Short Story Contest #9 - Lore

[GunSlinger]

Lore
Write a story where you introduce the reader to a completely new concept of lore:
Location, characters, race, faction, something else or all the aforementioned. Form
and direction is open for interpretation, the only limitation is to make and introduce
something conceptually "new" to the reader.

• The entry must be at least 2000 words, and may reach a maximum of 10,000 words.
• Absolutely no plagiarism.
• All entries must be written in fluent English, illegible entries will be disqualified.
• The entry must abide by the theme.
• At least one WIP (Work In Progress) must be presented before the deadline
• The story may NOT be the same as preexisting works of literature/art by any author, including yourself.
  

• First Place: 50 reputation points and your entry on the award icon
  
• Second Place: 35 reputation points and an award icon
  
• Third Place: 20 reputation points and an award icon
• Remaining entries: 5 reputation points for each submission (for users with final entries who made it to the public poll)
• Judge: 10 reputation for each assigned judge

• Let us know if you want to be a judge

Delivery	How deep the lore goes and how nicely it was brought to the reader. Characters: Are there any characters involved? If yes, how well were they presented? Were their motives and actions clear and congruent to the events? Objects/Locations: Are there any objects and/or locations involved? How vividly were they delivered?	/20
Theme	Did the story fit the theme of the contest?	/20
Flow & Pacing	Did the story flow along smoothly without any part feeling rushed or empty?	/20
Creativity & Originality	How well did the elements of the story blend with each other? Is the combination of elements unique?	/15
Eloquence	How efficient was the writing style? Is it enhancing the aesthetical output of the story? Does it have grammatical errors that distract the reader?	/15

• 70 % of the winner shall be determined by the contest's appointed judge(s).
• 30 % of the winner shall be determined by the results of a public poll.

Criteria and scoring is subject to change

• The contest shall begin on Date and conclude on Date, GMT

 

[Kyrbi0]

Posting to subscroob.

Who knows? Might actually find time to try my hand at this.

Either way, good luck contestants!

 

[GunSlinger]

Extensions are pretty common here so there should plenty of time for you to join.

 

[Celaquil]

Looks good, the only notion I've got something of a quarrel with is this:

The story may NOT be derived from preexisting works of literature/art by any author, including yourself.

I get it, it's kind of "cheating" to base it off of something you've spent a good long while
creating, but the thing is: We're a modding and world-building community. If we include
this rule then we're going to have a hard time finding participants, the way I see it.

Also, it doesn't add too much if you use a backdrop you're familiar with, like say, your
own fantasy world. You'll still face the challenge of grooming the reader into
understanding where he is and why he's there, regardless of whether it's part of one's
own created world or a completely new setting. It's meant to be new, anyway, the
idea I had when I introduced this theme was to force creativity, you have to make
something new, and then introduce that something to the reader. So regardless of
whether it's a new location on your own world-map, or new characters or a new race
or whatever, then it doesn't really matter if it's part of a "bigger" picture or not.
Besides, from a personal viewpoint: If I were to do this, I'd like to be able to include
it into my world.

And in that matter I also don't see the problem about writing a fan-fic, either, seeing as
it's the same sentiments to it as with a personal fiction. Plagiarism isn't plagiarism unless
you earn money doing it

 

[GunSlinger]

How about:

You may base the story off any existing works of literature/art by any author, including yourself but the story must not be the same as the plot of the said works.

 

[Celaquil]

While I think that's a good derivative from your original suggestion,
I think it could be better formulated, as follows:

The story may NOT be the same as preexisting works of literature/art by any author, including yourself.

This doesn't limit anyone from any background, be that self-made or fan-fic, it simply limits the author to make
something, no matter the "backdrop," new. To think up something that hasn't necessarily been written before.

If this is agreeable, I'll be moving this contest over to the official part of this section ASAP, and start looking
for judges, give me some time, though, cause currently I'm pretty busy doing... Other things.

 

[GunSlinger]

I'm okay with that and have changed the rule.

 

[Chen]

A contest like this seems nice, and the theme too. But that description, I think you should point out the theme more.

 

[GunSlinger]

A contest like this seems nice, and the theme too. But that description, I think you should point out the theme more.

Do you have a suggestion for the description?

 

[Chen]

Not now, but check the previous suggestions and polls by Keiji and others.

 

[Celaquil]

What about:

"Write a story where you introduce the reader to a completely new concept of lore:
Location, characters, race, faction, something else or all the aforementioned. Form
and direction is open for interpretation, the only limitation is to make and introduce
something conceptually "new" to the reader."

 

[Chen]

What about:

"Write a story where you introduce the reader to a completely new concept of lore:
Location, characters, race, faction, something else or all the aforementioned. Form
and direction is open for interpretation, the only limitation is to make and introduce
something conceptually "new" to the reader."

