Cautiously I clicked it. An image flickered onto the screen: an elegant woman sitting in a Victorian study. She looked up, her eyes twinkling in gaslight that illuminated her face, and the massive tome she had been reading.

"Hello, me dear," she said. "Wondered when you'd drop in. Cuppa tea?"

"Um ... yes," I said. "Excuse me, but ... who are you?"

"I'm the Witch o' Words," she said. "I read everythin'. I've read everythin' that's bin written, and everythin' that will be written."

Somehow--magically I suppose--a cup of tea appeared at my elbow. I sipped it. "I don't believe in witches."

"You will, me dear. I see the future--I know these things. You're goin' to offer to run another Sudden Fiction contest--"

"I'm ahead of you there," I said. "We're discussing short stories in another thread and now seems like a good time to--"

"--You can't be ahead of me. I see the future, remember? Anyhow, the new contest is why I'm 'ere. You need a fresh alter-ego to 'elp you run it."

"I do?"

"Yes," she said, with a firm thrust of her jaw. "I want some new reading from your 'Atrack colleagues. I tell you, me dear, there are some great stories lurking in their minds and hearts."

"But we're busy. We have RFM, the 13 Line Challenge--"

"No excuses." She wagged a finger. "Everyone needs to write new stories, all o' the time, to keep those creative juices flowing and make more material for their 'Einlein pipeline. Besides, I, the Witch of Words, will read 'em all. Now who would not want to write a story for me?"

"Well, I, er," I fumbled.

"I said I'd 'elp," she said, "and I 'ave some triggers ..."

She read from her tome.

"The triggers are ...
- an unusual aroma;
- a secret library;
- an invisible child. "

The words appeared on my screen, ready to cut 'n paste into this post.

"They're designed," she said, "to appeal to writers of SF or Fantasy. Now, all you have to do is open the contest."

"Okay," I said ...

Who's up for a sudden fiction contest?

(You'll recall perhaps that some of us find the discipline of writing a really short story helps us draft a new idea quickly, learn to write concisely, make each word count, and focus on what moves the story along. We started with the 1000 word 'flash' format, then gave ourselves a bit more room with the 2000 word 'sudden' format--while retaining the idea of writing something really short so that there's not too much of a burden to read, crit and vote on the stories.)

2000 words, triggers as above, by the end of Feb. Detailed rules as our previous contests http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/forum/Forum1/HTML/005084.html

In summary,

- 2000 words or less, using one or more of the triggers above
- we vote on first 13s and best story
- we commit to read and crit at least one story
- no sharing of stories for crits, to preserve anonymity of voting

If you're interested, please so indicate in this thread by Sat 17th Jan and I'll post detailed rules and so on over the weekend ...

Cheers,
Pat

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited January 11, 2009).]
 

Do you have to include all the triggers?

[This message has been edited by satate (edited January 11, 2009).]
 

"Grandma! What are you doing bugging Talespinner!"

She almost jumped out of her green-skin. "Ahhh! Don't do that! I thought the woodsman was coming to get me!"

"Grandma! I told you I wanted you to find out what is the deal with Zac. I haven't heard from him lately."

She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. "Zac isn't anybody real. I told you he's in his head."

"I know he's in his head, he's a computer implant..." I yelped when she smacked me behind my ear.

"I swear I really don't know how a head that is so empty could be so dense. Another thing, kiddo, quit calling me Grandma, I'm the Witch o' Words. I don't want Patrick James to think were related." She grabbed my arm and twisted it. "Oh, how sweet. You got a tatoo with my intials."

"No, you old bat, your looking at it upside down." I sniffed the air. "You making lunch?"

"Yep, care to join me? I made my favorite."

"Not roasted children again!"

She nodded.

"Grandma! You know how much I hate kids!"

I stormed out. Content on letting Talespinner deal with her on his own.

The benefit of triggers is odd, one I'm still getting my head around. It seems we're often more creative when there are constraints -- like triggers and a 2000 word limit -- than when totally free.

Seraphiro, substantially, yes, you're right. I'll post the details later, but the gist of it is that all the stories get sent to me, I strip them of author names (so we vote and crit without prejudging authors we know and love), post the first 13s and send them to everyone as an anthology. We vote for first 13s and best story, and our votes for first, second and third count for 3, 2 and 1 points respectively. I use a spreadsheet that Zac made for me. There are two winners -- best first 13, and best story; could be the same story but not necessarily.

snapper,I didn't realize that you and the Witch o' Words are related, but now that you mention it ...

The list on the fridge reads:

Troy
satate
snapper
Seraphiro
TS

The Witch o' Words tells me she wants at least 8 new pieces to read, because "It ain't much of a contest with less, me dear."

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited January 12, 2009).]

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited January 12, 2009).]
 

~Chris

[This message has been edited by SchamMan89 (edited January 12, 2009).]
 

Troy
satate
snapper
Seraphiro
TS
Annepin
Symphonyofnames
SchamMan89
dee_boncci
Bycin
philocinemas
 

SchamMan89, yep, just a story that fits the usual Hatrack genres (F, SF, dark) that was prompted by one or more of the triggers and runs to 2000 words or less. The idea is to get us generating fresh stories, and sharpening our writing skills with a short format--that's short enough not to be too onerous to crit.

The Witch o' Words tells me she's written to the elven paper makers, requesting more blank leaves for her tome; these she will use to anthologize our new stories--thats nice of her, isn't it.

(The anthology is used to e-mail all the stories to all entrants for voting and critting at least one story; it's never published anywhere so your first publication rights are preserved.)

(BTW, Bycin, if you want tea, just click the witch icon on your screen--it can be hard to see, especially if you look at it directly ...)

