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NeoGAF Creative Writing Challenge #14 - "Lost and Found"

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C

Cyan

Banned
Theme - "Lost and Found"

Literal? Metaphorical? This can mean whatever you want it to mean. Have fun! [also, see next post for an Optional Secondary Objective]

Word Limit: 1400.

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, 9/17 by 11:59 PM Pacific.

Voting begins Thursday, 9/18, and goes until Saturday, 9/20 at 11:59 PM Pacific

Results:

1st Place: Iceman - "Ms. Placed and Mr. Found"
2nd Place: DumbNameD - "Sea of Roses"
3rd Place: Cyan - "Nexus, Inc."

Submission Guidelines:

- All submissions must be written during the time of the challenge. We don't want a snippet of your doctoral thesis from 1996 being used here.
- One entry per poster. You can submit and then edit if you'd like, but finalizing before submitting is encouraged.
- Spelling and Grammatical errors can be used to great effect when the story, characters, and setting demand it. However, proofreading and spell-checking your writing will probably result in a more positive attitude towards it when people are voting.
- Using the topic as the title of your piece is discouraged. These challenges get a large number of submissions and if entries share the same title, it's difficult for the readers to separate them out come voting time.
- Any writing style is welcome, but remember that most people are probably going to vote for the well written short story over an elementary acrostic poem.
- There are many ways to interpret the theme for this assignment, we are all writers or wannabe writers, so keep that in mind when writing and critiquing others' works.
- Thousands of people read GAF, so if you don't want some masterpiece of yours to be stolen and seen in Hollywood a year from now, don't post it on here.
- Finally, there is a handy word count checker at www.wordcounttool.com. Nobody wants to be a word count nazi, but please keep your submission under the limit.

Voting Guidelines:

- Anyone can vote, even those that do not submit a piece during the thread.
- 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, it is only fair to those who put in the effort.
- You must vote in order to be eligible to win the challenge. Critiques/comments are encouraged but not required.
- When the voting period ends, votes will be tallied and the winner will get a collective pat on the back and will be in charge of picking a new topic to write about and pick the word length.
- In the event of a tie, the story with the highest number of first place votes will be declared the winner. If they are still tied after this first tiebreaker, the previous challenge winner will decide any further tie-breaking measures (2nd Place votes, Joint Topic Choice, etc.)

The Entries:

doomed1 - "That Kind of Girl" - An unexpected funeral.
Aaron - "Filters" - An agoraphobe conquers his fear by filtering people out.
Iceman - "Ms. Placed and Mr. Found" - Lost gloves lead to serendipitous romance.
nitewulf - "I won't forget" - De La Cruz remembers an encounter with a young lady.
Memles - "The Box" - It was just a box, decent if unremarkable. Or was it more?
Cyan - "Nexus, Inc." - An eventful first day on the job at Nexus.
Jiggy37 - "Seagull, Vulture, Phoenix" - An unusual girl accosts a strange man in the park.
beelzebozo - "Compromise" - Two requests, one each, before two feet meet concrete...
RumpledForeskin - "Lost and Found - He's Dead" - That damned phone stole my sanity.
ronito - "The Doll and the Globe" - It's girl meets world in the school lost and found.
crowphoenix - "Enough" - A clock, a dog, and a severe case of writer's block.
Totz - "Shame" - A crossroads: coward or traitor?
Gattsu25 - "Hmm..." - Ah, the slow onset of senility.
Scribble - "I Smell a Rat Close By" - A little girl takes care of her neighbor's cats.
DumbNameD - "Sea of Roses" - The murder of a mobster's son threatens to ignite an underground war.
disappeared - "A Man in the Snow" - A man drags firewood through the snow. [late entry]

Previous Challenges:

#1 - "The Things Unseen" (Winner: beelzebozo)
#2 - "An Unlikely Pair" (Winner: Aaron)
#3 - "weightless, breathless" (Winner: Azih)
#4 - "On the way" (Winner: DumbNameD)
#5 - "The End" (Winner: Cyan)
#6 - "Playing with Fire" (Winner: Aaron)
#7 - "Something Brutal" (Winner: Ronito)
#8 - "Parasite and Host" (Winner: Aaron)
#9 - "The Seasons" (Winner: ivysaur12)
#10 - "Anniversary" (Winner: Memles
#11 - "Comedy" (Winner: Scribble)
#12 - "The Trilogy" (Winner: Aaron)
#13 - "Impossible Thing" (Winner: Cyan)
 
C

Cyan

Banned
A while back, someone floated the idea of having a "writing skills"-type theme for some of the challenges, i.e. strong POV, dialogue, choosing powerful settings, that sort of thing. I don't think this would necessarily work for us, as the challenge theme is more for inspiration than anything else. But since we're all trying to improve, I though it might be fun to do something like that, where we're all working on some particular aspect of writing skills.

