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Tim the Wiz · Jul 4, 2011

Theme - "New World"

Word Limit: 3000

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, July 13th by 11:59 PM PST.

Voting begins Thursday, July 14th, and goes until Sunday, July 17th at 11:59 PM PST.

Optional Secondary Objective: Creative Non-Fiction

I know we tried something like this with ronito's thread several challenges ago, but I'd like to make this one more strictly non-fiction. Narrative, yes, but involving factually accurate events. To be more clear: "[A] radically subjective account of events that objectively took place." See this as a chance to exercise your writing voice or style. So, no Frey-Seltzer type shenanigans, please.

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

ZephyrFate · Jul 4, 2011

I think I'll do a Frey-Seltzer type thing for this one

Puddles · Jul 4, 2011

With all the traveling I've done lately, I should be able to come up with something good for this challenge.

Time to go through my old travel journals and photo albums for inspiration.

Ashes · Jul 4, 2011

Just got out of all nighter... Sorry guys... Well done Tim the wiz... Here was what I finally went with:

-Copernicus- The Masks We Wear-
=Hero=-Fear Girl-
-Sin- irish/dnd
Bootaaay - -The Old Man and His Lover-
Dissonance- ThoseDeafMutes
-Me- Tim the Wiz
A Day in the Life Elfforkusu
Masque crow
Without Beer tangent
"Manifold" or "I am Legion' John Dunbar
A Change of Heart Cyan
Summer Ale - Lone_Prodigy
Pretending - Puddles
I'm the Bear - dnd
An Ancient Lesson Retold vDaedalus
Father's Day - dresden

And I am of course: the one everybody and his dog guessed right: Peaks and Valleys

Ashes · Jul 4, 2011

I got all but two last time. I guess this just proves what a fluke last time was...

Still, I got a couple right this time. Which is cool...

Edit: Just went and checked the last thread we did this in... I got dresden and scribble mucked up. But he didn't enter so I had to blind guess...

British Monsoon · Jul 4, 2011

Congrats on the win Tim

Mine was

Masque

if anyone cares. I had no idea who anyone else's was, but I hope I threw some guesses off

Already got an idea for this one, think I'll start writing early so I don't end up rushing before the deadline again. Isn't the secondary for this one almost gonzo journalism? Like a skewed Hunter S. Thompson style take on real events? I like.

crowphoenix · Jul 4, 2011

Congrats, Tim. That was an excellent piece.

For those wondering, I'm the Bear. Also, it was creative non-fiction.

Tim the Wiz · Jul 4, 2011

Thanks, guys.

crowphoenix said:
For those wondering, I'm the Bear. Also, it was creative non-fiction.

I'm the Bear was a great piece, too. Hilarious and apt reflection of youth. I think we've all gotten stuck in that kind of situation and the Eves of this world are pretty universal to schools everywhere. (Did you ever encounter her again, by the way?) I need to see the full list, though. Want to know who wrote The Old Man and His Lover!

ZephyrFate said:
I think I'll do a Frey-Seltzer type thing for this one

Any attempt to argue the point will just lead to you avatar quoting yourself, won't it?

Ashes · Jul 4, 2011

crowphoenix said:
Congrats, Tim. That was an excellent piece.

For those wondering, I'm the Bear. Also, it was creative non-fiction.

Don't ya know all of them?
Pretty sure nobody mixed up the pms...

Goodness, you came second when nobody knew who you were... I wonder how that happened....

Good stories are good stories, regardless of whether you know who the author is....

I did really like tim's entry as well...
Edit: my vote wouldn't have changed the results:
1.bear...
2.me
3.Pretending.

Puddles · Jul 4, 2011

I didn't expect to get any votes for Pretending. I'm glad that some of you liked it.

Lone_Prodigy · Jul 4, 2011

Oh yeah James Frey. Surprised he is actually still working. I remember the Oprah controversy.

crowphoenix · Jul 4, 2011

Tim the Wiz said:
Thanks, guys.

I'm the Bear was a great piece, too. Hilarious and apt reflection of youth. I think we've all gotten stuck in that kind of situation and the Eves of this world are pretty universal to schools everywhere. (Did you ever encounter her again, by the way?) I need to see the full list, though. Want to know who wrote The Old Man and His Lover!