Welcome, everyone. I think the list on the fridge currently includes 16 names:

Troy
satate
snapper
Seraphiro
TS
Annepin
Symphonyofnames
SchamMan89
dee_boncci
Bycin
philocinemas
shimiqua
Unwritten
tchernabyelo
honu
Icared

If I've missed anyone, or if there are further takers, please let me know by either posting here or simply casting a spell in my direction ...

honu, and everyone, I'll post detailed instructions about where and how to send etc this weekend. Suffice to say, please do feel free to start writing now, and any of the usual formats will be okay (.txt, .doc, .rtf but please not Word 2007 because not everyone has the format converters). Also, we don't want to see the stories in the Fragments and Feedback area because that would destroy the anonymity. It's understood by everyone that these will be first drafts, not polished, and we'll all have the same disadvantage of not having had readers until we submit for the crits and votes.

Cheers,
Pat

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited January 13, 2009).]

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited January 13, 2009).]
 

Count me in!
 

I just worry that with eighteen stories, many will get missed, and won't get a crit, or the attention it might warrant. I'm excited though for everyone interested. Not everyone will want it to be competitive, but I think it will encourage everyone to bring their A game.
Just an idea. (And yes I am researching sports for a story, how'd ya know?)
~Sheena
 

One last thing. I suggest that the moderator assign us to review a group that our stories are not in. Looks like your work is cut out for you TS. AND don't skirt out of the voting because you are the moderator. You can judge fairly. I'll sick granny on you if you try that excuse again.
 

Well, wow, welcome everyone. Here's the list on the fridge ...

Troy
satate
snapper
Seraphiro
TS
Annepin
Symphonyofnames
SchamMan89
dee_boncci
Bycin
philocinemas
shimiqua
Unwritten
tchernabyelo
honu
Icared
BoredCrow
weekes15

We get a very broad range of stories in these contests. I think we'd all hate it if a lesser story from one group beat a better story in another group because the better one was second or third in its group and didn't make the final. So I think we need each group to produce more than one winner for the grand final.

So how about this: three groups of six, each group producing two finalists? We crit one story in the semifinals groups, and one from the finals group--so we each crit at least two stories. (I'll divide the stories at random into three groups and make sure that the group you receive doesn't include your story.

And if a couple more people join us, we could make it three groups of seven, or even eight.

At the risk of incurring snapper's granny's wrath, while I will contribute a story, I'll not vote or crit myself so that I have the time to crit stories that don't attract crits, and thus everyone gets at least one crit. It would be nice if the winners would offer, as well, to crit stories that fare less well so that hopefully everyone gets more than one crit. (In the past most people have done several crits and I'm hoping that will happen again--good people, Hatrackers.)

I'll put up a proper invitation over the weekend in the challenges forum, complete with the detailed rules (same as before modified per this discussion.)

Now I'm off to check that the Witch o' Words has enough elven paper, and to persuade Zac to take a break from his Mandelbrot sets and make a fancier spreadsheet for me ...

Cheers,
Pat

 

So think about one or more of the triggers/seeds here - the unusual aroma; the secret library; the invisible child. Why is the child invisible? Is the unusual aroma what leads someone to find the secret library? What are the books in the secret library - who keeps it secret? Start wondering about these things and you may well find that, in time, a story strikes you.
 

quote:

---

2000 words or less, using one or more of the triggers above

---

Nope, just one or more.
 

Triggers fascinate me, for they enable us to explore the hidden caves of our creativity and find new, unexpected treasures.

I first discovered this when someone ran a contest here at Hatrack with some triggers which I found entirely uninspiring ... or maybe just difficult, for they seemed to take me out of the SF genre I felt comfortable learning to write. But I wanted to enter the contest and learn, so I carried the triggers around in my head until -- I never know when this will happen, but it always does -- an idea surfaced. A trigger had provoked in my mind the question, “What would it be like if ...?” The story idea was just a concept, and it was a genre I had never considered writing, so it involved research. As I did the research, more ideas came until I had a story. Now, a year later, it's awaiting its final revision before, at last, I start submitting it.

I believe this creative process is not unique to me. The constraints of closing date and trigger seem to stimulate previously unsuspected creativity. The trigger seems like a mental hook, or a lure, catching passing ideas until a story appears.

That's a big part of these contests, stimulating fresh stories. Especially if you're writing short stories, you need lots of them to succeed and finding ideas can be difficult. The triggers can tempt us out of comfort zones, jumping tracks to new genres and milieus. Then, of course, the short form encourages one to learn tight writing, no bad thing even in larger works.

You can interpret the triggers as broadly as you like.

An unusual aroma could be the smell of cinnamon issuing from a freshly-dug well; the acrid smoke of fire in a star-ship's engines; the stench of corruption at the King's Court.

A secret library could be the Grand Wizard's spell books, hidden from lesser magicians; the knowledge of an ancient alien race buried in myths and legends; a radio station's collection of rock 'n roll CDs that would be destroyed by a puritanical regime if found.

“Invisible” could mean hidden from view, an invisibility cloak, or a child disowned. “Child” could be a young girl, a dragon's hatchling, or a huge green alien we mistake for an adult.

Finally, the trigger words themselves don't have to appear physically in the story. As long as you can say to yourself honestly that the story came to you, however indirectly, as a result of one or more of the triggers, it's fine.

Cheers,
Pat

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited January 18, 2009).]
 

(Sorry this post is so long, but it's necessary to cover all eventualities and be fair. I'll post short summaries of "what we do next" to make things easy as we go along.)

Triggers
========

- an unusual aroma;
- a secret library;
- an invisible child.

Rules
=====

Sudden fiction, 2000 words max.

Use one or more of the triggers to create the story's concept, theme, a central character or object.

Closing date for entries: 18.00 GMT Saturday Feb 28th (about six weeks from now)

Closing date for first round crits and votes: 18:00 GMT Sat March 14th (about two weeks to read, crit and vote the stories in your group)

Closing date for final round crits and votes: 18:00 GMT Sat March 21st (about one week to read, crit and vote the stories that make it to the final round--less than the two weeks before because everyone will want to know who won!)

