No, it's midday Pacific since a few challenges now.
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NeoGAF Creative Writing Challenge #140 - "Nameless"
- Thread starter Cyan
- Start date
- Status
Cyan's reign has changed the landscape.
That seems way too early, yikes. I'd better get my votes together then.
Well it's actually 12 hours later than it used to be...
I think it was actually Aaron who changed it and since no one objected we kept it that way.
1. Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way
2. One Last Mission
3. Nameless
It was hard to pick this week, I really wanted to give the win to "One Last Mission" but I couldn't. The problem with the second person perspective is that you're making the reader part of the story, which can be pretty awesome when done right. My only problem with "One Last Mission" was that it told me how I feel and think. You have to let the reader get there on their own with the second person.
2. One Last Mission
3. Nameless
It was hard to pick this week, I really wanted to give the win to "One Last Mission" but I couldn't. The problem with the second person perspective is that you're making the reader part of the story, which can be pretty awesome when done right. My only problem with "One Last Mission" was that it told me how I feel and think. You have to let the reader get there on their own with the second person.
Nice try. Stop teasing and post your votes!
Well, look at it that way. If I guessed right you are winning by a landslide at the moment
Votes:
1. "The City You Once Loved" - easily my favorite story this time. Which is saying a lot, since there were plenty of solid entries. I love the premise and I love the execution. I might consider changing the ending paragraph to be slightly more subtle. And as a reader I don't understand where the bearded man from the beginning comes into things.
2. "Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way." - I love the simple humanity embodied in this piece. And excellent use of misdirection. I'm not sure the postscript really adds anything to the story.
3. "For the Want of a Dream" - Tough to pick a third place, but this one gets my vote simply because it was very effective at evoking worry and even dread in me. I really thought the guy would get caught and have something grisly happen to him with every noise he heard and every step he took through the facility. For the ending, I might suggest either giving a few tiny hints earlier in the story or else just completely blindsiding us, removing the bit where Dodge talks about toys.
HM: "Where's the fun in that?" - This was right on the heels of my third place vote. I love that it takes a familiar premise and does something completely different with it. Something fun.
Having read all the stories with the benefit of knowing who wrote them... I'm honestly not sure I could've guessed the writers for most of them. I think I would have guessed Hexenjäger and Lonely Planet. And maybe Divine Protection. And probably Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way.
1. "The City You Once Loved" - easily my favorite story this time. Which is saying a lot, since there were plenty of solid entries. I love the premise and I love the execution. I might consider changing the ending paragraph to be slightly more subtle. And as a reader I don't understand where the bearded man from the beginning comes into things.
2. "Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way." - I love the simple humanity embodied in this piece. And excellent use of misdirection. I'm not sure the postscript really adds anything to the story.
3. "For the Want of a Dream" - Tough to pick a third place, but this one gets my vote simply because it was very effective at evoking worry and even dread in me. I really thought the guy would get caught and have something grisly happen to him with every noise he heard and every step he took through the facility. For the ending, I might suggest either giving a few tiny hints earlier in the story or else just completely blindsiding us, removing the bit where Dodge talks about toys.
HM: "Where's the fun in that?" - This was right on the heels of my third place vote. I love that it takes a familiar premise and does something completely different with it. Something fun.
Having read all the stories with the benefit of knowing who wrote them... I'm honestly not sure I could've guessed the writers for most of them. I think I would have guessed Hexenjäger and Lonely Planet. And maybe Divine Protection. And probably Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way.
I think Ashes and Azir still need to vote too.
Azih wasn't going to be able to vote until almost midnight, I thought.
John Dunbar
correct about everything
let's not pretend anyone here has a life. we can wait.
Closing voting in the middle of the day feels weird anyway.
True enough.
Yeeeeeah, I'm not the biggest fan. I think the initial intent was to accommodate all the late entries/votes, but all it did was shift the window. At least when the deadline was midnight PST, I could wake up the next morning and tally up a list if no one beat me to it.
I used to think that it was better because for me it meant that the deadline was at 9 in the evening instead of 9 in the morning which resulted in me no longer having to stay up all night to finish my story. But seeing how much everything gets drawn out even longer I'm starting to think we should change it back.
ThatObviousUser
ὠαἴÏÏιÏÏÎ¿Ï Ïαá¿Ï εἶ
#shame
#lazy
#stupid
#hadagoodidea,too
#lazy
#stupid
#hadagoodidea,too
Giving people more time to read isn't a bad idea though, especially if there's going to be more than 10 entries.
I agree with that. And we always do so anyway. Whether the deadline is pm or am.
toddhunter
Member
Sorry for being late and no feedback.
1. For the want of a dream
2. The city you once loved
3. Swashbuckled
1. For the want of a dream
2. The city you once loved
3. Swashbuckled
To expand on this:
1. I think it's easy to see why this is a popular choice. Very charming with fun characters and tells a complete story in a very short amount of time. The only thing I would say is that I wish that
it ended with a second twist of the witch realizing her heart was missing and the nameless gentleman planning to sell it on the black market or something. I just felt like he was too clever a dude to miss the ol' heart-in-a-jar trick.
2. An intriguing story with just the right amount of suspense and tension. Very effective at painting a picture of the setting such that you feel you are right there with Ford in each scene.
3. I liked the fable-like feeling of this one. Some of the dialogue felt a bit cliche for lack of a better word but I really enjoyed the overall direction of the story and its conclusion.
As far as timing, I kind of like the new writing due date, since I'm often stuck at work late on Fridays. And it works pretty well if we assume a four or five hour grace period.