Any attempt to argue the point will just lead to you avatar quoting yourself, won't it?

I'll post the full list tonight when I get home from the lake.

ZephyrFate · Jul 4, 2011

Tim the Wiz said:
Thanks, guys.

I'm the Bear was a great piece, too. Hilarious and apt reflection of youth. I think we've all gotten stuck in that kind of situation and the Eves of this world are pretty universal to schools everywhere. (Did you ever encounter her again, by the way?) I need to see the full list, though. Want to know who wrote The Old Man and His Lover!

Any attempt to argue the point will just lead to you avatar quoting yourself, won't it?

Yes, if only I could figure out how to do that with the new uploading system.

Cyan · Jul 4, 2011

ZephyrFate said:
Yes, if only I could figure out how to do that with the new uploading system.

Zeph, you gonna enter this time? I might take you up on your deal from last challenge...

ZephyrFate · Jul 4, 2011

Cyan said:
Zeph, you gonna enter this time? I might take you up on your deal from last challenge...

I am considering it (yet again). My summer class ends this week so I'll have a lot more time to dick around thinking about an idea.

But yeah, it has to go both ways. You need ASOIAF in your life.

=HERO= · Jul 4, 2011

Guess everyone from the other thread is here, so I'll put this here

=HERO= said:
That's what I get from writing the whole thing 6 hrs before the deadline. All I had was a concept, no real plan. I rushed and padded a buildup, I rushed tension, and I rushed a reveal and conclusion. Everyone's criticisms were noted, and I'm happy some people saw good things in it. I might say more later.

Ashes · Jul 4, 2011

I was indeed: Peaks and Valleys.

For shits and giggles, here is what I had to say for myself:

ashes1396 said:
I]Peaks and Valleys[/I] The first part was too long. The second part was too long. And the third part was too long. You could've cut down a lot more. The world didn't need building as the focus was on characters right? But you should have started with the world I reckon. Or just enmesh the two characters together into one coherent story. Military mask isn't a good way of describing that fort. The ending... was something... the two ultimate masks of drama eh: comedy and tragedy.

[/IMG]

The two main characters are hard to pin down. I don't like them, nor do I dislike them. I like that one of them has language problems whilst the other... just goes like a rocket. Liked the private/public face as well. But really, this story hinged on the characters and they were too complicated. Would I want to sit down and have a conversation with either at a pub: No. For what they did? Yeah of course. But still, it fails at it's most crucial point, the character study.

I was pretty stumped as to what to write in the crit. And fyi, later on, I was gonna ask Puddle to put down at least something in his own crit, but had to rush off for a work related stuff.

I was gonna put down what my friend said.. Paraphrasing, she said something like, I kinda like it: that ending... is something.

Which actually made it into the crit. Actually, quite a bit of what she said made it in.
we're so practised in critiquing others, that come our own stuff, we just built a walled garden or something.

ronito · Jul 4, 2011

'grats tim!

Man you would do creative non-fiction while I'm on vaca.

Elfforkusu · Jul 4, 2011

Well, crap, totally missed the voting deadline for the last one.

Anyway, yes, I wrote A Day in the Life. Appreciated the criticisms. Though I've gotta say, no one commented that the story had a guy blowing his mind out in a (train) car? C'mon, Writing-GAF. ;p

Will sit this one out. Non-fiction isn't my style.

Ashes · Jul 4, 2011

Elfforkusu said:
Well, crap, totally missed the voting deadline for the last one.

Anyway, yes, I wrote A Day in the Life. Appreciated the criticisms. Though I've gotta say, no one commented that the story had a guy blowing his mind out in a (train) car? C'mon, Writing-GAF. ;p

Will sit this one out. Non-fiction isn't my style.

Optional objective is optional. I like distance from my stories as well. Btw, there is also the Poetry thread, for new people. Come in sometime and pay a visit why don't you?

AnkitT · Jul 4, 2011

Shit, totally forgot about the last one. Gonna read through it right now.

Irish · Jul 4, 2011

Congratulations, Tim. (Didn't see the new thread.)