Entries limited to 24 contestants (three groups of eight)

In the first round you crit at least four of the stories in your group.
In the final round you crit at least one of the stories in the final group.

Usual Hatrack rules for content apply. Please, no fanfic, no use of copyright stuff.

Your commitments:
=================

Write a story and send it in by closing date above
Vote on first 13s by closing date for first round, above
Vote on first round and submit four crits by closing date for first round, above
Vote on final round and submit one crit by closing date for final round, above

For extra kudos you can:
========================

Use all the triggers
Crit more stories
Help me crit the stories that don't fare so well
Suggest triggers for the next contest (two or three months after this one)

Submission Guide
================
e-mail your story in .doc, .rtf or plain .txt format to me by 18.00 GMT on the closing date above.

Please do not put early drafts of your story through the regular F&F threads for first 13s, for that would destroy the annonymity of voting.
(If you use Word 2007 please save in .rtf or an earlier .doc format because we don't all have the format converters for earlier versions of Word.)

In the e-mail subject line please put "Hatrack Contest--Story name--author's Hatrack name" in order to get past my spam filters.

In the body of your email please put your Hatrack name and your e-mail address.

On the first page of the manuscript (and nowhere else) put your name and the word count.

Voting and Critting process
===========================

Voting and critting is anonymous.

I'll create a fresh thread for first 13s and post them all there so we can vote on them. We all vote on the first 13s (because that doesn't take much work).

To crit and vote on the stories ...

I will delete names from manuscripts, assign them numbers, and reformat them only to the extent necessary for ease of handling. I'll allocate the stories at random to three groups, combine the stories for each group into one anthology file. I'll divide contestants also into three groups and send one anthology file to each group for first round votes and crits, and I'll make sure that a contestant isn't in the group that gets his or her story.

For the final round I'll make a fresh anthhology of the finalists and send it to everyone for final votes and crits.

(If you can't read Word .doc files let me know.)

In the first round you vote for your top three stories. I will tally the votes like this: three points for your first choice, two for your second, one for your third. You cannot vote for your own story.

I will not be voting myself so that I have the time and independence to manage things, and break ties if necessary.

In case someone doesn't vote, please include at the end of your 'vote-and-crit' e-mail your votes for the other stories, but not crits.

You must crit your first four choices and send the four crits together with your vote to me by 18.00 GMT on the voting due date above. (Votes without crits don't count.) If you don't vote I'll delete your story and redistribute the votes.

Then we'll repeat the process for the final round, but with just one more crit.

Please use this vote and crit format in your e-mail to make my administrative life easier:

--------------------------
Your hatrack name

First 13 1 -- story number
First 13 2 -- story number
First 13 3 -- story number

Story 1 -- story number
Your crit of story 1

Story 2 -- story number
Your crit of story 2

Story 3 -- story number
Your crit of story 3

Story 4 -- story number
Your crit of story 4

Story 5 -- story number
Story 6 -- story number
Story 7 -- story number
Story 8 -- story number

---------------------------

If any stories don't get at least three crits, I'll crit them and request the three winners to help me, so everyone should get at least three or four crits.

If for some reason you're unable to submit your story or vote on time, please let me know and we'll make due allowance.

If I don't hear from you by the due voting date I'll delete your story and redistribute the votes received appropriately.

Contestants
===========

Annepin
BoredCrow
Bycin
dee_boncci
Gan
honu
Icared
philocinemas
satate
SchamMan89
Seraphiro
Sherpa7
shimiqua
snapper
Symphonyofnames
TaleSpinner
tchernabyelo
Tiergan
Troy
Unwritten
weekes15

Currently 21 contestants. We're open for one or two more, to a maximum of 24.

===============
How's that? Any comments, questions? Dates okay?

Cheers,
Pat

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited January 18, 2009).]

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited January 19, 2009).]
 

Closing date for entries 18.00 GMT Sunday Feb. 1.
Closing date for first round crits and votes 18.00 GMT Wednesday Feb. 11.
Closing date for final round crits and votes 18.00 GMT Sunday Feb. 22.

 

Also, I have a personal preference for Saturday due dates because that gives me Sunday to do the admin bits. Well, Zac does a lot of it, and I guess the Witch o' Words will help this time too, but I'll still need to supervise, or make tea, or something ...

Of course, there's nothing to stop contributors from setting a tighter personal deadline for first draft if that will help.

Cheers,
Pat
 

Pat, I'll volunteer to crit extra stories if the need is there.
 

Pat
 

My question comes from this: "In case someone doesn't vote, please include at the end of your 'vote-and-crit' e-mail your votes for the other stories, but not crits."
 

And thanks, Seraphiro, for your offer to add crits if there's a need.

To keep us all jazzed about the contest, progress reports will be welcome in this thread, even if they're just "I have an idea but I'm stuck ..."

Cheers,
Pat
 

There's my update =P
 

It makes sense, which is better than the last one I wrote for one of these contests.

So bring it Peeps! I'll see you in the final round.

Can I get a What! What!

Yo.
~Sheena
(Sorry for talking smack.)
 

I'm mulling over the triggers, letting them stew for a while in the back of my mind. Maybe I'll try brainstorming.
 

Pat
 

Several pages were blank, and she thought about the writers whose stories they soon would bear. "Shall I cast creative spells towards them?" She sipped at her tea, then shook her head. "No. They're Hatrackers. Creative writers one and all. Ideas will come to them." She nodded to herself, took another sip of tea, and smiled.
 

Are we allowed to have it critiqued before turning it in?

[This message has been edited by Gan (edited January 23, 2009).]
 

quote:

---

Several pages were blank, and she thought about the writers whose stories they soon would bear. "Shall I cast creative spells towards them?" She sipped at her tea, then shook her head. "No. They're Hatrackers. Creative writers one and all. Ideas will come to them." She nodded to herself, took another sip of tea, and smiled.

---

quote:

---

Are we allowed to have it critiqued before turning it in?