For votes, it's true that it's a little more awkward to do during the middle of the day on a Tuesday. What if we made it something like 6 PM, which with a similar several hours of grace period would mean we could count them up at like 10 or 11 PST. And the new challenge could go up the next morning.
How many people use the entire voting period to read? It seems like most people are waiting until the last minute and then reading everything at once (or maybe I'm just projecting). If people are actually using all of it I guess we could try extending it. Won't help me and the other procrastinators, though!
I'll leave it up to the winner of this challenge, but my suggestion is to keep the same challenge due date (with generous grace period) and maybe move the voting deadline 6 hours later (again with a decent grace period). We can always revisit the topic later and change things again. We've done it plenty of times!
Anyway, will post the results and names shortly, unless Ashes or Ward pipe up and are about to post their votes.
For votes, it's true that it's a little more awkward to do during the middle of the day on a Tuesday. What if we made it something like 6 PM, which with a similar several hours of grace period would mean we could count them up at like 10 or 11 PST. And the new challenge could go up the next morning.
How many people use the entire voting period to read? It seems like most people are waiting until the last minute and then reading everything at once (or maybe I'm just projecting
). If people are actually using all of it I guess we could try extending it. Won't help me and the other procrastinators, though!I'll leave it up to the winner of this challenge, but my suggestion is to keep the same challenge due date (with generous grace period) and maybe move the voting deadline 6 hours later (again with a decent grace period). We can always revisit the topic later and change things again. We've done it plenty of times!
Anyway, will post the results and names shortly, unless Ashes or Ward pipe up and are about to post their votes.
The Results:
1st Place: "Hexenjäger"
2nd Place (tie): "Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way."
2nd Place (tie): "Swashbuckled"
Vote Count:
"Hexenjäger" - 23 (5)
"Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way." - 11 (3)
"Swashbuckled" - 11 (2)
"For the Want of a Dream" - 9 (1)
"Where's the fun in that?" - 8 (2)
"The City You Once Loved" - 8 (1)
"Ties that Bind" - 8 (1)
"Nameless" - 6
"God Forsaken" - 3 (1)
"Lonely Planet" - 3
"Fakir and the Prince" - 2
"One Last Mission" - 2
"Baby Shoes" - 1
"Divine Protection" - 1
Excellent work all, great set of stories! I enjoyed seeing so many different takes on the theme. Looking forward to the next one.
...
Wellp, guess we're done here!
1st Place: "Hexenjäger"
2nd Place (tie): "Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way."
2nd Place (tie): "Swashbuckled"
Vote Count:
"Hexenjäger" - 23 (5)
"Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way." - 11 (3)
"Swashbuckled" - 11 (2)
"For the Want of a Dream" - 9 (1)
"Where's the fun in that?" - 8 (2)
"The City You Once Loved" - 8 (1)
"Ties that Bind" - 8 (1)
"Nameless" - 6
"God Forsaken" - 3 (1)
"Lonely Planet" - 3
"Fakir and the Prince" - 2
"One Last Mission" - 2
"Baby Shoes" - 1
"Divine Protection" - 1
Excellent work all, great set of stories! I enjoyed seeing so many different takes on the theme. Looking forward to the next one.
...
Wellp, guess we're done here!
Kill this man.
All right, enough teasing. The moment we've all been waiting for...
The Writers:
"Baby Shoes" -
"The City You Once Loved" -
"Divine Protection" -
"Fakir and the Prince" -
"For the Want of a Dream" -
"God Forsaken" -
"Hexenjäger" -
"Lonely Planet" -
"Nameless" -
"No One" -
"One Last Mission" -
"Still Creek" -
"Swashbuckled" -
"Things that make my heart beat faster but not in a horror kind of way." -
"Ties that Bind" -
"Where's the fun in that?" -
"White Light" -
(Unless, of course, some people actually did get together behind the scenes and swap stories. Which would be hilarious, but probably requires more coordination than we're capable of!)
The moment we've all been waiting for...The Writers:
"Baby Shoes" -
GRW810__
Branduil_
Ourobolos_
Azih______
Ward______
Nezumi____
Mike M____
Tangent___
Cyan______
thelooseteeth
Sober_____
Bootaaay__
Carlisle__
Ashes_____
John Dunbar
B-Dubs____
Vengal____
(Unless, of course, some people actually did get together behind the scenes and swap stories. Which would be hilarious, but probably requires more coordination than we're capable of!)
Number of first place votes. Since it's used as a tiebreaker.
Why, did you try and fail?
I meant the guessing part : P
BAAAAAAAH!
He even kinda looks like me!
Yes, it was me.
Yes, people knew it was me, even after I revised this thing daily for a week and a half to scrub it of every trace of five dollar words and purple prose--not in any attempt to disguise my entry, but just a genuine attempt to incorporate a 16 months of feedback and curb my bad writing habits to produce something more readable.
And what gave me away? "Bereft?" From the man who uses words like "depilated," "phrenetic," "thanomaturgist," and "bifurcated," fucking "bereft" is the tip off?
Are you kidding me?! This story is now a metaphor for my word choices stabbing you all through the heart!
Seriously though, it's an interesting thing to be so readily identifiable to some people, because if I have a particular "style," I'm not aware of it. Outside of maybe a penchant for writing condescending intellectual types... And picking obscure-ish words as my titles...
I almost believe this...
Mike M: on the plus side, the results of the challenge seem to indicate that your style isn't bad.
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