Science Fiction Microstory Contest discussion
* SEPTEMBER 2016 MICRO STORY CONTEST - COMMENTS ONLY
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Oh Chris...damn you and your Dragon requirement!!The Fantasy Fiction in me is screaming to come out and play and I'm just over here like "no, no, no...go back to your room. It's Science Fiction's turn to play."
:D
Carrie, I think that if you can add fantasy elements while still maintaining the overall scifi genre, that'll do fine. The story has to be sci-fi, of course, but there's nothing preventing your from mixing the genres if you'd like. I've actually completed a manuscript that combines fantasy and sci-fi fairly effectively. It CAN be done. So, If you've got a creative, new idea, I say go for it. :)
lol good point. I suppose I could go all "Dragons of Pern"!
Ok, my story is unapologetically Dragons of Pern meets Planet of the Apes with a bit of Resident Evil Extinction thrown in for good measure.:D
Carrie wrote: "Ok, my story is unapologetically Dragons of Pern meets Planet of the Apes with a bit of Resident Evil Extinction thrown in for good measure.:D"
I thought it worked well.
Also the very old (1950s?) SF story, which I read years ago in comicbook form, about the people exploring an E2 type planet, being rushed upon by green-moldy-looking humanoids, whom they shoot and kill, then going back into the rocket to warn Earth but finding their electronics/communications wiring has all been attacked by green mold--so they can't lift-off either--and, not long after, seeing the first green mold on one of them--and then . . . . Heavy comics for a child to read, but a fine plot for inclusion. Very solid job, Carrie.
Extra story, non-competitive, critiques welcome:Here Be Dragons
Commonwealth Jumpship Tiamat
Nadir jump point: Seltris III System
Commonwealth - Combine Border
1945 hrs
The darkness of space was pierced by the brilliant blue line of an artificial event horizon. It rapidly expanded to over a mile long, disgorged its contents, then snapped back into nothingness. In the blink of an eye, an enormous jumpship emerged and sat shimmering hazily in the light of the system’s sun, then fully solidified into a massive interstellar leviathan.
Mounted along the vessel’s hull like so many dragon scales sat the oblong-shaped dropships for transport. They carried the real firepower within their armored hulls to debouch in the target planet’s upper atmosphere. Almost immediately, three of the ovoid ships on the Tiamat’s ventral side decoupled and began a graceful dance away from its obliging partner.
“Dropships Gryphon, Manticore and Wyvern you are cleared for combat operations. Commence intra-system burn to Seltris III on our mark.”
A trio of acknowledgments confirmed readiness.
“Execute… and good hunting.”
***
The rain on Seltris III had been falling steadily for three weeks now. Lieutenant Astor watched the water claw at his Dragonhammer’s cockpit glass. Radar was a complete mess. Motion sensors were utterly useless. Astor could have been surrounded by enemy Stryders for all he knew. Infrared was also worthless in the cold rain, which easily hid the heat generated by infantry and vehicles – including Stryders. He was tempted to use the Dragonhammer’s powerful strobe light, but it would also give him away.
Ultimately reduced to squinting into the deepening black that passed for dusk, he cautiously moved his Dragonhammer forward. Heavy rain clouds never allowed more than a feeble gray light even at midday, but as night approached, they made it even more dark and ominous. Lightning danced violently down from the sky and for an instant, Astor thought he saw another Stryder silhouetted against the trees.
“Damn radio silence…” he muttered aloud.
He punched his IFF transponder several times but there was no response. Pausing at the edge of a small clearing, he slowly rotated his Dragonhammer’s torso left 45 degrees. He caught a sudden movement out of his left eye, but was blinded by a flash of lightning. Astor felt the thunder despite the armored cockpit around him.
Where is the rest of my unit! he thought to himself. Astor winced as an unnatural bolt of blue lighting lanced out horizontally from the woods opposite the clearing and incinerated a tree behind him.
“At least I’m not the only one who can’t track in this nightmare!”