---

The answer is, perhaps not clearly enough, here:

quote:

---

Please do not put early drafts of your story through the regular F&F threads for first 13s, for that would destroy the anonymity of voting.

---

I understand that crits would be nice, but not doing them to preserve anonymity does mean we're all at the same disadvantage.

(Further, the idea is not so much to win, as to get creative. Everyone who enters will be a winner, just by completing a story.)

And, everyone should get some crits, and it's possible too to revise the story after the contest and get more crits either in F&F or in Ready for Market.

Cheers,
Pat

 

quote:

---

Anne, I will contact the WoW with your request. I could do with one myself ...

---

Don't bother. She performed one on me. I can now color within the lines but nothing else.
 

"Your page is a bit blank, TaleSpinner," she said. "Just a few wisps of concept. You wrote the triggers. I'd a'fought you'd 'ave a story by now."

"You might have indeed thought that, but you'd be wrong. I wrote the triggers a long while ago, shortly after the last contest; I filed them, and forgot them. Other stories occupied my mind."

"Well, I'm sure you'll--"

"I was going to ask for a creative spell for Anne, me and a few others, but snapper tells me you miss sometimes. Is that right?"

The Witch o' Words smiled. A warm smile, the smile of a grandma's love.

" 'E never sits still, snapper; I fink that's why 'e's a lorry driver. He was young, fidgeting, and it missed, only grazed 'im. He now 'as a very creative teddy bear."

"Hmm ... Well, I've decided to use two of the triggers and have some rough ideas, but it's hard to tie it all down with a tight plot--one that will fit 2000 words. A plotting spell would help, and I'm sure a few other Hatrackers would appreciate some magical assistance ..."

She laughed.

"And 'ow will you develop confidence in your own talents if you write under a spell? No, me dear, you know as well as I that you're better exploring the magic of your own imagination. But ..."

She waved her wand, and a steaming cup of tea appeared at my side. There's nothing like a cuppa when your'e out of ideas ...
 

Apparently, I need to use trigger words more often.
 

If the story is finished, please feel free to e-mail it to me. Of course, if you'd like to let it sit for a while and revise it, that's fine too.

In a week or two I'll start a new thread in the Challenges and post first 13s as I receive them, together with information on how I'll create and distribute the anthologies, instructions on voting etc.

Me, I've made some good progress. I have an idea I'm happy with. All I need now is a beginning, middle and end, and to write it ...
 

quote:

---

Gan, that's great news.

If the story is finished, please feel free to e-mail it to me. Of course, if you'd like to let it sit for a while and revise it, that's fine too.

In a week or two I'll start a new thread in the Challenges and post first 13s as I receive them, together with information on how I'll create and distribute the anthologies, instructions on voting etc.

Me, I've made some good progress. I have an idea I'm happy with. All I need now is a beginning, middle and end, and to write it .

---

I'm going to let it cool for a week, and then take another shot at editing it. I'm not sure if I'm happy with the way it ends, but we'll see. I'm fairly new to flash fiction, so its been an interesting experience.

I look forward to seeing the first 13's.

The idea can oftentimes be the hardest part. Best of luck, I look forward to reading it.
 

"Tough triggers," I said.

"Thanks," she said.

"I mean, it's hard to find a story that fits."

"Well it wouldn't be worth writing if it were an easy story to find, now would it, me dear. Cuppa tea?"

Before I could respond, a cup of Assam appeared at my side. Two sugars and a little skimmed milk, just as I like it.

"Do you have a story?" she asked.

"I think so," I said. "Unfortunately, it's a novel, but I think I can cut a bit of it into a 2000 word sudden piece ... I think."

"I'm sure you can," she said.

"Um ..."

"Yes?"

"One of my friends would appreciate a spell, one of those creative ones ... chocolate was mentioned."

"Chocolate?"

"Yes."

"Anne doesn't need a spell--"

"But I didn't tell you her name--"

"Don't interrupt me, dear. She don't need a spell, not Anne, nor any of the Hatrackers. Well, not a creative spell ... No, she'll be fine. As will all the others. I'm seein' their progress in me tome. Some squirly, some taking shape, at least one in first draft. No chocolate required, me dear, you'll all write really super stories and I can't wait--"

Her doorbell chimed.

"Must go," she said. And vanished.
 

Can somebody please put a thread in the writers challenge area already!

I'm ready to go, I just need to know when and where, and that info should probably go in the writers challenge section.

I'm going to forget if you don't, and that massive list of participants may dwindle, or at least get bogged down, without a shameless bump or two.
~Sheena

 

But the end date is some while away, so you have time to let it sit and revise if you'd like.

Mind, if you do want to send it, I know a grand lady who's thirsting for a read ...

Cheers,
Pat
 

"Now what are you up too?"

She smiled, her black and green teeth poking past her gray lips. "I'm brewing another patch of my creative spells."

"Why?"

"The dearies are all falling behind. They need my help after all. This will be my third batch."
She held up a blue appendange. "Alien finger for Science fiction."
She grabbed a leathery fan with tiny scales. "Dragons ear for fantasy."
She lifted an eye ball, its brown pupil shifting about. "Zombie's eye for horror."
She reached into a box and dropped in a vice. "That is so they can compress their masterpieces under the word count limit."
Than she showed me a bottle of brown liquid. "Finally, shoe polish to shine up their prose."

I watched her pour it into the stew. Something didn't look right. I snatched the bottle from her grip and sniffed in the sweet aroma.

"You crusty old witch. No wonder why hardly anyones finished. It's molasses."

She bit her lip and batted her eyes at me. "Oopsy."
 

I've received one or two stories by e-mail so far.

I'm letting mine stew at the back of my mind for a while. I like the basic concept but the plot's not quite right. I face a long car journey tomorrow, and hope that it will give me time to consolidate my ideas ...

Yeah, I pictured her rather cool and elegant. I pictured her youngish, too, or at least ageless.

I've got an idea. There's no story yet. Still hoping for that last minute inspiration!
 