So for this challenge, I'm adding a completely optional secondary objective (thus, putting in in a separate post). If you feel like it, have a go.

Optional secondary objective: expressing character through dialogue.

What your character chooses to say and how they express it can say a lot about them.

Here's a quick example, stolen from some random site I found on Google:
Here are three men, talking to their grandmothers.

Dan: "Come on Granny, let's get you into the car."

John: "When you're quite ready, Granny, maybe we'll be able to get there before next week."

Kevin: "No hurry, Granny. The shops aren't going anywhere."

Dan sounds pleasant, but a bit patronising, while John's jocular manner doesn't hide his impatience. Kevin sounds calm and pleasant.
Click to expand...
Dialogue can be purely functional, used to advance the story or give the audience some information. The goal here is to make all the dialogue in your story say something about the character speaking it. Think about it!
 
C

Cyan

Banned
Iceman said:
oops, I posted in the wrong thread. I meant I have my idea for this new contest.
Click to expand...
Sounds good. I still intend to give you a quick critique of your last story, when I've got a chance. It was good; too bad you missed the deadline.
 
D

dragonlife

Member
This is the first time with any of the challenges that I've had a very strong idea. I'm so excited to start on it! I already have some of the scenes pictured, too...now just to write them out cohesively...:D
 
C

Cyan

Banned
dragonlife29 said:
This is the first time with any of the challenges that I've had a very strong idea. I'm so excited to start on it! I already have some of the scenes pictured, too...now just to write them out cohesively...:D
Click to expand...
Nice. :)

If anyone has any feedback on the secondary objective, let me know. I may be out for a few days, so I might not respond right away.
 
B

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
does anyone use q10 for these? i think i'm going to sit down and give it a shot this evening. normally i write by hand in fits of inspiration, but i'm so in love with the idea of a word processor specifically designed for writers that i have to try it.
 
C

crowphoenix

Banned
beelzebozo said:
does anyone use q10 for these? i think i'm going to sit down and give it a shot this evening. normally i write by hand in fits of inspiration, but i'm so in love with the idea of a word processor specifically designed for writers that i have to try it.
Click to expand...

q10? I might have to check it out. I've almost used up the sample my laptop has on Word, and I'm not too keen to shell out 200+ bones just to use Word, though I do like it.
 
B

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
crowphoenix said:
q10? I might have to check it out. I've almost used up the sample my laptop has on Word, and I'm not too keen to shell out 200+ bones just to use Word, though I do like it.
Click to expand...

yeah, it's a full-screen, no distractions word processor. you know all those times you wish you could focus and not keep cruising the message board while you're trying to be creative? q10, baby.
 
C

crowphoenix

Banned
beelzebozo said:
yeah, it's a full-screen, no distractions word processor. you know all those times you wish you could focus and not keep cruising the message board while you're trying to be creative? q10, baby.
Click to expand...

I know that far too well. I'll be downloading that when I get home. And looking it up on their site, I like that you can add notes very easily.
 
D

dragonlife

Member
beelzebozo said:
yeah, it's a full-screen, no distractions word processor. you know all those times you wish you could focus and not keep cruising the message board while you're trying to be creative? q10, baby.
Click to expand...
I just downloaded it--thanks for informing us about the program.

Though, to be honest, I like Word a little better just for the reason that I can easily access the internet :p Usually, though, it's because I need to look something up about the particular thing I'm writing about...but I know all too well about getting distracted, too...:D

Also, it kills me that there is no easily-accessible tool table like in Word at the top :(

Cool program nonetheless; I'm sure I'll use it sometime with another project.
 
B

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
i think it's useful for stream-of-consciousness writing, so to speak. not so much stream-of-consciousness through a character, mind you, but for writing when you feel a rush of inspiration and want to block out distractions, but nonetheless enjoy using an electronic format. think of it as turning your computer into a typewriter. it's definitely different, and takes some getting used to, but keeping it handy for unique circumstances is nice. glad you enjoy it in some way, though!
 
R

ronito

Member
awesome. I've already got an idea, we'll see if I can pull it off as it's really not my usual style.

But I LOVE the sub challenge, we should do that in each challenge.
 
Cauliflower of Love

Cauliflower of Love

Banned
Since I've been banned for the past 8 challenges(got one in there though between bans though), I'm gonna give this one a go.

(who wants to give me an email address to submit for me, in case I get banned again?)
 
