It's time for another SSC. Since the three-pronged prompt has worked pretty well the last two times, I figure I'll stick with it again.
Your story must contain two of the following three elements:
1. A flag. It doesn't have to be the flag of a country, but it has to be a flag of some sort. It could even be something like a penalty flag in American football.
2. The colors red, white, and blue. They don't have to be used together; having three separate items, one of each color, will suffice. But all three colors have to be present in some form.
3. Explosions. You don't need as many as Michael Bay or McG might like (but if it fits your story, go for it), but there has to be at least one explosion. What causes it is up to you. It could be bombs bursting in air, a fireworks show, a wizard casting Fireball... whatever.
You can use all three prompts if you want, but you have to use two.
Here's the other stuff you probably want to know:
Word count: At least 1000 words, and no more than 8000. Entries shorter than the minimum or longer than the maximum will be penalized by the judges.
The grading scale: There will be 50 points available, broken down as follows:
Adherence to Prompt (0-5): Did you incorporate two of the three elements into your story? If you did, how well did you pull it off?
Spelling and Grammar (0-5): speling iz hrad. That's why Bill Gates spake, "Let there be Word, and let there be a spell-checker." And it was good... or at least as good as a Microsoft product can be. How good is your spelling? Have someone proofread if you're unsure of your grammar.
Characterization (0-10): Characters need to seem real. How real are yours? The readers need to care about what happens to them. Have you made us care? We should be cheering for your good guys and rooting against your bad guys. Are we?
Plot and Structure (0-10): Hustle and flow. Well, at least the flow part. How well does your story flow? Are the scenes setup to make it a smooth read? Or did you go in another direction and make something memorably fractured, like Memento? Whatever the structure, it needs to make sense for your story.
Style (0-10): Your style is (hopefully) your own. Use whatever style you think will serve your story best.
Creativity (0-10): How did you weave the prompt into your story? Are there a lot of cliches? Are the characters flat, the situations unrealistic, the descriptions drab? I want to see creativity. I want to read something that makes me lean forward in my comfortable chair and think that my day is better for having spent 20 minutes with your story.
Judges:
1. Me
2. technogeek5000
3. _IF_
Writers' Deadline: The deadline to submit your story is 11:59 PM Eastern time on July 5th, 2009. That puts it right after the 4th of July celebration here in the States, and it gives you six weeks to get the creative juices simmering.
Judges' Deadline: The deadline for stories to be judged will be three weeks after they've been submitted: 11:59 PM Eastern time on July 26th, 2009. If you want to judge for the SSC, please keep this in mind. We usually get 6-8 entries for most of the SSCs, so I think three weeks is a reasonable timeframe in which to get the stories judged.
When posting your stories, please put something like [SSC XIV] or [SSC 14] in the post title, so that judges and your fellow competitors can identify it easily.
After the deadline has passed, please post a link to your entry in this thread so that the judges don't have to look around for your story.
You have six weeks. Go forth and do write great things.
Any flag you want, as long as we know it's a flag.
Quote from technogeek5000 »
Ill judge if its okay that I also write a story.
In the past, judges and contest story writers have always been separate. I prefer to keep it that way. You're welcome to help with the judging, but that would mean you can't enter the contest.
Well, we'll see how this works. I've been editing my book and if I start really throwing myself into that/school coming up, I'll judge. Otherwise I'll write something. I like explosions!
*edit*
Thinking about it ... wow, it's going to be a sarcastic story.
my mouth is full of winsome lies -
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
I've already gotten mine written. I'm sure it's not exactly what you were looking for, but I believe I did every one of your requirements in one form or another at least twice. So we'll see how it happens. Time to get it peer-reviewed!
For that, would it be bad to have it reviewed in here prior to true-submitting? Or is that not necessarily a bad thing?
I've already gotten mine written. I'm sure it's not exactly what you were looking for, but I believe I did every one of your requirements in one form or another at least twice. So we'll see how it happens. Time to get it peer-reviewed!
For that, would it be bad to have it reviewed in here prior to true-submitting? Or is that not necessarily a bad thing?
I think it's fine to have outside sources review it (even if it's MTGS members who you happen to know in real life), but having people do so here at MTGS seems a bit of a cheat to me (unless the same if done for every participant). But that's just me... I'm sure it has been done before in some way or another anyway.
You may be right about the 'cheat'. It was my plan to post it up here as a read and review, asking for opinions from fellow writers so I can edit. But seeing as some of them may be judges in the future...
Wait, do flagships actually count as flags? because that'd be totally cool
I guess that would depend on how you're using the flagship.
Nissan, for example, might say that the Maxima is their flagship automobile, but I wouldn't consider that to be using a flag for the purposes of the contest's criteria.
