Thanks to Kathleen for allowing us to post these announcements here.
Go to the below link to learn about the challenge. Please note that you now must be registered at Liberty Hall (mike's site) to participate. The registration is to make our lives easier and to protect your publishing rights. No moaning, please.
The challenge is open from now until Monday, 25 April 2005, 0800 GMT 0 (London, 5 hrs ahead of EST, US)
MaryRobinette is the chooser for this week's trigger, since she won the "Best Use of Flash Techinque" poll. Congrats for a well-done story, Mary.
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
Thanks! I'm looking forward to reading all of these stories. Have fun, gang!
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
When I click on the link, it says the topic or post does not exist.
[edited to add that I'm going straight to mike's bb for the challenge]
[This message has been edited by Keeley (edited April 22, 2005).]
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
Wierd. When I click on it, it works. A fluke?
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Don't know why. If you are registered, which you are, it should take you right there. Try http://www.munsil.net/index.html and click on Forums, then go to Flash Chalenge #4. If you don't see it, you are either not registered yet, or have not logged in. Or we have a glitch. Let's not forget the glitch. Next to the infamous snoggle it is the most maligned beat in history. It does have its purpose... oops, maundering again. Sorry.
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
I don't know if it's my e-mail or what, but I'm not getting the auto reply.
I've tested my spinfinder account and nothing seems to be getting through (which could be half the problem), but I also tried from my office account and I didn't get a reply.
Maybe there is a gremlin as well as a glitch.
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
I was logged in when I tried it earlier. Now it works.
I have no idea what happened.
Now I'm waiting for the trigger. It's only been a minute, so no worries... yet.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Okay... Robyn, did you get Mike's email and my email. Mike sent the trigger to you.
Keeley, I haven't seen your request... did you email the right address?
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
Just checked and it looks like I sent it to the right address.
Very odd.
[This message has been edited by Keeley (edited April 22, 2005).]
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
Got it!
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
Who wan the last one?
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
No, I think my web account is acting up, but that still doesn't explain why my office e-mail never got the auto-reply. (BTW, while I was typing this I just received Mike's e-mail about his story in F&F, so I guess it's working with some sort of three hour delay. It does that from time to time -- go figure ).
I'll send Mike an e-mail with that address so he can send it to me directly.
Thanks for all the effort guys.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Mary won the last one...
Yeah, I finally got the request... it took about 20 minutes to reach me. Not sure if earthlink or hotmail or someone else's lag, but I hope this doesn't happen again.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Robyn, I'm moderating. I can deal with it. Send me the email, please.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Yeah, although he isn't in any way moderate, HSO is moderating. Send him the email.
He'll stay up all night if necessary. Hehehe.
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
Okay, I think I got it in in time. There's probably going to be a lot of stories with the same subject matter, but I don't care. It was fun. Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
There seems to be a serious delay on your end Keeley, I've yet to see your story come in. Nevertheless, it'll show up eventually, I suspect.
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
40 min.? Wow, that is serious.
It took 20 min. for me to receive the flash trigger. I wonder if something's going on with SBC.
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
Whew! That was an ordeal and a half. I thought, Great, I'll start the challenge over lunch and finish it up before it gets busy again.
So much for that, the Gremlins in my e-mail decided to make this one hellish for me. Instead of writing while it was nice and quiet, I did while the phone was ringing off the hook!!!! Arghh! It must be the full moon or something, because this couldn't have been more stressful if I'd had the sword of Dameclese hanging over my head!
Oh well it's done. I can release. I can let go. I can stop ranting. <deep breath in...and out>
All right. Best of luck to the rest of you planning to this over the weekend. This should net some interesting stories. (Okay I'm starting to smile now.)
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Keeley, you made it with 3 minutes to spare!
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
Yea!!!!
[does happy dance]
I would like to add that it really helps out the people putting on this Challenge if those submitting follow the formatting guidelines (follow the link in the FC#4 topic post). I know it says optional, but if, like last time, 19 people end up submitting, and it takes the mod an extra 5 minutes to format, that means he'll be spending a little over an hour and a half on formatting alone. And that's if the formatting goes smoothly.
So, please, no matter how much HSO has offended you in the past, please follow the guidelines.
Posted that thought on Mike's site and decided I should add it here as well.
[This message has been edited by Keeley (edited April 22, 2005).]
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
We have 7 entries so far...
And yeah, what Keeley said!
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
Wow! That's fast.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Yeah, I think we're on course to beat the old record. I'm glad HSO is officiating this one! Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
Good luck to everyone who plans to write this week-end. The trigger is a challenge, but it's just right. I had fun with this one even though I don't particularly like my end product -- but I think just about everyone says that.
See y'all on Monday!
Posted by Rahl22 (Member # 1411) on :
Man, my head is POUNDING after that. *dashes to get advil*
I hope I manged to get it in on time. I know it was close!
Posted by Lord Darkstorm (Member # 1610) on :
I'm sure mine was close. I had to rush to get it saved and sent...but it was fun. Sigh, another sloppy ending, even though I had a good idea where it was going...the last few paragraphs were rushed. I'm sure it will show.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Presently, there are 11 entries. We're about on track with last weekend's flash.