M

Mike Works

Member
very good theme choice.. my life got so f'n busy all of a sudden last week, i'm hoping i'll find time to do this one

q10 is a pretty cool program, i actually like using it AND word (depending on my mood).. sometimes i like the lack of distraction (since it envelops the entire screen), but sometimes i actually find that fact a distraction itself.
 
D

dragonlife

Member
In an effort to lengthen the size of these threads, I'd like to ask some of you your methods for writing: what do you guys do to get inspiration and what makes you get in the mood for writing?

For me, I go on iTunes and play a song that fits the mood I'm trying to convey in a scene. It works for me because I have a myriad of music with different themes: sad/melancholic, upbeat, tense, beautiful, and some are a mix. No vocals, either, so I can create my own story along with the music (as opposed to listening to someone's story through their vocals).
 
S

Scribble

Member
It'll be just like old times...and more!

dragonlife29 said:
In an effort to lengthen the size of these threads, I'd like to ask some of you your methods for writing: what do you guys do to get inspiration and what makes you get in the mood for writing?

For me, I go on iTunes and play a song that fits the mood I'm trying to convey in a scene. It works for me because I have a myriad of music with different themes: sad/melancholic, upbeat, tense, beautiful, and some are a mix. No vocals, either, so I can create my own story along with the music (as opposed to listening to someone's story through their vocals).
Click to expand...

It does seem that the major reason for these recent threads not being huge is because people aren't seeing them.

To answer your question, when it comes down to it, I'm never really in the mood for writing, although one or two things can help me along, if only slightly. Speaking of Q10, for example, the whole 'writer's software' thing isn't just a silly novelty. The full screen, black background and orange font (I won't have them any other colour), and the typewriter effect kind of whisks you away into Writing Land. On top of that, I usually have a writing playlist, which, for some really strange reason (I think a friend must have sent it to me on MSN), starts off with Deliverance of the Heart from the FF7 vocal album. And I don't even know any tracks from FF7! But I associate it with writing now, so it stays at the top. From there, I have a mix of instrumental music, i.e. opera, traditional Chinese classical music, weird Okinawan music, Donkey Kong Country 2 OST etc. Sort of typed more than I planned there. It isn't really carefully constructed (Because that leads to procrastination), because I just throw any old instrumental track in there.


Q10's great for NanoWrimo, by the way. I'd like (Will we have a NeoGaf Creative Writing Challenge #X: Nanowrimo?)

And I agree that the 'bonus challenge' should become a staple part of these threads.
 
H

hellclerk

Everything is tsundere to me
dragonlife29 said:
In an effort to lengthen the size of these threads, I'd like to ask some of you your methods for writing: what do you guys do to get inspiration and what makes you get in the mood for writing?
Click to expand...
i basically just start thinking about various situations or contexts based on the prompt and then when i find one i like, i brainstorm some more to flesh it out, chose my POV, style, etc., and then i write it. no frills involved, no specific routines, just an idea and a bit of inspiration.

curious though, i was only able to get my story down to 1465 words (i finished, w00t). i assume this will fit in with the oversight?
 
D

dragonlife

Member
doomed1 said:
i basically just start thinking about various situations or contexts based on the prompt and then when i find one i like, i brainstorm some more to flesh it out, chose my POV, style, etc., and then i write it. no frills involved, no specific routines, just an idea and a bit of inspiration.

curious though, i was only able to get my story down to 1465 words (i finished, w00t). i assume this will fit in with the oversight?
Click to expand...
Huh...I guess I'm one of those poor souls that complicates things for themselves :p The way you explain your style of writing makes it seem easy...but a little chaos does me good and fuels my thinking--sometimes.

Always good to hear one's methods; thanks for enlightening me, Scribble. I personally prefer video game music for writing--there's an amazing variety to fit any mood.

As for the sub-challenge, I do think they're a nice twist. Good job introducing them, Cyan :p Personally, though, I'm just not feeling it (glad it's optional!)--mainly because I use another method [other than dialogue] to convey a character's persona.
 
H

hellclerk

Everything is tsundere to me
dragonlife29 said:
Huh...I guess I'm one of those poor souls that complicates things for themselves :p The way you explain your style of writing makes it seem easy...but a little chaos does me good and fuels my thinking--sometimes.
Click to expand...
well the funny thing is, brainstorming usually involves me pacing and talking to myself, thinking out dialog, so it ends up i look crazy when i do it. i mean yeah, i explain it simply, but writing isn't all that complex. the hard part is balancing and keeping a dynamicy and flow to the writing, and i can tell you for certain, pacing is a bitch.
 