He sidestepped his Dragonhammer away from where the bolt had hit. In the open, he was a huge target, but he could not maneuver easily in the woods either. His automatic tracking systems weren’t locking on to anything, so he toggled the combat computer to Manual Firing mode. Another blue bolt seared through the dark woods and scored a hit on the Dragonhammer’s right shin. Armor melted under the bolt’s tortuous effects, scourging his Stryder like some hideous plague, but it remained intact. A computer schematic highlighted this fact for Astor, but he ignored it.
Sidestepping his Dragonhammer again, Astor moved it to almost the opposite side of where he had entered the clearing.
“Can’t let him get behind me…” Astor’s forehead creased with concern, its furrows irrigated by the sweat pouring out from under his helmet.
He quickly flipped another switch on the combat computer and it queried him: Multi-tracking or Separate Tracking? He tapped Multi-tracking just as several staccato flashes, followed by multiple impacts ravaged the left torso of his Dragonhammer. Astor pushed his own firing trigger.
The Dragonhammer’s powerful strobe light pierced the wet darkness, followed a half second later by a full volley of every weapon it carried. Secondary explosions ripped through the forest, enabling Astor to finally see his attacker. A severely damaged Fire Drake Stryder leaned drunkenly against a large tree. Smoke billowed from its right torso, and its right arm hung limply towards the ground.
Astor saw the canopy hatch blow off as the enemy pilot ejected. He watched the ejection seat travel a short distance, hit a tree and vanish in another explosion. The rain rapidly extinguished it. He turned his attention back to the now fallen Fire Drake.
“The fire’s already burned off any unit insignia or House markings.” Astor lamented. He didn’t know who was defending this place, but Intelligence had sure as hell screwed up on this one.
(741 words in story) Justin Sewall © 2016
Hi Justin,I've tweaked my story "The Dragon's Horde" based on your input. Thank you for your suggestions, they were quite helpful!
Regards,
-C.
Sheesh, who would have known I'd really struggle with my own theme for the month. Man! At least it's up, anyways. :)
Yeah, I tried to throw the element of dragons on its head. Make them more a believable animal in nature as opposed to a supernatural, ferocious creature.
Mod
Mod
Jot wrote: "I'm heading out to Atlantis in the Bahamas tomorrow and won't be on line. Catch you guys on Tuesday."Have a blast!
Jot wrote: "I'm heading out to Atlantis in the Bahamas tomorrow and won't be on line. Catch you guys on Tuesday. "Geez. Dragons not Dolphins!
Have fun!
-C.
Justin wrote: "Say hi to the wormhole aliens!"More like the Bermuda Triangle Aliens... Lol
-C.
Hi Thaddeus,Welcome back. . . been a while! Nice job on the story--loved the last line!
Just wanted you to be aware we now have a real live critiques thread each month, and if you prefer not to have your story critiqued, just include a note to that effect with the story.
FYI since you may have missed all the hubbub last month. Great fun.
-C.
Hi Thaddeus,Just a short comment, although I hope to write a full blown critique. I really enjoyed your story!
Justin wrote: "Extra story, non-competitive, critiques welcome:Here Be Dragons
Commonwealth Jumpship Tiamat
Nadir jump point: Seltris III System
Commonwealth - Combine Border
1945 hrs
The darkness of space wa..."
Very well written, I thought. Good, richly imagined imagery, good flow and strong POV. Very enjoyable, though a bit anti-climactic.
Thanks Tom! I appreciate the feedback. It did end somewhat less strongly than I had wanted.
Didn't think I'd have time, this month, to post a story, but this one came while doing keyboard exercises and started writing itself for awhile.Made a few edits so should be clear.
Jot wrote: "I'm heading out to Atlantis in the Bahamas tomorrow and won't be on line. Catch you guys on Tuesday."Have a good time in the Bahamas. I just got back from Athens, Greece myself. A vacation does wonders for creativity.
John
Mod
Jot wrote: "Thanks everyone! Love the Bahamian people. Had a wonderful time. John, I say yours was an even better trip. Seeing Athens would be amazing. Hope you had a great time."Truth be told, if you go to Athens get a hotel near the coast and enjoy the many beaches. Otherwise in the city stay around the Akropolis. They have great strawberry daiquiris. The rest of Athens is abysmal. But yes what a beautiful trip it was.
