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Nolori
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#26
Old 07-18-2010, 08:56 PM

Huzzah for writing contests! I was a little bummed I couldn't think of anything for the Feast of Fools event. Hopefully I can think of something for this one.

I also think the limit is a little odd. What version of MS Word will you be using to check? Maragin side seems to vary standard from 1.25 to 1.5 depending on the version. Would you be so kind as to check what maragin size you have so I can make sure mine is correct?

Edit::
My settings are standard at:
Top: 1"
Bottom: 1"
Left: 1.25"
Right: 1.25"
Gutter: 0

Also does the line "[Pronoun] couldn't believe [pronoun's] eyes" have to be verbatim? Would it be acceptable to change the first Pronoun to the character's name? Or change "couldn't" to "refused"?
Basically, do you need the line verbatim or just the meaning of the sentence?

Last edited by Nolori; 07-18-2010 at 09:26 PM.. Reason: More question/info

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#27
Old 07-18-2010, 09:18 PM


I'll be entering for sure! :)

Also, if we have a dialogue-heavy entry, can ours be a little longer than two pages?
Like Pearl said, it'll be hard to fit the story on just two pages (even though the story will be much shorter).

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#28
Old 07-18-2010, 10:09 PM

I would like to enter, but I have one question. Does the entry have to be written in paragraph format or is poetry formatting alright as well?

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#29
Old 07-18-2010, 10:17 PM

You have raised good points... Perhaps a page limit is too vague to be used. I will change it to a 1,000 word limit. I trust this will seem fairer to you Menewshans.

Nolori:
You may change the first pronoun to a character's name, but I would prefer you otherwise kept the sentence verbatim.

Yumeko:
Please only submit prose. If there is a poem within the story, this will be permitted, however your submission as a whole should be prose.

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#30
Old 07-18-2010, 10:25 PM

Oh, I'm really excited! I'm not sure that my writing is necessarily very interesting, but I'll give it a shot and see how it goes. After all, even if it's not that great, I really love to write! Thanks for this awesome opportunity~! :D :heart: :heart: :heart:

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#31
Old 07-18-2010, 10:27 PM

heartages:
Your participation will be appreciated...

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#32
Old 07-18-2010, 11:16 PM

Very interesting... C: *cackles*

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#33
Old 07-18-2010, 11:19 PM

Hmm... o.o I will enter...if I can think of something. I can't ever get started when it comes to writing stories. lol.

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#34
Old 07-18-2010, 11:22 PM

Cyndel~ Think of an ending, first? Writing backwards helps sometimes.

*noms happily on butterscotch krimpet* I'm going to play with my inner sadist. :) *putters off to get writing utensils*

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#35
Old 07-18-2010, 11:25 PM

lol I've tried that too. XD I change my mind too much to write stories. I'll get a part down then change my mind and want to do something else with it. lol. So starting at the end sometimes backfires on me.

Pearl
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#36
Old 07-19-2010, 12:30 AM

I hope I can stay to the word count, what I have in mind seems like it should be 2000 words.

And I don't think my idea is creative enough.

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#37
Old 07-19-2010, 01:48 AM

wings wants to enter but can't think of anything that's not cliche :gonk:

Dottie Mae Evans
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#38
Old 07-19-2010, 02:09 AM

Lise, is there a theme for this contest or could it be about anything within reason?

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#39
Old 07-19-2010, 02:10 AM

D: I finished my story before I realized the rules changed to "1,000 words" instead of "2 pages." My story is EXACTLY 2 pages in Microsoft Word with 11 pt font, but it is 1,349 words! I've tried condensing it, but I think I already did as much of that as I could in order to make it only 2 pages!

FAILURE. TAT

@LizzyCollinsDeArc

Is this what you were meaning? It's listed in the bulleted list in the second post, I think...

Quote:
Your entry must be about or include one or more of the following: A grand ball, the ocean, and/or a shipwreck. Your story will not be accepted if you do not use at least one of these themes.

