So NYCMidnight.com is holding a contest for writers to craft Twitter-sized stories of 140 characters or less, which must include a supplied word.
So all of the entrants were split into 20 groups, with a different word for each group, and we all wrote (my word was "heaven").
So the first round now has been judged, and the best 15 stories of each group have been chosen, and now everyone gets to vote on their favorites out of each group.
And of the 15 chosen in my group, 2 of them are mine.
And now it's time for the voting. I'd appreciate it if you voted for mine (although there are some excellent competitors there). You can even vote for both of mine, if you've a mind to.
Go to the first round page and click on Group 1. Mine are the top two stories in the list. Vote!
Voting goes on till next Monday night. The writers of the 5 top stories of each group will go on to the finals, and I'd sure like to be there. I hear it's nice. Thanks!
(And check out some of the other entries, in all the groups. It's impressive what you can get across in 140 characters.)
[ August 26, 2009, 12:01 PM: Message edited by: Chris Bridges ]
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Voted. Just not for you.....
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Voted for your two and one other. Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
As long as you voted, that's the important thing.
On of my coworkers - the one who told me about the contest, in fact -- also has two stories up. I voted for her, assuring her that once we're head to head all bets are off.
Posted by AvidReader (Member # 6007) on :
Voted!
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Voted for the "all dogs" one, I thought it was the best by far.
Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
Chris said, “Vote.” She voted. And voted. And voted. Then wondered what happened to that hour she was supposed to enter on her time sheet.
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
quote:Originally posted by Corwin: Voted for the "all dogs" one, I thought it was the best by far.
I didn't get that one.
Posted by DarkKnight (Member # 7536) on :
I voted, and recommend the dog one, HI-larious!
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Good stuff, Chris.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Thanks, everyone. If you haven't voted, today's the last day. Tell your friends! Tell your enemies! Spam your loved ones!
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
quote:Originally posted by ricree101:
quote:Originally posted by Corwin: Voted for the "all dogs" one, I thought it was the best by far.
I didn't get that one.
He thinks he's been ordered to kill the dogs so that they go to heaven.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Woot! I made the finals! Thanks, everyone!
Next is the final round, where the remaining authors all get the same word. Wednesday night!
To make it more interesting, one of my coworkers also made the finals.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
lol sounds like fun! I'd say a bet is in order.....
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Congratulations! Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Finals are tonight, at 7pm EST. The 100 remaining writers get the same word and 5 hours to write up to 3 stories using it, in 140 characters or under.
I'm going to ignore the fact that I woke up with a fever and a sort throat. Or maybe I can use it! Writers are supposed to suffer!
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
And the word was "tear." Wrote 6 stories, dumped one, and finally chose three to submit. I'll post 'em here tomorrow, after the deadline.
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
Congrats! Did they specify if this it was the noun "tear" (rolling down a cheek) or the noun/verb combo "tear" (rip)? Or did they leave that interpretation up to the authors? That would make it an interesting challenge...
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Chris, I'm so glad you are participating in this contest and sharing with us. It's a treat to watch and be a part of it with you.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
ludosti, what about the verb tear, as in "she teared up"?
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: So NYCMidnight.com is holding a contest for writers to craft Twitter-sized stories of 140 characters or less, which must include a supplied word.
So all of the entrants were split into 20 groups, with a different word for each group, and we all wrote (my word was "heaven").
So the first round now has been judged, and the best 15 stories of each group have been chosen, and now everyone gets to vote on their favorites out of each group.
And of the 15 chosen in my group, 2 of them are mine.
And now it's time for the voting. I'd appreciate it if you voted for mine (although there are some excellent competitors there). You can even vote for both of mine, if you've a mind to.
Go to the first round page and click on Group 1. Mine are the top two stories in the list. Vote!
Voting goes on till next Monday night. The writers of the 5 top stories of each group will go on to the finals, and I'd sure like to be there. I hear it's nice. Thanks!
(And check out some of the other entries, in all the groups. It's impressive what you can get across in 140 characters.)
This is way more than 140 characters, disqualified Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
And here's what I submitted, with titles added afterward for fun:
Last Call
"Aren't you skydiving?"
"Yup."
"You're calling from midair? That's sweet!"
"I love you..." he said, watching the tear in the fabric spread.
Father Knows Best
"But I loved him, daddy!"
"Wipe that tear away, honey. Other boys will respect you more."
"How do you know?"
"Because they'll see his body."