MY CONVOLUTED WRITING PROCESSSince I have been out of the mix for a while, I thought I would share my writing process which I use to create my work. As an autist, I find my ability to write affected by my preliminary work and thinking on a project.
I do, occasionally, free-write (write without a plan or outline) but I find such writing only works well for very short pieces on subjects I possess great insight into (computers, technology, comics, cosmology, mythology). Otherwise I try and outline pieces after my initial assessment of the project.
When I sit down to write a piece I am serious about, I create not just an outline but an analysis of what I am attempting to do, what I hope to accomplish and what memes, themes or tropes I wish to engage or avoid.
Yes, it is time consuming and limits what I can or will use during the course of the work, but I find sometimes such limits help me pre-refine ideas before I even get started.
Even with this analysis, I started three different pieces before I let this one come into being. As you can see, it is a bit outside the parameters set by this initial specification but I felt I enjoyed it enough to allow it. It shows me where I deviated from my initial ideas and how to use such deviation to my advantage in the future. Example to follow for this month's work.
FLASH FICTION WRITING PROMPT (September, 2016)
Science Fiction (750 word limit)
Brainstorming session for flash fiction story contest.
Primary thematic element:
1. Alien plague (in any manner you wish)
Sub-elements:
1. A tragic twist (cure, outcome, discovery...etc.)
2. A dragon (used in any manner you wish)
Given the nature of the prompt, the most likely stories will include an actual dragon, genetically engineered as a modern science or as a lost science and dragons being a stable, recurring element in society.
Unlike fantasy, science fiction dragons are generally depicted as companions than monsters ranging in size from housecat to a large warhorse. Rarely do they come much larger due to social constraints or difficulties in violating the square-cube law. If a physical dragon is to exist, it will have to remain within these confines.
Other writers may opt to utilize only the word dragon, either as a technical aspect, labeling a person, machine, weapon or ship with the word, dragon. It may also be utilized to define an alien species with a dragon-like appearance. While there is nothing wrong with this, readers may feel cheated if they were looking for an actual creature not a sobriquet.
Since apocalyptic stories are generally the order of the day, it would make sense most of the stories will incorporate plague and other dire elements (incorporating tragic twists and dragon elements accordingly).
To make a story stand out it will need to utilize these elements creatively, not so far removed from the expectations of the writing prompt to be divergent, but not so conventionally, the story runs aground of dragon tropes aplenty.
A alien plague, an unfortunate twist, and a dragon: Is there a way to make the plague interesting, unusual or compelling in some way making it more of a story element than just a backdrop? Perhaps a moral dilemma, a sentient plague, perhaps?
Is a cure necessary? Is it even possible? Given the requirements for a xenoplague to exist, it would be a rare circumstance such a thing could happen naturally in the first place. A disease to one species is a fine mouthwash to another. The whole premise of natural xenoplagues is challenging at best.
The setting of a plague is problematic, reducing the ability to tell a hopeful and optimistic story but I think writing from a hopeful angle might be the best change of creating a new and interesting story which can defy most of the classic science fiction tropes.
With only 750 words to work with, I will have to create a setting which can be described briefly but still have enough cachet the reader will provide the necessary visuals so I can get on with the more personalized story elements.
Brainstorming complete.
-------------------------------
I know it seems ridiculously complex. I have been working to understand my creative process in order to both improve it, to challenge it, and to see if it is possible to improve on the tropes used in science fiction and fantasy or at least to subvert them in interesting ways.
Do any of you have a method you use to create new stories? What are your preferred techniques for inspiration?
Mod
I wrote my story two weeks ago but then forgot to post. It's now finally up, "I Hate Dragons."When Cris specified that the story had to contain dragons, my first thought was 'I hate dragons. How can I write a story with dragons.' There it was, right in front of me. Inspiration flashed and the story followed.