Quote from technogeek5000 »
Okay, I wanted to do Kristallnacht, but Im busy with a bigger project. Ill just judge.
So noted. Thanks.
Quote from Nai »
For that, would it be bad to have it reviewed in here prior to true-submitting? Or is that not necessarily a bad thing?
I agree that having it peer-reviewed away from the MTGS forums is fine, but that you should avoid having it done here.
July 5th is coming up [kind of] ... and I still haven't really started. Am probably going to tie this into me rewriting [entirely this time] my NaNoWriMo, now. Luckily the prologue is totally different from the rest of the story, and it kind of fits into this. A little.
I have WAY too much stuff to do. It's kind of sick when I look at it from a distance. Ugh. 4 days of school, 4 days of work, homework and stuff, writing/instruments/selling stuff on eBay ...
Anyways. To everyone who hasn't started like I haven't: start! It's important! If you don't start, you'll never finish ...
And: The colors red, white, and blue? Pshaw.
*tries to make his prose less wooden*
my mouth is full of winsome lies -
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
Well, I'll try as always to enter, but I've been really busy with my job. I've started a draft, I guess... hopefully I can turn it into something I can use.
I'm going to be editing my story in a minute, but a question came up: Does this story have to be fiction? Can it be non-fiction? Or based on a true story? Things of that nature?
Hah, I got all three into my story, and have a first draft. It's ... probably going to be no fun to read at all.
Hopefully I can make it intriguing as nothing more than a ... what was the phrase ... masturbatory excess of cleverness? [Can I type that on these boards?] Something like that. At the moment it's excessively subtle, though.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
my mouth is full of winsome lies -
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
I MUST START WRITING THIS, my semester will be over by next week, so with a little luck I might just come up with something worth reading.
@Nai: I think Dr. Tom has the last word on that matter, but I guess non-fiction is as good as anything
I'm going to be editing my story in a minute, but a question came up: Does this story have to be fiction? Can it be non-fiction? Or based on a true story? Things of that nature?
I'm going to be toeing the deadline with mine, since I'm going to be on vacation soon and I don't have a lot of time to work on it right now. Still, I'll have -some- draft up and running in the contest.
There is a little less then 2 weeks left. Everyone make sure to get them in and don't fall behind with working on your story. Also we could probably use another judge so if someone doesn't finish...
Yes, the three judges each critique your story on top of their scores.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
my mouth is full of winsome lies -
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
Kinda new to these forums, but I'll give it a shot.
So I understand clearly, we post the story as a normal thread on the forums with [SSC XIV] tag and post the link here on the 5th?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
THE THOUGHTHAMMER HAS SPOKEN!
Current Standard:
Boros
Current Legacy:
Merfolk
UW Stoneforge
MonoUDelver(in progress)
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Your story must contain two of the following three elements:
1. A flag. It doesn't have to be the flag of a country, but it has to be a flag of some sort. It could even be something like a penalty flag in American football.
2. The colors red, white, and blue. They don't have to be used together; having three separate items, one of each color, will suffice. But all three colors have to be present in some form.
3. Explosions. You don't need as many as Michael Bay or McG might like (but if it fits your story, go for it), but there has to be at least one explosion. What causes it is up to you. It could be bombs bursting in air, a fireworks show, a wizard casting Fireball... whatever.
You can use all three prompts if you want, but you have to use two.
Here's the other stuff you probably want to know:
Word count: At least 1000 words, and no more than 8000. Entries shorter than the minimum or longer than the maximum will be penalized by the judges.
The grading scale: There will be 50 points available, broken down as follows:
Adherence to Prompt (0-5): Did you incorporate two of the three elements into your story? If you did, how well did you pull it off?
Spelling and Grammar (0-5): speling iz hrad. That's why Bill Gates spake, "Let there be Word, and let there be a spell-checker." And it was good... or at least as good as a Microsoft product can be. How good is your spelling? Have someone proofread if you're unsure of your grammar.
Characterization (0-10): Characters need to seem real. How real are yours? The readers need to care about what happens to them. Have you made us care? We should be cheering for your good guys and rooting against your bad guys. Are we?
Plot and Structure (0-10): Hustle and flow. Well, at least the flow part. How well does your story flow? Are the scenes setup to make it a smooth read? Or did you go in another direction and make something memorably fractured, like Memento? Whatever the structure, it needs to make sense for your story.
Style (0-10): Your style is (hopefully) your own. Use whatever style you think will serve your story best.
Creativity (0-10): How did you weave the prompt into your story? Are there a lot of cliches? Are the characters flat, the situations unrealistic, the descriptions drab? I want to see creativity. I want to read something that makes me lean forward in my comfortable chair and think that my day is better for having spent 20 minutes with your story.
