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Metaphoreus · Mar 3, 2015

Theme - "Horror"

Word Limit: 2,000

Submission Deadline: Friday, March 13 by 11:59 PM Pacific.

Voting begins Saturday, March 14, and goes until Monday, March 16 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: Kill a main character without showing the actual death

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

Links to submissions:

Ashes said:
Carlisle - Grief
Chainsawkitten - Pen Pal
Crunched - latchstring
Cyan - Janie and the Fairies
FlowersisBritish - My Grandfather's Mirror
IceDoesntHelp - It's My Time to Leave
izunadono - The Boy and the Light
Mike M - Skitter
Nezumi - Depth
Rock And Roll - Greatest Fear
Tangent - "Rush Hour"
Ward - Lurking in the Dark Shadows

Mike M · Mar 3, 2015

Huuuuuh...

Don't think I have any horror ideas on tap...

Mike M · Mar 3, 2015

Oh wait, now I do.

IceDoesntHelp · Mar 3, 2015

It's My Time to Leave

I can't hear anything,
But the ticking from my clock.
I know my time is coming,
But I don't feel ready.

If only time could go,
Backwards.
I would try to make,
Everything better.

I hear a knock at my door.
I'm scared to answer it.
The door swings wide open.
At the doorstep is the Reaper.

Screams "Come with me."
I Attempt to get up,
Legs break,
Blood all over the floor.

He grabs my arms.
I scream for help.
But no one hears my cries.
I know it's my time,
But I'm not ready.

Dragging my crippled body,
Outside.
I get thrown into,
An endless hole.

Hit my head on the side,
Knocked out cold.

Memories passing through my mind.
Everything I hated.
Everything I loved.
Everything that mattered.
It's all gone.

Waking up chained to the wall.
Hearing screams of terror,
All around me.

I want out.
I want out.
I want out,
But it's my time,
And I deserve this.

Not overly horror, but the other one I have, I don't really like.

Nezumi · Mar 3, 2015

Oh, I think I can use a setting I've been meaning to use for quite some time now for this. I also have some idea how to implement the secondary.

Blargonaut · Mar 3, 2015

OOoooOOooo *flicks flashlight on & off*

I feel like tackling some fantasy this time... some nice soul-flaying grimdark fantasy.

Ourobolus · Mar 3, 2015

Hmmm. Alright then.

NipplesAndToes23 · Mar 3, 2015

I'm going to try and do this, this time. Word limits always frustrate me. I always worry about the word limit rather than just making a complete story. Wrote a four page short story and found out I couldn't use it for any contests online because it was too short and tried to arbitrarily make it longer, but I just ended up making it bad.

Metaphoreus · Mar 3, 2015

Blasian Persuasion said:
I'm going to try and do this, this time. Word limits always frustrate me. I always worry about the word limit rather than just making a complete story. Wrote a four page short story and found out I couldn't use it for any contests online because it was too short and tried to arbitrarily make it longer, but I just ended up making it bad.

To clarify, the 2,000 words is a maximum, not a minimum.

Ourobolus · Mar 4, 2015

I just got a really silly idea for this.

Sober · Mar 4, 2015

Wondering if I have time after coming back from PAX East ... maybe, maybe not.

LaMagenta · Mar 4, 2015

Ooo horror. I'm excited. I'll be in park city attempting to ski this weekend. I think I have my plot >

Freeza Under The Shower · Mar 4, 2015

deleted

FlowersisBritish · Mar 4, 2015

Zeitgeister said:
Well, I believe that if one has a big mouth about something, you should be able to demonstrate you can do better, so I have outlined a prequel to Alien because fuck Prometheus.

Probably massively going over 2000 words though, but fuck it. This is to prove a goddamn point.

I am pretty sure I am the only person in the entire world that liked Prometheus. I understand why people hate it, though. I like it as a movie, but as an Aliens prequel it does kind of fail.

Cyan · Mar 4, 2015

Interesting! And nice work on the story, Metaphoreus and Flowers! Really enjoyed it. Also the formatting was damn professional.

Maklershed · Mar 5, 2015

Never wrote anything for fun before. I might give this a try.

FlowersisBritish said:
I am pretty sure I am the only person in the entire world that liked Prometheus. I understand why people hate it, though. I like it as a movie, but as an Aliens prequel it does kind of fail.

I loved Prometheus.