And nicely done it is, Kalifer. Very cool, succinct, and effectiveKalifer wrote: "I wrote my story two weeks ago but then forgot to post. It's now finally up, "I Hate Dragons."
When Cris specified that the story had to contain dragons, my first thought was 'I hate dragons. How ..."
I did a couple of tiny edits to my story, hoping it now is clear that the speakers are planning a vid about a legend from Corteix III (and V) history. Those of you who've been in this group awhile may remember I've set a few stories on (or with characters from) the planets of the Ar-Corteix system.
Thaddeus wrote"MY CONVOLUTED WRITING PROCESS ... I know it seems ridiculously complex. I have been working to understand my creative process in order to both improve it, to challenge it, and to see if it is possible to improve on the tropes used in science fiction and fantasy or at least to subvert them in interesting ways.
Do any of you have a method you use to create new stories? What are your preferred techniques for inspiration?"
That's a compelling topic for discussion, Thaddeus. What drives an artist's work ... and, is he or she conscious of that to any degree, or is it all just intuitively done? This fascinates me because I think the true role of the artist has always been significant - but often subverted and/or otherwise misappropriated and misused - in human society. But this must change for the better as we go into the future, I tend to believe. It has to happen because the creative process and outcome, as it occurs in highly gifted artists, will have to eventually be better mimicked - as the needed direction of future advances - in artificial intelligence ... but that's a whole other sub-topic that could be digressed to, but I won't do that now.
That's my obsession: the consciousness or otherwise of the artist and its being a largely untapped and powerful template for The Future.
That obsession, and therefore my focus in storytelling about The Future (and hence science fiction), is based on my observations since childhood - auditory, emotional, rational, visual - that have led me to see for myself the role of that type of 'beauty' (and that's a word and concept that too often exemplifies the misuse of the role of 'beauty-in-creativity') that the extremely gifted have as a resource to use in their creative work. A beautiful sound/passage of sounds, a beautiful juxtaposition of words, or images or concepts ... etc can bring real change! (I believe artificial intelligence will pick up on how artists work - eg intuitively-known Bayesian probability 'measurements' to determine what sound combination to use in their musicality or what mark to be made by their paintbrush or what word on their keyboard or what choreographic combination, to use - because scientists picking up on that will help Science to, one day, make 'better intelligences' artificially!)
So my inspiration is always how to use story - and specifically science fiction story, as most able to incorporate the Surreal within Everyday Life - to provoke thought and/or discussion about Creative Consciousness and its future healing place in the world? So, for every new theme posted I wonder "how can I use that?" (I didn't enter this month's contest but that's not because I couldn't see a way to use it to explore my obsession.)
Then, as far as the actual process towards trying to achieve that 'communication of my obsession via story' goes, I intuitively contemplate what sort of experimentation seems to best fit with the given theme in order *to try to 'uncover the best beauty' needed to move the audience, emotionally/intellectually from point A to point B - which is what I see the role of art as being.
(*That's not a dry intellectual or technical idea! It comes specifically from standing in church as a child and 'observing' how my mother's incredibly richly timbered and perfectly pitched mezzo soprano voice could take a hymn about some grief-full subject matter and in a grief-full musical key and literally move the emotions of the listener from 'awareness of experiencing a point of grief' to 'awareness of experiencing a point of celebration: art so precisely perfect (ie, using perfect beauty or balance) in its 'calculation of' and 'subsequent expression of' the 'true state' {GRIEF's distance or separation from the Oneness of The Universe} that that 'perfect-precision expressed' acts as a 'true' road map to the 'next logical point on' from there {viz., the CELEBRATION of realization of that state of truth ... and therefore it's remedy of how to re-join with THE BEAUTY OF Oneness!} ... by 'calculating' and 'expressing' one's own most beautiful self ... which in turn ultimately also requires that 'society' itself also makes that 'beautiful move'! - a sort of everyday performance art road map or choreography map, for all! ... as told by the beauty expressed by the most gifted intuitive artists! ... and one day to be replicated by science!!)