Anything for You
"You said you were too happy to write tear jerking songs?"
"Yeah?"
"I just stole your truck to go sleep with your sister."
"Oh, I love you!"
I also posted a few that didn't make the cut at my blog.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Sad and sweet; horrifyingly hilarious; and just plain hysterical.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Woo! One of my stories made the top 25! Now I'm eligible to win the judges' award (that's entirely up to them) and/or the popular vote, which is entirely up to you.
If you're so inclined, please head to http://www.nycmidnight.com/2009/tweet/tweet.htm to see the 25 chosen, and vote for me if you think it's worth it (you can vote for as many stories there as you'd like). I'd appreciate it.
Posted by AvidReader (Member # 6007) on :
There are some really great ones in there. Good luck, Chris!
Posted by Herblay (Member # 11834) on :
I thought most of the other ones were better than the truck one. The coupon one and the sewing one were both definately better.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
I voted.
Apart from Chris's, I really liked the divorce one (but how horrible!) and the robot end of humanity one.
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
There were some really good ones! I voted for you Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
I voted only for Chris...there were some others I liked, but I am nothing if not loyal. Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
Voted! Good luck Chris.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
It's kinda strange that they picked the word "Tear" as that can mean one of two completely different things. I guess the extra latitude is useful, but I would have liked them to stick to one word.
Voted for you Chris because I really liked it.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Thanks, everyone.
Of course, if I make the top 10 I'll get entered into their next Creative Writing contest, so I'll be shamelessly begging for votes again. Just saying, in case you want to take that into consideration Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Voted, for Chris' and the Robot one. A lot of the others actually seemed really bad to me :/ I'm kinda surprised they were in the finals. They didn't even hold a candle to Chris' sky diving story.
And Chris - blast you, that story packs a surprising punch for 140 words...
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
If I could vote (can't click the boxes; I'll try again from home tonight), I would totally vote for Chris' parachuting story. Beginning, middle, end; essential for any story. And so poignant it brought a tear to my eye.
The only others I thought were close were the two by Katherine Boboris (the robot one and "tear his heart out").
Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
I'm less discriminating, apparently... I voted for eight of them. (Chris's included, of course.) The only one of the 25 I totally didn't get was "If it weren’t for the tear, I wouldn’t be here." But maybe I'm just missing something there...
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shmuel: I'm less discriminating, apparently... I voted for eight of them. (Chris's included, of course.) The only one of the 25 I totally didn't get was "If it weren’t for the tear, I wouldn’t be here." But maybe I'm just missing something there...
... not [teer] but [tare]. As in torn.
Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
quote:Originally posted by Fusiachi:
quote:Originally posted by Shmuel: I'm less discriminating, apparently... I voted for eight of them. (Chris's included, of course.) The only one of the 25 I totally didn't get was "If it weren’t for the tear, I wouldn’t be here." But maybe I'm just missing something there...
... not [teer] but [tare]. As in torn.
...sorry, I'm still confused. Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
It has to do with failure of contraception: if the contraceptive device hadn't torn (i.e., failed), the person wouldn't have been conceived, couldn't have been born, wouldn't be here.
[The ambiguity of this mini-story is intentional, I think. It's meant to provoke a moment of puzzlement and active engagement with the story by trying to make sense of it. But it's the sort of thing that is designed to make sense on the second thought.]
---
Edited to add: I don't know what your personal preferences are as to details here, but that should suffice to get the gist of the story. Some people prefer (or take identity/pride in, even) not knowing the details of contraception, and for some ages such details are not appropriate, so I'll leave it at that.
If you want a more detailed answer, I expect you'd best ask explicitly, as I get the sense that is not where you really want to go.
Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
Ah. Gotcha. Thanks. Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
No prob. Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Last beg: voting closes in 10 minutes or so. Vote! (Please.)
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
re-voted Posted by T:man (Member # 11614) on :
I voted, for the one about the tree, the superhero one, and your skydiving story.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
(Big breath) WOOOOO!
I won the audience award, and I thank everybody who voted!
Didn't win 1st place in the judges' award, but I did place in the top 10 so I'm entered into their next writing contest, where I'll have a little more room Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Good job Chris!
Posted by AvidReader (Member # 6007) on :
Woot! Great job, Chris.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
Congratulations, Chris.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
I don't get this one:
quote:About at the instruction to "tear up your CANDY wrappers and BURY them!" I began to suspect that this was a pretty sub-par ninja academy.