I

Iceman

Member
For ideas, I put down the first idea I get in my head. Then I brainstorm by trying to come up with the polar opposite of that idea. I try changing genders, changing locals, changing the tone or even genre. Then, within a few minutes a specific idea will take hold and nothing else will have a chance at overtaking it.

Then I develop the characters and the overall plot points. After that I'll develop the story structure and the overall flow of the story. I'll try to come up with a rythmn in my head. Then I'll secure a point of view.

After the idea is settled in my head I'll write the first sentence. I never really know what it'll be. Sometimes it'll be like a tag line that's been bouncing around in my noggin since the idea's inception or it'll be some kind of character revelation - something to help me define the main character on paper.

Then what usually happens it that the whole story gets away from me. The characters start to interact in ways I hadn't imagined or prepared for and I have to decide to rope them in or let them go crazy. As long as I eventually have them jump through the plot hoops I wanted them to hit, everything's golden.

It's all process and the end result is never quite what I imagined (that pulitzer prize winning idea that I knew I would nail) but it is at least something unique. I hope.
 
C

crowphoenix

Banned
I was taught in my writing classes to just start writing and go. Write long enough and you'll eventually discover what you were writing about. That piece of advice has helped me a few times. I wrote a piece called War Games simply by describing a beach. That was one of the few pieces my professors liked.

As for music, I have to have listened to the song enough times that it has no effect on me anymore. Once I get there, I can use it as a springboard for when my mind starts to wander. (I was told not to do this, but...)
 
D

dragonlife

Member
Nice to know, nice to know! :D

Just thought I'd report in to Cyan: I have two paragraphs so far, and it's coming along great! :D I'm using Q10 for this project, leaving a fitting song on iTunes on repeat (and occasionally sneaking a peek on the internet :p) :lol
 
A

Aaron

Member
I finished mine only to realize it no longer fits the theme! Not really a problem, I only have to make a minor change to fit, but odd that I forgot all about the actual challenge when I was deep into writing it.
 
D

dragonlife

Member
I might as well ask since it's been bugging me for ages (Seriously :lol), but crow, are you the same one I used to play Brawl with? I haven't seen him for a while (I recognize people by avatars--rarely do I look at a poster's name when they post since avatars suffice). I knew him by his name and Pit/Sonic-with-Mario-hat avatar...

Is it you, though?
 
C

crowphoenix

Banned
dragonlife29 said:
I might as well ask since it's been bugging me for ages (Seriously :lol), but crow, are you the same one I used to play Brawl with? I haven't seen him for a while (I recognize people by avatars--rarely do I look at a poster's name when they post since avatars suffice). I knew him by his name and Pit/Sonic-with-Mario-hat avatar...

Is it you, though?
Click to expand...

Indeed, good sir. I changed mine after Brawl came out and I found myself yelling for Shining Force 2 in the Virtual Console thread. That and I think the avatar is more fitting than the old on.

Anyway, just had to send in my laptop because the wireless card is borked. It'll be gone to HP for three weeks, which really hinders my ability to write in a calm environment. But, there are other options available.
 
H

hellclerk

Everything is tsundere to me
i guess i'll post mine. forgive the extra length. it was necessary, plus it's not excessive.

That Kind of Girl

“Go on, what are you waiting for?”

“What are you talking about Charley?”

“Well, you told me a couple of days ago that you thought she was cute.”

“Yeah, well that was before…”

“Before what? She’s still cute right?”

“Th-that’s not the point.”

“Goddamnit, you’re hopeless. Could you at least go over and ask her what the hell she’s doing. It’s killing me.” Charley slouched back on the stone half-wall.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Well you can never know.”

“Why don’t you go ask her?”

“’Cause I don’t really feel like it.”

I got up and headed toward her. I don’t know how he manages to talk me into these kinds of things. Maybe I’m just timid.

The girl we were discussing was standing over by the hedge across the quad in front of the school I go to. It looked as though she was searching for something. What? I guess only God and her knew. Her name was Sasha Cohen. She had short brown hair and wore these six inch dress boots that caused quite a fuss with the homeroom teacher, but when she looked the handbook didn’t say anything about shoes for girls other than that they be dressy and black, so she’s gotten the nickname “Boots” around school. She had a slim frame and had a sort of round, cute face. Other guys had taken notice and had tried talking to her, but it was pretty clear that she wasn’t interested in what a lot of them were saying, since most guys just walked away shaking their heads. That was about what I was doing as I approached her.