"I thought the story was too big for 2000 words," I said, sipping the tea she had kindly magicked up for me. "But I like it, and it's maybe an opportunity to set up a novella I've had in mind for a while. Same ideas, but now maybe tighter. It has a beginning, middle and end, and leaves the door open for being used as an intro to the novella -- which now has a richer backstory because I've incorporated some fresh ideas as a result of a couple of the triggers. Now, I plan to give myself a day or three plotting the details before finally sitting down to draft it. I've got a couple of weeks, until Feb 28th, right?"

"Yes," she said, slowly turning the pages of her tome. "We have stories, from honu, shimiqua, Bycin and snapper--"

"Which reminds me. Why do you appear different to snapper? To me you're elegant, maybe Victorian in style, and to snapper you're--"

She leered, dribbling foaming spittle from a mouth suddenly full of green teeth. Lifting her tea cup in both hands she slurped noisily, licked her lips, and then, as she put the cup down, morphed back into elegance with a big grin of even, white teeth. "Like that? As you know, TS, witches can change their appearance at will. When I first met snapper in his rather distant youth, he'd just seen the Wizard of Oz for the first time. He knew I was a witch and expected me to look like the Wicked Witch o' the West. I didn't want to disappoint him …"

We both sipped at our tea. Then she turned the pages of her tome once more. "Yours is taking shape, and four stories are finished." She giggled. "I do so love fresh stories. I'll read these later tonight ... I wonder what's happening with the others. They're all swirly on my pages--but none are completely blank, as far as I can tell …"

Yes, I thought, savouring my tea. I wonder how the others are doing …

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited February 15, 2009).]
 

-John
 

And, the Witch o' Words tells me she's pleased with our progress and that, with the levels of creativity and energy around here, nobody needs spells :-)
 

I'm willing to do extra crits to make up for my late arrival, if that helps!

I also have a question about the triggers: do they have to be the focus/subject of the story, or can they be more of a minor detail?
 

Yes, writing a short is a great way to push yourself, as many of us have discovered.

For the triggers, there's no hard and fast rule. They're really there to get our creative juices flowing, writing a story in territory that perhaps is unfamiliar, and discovering we can write more than we imagine we can. The trigger can be the focus of the story, or tangential, or indirect. It provides a constraint that, oddly, can drive creativity, by pushing one in unexpected directions, beyond the tramrails of our usual ideas.

Enjoy!
Pat
 

I hope it's a question with an answer or else this story is in trouble.
Melanie
 

From my limited experience, to answer the question "Why?" demands creativity -- the creation of character background and history, the imagineering of technological advances or limitations -- that explain motivation, perhaps for MC, or maybe for minor characters. In a way, the question "Why?" can be a kind of spell for coaxing one's imagination down new paths; a spell to be bound by, until the question is answered.
 

-John
 

No worries, everyone suffers from newbiliciousness at first.
 

Yeah, that's exactly what has happened to me. I had an idea for a situation, asked myself why the characters would be in it, and the darn thing expanded into a novella.

Not only that, it circled around to link up with some ideas I already had on the back burner for a novella. While I'm pleased about that, for the triggers have provoked the invention of a richer backstory, my challenge is to make what may become a new episode in the novella into a satisfying sudden fiction story.

I've given myself until this weekend to continue ruminating, then I must get down to drafting and revising ...
 

e-mail addresses are underneath these buttons to make it harder for spammers. If e-mail addresses were on the postings, things called "Scrapers" would harvest them for spam generators. Unfortuantely, the Witch o' Words tells me that even her strongest spells cannot defeat spam.
 

I figured it would be a quick mornings' work to put down the product of my nighttime inspiration. Sadly, it was not to be. The gremlins of genius had fled with the dawn, leaving plain old plodding me to figure out the story for myself. I found large gaps in the story by daylight that hadn't appeared during the night, and I had no idea what to do with them.

Long story short (no pun intended ... well, who am I kidding, of course it was intended), I finally finished today. Now all I have to do is figure out of it's any good or not. I hope nine days is enough time for that project.

Sigh.
 

[This message has been edited by AMPAglut (edited February 16, 2010).]
 

AMPAglut, yes there's room for you, and welcome.

I have an outline and about fifteen lines which, for me, is good. I always seem to get productive as the deadline approaches.
 

[This message has been edited by Denem (edited February 23, 2009).]
 

I dare not speak for the Witch o' Words, but I imagine she'll tell us if she gets unhappy--and last time I saw her, she was reading our new pages with a smile ... a not unpleasant smile :-)

Pat

 

Apologies. I was really hoping to make this. I may well still write the story... but not, i think, in the next four days.
 

A few pages had gone blank, several were complete, and more were squirling, or forming, or reforming, or just steadily appearing line by line. Some of the spare pages she had ordered for latecomers were showing signs of life.

A couple of pages had frozen in misty circular whisps, and she blew a kiss to them, hoping that perhaps their writers would find energy anew.

"AAARRRGGGG. I needed to get my word count down by about 400 words, so I went through my story with a fine tooth comb, and now I need to get my word count down by 478 words. Does that happen to anyone else?"

"Yes," murmured the Witch, "Happens all the time. It's about focus, the essential elements of the story." She cloned her big red editor's pencil several times and magicked the clones towards Hatrack ...

Turning to another page she muttered, "Inner critic. Bah ...it's the Angel of Never Getting Stuff Tangled again." She invoked her Voice: "Angst, begone!"

The ancient grandfather clock in the corner of her study chimed, and she gazed at it, calculating. "Just a few more days to the deadline," she whispered. "Now, that delicious final burst of surprising creativity ..."

A cup of strong sweet Assam tea appeared at her side, sent by one of the Hatrackers, and the Witch o' Words sipped at it thoughtfully, grinning with anticipation ...

 

Snapper
Honu
Shimiqua
Bycin
Satate
Sherpa7
Unwritten

If you have sent me a story and I have not acknowledged receipt, please check you have my e-mail address correct and send it again with "hatrack contest" in the subject line.