Last edited by heartages; 07-19-2010 at 02:17 AM..

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#40
Old 07-19-2010, 02:18 AM

@heartages - Thanks! :D I don't know if I could work with that, but I could try. I hope I can submit it before the deadline. :cry:

Edit: When is the deadline? :cry:

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#41
Old 07-19-2010, 02:26 AM

@LizzyCollinsDeArc: Until the event ends, but I'm not sure when that is... I know the raffle ends on the 24th and that's the only date I've seen so far... D:

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#42
Old 07-19-2010, 02:44 AM

@heartages: Oh no! DX! That isn't a good sign, I only have until Friday to write a story. :cry: I hope I can pull it off.

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#43
Old 07-19-2010, 03:27 AM

So! I just got 500+ words into my story before deciding I didn't like it. How's everybody else doin'?

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#44
Old 07-19-2010, 03:35 AM

@Nolori: as I already mentioned, I finished my story but it was before I realized the conditions changed and I have 349 words too many D:

I'm stumped as to what to do because I've already condensed it as much as I can and I'm feeling stubborn about writing anything different. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow or something :'(

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#45
Old 07-19-2010, 04:31 AM

@hearages: Bummer. Maybe tomtom you can have someone else look at it to see what they think? They might point out some things you can cut out/condense that you didn't notice before. I'm worried I'm going to have a similar problem though. My notes alone seem to be almost 1/3 of the accepted story length. We shall see what happens I guess!
Good luck to you with it, though! I really hope you can find a way to get it in.

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#46
Old 07-19-2010, 04:44 AM

I have written you a story!
Username: Casiana
Submission: Greed

SPOILERX

On a beach at sunset one finds it odd to see a child of seven. The windswept, curly-haired child was singing lovingly at the sea, without a care in the world. She admired the waters with wide green eyes.

Yet no matter how out of place the child was, she was nowhere near as fascinating as the woman she found.

Her colorful clothes were torn, her hazel-tanned skin was scarred, her long raven hair was matted- and yet she was the most exotic woman the child had seen. There was little familiar about her, but of one thing the child was positive- she couldn't believe her eyes!- this woman was certainly a Pirate!

The woman did not move, did not glance. She simply spoke. "You are far from home, little girl."

The girl stepped closer. "I sense you are, as well," she replied. She was not sure if it was polite, but she was comforted by the woman's response.

She snorted softly, smiling. "Of that you are correct." She turned her head and looked at the child. "Do you know who I am?"

"I know that you are a pirate."

"Very perceptive." She sighed, looking out towards the sea. Slowly, she slid down the stone and walked gracefully to the ocean, watching the waves lap her toes. The child followed, looking up at the woman. She met her gaze.

"My name is Zip," she told the woman. "Please tell me your name."

"My name?" The woman sighed. "Once I was Alzias- Captain Alzias."

Zip looked out at the sunset, silent for a moment, then nodded. "You are a pirate named Alzias. Where is your ship?"

"That is a long tale. Are you prepared to hear it?"

The girl nodded. In response, Alzias the Pirate sat straight-legged in the sand, letting the waves wash her calves. When Zip was seated next to her, she began.

"It was months, maybe a year ago that our ship set off on a journey towards the Island of Lost Time. The stories of gold were more than my crew could handle. That day the air was thick with excitement. It was... oddly relaxing.

"Ten days at sea we were hailed by another ship. This ship was lead by the Pirate Rain. Rain is a strong man with a stronger crew. Some say his strength is parallel to the stormy seas. Rain had been after the Island as well, but no word had been heard of any sight of his ship for many moons.

"When he and my crew met, we were told a terrible tale. On the way towards the Island of Lost Time, his crew was greeted by a horrific black bird with the face and torso of a human. It roosted on the crow's nest. Its breath stank of rotted corpses and sun-swelled flesh. It gave a warning to the crew, to turn back, else they become its next meal. It taunted them, dared them to continue, with temptations of riches, all while gleefully bragging at the strength of the guardians. It flew away with a cackle.

