, and published it?

It would be only a matter of compiling the past winners, getting their ok to publishing it, and start looking into the available ways we could self publish.

It would also be a great way to up the stakes for the winners moving forward, we could have multiple editions with time.

We could even open a KS for print, if we were to be so inclined, down the road.

What do you guys think?

 

[Rock And Roll]

I like that idea, it gives a lot of incentive for everyone to put out their best work

 

[Mathaou]

If only I was a good writer.

 

[Cyan]

If only I was a good writer.

Well... one way to become a good writer is to practice.

 

[Red]

I think story is more important than skillful writing. I consider myself a good writer, but a not-so-good storyteller. Which is demoralizing, because good writing without good story is a waste of time. It's masturbation for the supercilious mind.