I anticipate a few more stories as the deadline approaches, including my own ...

Cheers,
Pat

 

That said, I do want to help read/critique these stories =)
 

Long story short, well there in lies my problem, I fear I need to withdraw as I am unable to get back to cutting down. Sorry, was so looking forward to this, I loved the trigger and the characters they inspired, but you'll see them in fragments when I recover, just a 5,000 wrd story instead of the sudden. Sorry once again.

 

melme54--For $20.00, I'll sign just about anything.
 

While I'm waiting, I must mention that the Witch o' Words shares her initials with a very popular online game... Coincidence or is there something more there?
 

Oh, and I can still read stories if you need me to.
 

snapper
honu
shimiqua
bycin
satate
sherpa7
unwritten
JohnMac
LucyintheSky
BoredCrow
Gan
TaleSpinner

If you've e-mailed a story to me and not received an acknowledgement, or if you're not in the list above, then either there's a glitch in the internet (please check you have my e-mail address correct and send it again) or the Witch o' Words doesn't like you ... just kidding ;-)

Tomorrow morning, UK time, I'll check e-mail once more for late subs and then set about posting first 13s and sending out the stories for crits and voting. Hopefully that will all be done by Sunday evening.

Some people have kindly offered to crit despite not themselves having entered stories. If you are one such, please e-mail confirmation of your offer to me and I'll send you the stories by return.

If you've finished a story but it doesn't fit the 2000 word limit, or if you get one together in the next few days, if you would like to e-mail it to me I'll circulate it to participating Hatrackers and maybe -- maybe -- the Witch o' Words will give it an Honourable Mention.

Assuming one or two more stories arrive in the next few hours I'm thinking of sending them out in two groups of six to eight, as we discussed previously, with the winners of the two groups going forwards into a final round of voting. I'll include detailed instructions for crits and voting in the e-mail containing the stories.

Cheers, and thanks everyone for some great stories and a lot o' fun,
Pat

 

I wish I always was as well inspired on my stories like I was for the last competition. I did not do so well on this story. People may well hate the topic I chose, so there you go.
 

Magic! I'm sure that the Witch o' Words, myself, and everyone who entered looks forward to reading them, voting and critiqueing.

I've posted the first 13s in the Challenges area and have sent to everyone the two anthologies of six stories each, for votes and crits. Detailed instructions are in the e-mail.

(I'll wait a few days for stragglers, then send out late stories and one that was subbed for crits only, in a separate "for honourable mentions" e-mail. At that time I'll send all the stories, also, to those who have kindly offered to crit, even though they have not entered stories.)

The Witch o' Words assures me she's very pleased with the stories. Indeed, she can't be with us now for she's too busy reading -- too busy, even, to magic me up some Assam.

"You would not be doing it without me," said Zac's voice in my ear.

"No, Zac," I said. "And thanks for reminding me to thank you for making the spreadsheet."

I hope everyone enjoys the stories and look forward to the votes and crits ...
Pat

 

Well, for voting and critting the stories, yes, we do so for the group our story isn't in. (The table in the e-mail is designed that way, to indicate which group you vote and crit.)

For voting on the first 13s, please keep all the stories in mind, both groups. So we'll get a result on the first 13s in the first round.

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited March 02, 2009).]
 

quote:

---

Triggers
========

- an unusual aroma;
- a secret library;
- an invisible child.

Rules
=====

Sudden fiction, 2000 words max.

Use one or more of the triggers to create the story's concept, theme, a central character or object.

Closing date for entries: 18.00 GMT Saturday Feb 28th (about six weeks from now)

Closing date for first round crits and votes: 18:00 GMT Sat March 14th (about two weeks to read, crit and vote the stories in your group)

Closing date for final round crits and votes: 18:00 GMT Sat March 21st (about one week to read, crit and vote the stories that make it to the final round--less than the two weeks before because everyone will want to know who won!)

Entries limited to 24 contestants (three groups of eight)

In the first round you crit at least four of the stories in your group.
In the final round you crit at least one of the stories in the final group.

Usual Hatrack rules for content apply. Please, no fanfic, no use of copyright stuff.

Your commitments:
=================

Write a story and send it in by closing date above
Vote on first 13s by closing date for first round, above
Vote on first round and submit four crits by closing date for first round, above
Vote on final round and submit one crit by closing date for final round, above

For extra kudos you can:
========================

Use all the triggers
Crit more stories
Help me crit the stories that don't fare so well
Suggest triggers for the next contest (two or three months after this one)

Submission Guide
================
e-mail your story in .doc, .rtf or plain .txt format to me by 18.00 GMT on the closing date above.

Please do not put early drafts of your story through the regular F&F threads for first 13s, for that would destroy the annonymity of voting.
(If you use Word 2007 please save in .rtf or an earlier .doc format because we don't all have the format converters for earlier versions of Word.)

In the e-mail subject line please put "Hatrack Contest--Story name--author's Hatrack name" in order to get past my spam filters.

In the body of your email please put your Hatrack name and your e-mail address.

On the first page of the manuscript (and nowhere else) put your name and the word count.

Voting and Critting process
===========================

Voting and critting is anonymous.

I'll create a fresh thread for first 13s and post them all there so we can vote on them. We all vote on the first 13s (because that doesn't take much work).

To crit and vote on the stories ...

I will delete names from manuscripts, assign them numbers, and reformat them only to the extent necessary for ease of handling. I'll allocate the stories at random to three groups, combine the stories for each group into one anthology file. I'll divide contestants also into three groups and send one anthology file to each group for first round votes and crits, and I'll make sure that a contestant isn't in the group that gets his or her story.

For the final round I'll make a fresh anthhology of the finalists and send it to everyone for final votes and crits.

(If you can't read Word .doc files let me know.)

In the first round you vote for your top three stories. I will tally the votes like this: three points for your first choice, two for your second, one for your third. You cannot vote for your own story.