"Despite this warning, they continued. Rain is not a man to heed such an insult. However, two nights later, they met another challenge- a terrible storm formed around their ship. The farther the ship sailed the worse it got. Crew members were being tossed overboard, physically pulled from their posts. Rain ordered a complete turnaround, but the ship was met with harsh resistance. It took days of fighting to be clear of the last of the storm. His crew was reduced to a third of what they once were, and a number of them were injured or ill.

"Rain told us that he hailed to warn us. He told us to turn back, that we were facing grave danger, that they were lucky to be alive.

"We did not listen.

"We met with the strange bird. We met with the storm. I don't know how we managed, but we powered through it. We were beyond excited. We had succeeded where Rain hadn't! Our spirits were lifted once more.

"Of course, the islands' defense wasn't going to give up easily. It gave us a few days' reprieve, but with what it had it store for us, it didn't matter.

"We started our four week's mark of our journey in a light spirit. The sea was calm, the sun was high. The storm's damage had finally been repaired. For the first time since the storm took many of us, we were peaceful.

"Then the sky turned black. Thick clouds floated across the sky, blocking out the sun. The waters began to roll. An impossibly tall wave approached the bow of the ship, and out of the wall of water came a group of incredibly large tentacles. Our ship stood no chance.

"Masts cracked and fell; sails tore; men, women, and children were thrown overboard- myself included. The ship crumbled all around us. Those who survived the fall into the water drowned in the waves or were pummeled by debris.

"With all my life, I held onto a bit of driftwood and floated away. I paid no attention to those around me. I just floated, until I landed here. I don't know where I am, how long it's been, or how many of us survived. All I know is that I am alive, when I shouldn't be. I let my crew die, because our greed was too strong."

She looked down at Zip. She wasn't sure when, but the sun had set. The girl was staring at her with wide, fearful eyes. "Remember my story," Alzias told her, "and never forget that there are more important things than riches. It will save you in the end, I promise you." Then she began to cry.

Final notes: I hope you enjoy :)

Last edited by Casiana; 07-19-2010 at 05:05 AM.. Reason: Making it easier to read the story

Woodlandnymph
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#47
Old 07-19-2010, 05:23 AM

I have written you a story!
Username: Woodlandnymph
Submission: Over the ocean grand

SPOILERX

Sylvia forced her parched lips apart, tasting salt, which was quickly followed by the coppery tang of blood as her lip split. She tried to open her eyes, but at the moment it was too much effort. She felt enough pain to know that she wasn’t dead, though, that option might have been better than reality.

Finally, she managed to open her eyes a crack only to have the sunlight pierced through her skull. Sylvia blinked rapidly, forcing the world into focus. Before her was a scene of warped wood and wreckage. It all began to sink in. A storm. The crewmen shouting and rushing about. The captain forcing her to go into the bowels of the ship, where she was tossed about, bruised and battered by the wild waves. Screams and the resounding crack of the main mast. And then…nothing.

She felt, rather than saw the awkward position she was crumpled in, as there was something hard and smooth pushed up into her midsection. Taking a slow evaluation of her body,she wiggling her toes, flexed her fingers and moved her limbs with care. Weakly, she managed to push her blue and black self slowly off of the wreckage of the trundle bed that she shared with her nurse Nann, till she was in a sitting position.

Her hair was plastered to the side of her head, stiff with salt water and debris, and her clothes torn and bleached from the water and sun. Sylvia tried her voice out, until finally she managed a few soft, cracked words,
“Nann?” She coughed, and ventured to speak a little louder. “Captain Reynolds? Is anyone out there?”