Father's Day was mine. In regards to some of the comments, Rob's whole attitude was based on a couple different factors. Where was Tyler's mom for example? Of course, he was also a fucked up guy (most of my characters are ('cause they are based on me)). Did he actually leave Tyler behind? I don't know. He got rid of that dumb car seat for damn sure though.

Well... my guesses were way the fuck off...

(and I just posted this in the old thread for a second time... fuck...)

Ashes · Jul 4, 2011

There, there now. Us old timers are prone to loose our memories from time to time. And this new world of keyboards and mouses and threads; there's just too much to take in.

Irish · Jul 4, 2011

Ashes1396 said:
There, there now. Us old timers are prone to loose our memories from time to time. And this new world of keyboards and mouses and threads; there's just too much to take in.

I'm too simple-minded for that stuff.

That is definitely a challenging secondary objective. Might just pass on it because I am so weak. I kinda feel like doing something different this time though.

Ashes · Jul 5, 2011

Irish said:
I'm too simple-minded for that stuff.

That is definitely a challenging secondary objective. Might just pass on it because I am so weak. I kinda feel like doing something different this time though.

You talk about your self all the time dude.

Forget the haters (though admittedly, there aren't any), you're one interesting dude, write that shit up and get the shite in on time.

Writing about war, my creative flood gates have been opened up again. I hope others who have felt burnt out recently, come back rejuvenated, if only for one thread at a time.

Tim the wiz has been killin it recently, in both the poetry and writing threads, so I don't think the op curse will affect him. So you all better have one hell of story to give him some competition.

ZephyrFate · Jul 5, 2011

expect something as fragmented and abstract as The Tree of Life if I do finish something for this particular challenge

Tangent · Jul 5, 2011

Congrats, Tim, and second-placers. Good stuff. New World, huh? Sounds good. I like the secondary objective too.

crowphoenix · Jul 5, 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Challenge 77 revelation is at hand!

vDaedalus: Sin
Ronito: An Ancient Lesson Retold
Elfforkusu: A Day in the Life
Those Deaf Mutes: Dissonance
John Dunbar: The Old Man and His Lover
Tim the Wiz: Me
crowphoenix: I'm the Bear
Lone_Prodigy: A Change of Heart
Bootay: Masque
Puddles: Pretending
Irish: Fantastic
HERO: Fear Girl
Desden: Summer Ale
Tangent: Without Beer
Ashes: Peaks and Valleys
Cyan: Manifold or I am Legion

Ashes · Jul 5, 2011

vDaedalus said:
For voting I shall say...

1.Pretending
2.Me
3.Sin

Might get some crits in as well.

Cheeky bugger. Changed my picks around cause of this as well..

Puddles · Jul 5, 2011

Ashes1396 said:
Cheeky bugger. Changed my picks around cause of this as well..

Lol. I could have voted for myself and won the thing.

Cyan · Jul 5, 2011

Ashes1396 said:
Cheeky bugger. Changed my picks around cause of this as well..

Haha, me too!

Funny, since I voted for my own as well--I was pretty sure you were onto my piece. Changed up my votes just before midnight to maintain legality, though.

SteveWinwood · Jul 5, 2011

I finally caught one as its starting. I'll be writing a shitty entry, but I do need to start flexing my writing muscles.

And non-fiction... not my usual style but it will be a fun challenge!

Cyan · Jul 5, 2011

SteveWinwood said:
I finally caught one as its starting. I'll be writing a shitty entry, but I do need to start flexing my writing muscles.

And non-fiction... not my usual style but it will be a fun challenge!

Welcome! Glad you caught us.

ZephyrFate said:
expect something as fragmented and abstract as The Tree of Life if I do finish something for this particular challenge

You're on the hook now, amigo. I've already got my hands on the book!

Ashes · Jul 5, 2011

Cyan said:
Haha, me too!

Funny, since I voted for my own as well--I was pretty sure you were onto my piece. Changed up my votes just before midnight to maintain legality, though.

I was indeed. but not early on. Your crit gave me no clue either. Shame I changed back to my gut instinct. And I don't really have the 'rushed it' excuse either.

I read everything quite a few times.