My experiments in these monthly contests usually seem to fail dismally, in that most people don't seem to realize that I am actually trying to communicate. They normally think I'm just off on a magic thought bubble trip of my own ... and yet I am usually pleased I tried ... not least of all because I pick up on bits of advice along the way about where something let me down (eg the overuse of adverbs, thanks Carrie! :) ) I was really pleased last month to try out a 'reverse perspective' way of writing to try and match the content of what I was trying to say. I don't think many people saw the connection, but that just brought it home to me once and for all that my interest (in the subject of the future of Creative Consciousness as a serious science) is probably more suited to mixing images and words, not just words. I'm sure some writers have the talent to find that beauty that is needed in words alone, but I don't ... but I think I have 'some hope' if I stop being lazy re my drawing skills. I especially lately like the idea of studying botanical art - for the floriography aspect (thanks Jeremy L for that theme of many months ago) that might help me to make 'beautiful and moving' graphic novels that might be more easily comprehended.
So, in all, 'my process' is just using this monthly contest as a drawing board really; an experimental laboratory for my future sequential art or visual narratives. I'm not much interested in the straight out story writing/story telling process, for its own sake, rightly or wrongly ... but rather I am deeply interested in communicating (despite all apparent appearances to the contrary) and provoking thought and discussion, re, my observations and feelings about, 'where the future of Human Consciousness might be heading' as well (ie as beautifully as) I can ... and using Story to do that (as opposed to say a dry essay) ... even though I seem, for now at least, to keep failing at it!
Oh damn I totally dropped the ball and missed the voting window!
Mod
** COMMENTS ONLY **
The theme* for the month follows this note from the competition's Creator/Director, Jot Russell:
To help polish our skills and present a flavour of our art to other members in the group, I am continuing this friendly contest for those who would like to participate. There is no money involved, but there is also no telling what a little recognition and respect might generate. The rules are simple:
1) The story needs to be your own work and should be posted on the Good Reads Discussion board, which is a public group. You maintain responsibility and ownership of your work to do with as you please. You may withdraw your story at any time.
2) The stories must be 750 words or less.
3) The stories have to be science fiction, follow a specific theme and potentially include reference to items as requested by the prior month's contest winner. The theme for this month is posted below.
4) You have until midnight EST on the 22nd day of the month to post your story to the Good Reads Science Fiction Microstory Contest discussion. One story per author per month.
5) After, anyone from the LI Sci-Fi group or the GR Science Fiction Microstory Discussion group has until midnight EST of the 25th day of the month to cast a single private vote to Jot Russell () for a story other than their own. This vote will be made public once voting is closed. Voting is required. If you do not vote, your story will be disqualified from the contest. You don't need a qualifying story to cast a vote, but must offer the reason for your vote if you don’t have an entry.
6) To win, a story needs at least half of the votes, or be the only one left after excluding those with the fewest votes. Runoffs will be run each day until a winner is declared. Stories with vote totals that add up to at least half, discarding those with the fewest votes, will be carried forward to the next runoff election. Prior votes will be carried forward to support runoff stories. If you voted for a story that did not make it into the runoff, you need to vote again before midnight EST of that day. Only people who voted in the initial round may vote in the runoffs.
7) Please have all posts abide by the rules of Good Reads and the LI Sci-Fi group.
8) Professional comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated by any member in either group and should be posted to the separate thread that will be posted at the end of the month and all voting is complete to avoid any influence on the voting. Feel free to describe elements that you do and don't like, as these help us gain a better perspective of our potential readers. Remarks deemed inflammatory or derogatory will be flagged and/ or removed by the moderator.
9) The winner has THREE days after the start of the new month to make a copy of these rules and post a new contest thread using the theme/items of their choosing. Otherwise, the originator of the contest, Jot Russell, will post a new contest thread.
______________________________
*Theme / Requirements for the August 2016 contest:
An alien plague (used in any manner you wish)
Must be SciFi
Must Include the following elements:
1. A tragic twist (cure, outcome, discovery...etc.)
2. A dragon (used in any manner you wish)