Chris, I would have voted for yours anyway. I really thought it was the best. The judge's pick was just time travel cliche #14 in condensed form.
Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
I found the judge's pick to be pretty lame actually. I actually had ranked it in my mind as one of the lowest- groan worthy in fact.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
I have decided, without any evidence at all, to assume that the judges decided the same person shouldn't win both prizes so did not award the judges' prize to me.
Sounds good, anyway.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Chris, congrats! Yours really was the best and it deserved the win.
Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
Chris, that actually makes a lot of sense- especially since none of the top 5 reader picks were the judges pick.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
So, checked on the next contest that I won an entry into, and it's a bit different. It works on a points system.
Once again I'll be in one of several writer groups. Starting this Friday night, we'll be given a location, an item, and a genre, and we'll have 2 days to write a 1,000 word short story.
The judges will read them all, put them in order of preference and award points for our placement (#1 gets 25, #2 gets 22, etc). We do it again in July. Our points get added together, and the top 10 writers in each group move on to the next round.
We get reassigned to new groups, write again in August, and the top ten from each group gets points but only five writers from each group move to the next round, based on the top three stories along with the next two highest point-total writers.
The last round is in September, all the writers left get a location, an object that must be in the story, and a genre. The judges choose the best 15, points get assigned, and then a variety of prizes get awarded to the top writers and the top points-holders.
Got all that? Me, neither. I plan to just write whenever they tell me to and see what happens.
No popular vote this time, so I'll have to coast on my ability and my almost unnatural good looks. But I shall keep you posted.
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
Congrats Chris! Keep us updated!
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Got the confirmation it was received, so now I can share it.
Genre: Suspense Location: Indoor swimming pool Item that must be featured: piggy bank Words: 993
====================
He heard the terrible crashing sound, and the screams, and the rapidly approaching clatter.
Nestled deep in the darkness, the old stagecoach breathed a deep sigh and waited for the inevitable, which arrived moments later in a sudden slice of harsh white light.
“C-coach?” came the voice, sweet, high and shaking.
“Go away.”
The pig pushed her way into the closet and past the luggage to find him. “Coach! You have to help us!” She spun around to look behind her, making a noise like… there is no noise quite like a full piggy bank. She sloshed, metallically.
“It’s Christmas time, this is what happens,” he grumbled, and began to roll backwards to hide behind the shoes. “I’d advise closing your eyes. It’ll be over faster.”
Awesome!
Posted by AvidReader (Member # 6007) on :
That's so sad. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I agree with both of you.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
It's one that leaves you nodding "well done" and shuddering at the same time.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
With my first story, I placed 5th in a group of 15. Now to see if I can bring that up a bit. The second challenge of round one was last weekend, and here's what I posted:
Genre: Fantasy | Location: Travel Agency | Object that must be featured: Lobster
"A lobster? An actual crawling around, dunk it in butter lobster?"
"It’s what we have available right now in your price range, sir. Lobster, beetle, or vulture. Live your dream, sir."
"What kind of beetle?"
"Dung."
Parkleman sighed and slumped in the chair. "I’m in accounting," he muttered, looking around the travel agency. "Dealing with balls of crap ten times my size is precisely what I’m trying to get away from."
The sign over the door read "TRANSMOGRIVACATIONS, INC." and in smaller script underneath: "BE ALL SOMETHING ELSE CAN BE." There was an enchanted logo next to it depicting a cartoon man changing into a lion, a dolphin, an eagle, and then a man again, over and over. Parkleman stared at it for a long moment.
"You can really change me into anything I want to be?" he asked again.
I like this one, Chris - better than the bank one. Posted by AvidReader (Member # 6007) on :
You got me, sir. I didn't anticipate the ending. I actually found it to be quite fitting. Very nice.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
And here's the next entry. This time my restrictions were Genre: Romantic comedy, Place: arcade, and Item: coffee pot. Here's what I thunk up:
"The Final Score"
Being a coffee shop barista, even an emergency temp one, was everything Aly thought it would be. "Here you are sir, have a nice day, die in a fire," she muttered before turning to her mother, who was filling the large catering pot. "How do you keep from murdering your customers?"
"That gets you talked about," her mother said. "Try making terrifying designs in their latte cream instead, that always cheers me up."
Aly sighed. Helping out her mom was one thing, but she couldn’t take being back in this town for long. At least she didn’t have to go near—-
"You know where Electricland Arcade is, right?" her mother asked suddenly. "I need you to run a delivery… Aly? Why are you hitting your head?"
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