Weekly Short Stories Contest and Company! discussion
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Esther
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Feb 06, 2010 01:48PM
*stares at other topics* im dead... im going to die before i finish reading all of them...
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Hi, I'm new to the group and have a question. When will you have the next topic up? I'm not asking like I'm upset there isn't a new one up, but I'm just wondering if you post them with a certain regularity--such as a week after the end date of the last one, or something like that.
They sometimes get busy with their studies around here HB. If you look at the finish date of one topic and the start of the next you will see that there is often a gap. I sent Alex a message but no response. Just have to be patient. Meanwhile you could go back and read some previous entries. Did you see my short story under "50 Ways to...."?
Thanks, Jan. I did not see your short story. I'll find and read it though!
Hmm, I'm having trouble finding it. Could you tell in what thread it's in, Jan?
OK. What happens on Goodreads is that not all topics or threads can be shown at once, but they are still accessible if you know how.1. Go to short Story contest. In tiny letters at the top right hand side you will see something like 'Shows 6 of 176 topics. Show all.
2. Click on Show All.
3. Go to topic 50. 50 Ways to...
If you're interested, I have poems and stories every week from week 48 onwards. Each time you come here, if nothing's happening, you could catch up on one of the threads...while you're waiting for something else to happen...
Thanks! I am going to read it right now.
Jan, I followed you over here, what with your siren song and all, and there's nothing going on! The management's worse than at the last apartment complex I lived in.Maybe if they made the competitions semi-monthly or monthly rather than weekly. A week is a pretty short time to turn around three competitions, not to mention write for them (it took me several hours to write that theater story).
I like this group a lot better than the !Poetry! group, but the moderators here don't follow their own rules.
They have school and stuff. I don't like the Poetry group either. Did anyone watch The Lost Hero webcast tonight?
I'm so sorry, M. I also invited Historybuff93(since the supposed close of competitions). And now I'm feeling very embarrassed. I have sent a PM to Alex, but to no avail.If you look at the dates of the various 'weeks' you will see there's often a week between the close of one and the start of the next...but it's never been this long before! The essay competition is only monthly. I think they just get caught up with their studies...I'll try to wake them up...it's not usually this long. I appreciate the effort you put in to your contributions. They must come back eventually....You seem to have been a little less active in L&G of late....too busy?
Hi, Jan! You've brought me to a great place. I'm the one who should be offering apologies. My wife and I have been spending a lot of time lately at the other lake, where there's often no signal for me to access the Internet. I'm supposed to be revising a manuscript of short stories, but I'm not very organized, so it's going more slowly than I'd anticipated.Stephanie and Alex are wonderful! This group has potential. They don't take themselves too seriously, and I don't think they realize how valuable that is. If WSSC wants to recruit talent, though, they'll have to keep to a schedule. If the group grows, sooner or later it will wind up having semi-monthly or monthly competitions rather than weekly because stories can't be read and judged in quantity on a weekly basis.
Stephanie, what's The Lost Hero?
(Jan, I can't bear the embarrassment of asking Stephanie this.) What's a webcast?
The Lost Hero is Rick Riordan's newest book. It came out yesterday. Basically, they were having this big opening and they were streaming it online so I watched it as a live webcast. Make sense?Ooooo! I'm wonderful? I'd so be a mod here, I love this group. Haha, hey if any writer took him/herself seriously we'd be even more insane, so you know. Or perhaps we'd be afraid of ourselves when we create these really weird, funky characters....
Thanks, Stephanie! I forget sometimes that transmission rates are fast enough now for people to watch broadcasts or movies on their computers. We get our signal from cell towers, and out in the country the signal's weak. Motion is herky-jerky. When I click on a Goodreads thread, the text comes up, then a few seconds later the profile pictures start appearing on the screen.I read one of your short stories, the one about the girl on the brink of insanity, pursued by a shadow. I thought it was good! It reminded me of something that happened one night at my apartment, years ago. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a shadow moving across the wall in the hall. It was getting dark outside. No one was in the apartment but me. I don't know if you've ever had that prickling-scalp sensation, as though your hair were standing up, and you feel yourself go cold. Your story did a good job of conveying stark terror. It didn't matter where she ran, she wasn't safe anywhere.
Maybe the next topic will be something seasonal: ghosts, autumn leaves, bonfires, spells.
Is there going to be a new topic some time soon?
I asked Maud. She was out watering her roses. "How would I know?" she replied, bending to examine a leaf some bug had munched on. I tried to be tactful. "Didn't you used to be a Salem witch, in a former life?" She looked narrowly at me. "I don't have to be a witch to tell you that you may be in for some hard times if you don't watch your mouth." I was hoping she'd invite me in for coffee and a session with the crystal ball. All witches have a crystal ball. Instead, she finished watering and went to check a manual on pests that eat rose leaves.
M wrote: "Thanks, Stephanie! I forget sometimes that transmission rates are fast enough now for people to watch broadcasts or movies on their computers. We get our signal from cell towers, and out in the cou..."Oh, thanks! I really like that story because the shadow can be interpreted in different ways; it all depends on the person. I know what I intended it to be but I really enjoy hear what other people think the shadow is supposed to be. Stark terror? Wow; that's awesome! Thanks! haha, I wasn't going for that so I guess I uncontiously did it. I guess all I wanted was to convey that she couldn't run from it.