“eh…”

She didn’t respond immediately. Instead she stopped looking for a moment and cocked her head, as though she wasn’t sure if she heard something. She brought her head around and looked at me with the most piercingly honest stare. “Yes?” Her eyes told me: “I wonder what this kid could want.” It caught me off guard. It didn’t hurt that the childlike honesty about her tone made her seem so completely adorable at that point.

“Well, I was – I mean, my friend and I were…”

“I really don’t have time for this,” she said with impunity. She turned around and continued searching on her hands and knees.

“Say, what are you looking for?”

She turned her head back and gave me an incredulous look, as though it was amusing that I was trying to comprehend what would drive a young girl to search around the bushes. Looked away, sort of taken aback by her look.

“Well, I mean, was it something that one of the popular kids took? I can help you look if you like.”

She stared intently into my eyes, as though she were trying to read my intentions. I was afraid she would think I was hitting on her or something. Honestly, my dorky reputation was bad enough without hanging out with space-out girl. “No. What I’m looking for… well, you can’t know.”

“What?”

She turned back around and reached out to grab something and put it in a small box she pulled out of her bag. “Come with me.” Before I knew what she was doing, she had grabbed my arm and dragged me along down the street. Looked to Charley for help on the other side of the quad, but he was just sitting there, laughing, thoroughly enjoying my panic. The strange little girl dragged me onto the light rail. I never actually ever rode it before, I live right down the street, so it was sort of odd, going down into Newark Penn.

The ride was in awkward silence. I sort of wanted to say something, but every time I opened my mouth, I couldn’t think of anything to say.

“If you’re going to say something, you may as well get out with it.” I remained silent, not sure how to react. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Figures. I’m beginning to wonder if I ever should have brought you along.”

I sat back in my own seat and sighed. I felt sort of stupid, but I wasn’t sure why. As soon as I did though, the train stopped and she grabbed my wrist again and started to drag me along. I kept following along. Some people seemed to be staring right at us. I could imagine how odd it must have looked. A skinny girl in a Catholic school uniform dragging a confused looking teenage boy through a train station in a huge metropolitan area. While I suddenly felt very vulnerable, the odd girl in front of me just continued on walking, paying no attention to the stares around us.

Before I knew it she dragged me through a turnstile and into yet another train. The ride on this train was in silence, as was the ride on the following bus. It was getting a bit late. I felt sorta stupid, just looking at my feet. She didn’t seem to mind though, as though she had done it a thousand times. We got off and walked down away from the main street. The sun was starting to go down, and the sky had started to turn orange.

“So, how do you do so well with getting around here?”

“I live here,” she said as though it was obvious. It probably was. She got up on a low stone wall and started balancing on it walking and talking down the sidewalk.

“You mean you make that whole trip every day back and forth to school?”

“No. I actually live closer to Danforth Avenue.”

“Say, where are we actually going?”

Sasha stopped, turned on a heel and bent over from the ledge with a mischievous smile. “It took you that long to ask? I guess I was right in bringing you along.”

Soon enough the trees let up and the park came into view. There was a body of water that stretched across to the docks over at Newark. I had seen them coming in on one of the trains, but now the setting sun played along the city haze, great cranes, and loading structures, highlighted by the bright yard lights providing for an explosion of visual beauty.

“Wow…”

“You like it? This is my favorite place.” She took out a spade and dug into the soft earth a few yards before the boardwalk.

“Whoa, what are you doing?”

“Digging.”

“Well, don’t you think you’ll get in trouble?”

“Do you think I will?”

She just kept on digging, not paying me much heed. There was a small box lying next to her that she took out with the spade. Curious, I flipped the off the top. Inside was a tiny bird, dead. I pulled my hand back, as if on reflex.

“I found him this morning on the sidewalk.” She didn’t look up from her work and spoke in an even, calculated tone. “I went to get a box from my locker, but I saw one of the teachers just sort of kick him into the bush. The bell rang so there really wasn’t much I could do, so after classes ended I went and looked for the body. That’s about when you came.”

“Why here and not back in Bellville?”

“I think he deserves to be buried in a place with no masks.” Still digging, deeper and deeper, now with more purpose

“What do you mean?”

“Every person out there wears a mask of sorts. So that they look good to the right kind of people, or that they can get ahead in some respect. They wear these masks so long, they lose who they really are. Here, there are no masks. Just look across the water.” She got up from her work and looked across the bay. “It’s just metal and stark angles, there for use and not for looks, but I can’t imagine it as anything but beautiful.”

I was looking at her the whole time, and the way the light caught her face was certainly something dramatic. She put the box at the bottom of the hole and made as though to say a prayer. I helped her put the dirt back over.

“Why’d you take me along?”