After listening for what seemed like hours, she shakily tested out her legs and picked her way about the twisted remains of the ship. The beach she was on was long and peaceful, the waves gently lapping and coaxing the wood and nails back into the ocean. But, further out she could see the rocks taking a brutal pounding from the waves, smashing with a rhythmic force older than time, violently breaking on the unyielding stone.

For all the debris from the vessel that was bearing Sylvia, along with her mother’s uncle who commanded the 28 gun frigate to his Northumbrian estate, she could not see how it made up an entire ship. A glint of silver caught her eye. Caught in a candelabra was a partial full water skin that she quickly detangled and opened, letting the cool stale water coat her tongue. Shouldering the strap, she continued along the curve of the beach, towards distant cliffs .

After walking for a while, she thought she could make out a large mass in the harsh light. She couldn’t believe her eyes, ‘It must be the rest of the ship!’ she thought, picking up her pace. As she got closer, the form of the ship materialized and grew. The last few hundred yards she ran, “Hey there! Hello? It’s me Sylvia! Uncle? Nann?”

She stumbled just as she reached the cracked side of the ship, grabbing the rough wood and embedding it into her palms. It was the most glorious feeling; solid and familiar. She made her way around, keeping in contact with the wood the entire time, until she came upon the gaping maw of a wound, where the ship had split. The decks had melded together, and a talus slope of debris littered down onto the sand.

Sylvia rushed up onto the sloping wreckage, quickly turning aside the rubbish. She saw a scrap of fabric trapped underneath a heavy piece of polished wood that could have once been the main dinner table that she sat at every night, eating and laughing with the officers and her Uncle. Grunting, and forcing the wood to the side she revealed a morbid bloody sight.

She ran a few yards away and emptied her stomach of water and bile before crumpling down, sobbing. Her vision blurred by the tears now streaming down her face. She put her arms around her head and rocked herself, letting her sobs subside into hiccups.

Through her hiccups, she hummed lullaby that Naan had sung to her as a little girl, letting it sooth her . Slowly her mind went blank, blocking out the sight of her poor nurse, who was crushed and bloated from the salt water, her sweet figure distended until it was almost unrecognizable. Soon all she had left in her was the song. Softly, she began sang,

“Over the ocean grand…” hiccup “my bonny love did sail. To seek his fortune,” hicc “and fame…over the ocean…grand”

Final notes: Not a faerytale type story. You are warned. But please, enjoy it!

Last edited by Woodlandnymph; 07-20-2010 at 06:38 AM..

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#48
Old 07-19-2010, 10:04 AM

I have written you a story!
Username: Skykittykat
Submission: I don't Even Know Your Name...

SPOILERX

Music flooded the air that cold September night outside the palace and despite the lateness of the evening every light in every corridor was lit to a twinkling glow. Outside a lone carriage pulled up outside the gates and the door man tugged the door open with a bow to the young lady within. Her eyes sparkled with awe as she stepped gracefully from the horse drawn carriage and gazed up at the castle. Long auburn locks were held in an elegant array of curls contained by a single golden ribbon and her emerald eyes blinked as she brought herself back to reality and started towards the castle, murmuring encouraging words to herself all the way.

Tonight was the annual 'Prince's Ball.' The grand ball held each year to celebrate the night that the King and Queen Ella first set eyes on one another. Their eldest son was just coming into age this year and once again the objective of this ball was to find him a bride. Every single woman of a marriable age had been invited, even a lowly farmers daughter such as the woman now standing fretful before the door of the ball room. The queen, in a grand show of world renowned generosity, had provided every woman who could not afford a dress or a carriage with the money to do so. And so here stood Arianna Elizabeth Delaney, seventeen years of age, dressed resplendently in a gorgeous red gown, with absolutely no idea what she was doing.

Of course she did not expect the Prince to take any particular interest in her; she just hoped she could find someone who would love her that she could love back. She'd long grown tired of her fathers ridiculous attempts to set her up with absolutely horrendous, back hoe farm boys that were the sons of his friends. They were available for a reason, father. She thought to herself with a grimace. She wanted an intelligent man. One who could hold an intelligent conversation with her while she discussed her favorite books or even politics.

