Fortnightly Writing Competition -KING OF RANDOM (Results)

Danvzare · Fri 15/04/2016 11:59:40

Best Character: Sinitrena (Definitely the most believable and realistic depiction of characters I read, while remaining entertaining.)
Setting: SilverSpook (Due to the sheer length, this story wins in setting, without a doubt. It's the most realized and unique of all the settings.)
Plot: Sinitrena (I really liked this story, and as I said in one of my previous comments, it even had me wanting to spout fan theories!)
Word Choice: Sinitrena (I'm not really the best at voting for word choice, but I really enjoyed reading this story, so I'm going to vote for this story.)
Random Event: Mandle (Personally, I think my story was the most creative, weirdest, and random. But you can't (or at least shouldn't) vote for yourself, so I'm voting for Mandle, just because it happened in real life.)

Sinitrena · Sat 16/04/2016 21:37:08

Best Character: Mandle - Can you vote for a real person as "the most believable/captivating/magnetic/unique character"? This vote is for the demonstration that character development can be described in a very short text. "Mandle" first thought the kids were "silly" and then realised that he had the same problems they had. That shows more development than some characters have in complete novels.

Setting: SilverSpook - Basically the same explanation Danvzare gave: It's the longest story and also the one that needs a clearly defined setting the most. And the story certainly deliveres in this regard.

Plot: Danvzare - I enjoyed both Danvzare's and SilverSpook's stories but in the end I just think that Dan's plot is more coherent and to the point. Unfortunately SilverSpook's story takes a bit too long to gain momentum and loses it again fairly soon. It drags a bit and has some elements that aren't really necessary. The dream sequence in the middle, for example, is 840 words long and doesn't really add anything that couldn't be explained in a shorter way.

Word Choice: Sane Co. - It can be difficult to deliberately use completley wrong grammar and orthography. While this story was incredibly difficult to read (at least for a non-native speaker of english), I think it caught the essence of how a 7 or 8 year old would write very well.

Random Event: Danvzare - this was probabply the easiest vote ever. There's really no question who's story has the most deliciously random event here.

Quote from: Mandle on Mon 11/04/2016 16:21:40
So yeah: weird coloured food sucks!

It's intresting how much we are influenced by what we are used to, isn't it? We have a certain colour in mind for all our food and as soon as it changes, we imagine that it should taste different, even if it doesn't. I think the only situation where we accept blue food is when it comes to frosting - simply because we are used to it.

Quote from: Danvzare on Fri 15/04/2016 11:59:40
I really liked this story, and as I said in one of my previous comments, it even had me wanting to spout fan theories!

Well, if you have theories, I'd like to hear them. Normally, I try to come up with reasons for everything that happens in my stories, even if I never mention it in the text itself. But because this was all about randomness, I didn't try to come up with anything and I even think there is no reasonable explanation. So if you actually have one, please do tell me.

SilverSpook · Sun 17/04/2016 05:09:51

Thanks for the feedbacks, Danvzare and Sinitrena. Looking back at it, The Ark is asking a lot of the reader in the context of a 'net story-jam, despite the absence of explicit protocols on length.

Full Disclosure: I am actually testing a future speculative-fiction novel idea for the ghost writing thing. That said, I will now need you all to sign retroactive Non-Disclosure Agreements, and since you've all already talked about this future New York Times Bestie / Netflix Original Series option, I will now have to retroactively kill you. I mean sue you. Damned autocorrect!

Best Character: Sane Co. - There is a deceptive amount of writer juju baked into this story, I think. I've tried writing children before and it is harder to do believably than most think. It took me spawning my own to pull it off without sounding like David Foster Wallace meditating on cheerios and My Little Pony. This is the true quill, here. I give you 4 1/2 fruit punch-shorted laptops out of 5, sir.

Best Setting: Sane Co. - You don't need tables and doors and proper City names and zompocaylpse backstories to create setting. For aforementioned writer mojo, sheer verisimilitude, I know absolutely who this character is, can see the whole incident unfolding. (May be slightly biased as half my sharing-economy temp jobbery involves working with kids). I'm kidding- great job dude.

Plot: Sinitrena/Danvzare These were the most plot-driven and plot-filled of the stories IMHO. The easiest to read as well. Good job!

Word Choice: Sane Co. I've already blown enough helium into this balloon, but, ah... Duh. Brilliant work here. Just one tiny quibble, one little caveat to my high-praise to proove there's not some weird back-channel conflict of interest here. Gets out red pen

QuoteThe jiant was so tall as a building he coudnt fit through the door of his work, ware Daddy goes to leav me

"The jiant was so tall as a building" <(pitch-perfect second grader journal here.)

"He coudnt fit through the door of his work, ware Daddy goes to leav me" < (Kids don't know WTF to put commas. This is the only minor crack in the mask where I can tell the story wasn't written by an actual child. Very, very minor and probably indiscernible to those uninitiated to the deadly bloodsport of child rearing.)