Judges:
1. Me
2. technogeek5000
3. _IF_
Writers' Deadline: The deadline to submit your story is 11:59 PM Eastern time on July 5th, 2009. That puts it right after the 4th of July celebration here in the States, and it gives you six weeks to get the creative juices simmering.
Judges' Deadline: The deadline for stories to be judged will be three weeks after they've been submitted: 11:59 PM Eastern time on July 26th, 2009. If you want to judge for the SSC, please keep this in mind. We usually get 6-8 entries for most of the SSCs, so I think three weeks is a reasonable timeframe in which to get the stories judged.
When posting your stories, please put something like [SSC XIV] or [SSC 14] in the post title, so that judges and your fellow competitors can identify it easily.
After the deadline has passed, please post a link to your entry in this thread so that the judges don't have to look around for your story.
You have six weeks. Go forth and
dowrite great things.My Eternal Cube on CubeTutor| |My Reject Rare Cube on CubeTutor| |My Peasant Cube on CubeTutor
I used to write for MTGS, including Cranial Insertion and cube articles. Good on you if you can find those after the upgrade.
EDH:
[Competitive] Azusa, Lost but Seeking (54 Lands)
[Competitive] Azami, Lady of Scrolls (Time Warp combo/control)
[Competitive] Kruphix, God of No (True EDH DrawGo)
I like 4/4s for 7.
Any flag you want, as long as we know it's a flag.
In the past, judges and contest story writers have always been separate. I prefer to keep it that way. You're welcome to help with the judging, but that would mean you can't enter the contest.
My Eternal Cube on CubeTutor| |My Reject Rare Cube on CubeTutor| |My Peasant Cube on CubeTutor
I used to write for MTGS, including Cranial Insertion and cube articles. Good on you if you can find those after the upgrade.
*edit*
Thinking about it ... wow, it's going to be a sarcastic story.
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
Wait, do flagships actually count as flags? because that'd be totally cool
EDH:
[Competitive] Azusa, Lost but Seeking (54 Lands)
[Competitive] Azami, Lady of Scrolls (Time Warp combo/control)
[Competitive] Kruphix, God of No (True EDH DrawGo)
For that, would it be bad to have it reviewed in here prior to true-submitting? Or is that not necessarily a bad thing?
My helpdesk should you need me.
I think it's fine to have outside sources review it (even if it's MTGS members who you happen to know in real life), but having people do so here at MTGS seems a bit of a cheat to me (unless the same if done for every participant). But that's just me... I'm sure it has been done before in some way or another anyway.
I like 4/4s for 7.
My helpdesk should you need me.
I guess that would depend on how you're using the flagship.
Nissan, for example, might say that the Maxima is their flagship automobile, but I wouldn't consider that to be using a flag for the purposes of the contest's criteria.
So noted. Thanks.
I agree that having it peer-reviewed away from the MTGS forums is fine, but that you should avoid having it done here.
My Eternal Cube on CubeTutor| |My Reject Rare Cube on CubeTutor| |My Peasant Cube on CubeTutor
I used to write for MTGS, including Cranial Insertion and cube articles. Good on you if you can find those after the upgrade.
I have WAY too much stuff to do. It's kind of sick when I look at it from a distance. Ugh. 4 days of school, 4 days of work, homework and stuff, writing/instruments/selling stuff on eBay ...
Anyways. To everyone who hasn't started like I haven't: start! It's important! If you don't start, you'll never finish ...
And: The colors red, white, and blue? Pshaw.
*tries to make his prose less wooden*
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
My helpdesk should you need me.
Hopefully I can make it intriguing as nothing more than a ... what was the phrase ... masturbatory excess of cleverness? [Can I type that on these boards?] Something like that. At the moment it's excessively subtle, though.
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
@Nai: I think Dr. Tom has the last word on that matter, but I guess non-fiction is as good as anything
Based on a true story is fine.
Nonfiction is fine, too.
My Eternal Cube on CubeTutor| |My Reject Rare Cube on CubeTutor| |My Peasant Cube on CubeTutor
I used to write for MTGS, including Cranial Insertion and cube articles. Good on you if you can find those after the upgrade.
My helpdesk should you need me.
Many thanks from spiderboy at Highlight Studios
EDH:
[Competitive] Azusa, Lost but Seeking (54 Lands)
[Competitive] Azami, Lady of Scrolls (Time Warp combo/control)
[Competitive] Kruphix, God of No (True EDH DrawGo)
[Clan Flamingo]
[Clan Flamingo]
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
So I understand clearly, we post the story as a normal thread on the forums with [SSC XIV] tag and post the link here on the 5th?
Current Standard:
Boros
Current Legacy:
Merfolk
UW Stoneforge
MonoUDelver(in progress)