“I don’t know, I guess it just made sense.”

“Oh, crap. I just realized I don't know how get home.”

“That’s alright, you can stay over my place.”

I made a double take.

“What is it? Eeh!” This was the first time I caught her off guard. “Heh, I’m not really that kind of girl.” And that was really just fine.
 
M

Mike Works

Member
doomed1 said:
i guess i'll post mine. forgive the extra length. it was necessary, plus it's not excessive.

That Kind of Girl
Click to expand...
An extra 100 words are never necessary. One thing all writers must learn to do is edit down their work, even if they don't want to. It's something all of us really need to practice.

There are many challenges presented in these 'challenges', and this is one of them.

Obviously I'm not going to go nazi and count everyone's stories and tell them not to post them, but I personally don't read any stories that go above the word count.

Now if you were 1,000 words over the count, that would be much more challenging (or you could realize that your story isn't suited for this particular challenge), but you can edit down 99 words for sure, especially given how much time you have before the contest ends.
 
G

Gattsu25

Banned
I love the secondary challenge...especially since it hits two of my weak points (characterization and dialog)


My writing usually comes from mulling something over for a couple of days, thinking of different ideas in between my schedule. If an idea hits, I'll spend the night writing it (usually in one go).

I need to work on my patience. Write something, wait a few days, then come back to it.
 
D

dragonlife

Member
Mike Works said:
An extra 100 words are never necessary. One thing all writers must learn to do is edit down their work, even if they don't want to. It's something all of us really need to practice.

There are many challenges presented in these 'challenges', and this is one of them.

Obviously I'm not going to go nazi and count everyone's stories and tell them not to post them, but I personally don't read any stories that go above the word count.

Now if you were 1,000 words over the count, that would be much more challenging (or you could realize that your story isn't suited for this particular challenge), but you can edit down 99 words for sure, especially given how much time you have before the contest ends.
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Limits are an amazing thing because they can even add to the story, depending how the writer handles their editing.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
Whew, back from San Diego, and glad to see we've already got a few stories! I actually started mine in a notepad during one of the keynotes of the conference I was at. :lol I was suddenly struck with inspiration, and had to at least write some of it down before it all fled my poor brain in favor of stocks and derivatives and that sort of nonsense.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
Cool, I'm glad some people are finding the secondary objective useful. I think if nothing else, it'll help me remember that I'm trying to improve.
beelzebozo said:
does anyone use q10 for these? i think i'm going to sit down and give it a shot this evening. normally i write by hand in fits of inspiration, but i'm so in love with the idea of a word processor specifically designed for writers that i have to try it.
Click to expand...
I'm gonna have to give this a try. I know I've heard it mentioned before, but I can't remember if I ever tried it or not.
dragonlife29 said:
Just thought I'd report in to Cyan: I have two paragraphs so far, and it's coming along great!
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:)
Mike Works said:
An extra 100 words are never necessary. One thing all writers must learn to do is edit down their work, even if they don't want to. It's something all of us really need to practice.

There are many challenges presented in these 'challenges', and this is one of them.
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Yeah, it can be damn tough to cut down your story, but these are supposed to be limits. I'm a big fan of Strunk & White (they seem to be love-em-or-hate-em) and their precept, "omit needless words." It's good to get some practice at that in stories, since I certainly never do in my GAF posts!

dragonlife29 said:
Hey! :D I'm a San Diegan! :D

Where were you at?
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Coronado... and damn, was it nice. I'm a Californian too (Bay Area), so I'm used to the weather, but the beaches down there are freakin amazing. Got to visit a friend at UCSD too, which is an awesome campus.
 
C

crowphoenix

Banned
As my laptop is now a POW in hands of HP, I shall have to get myself a notebook tomorrow so I can actually write. Which is what? My sixth? :lol One day I'll fill one up.
 
H

hellclerk

Everything is tsundere to me
Mike Works said:
An extra 100 words are never necessary. One thing all writers must learn to do is edit down their work, even if they don't want to. It's something all of us really need to practice.

There are many challenges presented in these 'challenges', and this is one of them.

Obviously I'm not going to go nazi and count everyone's stories and tell them not to post them, but I personally don't read any stories that go above the word count.