Gulping a deep breath of air she steadied herself and nodded to the servants who watched her with bemused expressions. "I'm ready." She said quietly, closing her eyes to prepare her mind for the certain splendor that awaited her. The doors creaked slightly as they opened and she prepared for the worst. When the movement stopped she peeked from behind her lashes. She couldn't believe her eyes.

A masquerade?! She thought to herself frantically. There was nothing on the invitation about it being a masquerade ball! "Ms. Delaney." The servant's voice cut into her quickly wrecking train of thought. "Your mask." He said with a wink when she turned to look at him. Sure enough, there resting in his palm was a simple gold painted mask that was strung with scarlet ribbons intended to hold the mask to the head. Adorning the sides were thin lines of red paint in a delicate pattern of feathers. "It's beautiful..." She breathed. Admiring it briefly before she placed it upon her face and tied it securely as he ushered her in without another word.

It was no grand entrance. No one stopped what they were doing and turned to stare. She had arrived late and the ball was already in full swing to a lively waltz with whirling couples all around the floor. Whoever had thought of the idea of a masquerade was clever indeed. It was clear that the identity of the prince remained a secret, leaving him to choose in peace. Each mask was different but matched the dress or suit of the wearer with impeccable choice. Wandering to an empty table she took a seat shyly, not really knowing whether to wait for someone to ask her to dance or to take the chance and ask someone.

She sat there uncertainly, reading from a book that someone had left there earlier, before the choice was taken from her when a man walked up to her and bowed. His shoulder length black hair was held back with a neat bow and he wore a white suit with golden accents. His mask was similar to her with a pattern of feathers but the lining of the feathers were in gold against a white background. "May I have this dance, lady?" He asked her gently, a smile tugged his lips and his blue eyes twinkled from behind the mask, the same shade of robin's egg blue as the queen. The hidden prince, Jonathan Charming was asking Arianna to dance.

Arianna could hardly refuse him when he had gone to the trouble of asking her. "You may." She said with a demure smile and a blush on her cheeks. She took his hand and he led her to the dance floor as a slow but lovely waltz began anew. Together they twirled across the dance floor for what seemed like hours, making small talk as they did so. The topics ranged from the novel she had been reading to the state of the kingdom and as she grew more comfortable to him their tenth straight dance ended. She curtsied happily. "Follow me..." He said with a playful smile as he led her to a secluded balcony overlooking the rose gardens.

As they stood there facing each other he reached up behind her head and untied the bow of her mask and it fell to the floor with a clatter. Her blush deepened and she averted her eyes as he did the same with his own. When she turned back to look at him she uttered a small gasp at his revealed identity but before she could say anything his lips captured hers in a sensitive but passionate kiss. Fireworks exploded in her mind and she felt her legs turn to jelly as he pulled back slowly, gazing into her emerald eyes with his beautiful sapphire pair. He smiled slowly. "And I don't even know your name..."

Final notes: When I saw that one of the themes was 'A Grand Ball' I couldn't help but have this idea pop into my head. There's no unhappy ending but I hope you like it all the same Lise!
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Last edited by Skykittykat; 07-19-2010 at 10:06 AM.. Reason: added a title to the story

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#49
Old 07-19-2010, 01:19 PM

I have a question. Can the required sentence be altered slightly, though keeping it's essential meaning?
For example "he wouldn't have believed his eyes if he hadn't been told about it beforehand" or "if it was possible for him to be surprised, at that moment he wouldn't have believed his eyes".
I just changed "couldn't" to "wouldn't" but there are other possible variations so I want to make sure.

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#50
Old 07-19-2010, 01:23 PM

I'm working on mine right now. Pretty excited about it too... *dances*

 


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