Monthly Writing Competition: Keep Up The Standard!

[gotta<3OP]

I'm going to do another Yukino Submission today. I just need to let my writing group go over it.

And now I'm hyped.

I should make a submission this month. If I do not, blame World of Warcraft.

[Uncle Kenny]

Seriously, guys? Seriously?

Are you even... trying? :I.

So wait... We don't have any submissions for March? Well that sucks. I know this competition is just a side gig and all and everyone is free to participate at their leisure but it would have been nice if we actually had some... well... competitors. I mean I guess I don't really have room to talk considering how absent I've been lately but I figured with Kitsune up, he could have managed to motivate you guys well enough.

So I need to know... What do I have to do for you guys next month? If putting on a funny hat will work, I'm down.

Well, since Kitsune ended up being busy, we were going to do an April Fool's prank where we give up on you guys and then start an organizer war among ourselves culminating in the locking of this thread, but now we can't do that anymore. So I've decided to do the mature thing and just kill myself.

Spoiler:

[Uncle Kenny]

^^^ Just kidding.~

I would never kill me. I'm much too conceited for something like that. But anyways, on to more important business, I have a couple of announcements to make (a couple being 2). If you take a look at the first post, you'll notice that Kitsune cleaned it up a bit so that it isn't so sexual (or at least, I assume this because I didn't read it; I'm conceited). Before, I felt it was much too... "Hey! Look at me! I'm EDGY!" when we just don't need that kind of attention grabbing anymore.

So from now on, we're going to try and uphold the image that we're at least a semi-respectable competition. This isn't going to change anything that's currently going on but we probably won't joke around as... extreme? Yeah, I guess that's a good word. We won't be joking around as extremely as before.

... Eh, I don't like that word. We won't be joking around as EDGY as before. We're still, totally, going to joke around and continue being unprofessional, but now we're going to do it with class. And class means you can't do fun things like be edgy, have sex in public, and smoke alcohol and drink drugs. But I digress, now I'm rambling, we're going to try and sharpen up a little.

The second announcement is an idea we've been tossing among the organizers. The final product hasn't been determined yet but basically we're going to introduce a little something extra to each monthly, a small achievement if you will. And that's actually what it is, an extra "achievement" award. I won't lie, I got the idea from video games. Though we haven't worked out the kinks yet, the basic idea is that we'll drop around 2 or 3 little goals and whomever most meets the conditions in the eyes of the judges receives the award.

This extra will have absolutely no barring on the general grading that takes place during the competition. You're free to ignore it entirely if you want and it's just there as a sort of brainstorming tool, if nothing else. For an example, the goals will be small stuff like, "Make a subtle joke", and if you're like me or quite a few others, that'll be enough incentive to get your brain working. For some of us, it's difficult to just get started. We hope that this extra achievement will help in any small way. And it could be fun too.~

To preserve the spirit of not having a fixed prompt for the competition, the achievement award is both voluntary and general (i.e. you'll never see a goal be something overly constricting). Also, unlike general grading, you won't be rated on a scale from poor to excellent. The winner of the achievement will simply be announced along with the general grading for any given monthly. In this, we're open to suggestions on which goals you guys would like to do from month to month.

I wish to see all of you continue writing and reading and I thank each and every one of you for your time and dedication. I know that you all have lives and for some (if not most) of you, this is only a side thing, but I certainly appreciate that all of you bother to still drop in and grace us with your presence. As some of you know, our section was once dead before, but now we've formed a small community and I'm very proud to be a part of it.

Thank you all.~

[Kitsune Inferno]

Oh good, you broke the ice for me.

Also, all of your many submissions last month have mysteriously vanished. Sorry about that.

The April competition will be organized by Uncle Kenny and will consist of a judges' panel of myself and two other schmucks.

The May competition will mark my return to the organizer position and will consist of a judges' panel of myself and two other schmucks.

The opening post needs a lot more work done to it, but it's much less... strange, haha.

Also, I'd like to announce ahead of time that the August 2012 monthly will be a themed Monthly competition (these are always voluntary of course.~) What's the theme, you ask? Place your bets!

[gotta<3OP]

But... Those sexual jokes on the op got me laughing for like half an hour :< silly me.

Even so, I'm glad it is more organized. It was such a pain in the ass to search it for a specific rule or something like that. But I'm still sad no one will ever laugh at those jokes again.

Oh, and achievements... I like it. :p

[LaCaSiNa]

I will do my best in order to have something for this month's competition~

Also the achievement award sounds very interesting! Trying to meet one or two goals might even help us writers to consider more story elements and improve our work. It's nice to see the organizers coming up with little extra quirks like this :>

[Shuhan]

Since my new writing expedition is gonna be in small entries, once I have enough of them, I'll enter a clump of them together...if that's alright...

edit: already have two entries...just wanna add two more then I'll contribute.

[RPGJay]

I will endeavor to try to get something up for this month. Though this is my final month of this semester of college so I put emphasis on the word *try*.

[ChesCa]

My entry:
http://www.apforums.net/showthread.p...=1#post2553284
Yeah, better late than never.

[Rogues' Gallery]

I will endeavor to try to get something up for this month. Though this is my final month of this semester of college so I put emphasis on the word *try*.

Same here. I really, really would like nothing more than to sit down with a nice cup of soda and work on my story, but I've been lazy with my schoolwork this past month and now it's starting to pile up on me and that's what I've been stuck doing as of lately.

Shame....but like Jay said, I'll try to get something in.

[Uncle Kenny]

Shut the hell up and write something.

*throws bombs*

[ChesCa]

Yum ~

[Uncle Kenny]

Alright, guys. If you all want to know the two mini goals for this month's competition, it's these two right here:

"Make a subtle joke."

"Include a touching moment."

You're not obligated to do either of these things but if you want to and go for it, you could potentially win the "Achievement" award for this month. Good luck to all of the participants... and to all of our readers, Happy Reading.~

[gotta<3OP]

So a touching momment and a subtle joke. Alright I failed :3
Maybe I did drop a joke unintentionally, though.

[Kitsune Inferno]

Does a very tactile sex scene count as a touching moment?

[RPGJay]

Does a very tactile sex scene count as a touching moment?

I'm not sure. I think the organizers will have to reach a conSENSE-us about that.

[Uncle Kenny]

Does a very tactile sex scene count as a touching moment?

To be honest with you, I was hoping someone would try making a subtle joke by throwing a spin on the touching moment.

[LaCaSiNa]

Alright, guys. If you all want to know the two mini goals for this month's competition, it's these two right here:

"Make a subtle joke."

"Include a touching moment."

ALRIGHT! I've got one down, but the other one requires some extra thinking on my part. A subtle joke within a touching scene? That could prove to be a challenge. Doesn't hurt to try!

[gotta<3OP]

A joke in a touching moment is easy. But a subtle joke... hmmm That's hard. Any joke in a touching moment would induce a mood dissonance, and that's hardly subtle. Well, it's a good challenge to my lacking sense of humor (My jokes consist of saying things so stupid and unfunny they become funny).

[Rogues' Gallery]

As this is a thread for creative feedback and critical review, I would very much appreciate a more clear(?) explanation on a few structural faults of the previous chapter before I begin writing Chapter II of The Great Worm. I am by all means an Amateur writer after all, and thus I am having a little trouble understanding what was precisely implied by the judges below.

Quoted by Crossword:

Much of the dialogue is taken over by straight exposition. Right now the dialogue is quite dry.

Quoted by Dryish:

Dully expository soliloquies and dialogues

Quoted by Cuddles:

Much of your dialogue is an exposition dump.