Now if you were 1,000 words over the count, that would be much more challenging (or you could realize that your story isn't suited for this particular challenge), but you can edit down 99 words for sure, especially given how much time you have before the contest ends.
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it's not even 100. something closer to 50 or something (don't know, shaved more off after i transfered it from the word doc). i shaved something like 150 words off when i was drafting it too. i always thought it was about doing your best to write good stories. the point of how vague the requirements are would be to allow maximum creativity. the limits are to provide a basic standard for which they can be judged and compared for the shits and giggles competition, in place for the sole reason of choosing a new subject. stretching the standard, while it isn't quite encouraged, is what i would consider acceptable as long as it isn't excessive. honestly, it really wouldn't have been noticed if i didn't say anything, since it's not all that great of a gap, i was just being honest.

anyway, on to a bit of comments
"Lost and Found - It Happens Sometimes"
interesting disjointed style, but the mood, while i suppose appropriate, is a bit too heavy. ultimately it creates a sob story without much incentive to get into it, and while the style is interesting, it breaks the immersion into the story.
 
R

ronito

Member
Come on. I'm not the only one who sat and anguished over which words to cut and lost challenges because I cut the wrong ones. Other writers take the word limit very seriously, you should too.
 
I

Iceman

Member
ronito said:
Come on. I'm not the only one who sat and anguished over which words to cut and lost challenges because I cut the wrong ones. Other writers take the word limit very seriously, you should too.
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2840168545_2b5b2739f6.jpg


I'm at 881 words and only halfway through act 2. Gotta press on.
 
A

Aaron

Member
Filters
word count: 1,236

Weren't easy finding this windowless room in the city. No real kitchen, and a bathroom no bigger than phone booth, but enough for a bed and fan running all year long. Just to help drown out the noise. Went almost ten whole years without stepping out that door for more than my packages, leaving the check in the hall to keep from catching sight of... here, let me freshen your drink.

One day I was sitting here watching TV and waiting for the groceries, noticing I still had my check in hand. So I rushed to the door to get it out before the delivery boy showed up, but the food was already waiting. Figuring the boy had just left it, I picked up the sack and left the check behind. Heart nearly stopped when I heard the sound of footsteps creeping away from my door. The boy had been there the whole time. I was just so wrapped up in my own head that I saw straight through him. I filtered him right out, like they used to do for swear words on the TV.

Then I got all dressed up for the first time in years, wearing sneakers that didn't fit right no more. It was couple hours after midnight, and didn't see nobody out in the old hallway. Though it weren't so easy to see. All them bulbs had burned out, and the landlord was too lazy to replace 'em. Only light came from the window on the far end. From outside.

Stomach jumped with every creak of those floorboards, expecting someone to come running, thinking I was some kind of thief. Not a soul though. It stayed quiet until I reached the sill, where I could hear the city calling. Raised my head for a quick peek before ducking down out of sight. Still some people out there, in their cars or stumbling 'round the streets. Had to hold onto that image, staring hard with eyes well shut, and trying to filter out those folks to leave the city clean.

Weren't easy. Might have been there for a hour, with my knees starting to ache and a head not feeling much better, but I did it. Wiped them all away, so when I turned back to the street, seemed like I was the only one in the world. Then some trucker blew his horn, and broke up my concentration.

Doesn't seem like you think much of that, but it was only the first step. I started sneaking up to that window when no one else was around, peering outside and erasing any people I saw.

Then I was all in a sweat, standing at the open door with my hand just shaking as I held out the check, listening to those footsteps getting closer. Had to keep telling myself anything he says I won't hear, anything he is I won't see. Over and over until I was standing there with my check hand empty and groceries at my feet. Easier than I expected. A few times more, and it was second nature. People must've given me odd looks, but as long as I didn't see them it didn't matter. They were all filtered out.

Stage three was something I put off a good while. I could leave my door open all the time by then, blind and deaf to anyone who passed by, but couldn't keep myself from shaking at the thought of stepping out of this apartment and onto the street. Going down to the corner shop and buying something right off the shelf. Ten years since that moment when it all changed, with the sight of spilled soda and blood on the floor...

Had to do it. Couldn't live my whole life in a box, never seeing the sun or trees or anything but these four walls. So I headed all the way down the hall, trying to pretend I didn't hear voices on the wind. Didn't see nobody though, at least until I reached the door. Had it opened about halfway before I froze, hit with all kinds of noise and color from the crowds. I ran off like a coward, but I didn't give up. It was hell, but I brought myself to that door each day just to start filtering it all out, little by little. A few at a time. A few people. A few cars. Might have taken two whole weeks before I had them all whittled down.

With a hat pulled low and a pocket full of crumpled bills, I left that building and felt the sun for the first time in years. Felt nice. Might have smiled as I headed down the road, headed for the bright sign over the local food mart, and trying to shut out the feeling of folks close around me. Made it to the mart and bought myself a soda, slapping the right change down on the counter and walking away, as if no one else was there.