Random Event: Sane Co - I think all the stories were each uniquely random (although mine was the only story that had an actual 'King' of the Random

). I'm giving this to Sane Co because his A Funny Story had the best writing, to me. And this is a writing competition, and props to him for joining a bunch of snobby writers -- it takes some courage.

kconan · Sun 17/04/2016 05:14:28

Best Character: Sinitrena (Sean)
Setting: SilverSpook
Plot: Sinitrena
Word Choice: Sinitrena
Random Event: Danvzare

Danvzare · Sun 17/04/2016 13:37:12

Quote from: Sinitrena on Sat 16/04/2016 21:37:08
Quote from: Danvzare on Fri 15/04/2016 11:59:40
I really liked this story, and as I said in one of my previous comments, it even had me wanting to spout fan theories!

Well, if you have theories, I'd like to hear them. Normally, I try to come up with reasons for everything that happens in my stories, even if I never mention it in the text itself. But because this was all about randomness, I didn't try to come up with anything and I even think there is no reasonable explanation. So if you actually have one, please do tell me.

Alright then, here are my theories.
The aliens were prepping the humans so that they could eat them themselves. I'm not sure why or how that would have worked, but they're aliens. So just because it doesn't make sense to us, doesn't mean it doesn't make sense.

My other theory is that none of it was real. It was all a simulated reality. Why?
Who knows. Maybe humans and the planet Earth don't even exist.
Maybe it's was a prison?
Maybe they were pulled out because a bug in the system was causing all of the food the subjects were eating within the system, to turn blue?
I honestly don't know.

Baron · Tue 19/04/2016 04:37:02

Is it by random that most of the stories feature either something blue or glowing green? Weird.

Well, the results are in and the people have spoken. Which would make Xina happy, but Noah roll his eyes (what do the masses know anyway? #LetThemEatCake); but I digress! To the results:

The golden trophy of abstract free-form art (that kind of looks like a little puppy if you squint just right) goes to Sinitrena with 7 votes! (***cheers***). I thought your story was tight, with just enough of a mystery to keep the reader wondering, and then a terrifically random twist in the end.

The silver trophy of random squiggles (that kind of looks like a robotic raccoon if you squint just right) goes to Sane Co. with 5 votes! (***applause***). I thought it was awesome that you were a character in your own random story, you big green meenee.

The bronze trophy of two-second scribbling (that kind of looks like a screaming duck head if you squint just right) goes to Danvzare with 4 votes! (***polite coughing from back of room***). I think I would have given you my vote for most random event, had I been constitutionally permitted to vote. Truly weird, my friend!

Special mention to SilverSpook, who only garnered three votes with his three-post opus. I thought it was an awesome story. Yeah, it was long, but I never lost interest, and I thought all the frenetic thoughts going on in Noah's millennial sharing-economy cranium contributed to a steady character development. And I wouldn't hold random dream sequences against you when the topic is "random".

I guess the consensus is that kids these days need the elevator-pitch version of the story, not the 400 page prospectus.

Also special mention to Mandle who randomly entered the random competition and walked away with two votes. It would have been more random if you had randomly won, but I guess random doesn't work that way in real life.... It's fun to dream sometimes, though.

So, with my contest administrant duties discharged, I hereby pass the torch to Sinitrena, be yours to hold it high. I look forward to seeing everyone out again for the next exciting instalment of....

The Fortnightly Writing Competition!

Danvzare · Tue 19/04/2016 10:21:30

Congratulations on winning Sinitrena! You deserve it.

Sinitrena · Tue 19/04/2016 21:04:22

Quote from: Danvzare on Sun 17/04/2016 13:37:12
My other theory is that none of it was real. It was all a simulated reality. Why?
Who knows. Maybe humans and the planet Earth don't even exist.
Maybe it's was a prison?
Maybe they were pulled out because a bug in the system was causing all of the food the subjects were eating within the system, to turn blue?
I honestly don't know.

That's actually a pretty good theory - one I could work with to extend this story if I ever wanted to.

Thanks for all your votes, guys, and see you all in the next round!!!

SilverSpook · Wed 20/04/2016 05:00:42

Quote from: Baron on Tue 19/04/2016 04:37:02

Special mention to SilverSpook, who only garnered three votes with his three-post opus. I thought it was an awesome story. Yeah, it was long, but I never lost interest, and I thought all the frenetic thoughts going on in Noah's millennial sharing-economy cranium contributed to a steady character development. And I wouldn't hold random dream sequences against you when the topic is "random". I guess the consensus is that kids these days need the elevator-pitch version of the story, not the 400 page prospectus.

Thank you very much, Baron, for: a.) Reading through the story in its entirety. b.) Getting that the story was as much a character/culture study as a Citizen Kane-esque rise/fall plotline. To each their own, I suppose! I am actually not entirely joking about using this story as a seed for other ventures, so knowing that it clicked with at least one reader helps. Helps me not check the laptop out the window and become an alcoholic. So thanks for that!