Tangent · Mar 5, 2015

Ourobolus said:
The fact that we wrote a story about furry critters yet didn't get a first place vote from Tangent means we failed, Nezumi.

Cyan said:
Haha, my first thought on realizing what the characters were was "this is totally a Tangent story!"

Hahaha! It WAS an awesome story and I DID give the story 2nd place! To my defense, I had a fever while I was writing feedback and voting. Maybe that added to my delusional thinking.

Regardless, thanks Nezumi, that last challenge was super fun. What a great idea to have people collaborate. I learned a lot in the process. (And Cyan, I was thinking the same thing about someone actually seeing if you're working on a shared Google Doc!)

But now both of you can write about furry little critters in a HORROR scene!

Here comes Happy Tree Friends! Dun dun dun.

Congratulations, Metaphoreus and Flowers!

Carlisle · Mar 5, 2015

Every time I've announced ahead that I'll be participating, I don't. So I won't announce it. I think may have found a way to beat myself at last.

Cyan · Mar 7, 2015

Just in case anyone was wondering, I'm planning to go back to the usual hangout schedule this weekend. 2-4 PM Pacific time on Sunday.

For anyone not familiar, this is a meetup on Google Hangouts where we chat a bit and get some writing done in a group setting.

Mike M · Mar 7, 2015

Man, horror is really hard...

FlowersisBritish · Mar 7, 2015

Mike M said:
Man, horror is really hard...

I know! It's my favorite genre to write; one that requires a little bit of meta analysis and of self reflection! God, i am so looking forward to reading everyones stories!

Tangent · Mar 7, 2015

Mike M said:
Man, horror is really hard...

Agreed, I don't even know how to start musing about this.

Red · Mar 7, 2015

Subbing.

Zeyphersan · Mar 7, 2015

Yeah, I'll give it a shot

mu cephei · Mar 7, 2015

It doesn't have to be actual horror, right? If I wrote, say, about a middle-class UKIP couple whose daughter brought home a Polish boyfriend, I though that would fit. I wasn't particularly planning on writing horror.

Though I might decide to go Full Grimdark like Blargonaut with the murder mayhem misogyny.

Metaphoreus · Mar 7, 2015

mu cephei said:
It doesn't have to be actual horror, right? If I wrote, say, about a middle-class UKIP couple whose daughter brought home a Polish boyfriend, I though that would fit. I wasn't particularly planning on writing horror.

Though I might decide to go Full Grimdark like Blargonaut with the murder mayhem misogyny.

You're free to interpret the theme as you see fit, as explained in the FAQ:

Cyan said:
How do I interpret the theme?
Any way you want. Literally, metaphorically, homophonically. Just remember that others will have their own interpretations and may vote or critique accordingly.

mu cephei · Mar 7, 2015

Metaphoreus said:
You're free to interpret the theme as you see fit, as explained in the FAQ:

How embarrassing, having the FAQ quoted at me. I meant the question rhetorically, but I can see it actually wasn't.

Metaphoreus · Mar 7, 2015

mu cephei said:
How embarrassing, having the FAQ quoted at me. I meant the question rhetorically, but I can see it actually wasn't.

I didn't mean to be condescending. I quoted the FAQ as a citation, not a cudgel.

FlowersisBritish · Mar 8, 2015

Wow, i already have written three stories for the challenge and they all are terrible. Why is this so much tougher than i thought?

Metaphoreus · Mar 8, 2015

FlowersisBritish said:
Wow, i already have written three stories for the challenge and they all are terrible. Why is this so much tougher than i thought?

Let it be known that the whole thing was this guy's idea.

FlowersisBritish · Mar 8, 2015

Metaphoreus said:
Let it be known that the whole thing was this guy's idea.

I actuely take a weird perverse pleasure in watching people(myself included) struggle with this. Here's some inspiration for everyone working hard!

Red · Mar 8, 2015

latchstring

1999 words.

I haven't written fiction in a long time. Hope this doesn't reflect too poorly on me.

(i loved your formatting last round, Metaphoreus+FlowerisBritish... couldn't help but imitate it.)

Cyan · Mar 8, 2015

Cyan said:
Just in case anyone was wondering, I'm planning to go back to the usual hangout schedule this weekend. 2-4 PM Pacific time on Sunday.

Note that Pacific time just changed by an hour. (I actually forgot Daylight Savings was happening this weekend...) So the hangout starts in about three hours rather than four.