I will not be voting myself so that I have the time and independence to manage things, and break ties if necessary.

In case someone doesn't vote, please include at the end of your 'vote-and-crit' e-mail your votes for the other stories, but not crits.

You must crit your first four choices and send the four crits together with your vote to me by 18.00 GMT on the voting due date above. (Votes without crits don't count.) If you don't vote I'll delete your story and redistribute the votes.

Then we'll repeat the process for the final round, but with just one more crit.

Please use this vote and crit format in your e-mail to make my administrative life easier:

--------------------------
Your hatrack name

First 13 1 -- story number
First 13 2 -- story number
First 13 3 -- story number

Story 1 -- story number
Your crit of story 1

Story 2 -- story number
Your crit of story 2

Story 3 -- story number
Your crit of story 3

Story 4 -- story number
Your crit of story 4

Story 5 -- story number
Story 6 -- story number
Story 7 -- story number
Story 8 -- story number

---------------------------

If any stories don't get at least three crits, I'll crit them and request the three winners to help me, so everyone should get at least three or four crits.

If for some reason you're unable to submit your story or vote on time, please let me know and we'll make due allowance.

If I don't hear from you by the due voting date I'll delete your story and redistribute the votes received appropriately.

---

A minor correction: I plan to vote in the first round because my story is not in the group within which I'll vote.

The votes are starting to trickle in -- and if we get everyone's vote early, I'll start the final voting early ...

Cheers,
Pat
 

"Zac," I said.

"That's an explanation?"

"You're a Witch, you're supposed to know everything."

"I am?" She sipped her tea, watching me.

"Sorry," I said. "I'm annoyed with Zac and since he won't talk to me, I'm transferring my anger onto you."

A cup of hot, sweet Assam appeared at my side.

"Talk to me instead, then," she said.

"I need Zac to help me with the spreadsheet for the contest, and he's gone and disappeared into a fractal recursion. I think he's lost himself in an infinite loop."

"Speak English, dear," she said.

"He's my artificially intelligent computer. Lives in my ear, talks to me, does analytic tasks, googles, reminds me to take backups, that sort of thing, and--"

Zac chimed.

"You only have four votes and crits so far, so quit worrying," said Zac.

"Yes but--"

"The spreadsheet is on your desktop. I put it together for you in about ten trillion spare CPU cycles."

"Thanks, Zac. How's the fractal research going?"

"Fine," he said. "And I do not lose myself in infinite loops or any other kind of loop. I have to go now, but I'll be back next weekend to help you count the votes for the first 13s and the first round of story votes."

A faint click signalled Zac's departure.

"Testy little bugger isn't he," said the Witch o' Words.

"You can hear him?"

"I'm a Witch," she said.

"Yeah," I said. "Silly me. You like the stories?"

"They're grand. I'd say they're magic, but they're all the product of human talent, no spells involved." She flipped the pages of her tome, smiling, then waved her wand at Zac's spreadsheet and opened it. "And I'm looking forward to seeing the votes and crits by next Saturday, 18:00 GMT."

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited March 08, 2009).]
 

"I can," said Zac.

"How many votes and crits have we received so far?" the Witch o' Words asked.

"Seven of the twelve that we expect are in," said Zac.

"And I've sent them all acknowledgements," I said.

"I wonder who's winning," said the Witch o' Words.

"Everyone's a winner," said Zac.

The Witch o' Words smiled. "They are indeed," she said.
 

As of this morning I have received and acknowledged first round crits and votes from all but two entrants ...

We all recall the rules, which said,

quote:

---

If for some reason you're unable to submit your story or vote on time, please let me know and we'll make due allowance.

If I don't hear from you by the due voting date I'll delete your story and redistribute the votes received appropriately.

---

And so to the better news ...

We have a winner of the first 13s -- but I realized when I was tallying the votes that I can't announce the winner because that would wreck the anonymity of the second round voting.

Suffice to say, two stories were ahead of the rest with 12 and 11 points, and two stories tied for third place with 8.

As several people said, there were several good stories. The stories were divided amongst the two groups at random and while the votes in one group produced a clear winner, votes for four stories in the other group were very close. Rather than leave a good story out of the second round, I've included all the stories that scored six or more points in the second round voting, a total of seven stories. They are story numbers:

3
4
5
6
7
10
11

Everyone has been enormously generous with their time and insight in the crits. Some have provided crits for all the stories!

If you did more than four crits already, please just send your vote. If you did just four crits in the first round, please send one more crit with your vote.

Please send your votes (and crit) to me by 18:00 GMT Sat March 21st.

I'll announce the winners on Sunday -- just one more week to wait, folks!

 

I look forward to seeing the winner!
 

"We had to wait until the last minute for the last vote," she said, "but at last, Zac has told me the results."

"Too many 'lasts'," I said. "And he told you before me?"

"You were asleep, and I couldn't wait any longer."

She grinned, flipping through the new pages in her tome.

"All the stories were winners," she said, "and I've enjoyed reading each and every one of them. The contestants put so much work into them, not to mention the magic of their imaginations--"

"Yes, but who won?" I said.

"Two stories tied for third. 'Behind Locked Doors' and 'Jasmine'."

She flipped a couple of pages.

"Then in second place was 'The One Part Oer Million'."

The final page she turned slowly.

"And the winner was," she looked up with a huge grin, "'Kindle'."

Zac chimed -- how would we have done this without Zac to do the counting, I wondered -- Zac chimed and said, "I expect everyone would like to know who wrote which stories …

troy "Come Down Here Where You Ought To Be"
shimiqua "The Distraction"
satate "Behind Locked Doors"
BoredCrow "Jasmine"
TaleSpinner "Air Monkeys"
unwritten "Kindle"
LucyintheSky "Magic Stinks: A Cautionary Fairytale"
JohnMac "Sacred Trust"
Gan "Jonas the Invisible"
snapper "The One Part Per Million"
bycin "A Breath of Dead Air"
sherpa7 "Receptacle"

"Thanks Zac," I said.