I know, then I could really experimnet. Haha
You weren't experimenting? (I just assumed.) I think you, Alex, and Amanda are all natural writers. You make it look easy.
M wrote: "You weren't experimenting? (I just assumed.) I think you, Alex, and Amanda are all natural writers. You make it look easy."I suppose it was an experiment of a sort. Isn't everything we write an experiment though? Just a thought. And thank you very much, M.
Disregard this question. Pretend I didn't ask it.
About the reviews, how do you go about supplying a link for your story?
Alex (Reader, Writer, and All Smiles) wrote: "Have questions? Ask away and we will hopefully answer them. :)"Hi I am very new to this.I love the idea of a topic a week. my question is, how close does the writing have to be to the topic? For example can "Dirt in My eye..." have to be actually about grit in a eyeball or can it be symbolic of other things? whats the rule there? Please help. :>)
Well, Katrina, it isn't my place to say, but I think it's appreciated if your story makes at least a vague reference to the topic. Just throw it in somewhere as an afterthought, maybe in the dialog ("Oh, yes, I got dirt in my eyes once"). For me, often the big thing is managing to come up with a story at all.You may find it useful to read some of the past contests and the polls that go with them. It can be surprising what the members like and don't. Past contests will give you a feeling for what goes on.
Though you can't count on it, sometimes the moderators forget to put up the polls on time, which is great if you haven't had a chance to dash off a story. That happened to me this weekend. I had worked out the story idea but didn't have time to write it until this afternoon. I got lucky and sneaked it in.
Hmmm oh, M, we haven't forgotten. But I didn't have to put the polls up until today. It's the 17th. But if you think you've sneaked it in, perhaps I shall teach you a lesson. Muhahahaha.Katrina, the topic is REALLY loose. You can say the words dirt in my eye in the story but it doesn't have to be about having dirt in your eye(s). It can be symbolic is you wish. Your story could be about something completely different. Just shoot for it. Although this week I have something special for you all.
And, M, you have to do this one. I made it with you in mind. *evil laugh* Off to put the polls up, along with this week's topic.
I'm not sure why, but I don't know whether I have a very good feeling about this . . .
*puts hand up*
How strict is the word-count rule?
I have a story ready for this week's topic, but it's 2,900 words and the limit is 2,500. Is that too far over?
How strict is the word-count rule?
I have a story ready for this week's topic, but it's 2,900 words and the limit is 2,500. Is that too far over?
Yes, that's too far over. 400 words is like a whole page.
Well, I have to start over then. I'm not sure I can write a story that short.
*giggle* and we thought I had the problem with rambling haha
You ramble when you talk. I ramble when I write. :)
Umm...evidently I was reading Microsoft Word's CHARACTER count. Not the WORD count. The story's length is fine. :) *does a happy dance*
Lol, I'm glad things turned out well for you, Logan!
I would like to formally apologize for being completely MIA for so long.I'm sorry, I really really am. School just killed me.
welcome back Amanda, See....school wont kill you! (he said Grinning like a Cheshire cat)then he turns to work on this weeks topic....hmmm Unsung...what to write?
You poor, unfortunate soul. Glad to see you back.
Hi, Amanda! I wondered if you were real or somebody Al and Stephanie had made up.
ahahha. It's nice to know you all missed me.@ M: how do you know I'm not? ;)
And I missed you too Al...
Isn't Nightmare one of your characters? Do you ever listen to Billy Joel?
Ahahha... Yeah. Nightmare's one of mine... though I think I might have created an even sicker monster during my time away...And ahaha... I love Billy Joel. In my absence, I have taken up an interest *cough* obsession *cough* with the Beatles.
Billy Joel and the Beatles have very different styles, that's why. Joel tends to do more of a Rock-Jazz thing, where as the Beatles are straight-jam early Rock and Roll. The Beatles are probably too plain for your modern tastes. We're used to more sound now than they had then. XDAnd hmmm... we'll see if I post it... Maybe if it matches the Short Story contest... it's not a vamp story though. :(
You might like Greg Lake's "C'est la vie," from the Emerson, Lake & Palmer Works album.
*shrugs* I like Paul's voice... Lennon's annoys me sometimes though...
I have a question. What do you do if you absolutely feel so loserish compared to all the amazingly talented writers in this fine group? I already wrote something so bizzare as a Lady Gaga Orbit poem; I think it would be safe to say I've completely given up on any talent I may've had. Help me! :O
Oh good grief.... it's Jesus! :D Well, thank you, sis for your confidence in me. I will definitely write a poem for this week!
Hey guys, I'm trying to compare the Nook and Kindle and figure out which is better. I don't own one myself and have only ever borrowed the first Kindle model (which I really wasn't impressed with) and played around with the Nook Simple Touch while at B&N, which I found much better than the latter. So I was wondering if anyone here owns a Kindle and/or Nook and, if so, how do you like it? Oh, and would you mind telling me which models you have. Thanks!
Weekly Short Stories Contest and Company!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (other topics)The Lost Hero (other topics)