Sometimes, I'd almost catch sight of someone out of the corner of my eye, or pick up a snatch of conversation passing close to my ears. Then I'd turn my head without knowing why, guessing someone had called my name without me hearing it, but all these distractions faded away after a while. I left the TV off and bought some old books to read while sitting out in the park. I could finally live out in the open without fearing anything.

Then one week damn groceries didn't come. I thought the boy had slacked off again. Last time I made myself sick eating what was left in the kitchen, and not all of it food. Weren't nothing left now, and government check couldn't cover eating at that food mart. So I headed to the grocery store, shaking the whole time I loaded up my cart, moving as slow as a hundred year old man to keep from doing what I had to. But I was starving bad. I unloaded all my groceries with my head down, feeling a clammy sweat on my forehead as I shut my eyes and pealed back just one of the layers between me and everyone else. Hands shaking, I looked up and...

And nothing. Nobody at the register. Nobody at any of the registers at all. I shrugged off my filters one by one, but not one living soul appeared. Not one in the store and not one in the city. Not in the cars, on the sidewalks, nothing. At least none alive.

TV don't work no more, but the papers reported some powerful virus hit this city hard. All the people either got out early, or were trapped in here to die. A virus spread by touch, which I avoided for a whole decade. Weren't many bodies in the streets neither. Most chose to die at home.

Was lonely waiting here for the government to find out one man was still alive, but with it being so peaceful, it didn't matter much after a while. So I guess I've gotten used to this room, small at it is. Don't have to see none of the ruin outside, and there's nothing to hear but the wind now. Not lonely no more, not since I met you out there wandering, bewildered like I was. We two survivors can ride this thing out together, right?

"Meow?"
 
C

Cyan

Banned
Iceman said:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3058/2840168545_2b5b2739f6.jpg[img]

I'm at 881 words and only halfway through act 2. Gotta press on.[/QUOTE]
Hey dude, check your PMs.
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C

Cyan

Banned
Scribble said:
Q10's great for NanoWrimo, by the way. I'd like (Will we have a NeoGaf Creative Writing Challenge #X: Nanowrimo?)
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Missed this yesterday. Last year we were really successful, so I definitely intend to do another Nanowrimo megathread. It won't be a challenge thread, though. :p I'll probably make the thread a week or two before November, so people have enough time to think about what they'll write, but not enough time to think too hard and chicken out.

I have no idea if I'll even come close to finishing this year--I have a big exam at the beginning of December and will be studying a few hours a day throughout November. I may just not have time. Still, it's a whole lot of fun, so I'll have a go.
 
S

Scribble

Member
Cyan said:
Missed this yesterday. Last year we were really successful, so I definitely intend to do another Nanowrimo megathread. It won't be a challenge thread, though. :p I'll probably make the thread a week or two before November, so people have enough time to think about what they'll write, but not enough time to think too hard and chicken out.

I have no idea if I'll even come close to finishing this year--I have a big exam at the beginning of December and will be studying a few hours a day throughout November. I may just not have time. Still, it's a whole lot of fun, so I'll have a go.
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This year, I'll be going a more 'stream-of-consciousness' route (But with some kind of structure, I suppose, like the MC going on an adventure), because I know that's the ONLY way I can complete Nanowrimo. Having a novel with your name on it sounds nice, but I don't know if I like the novel format.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
Scribble said:
Having a novel with your name on it sounds nice, but I don't know if I like the novel format.
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You prefer short stories? Or novellas?

I don't know, I think there's something really fun about such a long form. And it's great to be able to say you've written a novel! :)
 
S

Scribble

Member
Cyan said:
You prefer short stories? Or novellas?

I don't know, I think there's something really fun about such a long form. And it's great to be able to say you've written a novel! :)
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I like the idea of it. Creating characters, having them develop over hundreds of pages, sub-plots, all of that stuff. When it comes to writing them, though, well...=/ I do want to write one someday, but I prefer short stories at the moment, 'cause I can explore all sorts of different concepts. I'm not sure about novellas (What's the word range for those again?)
I keep reading that Nanowrimo word limit is pretty short for a novel, so maybe it won't be too bad.
 
C

crowphoenix

Banned
Cyan said:
You prefer short stories? Or novellas?

I don't know, I think there's something really fun about such a long form. And it's great to be able to say you've written a novel! :)
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I defintely prefer novels. I love good long reads that delve really deep into something, but novels are so hard to start. I must have written the first chapter of one eight times before I finally decided I wasn't ready and gave up. :lol It's also more natural for me since I'm a wordy bastard that loves to write for writtings sake, which mean, I'll probably have tons of extra words that I need to shave off.
 
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