Cyan · Mar 8, 2015

Hangout is up. Quote for link:

I will be on at 2. As always, all are welcome. Just be prepared to do some writing.

Nezumi · Mar 8, 2015

Man, being alone with Cyan in the hangout really leaves no room for extending the chatting periods... where is everyone?

Mike M · Mar 8, 2015

Nezumi said:
Man, being alone with Cyan in the hangout really leaves no room for extending the chatting periods... where is everyone?

At my monthly DnD game : P

Cyan · Mar 8, 2015

Mike M said:
At my monthly DnD game : P

Mwahaha. Dictator Cyan in full effect!

Red · Mar 8, 2015

What do you guys do in your hangouts?

Ourobolus · Mar 8, 2015

Nezumi said:
Man, being alone with Cyan in the hangout really leaves no room for extending the chatting periods... where is everyone?

Now Cyan knows how I feel

Cyan · Mar 8, 2015

Crunched said:
What do you guys do in your hangouts?

Chat and then write. The idea is to have some accountability and group pressure to get a little writing done. We chat for ten minutes and then write with mics turned off for thirty minutes (enforced by Cyan's Timer of Doom), and repeat until two hours have gone by.

We generally use the chat period to ~~complain~~ talk about the current theme and what we're writing, what we've worked on in the previous writing period, etc. Though sometimes it's just random chatter.

Rock And Roll · Mar 8, 2015

I just got back from somewhere or I would have dropped by the hangout. Maybe next time

Nezumi · Mar 8, 2015

Ourobolus said:
Now Cyan knows how I feel

I'd raise an inquisitive eyebrow at you, if my facial muscles were capable of such antics...

Ourobolus · Mar 8, 2015

Nezumi said:
I'd raise an inquisitive eyebrow at you, if my facial muscles were capable of such antics...

bengraven · Mar 8, 2015

You know, I check GAF at least a dozen or more times a day - how do I miss these threads? I thought you guys took a really long time off since last time, since I haven't seen one in months.

Cyan · Mar 8, 2015

bengraven said:
You know, I check GAF at least a dozen or more times a day - how do I miss these threads? I thought you guys took a really long time off since last time, since I haven't seen one in months.

You know better than that, Ben G. Raven! We only take time off for NaNo!

Seriously, there's an easy way to find the latest thread if you're ever wondering where we're at. Just go to the last one you do have and follow the "new thread" links, since there's always a link to the new one at the end of the old one.

Red · Mar 9, 2015

Cyan said:
Chat and then write. The idea is to have some accountability and group pressure to get a little writing done. We chat for ten minutes and then write with mics turned off for thirty minutes (enforced by Cyan's Timer of Doom), and repeat until two hours have gone by.

We generally use the chat period to ~~complain~~ talk about the current theme and what we're writing, what we've worked on in the previous writing period, etc. Though sometimes it's just random chatter.

I'd like to join sometime. It's been a while since I was part of a solid writing group.

Cyan · Mar 9, 2015

Crunched said:
I'd like to join sometime. It's been a while since I was part of a solid writing group.

Awesome! You're more than welcome to jump in on the next one. The meetup happens every other week at the same time (in accordance with the writing challenge schedule--so it happens during the writing period and not during the voting period), so the next one will be two weeks from today.

Webcams are cool but not required, ditto mics. We had a writer in today's meetup just chatting through the text chat.

Sober · Mar 9, 2015

Nezumi said:
Man, being alone with Cyan in the hangout really leaves no room for extending the chatting periods... where is everyone?

Out of town for PAX East!

FlowersisBritish · Mar 9, 2015

I wish I was at the chat, even if it was only Cyan and Nezumi D: Every time I have Sunday off someone seems to want to switch shifts -_- I've officially requested sundays off, so hopefully I can rejoin the chatroulette soon...

Tangent · Mar 12, 2015

FlowersisBritish said:
I wish I was at the chat, even if it was only Cyan and Nezumi D: Every time I have Sunday off someone seems to want to switch shifts -_- I've officially requested sundays off, so hopefully I can rejoin the chatroulette soon...

I agree. I think it'd be fun regardless of the number of people at the chat. But I always space out on reality over the weekends. I still don't have an idea for this challenge, either. Every time I think, "Time to start brainstorming!" I then think, "Well, maybe later. It's too dark right now." I know, I'm wimpy.

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NeoGAF Creative Writing Challenge #161 - "Horror"

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