Short Story Contest! [DISCUSSION THREAD]

Uh, I did, duh. I'm talking about the most recent story contest.
 
Bleh, couldn't really think of a good idea to apply to this topic.
 
It doesn't matter a huge amount if you're "obvious". The point is to communicate with brevity and style, not to disguise your story or confuse the reader.

Holding back information and then delivering it in a sucker-punch is one thing, but willful obscurity right up to the end would be pretty pointless and not exactly what the topic asks of you. :p
 
Frank Herbert is the opposite of "iceberg" in my opinion. But maybe that's because I loathe his writing and I dislike the Dune series strongly. It's anything but subtle or artful and borders on tedious, painful and monotonous. I'm sure I'm in the minority in thinking this. Not a huge fan of Hemingway, either, except for a few of his artful short stories. I'm not into that all American throbbing hardon of misogyny, man of little-words-but-strong-character style. Hills like White Elephants is still a powerful story, and I can easily subscribe to this "iceberg" style, though.
 
Oh yeah, I agree with your assessment of the man (Ernest, not Frank), although I think his stories are artfully written, hence this contest.

Were you asking me earlier to extend the deadline, by the way?

toaster-man said:
SPOILER
Click to expand...
Oh dear. :D
 
Eh, forget the extension. Let's do a new one! My entry this go is schizoid and barely passable, I'd like to try again with something more polished. Different moods, different styles. It's amazing how much what you're reading at the time can affect your writing.

<3
 
These short storie competitions are awesome, and I love them.
 
There's about an hour left. I suspect I will finish my own entry about five minutes previously.
 
'Posted at 12:00'. Does that count? I think it counts.

Oh, curses, I had to edit it because HL2.net is stupid punctuation, and now it was EDITED NINE MINUTES AFTERWARDS. I didn't change anything, honest!

I hope my story is neither too obvious nor too obscure, but who can tell? There'll be a day to read the stories and then I'll open the vote thread tomorrow, and close it this time next Sunday.
 
Sorry Sulksies but I don't understand the underlying plot of your story? What was the sash about?
 
You're pretty much there.

'Screw' is brit slang for a prison guard.
 
dekstar said:
Ah yus I got that bit. So they're in prison? AAAAAH, he's visiting a prison inmate!
Click to expand...
I fail!

The young man gets released from prison, the old man takes him home. :p

I'm contemplating posting a fuller explanation of my story, but I'm not sure I want to. Perhaps it would be better if everyone chose someone else's piece and drew out an interpretation of it.
Actually, this gives me an idea for another thread, where someone would write something and then everyone else would try and find something interesting to say about it. Any volunteers?
 
I wasn't even thinking prison inmate at all. Never mind where my thoughts went. Top notch dialog, by the way.
 
Thanks.

Voting begins!

Don't rush to choose, you have a week or so more.
Those stories that came without a title, I have applied a title to. If anyone's unhappy with the title I've given to them, just PM me and I'll change it.
 
I really want to know if anyone gets my story. Does anyone know who the two people are and what day it is in my story?
 
Ah, that makes me think the kid is getting married.

Me and Toasterman couldn't work it out, we thought the girl might be a child star, and the father was formerly a child star.
 
Send me an email if it's really important. Or leave a profile message.
picture.php
 
Sheepo is a dirty little flip-flopper.
sulkarmsvsmcj5.png


Though Triad is pretty sweet, so I can't honestly protest.
 
For the sake of Americans, voting remains open till I wake up tomorrow morning.
 
And the winner iiiis...er, me? Hurrah? :eek:

I guess that gives me a custom title. Anyone got any suggestions?

New compo will be up either Tuesday or Sunday, with a new voting process as well.
 
We need a new contest asap, I'm feeling the itch. Let's brainstorm ideas ITT.

One possibility I was tossing around in my head is the limiting the story to a narrative involving two characters. Creating a synergistic relationship between two characters with the same word limit you had on the first contest. Highly regarded entries will have fleshed out two individual characters and the relationship they have with one another with as little fluff as possible.
 
BHC said:
We need a new contest asap, I'm feeling the itch. Let's brainstorm ideas ITT.

One possibility I was tossing around in my head is the limiting the story to a narrative involving two characters. Creating a synergistic relationship between two characters with the same word limit you had on the first contest. Highly regarded entries will have fleshed out two individual characters and the relationship they have with one another with as little fluff as possible.
Click to expand...

That sounds cool. I'm in!
 
Awesome. I'd make the thread and set things up but that's really Dodd's digs. Plus I'm not sure who else is keen on the idea or if anyone had an idea of their own for the next one.
 
Oh yeah, I'm definitely open to suggestions. The last three topics were in my mind before I even started the first compo, and now they're done with I'm running on empty.

BHC, I do like your idea, but I fear that it's too similar to this last one in its ethos of saying as much about something with as little as possible. But you're absolutely welcome to start your own contest on the subject and I'll try and get some kind of custom title as reward for the winner.

Currently I'm bandying about the idea of the next topic being "tell a story not through what the narration describes but through what the narration does." But I feel that might be a bit vague.
 
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