On Monday, we will be posting the stories on the FC4 board, which is now private and cannot be crawled over by web robots -- protecting your publishing rights, and making it easier to find and crit a story.
Although, I'm wondering if in the meantime we shouldn't post the stories up to a hidden or protected web page so that those who have already finished their flash challenges can get to reading and critiquing. I could send the web address, login and password with your receipts...
thoughts?
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Only if you want to do all the work!
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
Personally, I've got some time today to start reading if you started posting but it's up to you. Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
I think that's a great idea. I'd love a head start on the reading.
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
I love the idea, since I want to read them, darn it!
I've worked with phpBB enough to know a couple of easy ways to do that without making much extra work. Shall I shoot you an email or do you have it under control?
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Oh, he has it under control, it's just that he wants to do it on a separate web page for which he has to create the html.
What I could do instead, is set up a separate hidden forum where those who have already flashed or who are not going to flash could start reading. But in phpBB the way to do that involves creating a group and assigning the appropriate rights to that group. Which by itself is not a big deal. However, then you have to approve Group membership on an individual basis, and on the weekends we also try to have lives.
So... if you have a better idea than that, please let us know.
Posted by Minister (Member # 2213) on :
Well, I flashed and Yahoo reports that the story was sent, but I haven't gotten the response saying that the story was received. I'll toss a message in at Liberty Hall, too, I guess; hope it made it.
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
HSO snuck me a few of the stories earlier so I can read them on the plane--but I succumbed to temptation and read a couple. Brace yourself for some stiff competition. Judgeing ain't going to be easy.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
I really missed not being able to participate last week. I just got back home from Las Vegas today, and there was no way I could get on the 'net while there. I don't have a laptop, and the internet cafes were all around $.25 a minute. On a budget of $20 a day to include all meals and transportation, it just wasn't happening. Especially because I wanted to really take time to enjoy reading the stories and critique all of them. So, oh well.
But, I have once more launched into the fray, and submitted a quickie that is only half as long as my first one, for the picture challenge. I am actually proud of writing something shorter, as I have a tendency to be overly verbose and use 20 words to say something that could probably be summed up in less than ten.
We'll see how it fares, now that it has been tossed amongst the sharks . Actually I'm looking forward to having it torn apart.
Good luck to one and all!!!
[This message has been edited by autumnmuse (edited April 24, 2005).]
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Minister, your story arrived safe and sound... while I was asleep. You should have a receipt in your inbox now.
With just under 24 hours to go, we now have 18 Entries!
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Okay... so you've written your flash, right? Do you want to get a head start on reading and critiquing the stories?
Well, you can. All you need to do is email me, and I'll send you a Word doc with all of the stories up to the moment. Please do this only if you have already taken the challenge. If you haven't already written your flash, you will not get the file.
To get the story, the following must be in your subject line:
"Send me the Flash!"
Send it to the flash challenge address, please.
Presently, we have 18 stories ready. If any more come before the challenge ends, they will NOT be added to the file. You will need to wait until Monday to read them on the board.
Actually, there's 19 if you count my story, which comes in at 1400 words (not exactly flash). Naturally, I had time to think it over, so it won't be part of the voting process. I will post it up on Monday, though.
Let me know if you want to read. Send an email with "Send me the Flash" in the subject line.
HSO
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
I've read most of the 1st 18 now and Mary's right - there are some good ones in there! good job, everyone.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
We now have 19 highly official and qualified entries.
I've not read any of them, strangely, though I have spent quite a bit of time formatting a few to add in the tags for italics and stuff (for posting on the boards).
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
Well, I read them all and I am anxious to be able to post critiques, and get started on the votes.
Also I humbly plead everyone's patience next week. I'm going to try to relieve HSO of some of the burden of going through all the stories every week by himself, and next week I'll do some slogging. If there are any screw-ups, blame me instead of him, okay?
Hmm . . . maybe soon I'll be a registered Offender like HSO . . . the power is speaking to me .
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Can they start blaming you for this weekend's flash? I hope so.
We have twenty stories in... one more than last week's total. Good thing many have decided to get a head start on their reading for tomorrow's postings. And for those who have, do you like it? Do you think it will help.
At the time of this post, just under 9 hours remain to take up the challenge and submit it.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
Having the stories to read now is a good thing, and will help me a lot! I have more time to read today than I will all of next week, so it's good.
Posted by Rahl22 (Member # 1411) on :
I think it's a good thing, but I'd rather wait until tomorrow when I can write up my comments/critique right after reading the story (fresh read = better comments).
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
Oh, I'm writing my comments now, too.
I'm even proactively writing comments on the remaining 5 or 10 or however many.
"Wow, some great imagery here, but I thought the ending felt a little flat - guess you ran out of time. Neat idea, though!"