And I was pretty close with Bootaaay, Dresden, Lone Prodigy, J.D., and Crow. I had Irish right, until very late.

The problem as you might have guessed was Ronito. Git.

Did he enter? I didn't know. And I saw him everywhere. And nowhere.

The bear one was the last one. And that had Dnd all over it.

I think I had Daedalus as Sin, and when that didn't fit... then switched him over to Ancient lesson. You know what? I can't remember to be honest. Gah.

^^^ forget the rambling, it's near on 7am over here. Basically, between all of us, we pretty much guessed everybody.

Irish · Jul 5, 2011

Ashes1396 said:
You talk about your self all the time dude.

I can't help it; I'm an attention whore. :O
(does it again)

I like the theme itself, but I know I will struggle with that secondary. It will be neat though.

So... uh... how are you all doing?

Lone_Prodigy · Jul 5, 2011

I wish I could submit this entry anonymously too.

Ashes · Jul 5, 2011

How come?

Lone_Prodigy · Jul 5, 2011

Could end up too personal.

Ashes · Jul 5, 2011

Oh. Then I'm probably the worst person to advise you. To my knowledge, Ronito writes most of the most biographical stories we have in our archives; but he is on vacation. Crowphoenix writes about real life as well, so I guess he's the one to ask.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, you are relatively anonymous. Again, I am the worst person to ask. Stuff happening in my life may influence what I write, but I don't use my life to put words on the page, if you know what I mean.

You can just delete it after the comp is over; or label it fiction.

Cyan · Jul 5, 2011

Doesn't have to be autobiographical, does it?

ronito · Jul 5, 2011

crowphoenix said:
Cyan: Manifold or I am Legion

HA! I KNEW IT!

Lone_Prodigy · Jul 5, 2011

Cyan said:
Doesn't have to be autobiographical, does it?

Oh yeah. I was reading Frey-Seltzer and I suppose that gave me the (wrong) idea that it had to be autobiographical.

vDaedalus · Jul 5, 2011

Yea, voted for myself after I saw Cyan had correctly guessed my piece to try and throw people off. Not sure if it worked... <_< I'll have to work on further expressing themes in my writing although I do like the idea of "S'mores and Justice".

Good luck with this challenge everyone.

Irish · Jul 5, 2011

So, who all has an idea at the moment?

Cyan · Jul 5, 2011

Irish said:
So, who all has an idea at the moment?

I've got just the thing:

Ashes · Jul 5, 2011

vDaedalus said:
Yea, voted for myself after I saw Cyan had correctly guessed my piece to try and throw people off. Not sure if it worked... <_< I'll have to work on further expressing themes in my writing although I do like the idea of "S'mores and Justice".

Good luck with this challenge everyone.

Note: You can't vote for your self dude! lol

Puddles · Jul 5, 2011

Lone_Prodigy said:
Oh yeah. I was reading Frey-Seltzer and I suppose that gave me the (wrong) idea that it had to be autobiographical.

Honestly, the uproar over what Frey did was bullshit.

He wrote a damn good piece of fiction. Not his fault the market for that kind of fiction doesn't exist anymore, and the general Barnes and Noble public just wants memoir, memoir, vampire shit, Harry Potter and more memoir.

Unless you're lucky (unlucky) enough to be born in a warzone or into a family where your grandfather held the others hostage for ten years or some fucked up situation like that, chances are your life isn't interesting enough to make a great novel if it were presented with 100% accuracy.

Cyan · Jul 5, 2011

ronito said:
HA! I KNEW IT!

Hehehe. After all the "Cyan = multiple personalities!" stuff earlier in the thread, I just couldn't resist.

Tim the Wiz · Jul 5, 2011

Irish said:
So, who all has an idea at the moment?

Got a great neo-noir thriller idea, but it wouldn't be non-fiction. OP curse strikes again.

Cyan said:
Doesn't have to be autobiographical, does it?

No. Just mentioned Frey and Seltzer 'cause I was talking about them with somebody the other day.

Oh no, I just pulled a Frey-Seltzer! D:

Irish · Jul 5, 2011

Interesting idea there, Tim.

I think I may just stick with the theme, not the SO, and focus on something other than strictly characters and scenes. May even dip into fantasy.

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