"And please thank everyone for my new reading," said the Witch o' Words. "I'll know where to come when next I need some fresh, exciting reading ..."

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited March 21, 2009).]
 

I am looking forward to reading all the critiques.

-John
 

Special thanks to TaleSpinner for doing the leg work, I can only imagine how involved it was. This was the first story I have actually finished, as sad as that sounds. I get great ideas (to me) but never follow through. This contest forced me to do that and I couldn't be more appreciative.
 

I didn't like the juxtaposition of the man's daughter against his desire for the body of a real woman. A bit squicky. A lot of the story feels like exposition. The author explaining events, rather than the reader experiencing the events. I think I'd like it if the story were to begin when she is transported to the magic district; the rest could be filled in with a quick line or two of dialogue. Once you establish that she's cinderella, our minds can fill in all the information that came before. The scene in the magic district is where the story comes to life. I think you can skip most of the beginning section and most of the end section. For example, if the scene at the ball simply began with her trying to extract herself from the prince's company, and him wanting her to stay (with, at first, seeming princely innocence), we would know that they fell in love (or we would think so) because that's what we expect to happen, knowing the story of Cinderella. You have an advantage here in that you can actually totally skip the boring parts (the exposition) in this story -- because we already know it! I really liked your writing in the middle section. Gross, but evocative.

#

Sacred Trust

I don't have a problem with the POV shifts here. It seems like you know what you're doing, but once you move over to the grandfather's POV (Inwardly, he hoped the boy was wrong), I don't think you should use Grandpa anymore to describe him -- because he probably doesn't think of himself as "Grandpa". I don't think of myself as "Uncle" for example; I have a name! ... When Bobby says, "I'm only seven!" -- I'd like it better if that line was cut. It seems to be more for the benefit of the readership than something he might really say. And we don't need it. Just "How can I save the world" would be better. Most seven years olds don't (in my experience) think of their age as a specific handicap. It just doesn't occur to them. If it's important (seventh son of a seventh son, seven years old) -- maybe have the grandpa say how old the boy is (or think it) at some point? ... I like it when he shoves the boy into the pit. Overall, I liked it quite a bit. A lot of good things going on. Descriptive writing, an original story, nice characters. I think it can be sharpened up with a few more passes. I think the segment when Bobby is inside the consciousness of the Ancient could be expanded (not too much) into a really alien-seeming and (my mind wants to say) lyrically strange few paragraphs. That seems to me to be called for. Nice work.

#

Jonas The Invisible

I do think we need a little bit more of an explanation as to why he won't steal. Maybe a short scene or a paragraph tying that in to his experiences at church? Or something? Or when you say moral code -- a few sentences about what his moral code is -- what it means to him? I just kept thinking: what? Steal! You're starving, kid! ... Okay, it's a well-written tale, and enjoyable to read. The only problem I want to mention is that I don't think enough is questioned by the kids or explained to the audience. This begs for expansion -- perhaps double the current word count? They just flow right along with strange terms and strange events as though -- yeah, it's out of the ordinary -- but since they don't understand it, their only choice is to accept it. That felt unnatural to me. They should have more angst about what's going on. I really liked the actual plot. In the end, I was expecting her not to be able to see him anymore, once she was free of her obligation to the secret library. He would be invisible again to her, the way he was to everyone else, and that that would be the sacrifice and the twist of the story. Although it didn't necessarily have to mean that they couldn't continue to be friends. I don't know. Can you be friends with an invisible kid?
 

Pat
 

Just kidding. Great Job everybody, and especially you Unwritten, I am surprised that mine did so well. So many excellent stories to chose from.

And for the record, Troy. I thought yours was the best (but not by much).

Thank you to everyone that gave me a critique. And Thanks to Talespinner. Wnoderful job again by you.
 

Thank you, authors, for your patience. Here are the rest of my comments on the remaining stories that were in my crit group. Thanks for the reads.

PARTS PER MILLION

Pretty solid. A few nits. "The deceit a co-worker told my boss when he explained why his expense accountant was so large." Doesn't quite parse. "'The toothpaste you used has whitening in it.'" What's the whitening agent? Peroxide? Might sound more consistent. I thought he overreacted to the 11 year old menstruating, maybe, for someone who is newly about the stink of nature. Somehow I didn't think it warranted an 'Oh God' and a running out. I got that it was the buildup of things, but maybe add one more thing that before the running out. "'Do you think early man could smell like this?'" Made me go HUH? Where'd that come from? And then you lose me a bit at the end. I feel like there must be some other solution... And something else behind the problem. Just... something more. I'm not sure what, it just felt to me as if the story came to a sudden stop, rather than a resolution. I like it when he shouts to the dog.

#

A BREATH OF DEAD AIR

Great voice. I like that your story and mine shared a common theme (poop!). I would have liked to see more intermingling of in-the-moment action to go along with the MC telling this tale. For example, to my way of thinking, the first sentence of the story could be 'I was being extra careful as I made my way through the tunnels....' with the preceding business about smelling death and getting beaten by his da and the brown flood dropped into the main action of the story. Some creative dragging and dropping could give this story more balance and flow. This is my favorite story in the group. Well done. I liked that the MC, when he talks, sounds much more childish than when he narrates. I took from that seeming-inconsistency that he is recalling childhood events though he himself is much older and more sophisticated now than when the story took place.

#

RECEPTACLE

Cleanly written. Not much to criticize. But I think it would have benefitted from more immersion into the minds of the characters. So much of the story was on the surface. It didn't give me much to grip onto. Probably that's what you were going for: the cinematic approach. It didn't quite work for me. I thought it might be helpful to you to know that. I just wanted at least one character to play the role of eyes and ears for me. To process the events of the story through a mind that felt one way or another about things. To give me some more perspective. I liked the twist at the end, but then, I'm always a sucker for a well-done twist.
 

Cheers,
Pat