Posted by Lord Darkstorm (Member # 1610) on :
I'm just adding my comments to the Word doc...I can copy and paste them tomorrow. I'm still trying to figure out a way to not comment on a few so it isn't obvious which one is mine.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
Just comment on your own, too.
Posted by Lord Darkstorm (Member # 1610) on :
It's hard to comment on my own. I didn't like it much while I was writing it, but after reading it again...it turned out better than I expected. I wouldn't call it great, but I sort of like it.
Ending was still too abrupt.
[This message has been edited by Lord Darkstorm (edited April 25, 2005).]
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
so say that! "I sort of like this, but the ending's too abrupt. Good job."
All you're trying to do is fake out the rest of us; you don't need to deliver a substantive review.
Posted by TaShaJaRo (Member # 2354) on :
LDS - I comment on my own as well, following pretty much the same format as Beth suggested. I also read what others are saying and kind of mimic that because usually they're right! Posted by Lord Darkstorm (Member # 1610) on :
Good plan. One day I'll be able to rip my work to shreads as bad as I can do it to others. Usually it takes a couple months of ignoring it before those big flaws become apparent to me without someone showing them to me.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
The Challenge is now closed.
We have 21 entries this time (22 if my disqualified entry is counted among them). This is awesome, yet it puts a strain on our voting system -- the polls only allow for 20 choices. So, the vote will be delayed a very short while until we sort that out... I'm hopeful that we can simply increase the poll options to a higher value.
Thanks to everyone who has participated. All of you are responsible for making this so successful. We have appreciated your feedback and we hope that the process is running smoother. Please keep us informed about what you think.
After one month of Flash Challenges, we should be inundating the flash markets with our stories! Maybe they'll notice a common thread among them...
HSO
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Polls are fixed. I have increased the number of poll options to 50. I sincerely hope we never see that many! How would we read them all!?
Posted by xarius (Member # 2168) on :
I wish I could have participated this time, but perhaps its just as well. I am looking forward to reading all these stories.
Congrats to everyone who made it this time around. And thanks to all you folks behind the scenes.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
I have only gotten as far as #5 but there are already several very solid pieces. If the rest are like these we're going to be having a really memorable challenge.
But talk about dark and twisted!
Posted by Minister (Member # 2213) on :
No fooling! How did such an innocent sounding trigger spawn so much dark and demented offspring?
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
I think that's just how it goes! If the seed had been "dead babies" we'd have a lot of light cheerful stories about kittens and bunnies; but perfectly innocent seeds lead to grim stories.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
HSO, of course your story counts as a participant. You aren't in the vote, but you did the work, you wrote a story. Don't belittle yourself that much. There were 22 stories written for the challenge. Of those stories, 21 were eligible for voting.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
Personally almost all ideas turn grim for me. I can write light-hearted humor but it is not my natural inclination; I prefer horror. Maybe others feel the same.
Posted by Minister (Member # 2213) on :
Mine was dark, not because I prefer horror (I don't care for it much at all), but because I'm using these flashes as a chance to try out new styles and approaches. I rather expected mine to be unusually dark for this challenge (not like utricide! lol); I was quite surprised when I got that email attachment with the other stories and discovered that only three or four _didn't_ strike me as dark! You guys are starting to scare me! Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
There was no self-deprecation in my post, Autumn. I was merely pointing out that my entry wasn't a Qualified entry... it is still, however, a story that was written according to all the rules; I just knew the trigger for days in advance. That's all.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Yes, there were some very dark tales in this FC. Luckily, there were a few light-hearted ones, too. Last week's voting choices should have been this week's, I feel. Since I didn't read any of the stories until after I setup the voting polls, I couldn't have known.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
you mean "most light-hearted" and "darkest"?
I'm more interested in voting on "best" whatever. best character, best plot, whatever, because for me, "dark" isn't something that I'm striving for, necessarily. "dark" isn't a goal. for me.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Yeah, I did mean that. By the way, I did use one of your voting suggestions... Best Narrative Voice. And I do feel our polls are good ones. We could probably create two more if we wanted to, but they are a pain in the bottom to set up. It's about 5-10 mins per poll, and that's copying and pasting. If there were a way to copy the polls and then change the poll question, that would be awesome. Yet... I see no way to do that...
[This message has been edited by HSO (edited April 25, 2005).]
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
I found that judging based on the categories there was no one story that hit them all, which is good. I like being able to vote for different ones for different reasons. Even with three polls, though, there were a couple of stories I really wanted to vote for that just didn't fit the categories. Life's like that.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
yes, I did notice Best Narrative Voice, thanks!
and hey. On "most light-hearted" and "darkest" - maybe the way to go is "best light-hearted" and "best dark" - that way there's something to strive for. Last time I kind of struggled with "most light-hearted" because I didn't really like the one I thought was the lightest.
voting for "most light-hearted" is sort of like voting for "most science-fiction-ish." i'd rather vote for "best SF."
belaboring my point, but I just figured out how to say what I meant!
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
I gotcha. That's why this time around I only used "Best" for things. I was never a fan of the high school yearbook blurbs "most likely to jump off a bridge before turning 21" stuff.
).