That's what I'm waiting for

 

[Kyrbi0]

Maybe it would help if you gave examples. Something I've noticed is that the generic phrases can be misinterpreted, where specific "good", "bad", and even just plain "acceptable/non-acceptable" examples can help.

 

[Chen]

But this. I'm just a noob in participating in this contest(first time) so where will I put it?

 

[GunSlinger]

Edited.
@Chanral You can put your wips and entry here once the contest has started.

 

[Celaquil]

Great, now we only need a judge to get this rolling.

 

[Wolffman]

I'd like to be a judge...:3

 

[GunSlinger]

You should talk to one of the arena mods if you wish to judge. Here's a bit more info on that matter.

 

[Apheraz Lucent]

~Subbing.
And joining for sure if launched.
Judging or participating, we'll see.

 

[Celaquil]

Judging isn't "joining"!

Anyway, reckon we'll wait till the joint concept and story contest is over before we do
anything about this one.

 

[Apheraz Lucent]

Heh, touche

Oh, that for sure.

 

[Apheraz Lucent]

TBH this theme doesn't look appealing enough for me. Seems a little bit too hard and not creative.

 

[Necziaxxus]

I might find time to do this =] Posting to sub.

 

[Vengeancekael]

So, whatever happened to this?
I'd be up for hosting&judging it, but not participating myself. (don't quite like the theme)
Perhaps we could brainstorm a little more and decide on a different theme. (I mean, I don't know, this 'lore' idea could be interesting, but it seems kind of a big topic to tackle in a short story)

 

[Razosh]

Short Story Contests

So whatever happened to the short-story contests, I haven't seen them for a while? Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree but I do miss them and would like to see them return.

 

[Vengeancekael]

Then post in the ideas thread http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/contest-submission-233/short-story-contest-9-lore-256039/

 

[Razosh]

I too would like to see another short-story contest. I always loved these contests.

 

[WerBackIII]

I will be in, should it happen. Consider this as a subscription to the thread.

 

[Razosh]

I will be in, should it happen. Consider this as a subscription to the thread.

I too would partake.

 

[Celaquil]

Well.

They certainly aren't among the most popular contests, so I reckon that in order to get
people enthused about it, you'd need someone to passionately carry the flaming spirit
torch first. I would like to see one myself, but I won't do it, as my life is currently
somewhat busy. (And, there is another contest that is currently occupying my... Eye.)

 

[Razosh]

Well.

They certainly aren't among the most popular contests, so I reckon that in order to get
people enthused about it, you'd need someone to passionately carry the flaming spirit
torch first. I would like to see one myself, but I won't do it, as my life is currently
somewhat busy. (And, there is another contest that is currently occupying my... Eye.)

That's a shame, I don't really have the authority to publish an official contest either.

 

[fladdermasken]

That's a shame, I don't really have the authority to publish an official contest either.

Can too. Anybody can post a submission

That's how the Arena works

Moved to Contest Submission Page

/Mod

 

[Kyrbi0]

That's a shame, I don't really have the authority to publish an official contest either.

Yeah, rubbish to authority. In fact, you don't even have to be good at the thing the Contest is about; I was the Host for Modeling Contest #25, for crying out loud.

I'd like to say I could burn with enough fiery passion to see this through... But to be honest, with university starting back up, I'll be lucky to even get a thing in, much less Host it.

 

[NightStalker]

I may test my writing skills with this contest, it sounds pretty interesting. I am currently very busy with so much stuff but I can write down my thoughts and maybe Ill come up with something worth reading !

 

[Traxamillion]

I'm sure I'll end up joining this; however, I think the theme pretty is weak. First of all, all writers steal. It's influence more than anything. Sure, don't use specific names and specific ideas, but allusions should not be prohibited. Second, building a world, characters and everything in between in 2-10k words? It would be nicer if it was more specific so we didn't have create so much on a small scale. It will most likely mess with the pacing of the plots.

 

[WhiteFang]

Wait,so this is still happening?

 

[Kyrbi0]

We better watch out; NaNoWriMo is coming up, which will either bankrupt or flood our submissions.

Actually, maybe that's not such a bad idea...

 

[Celaquil]

I'm sure I'll end up joining this; however, I think the theme pretty is weak. First of all, all writers steal.

I wouldn't say it's so weak, just not so very... Specific.

I get where you're coming from, post-modernism,
that everything is already thought out and that it's
near-impossible to make something new, but I'm
not sure I hate the theme so much as you do.

If memory serve, the point wasn't to force you to
do the impossible, but merely that you're supposed
to present a "new" concept at the same time as you
write a story, ruling out fan-fictions and such.

I don't think I've got any time to participate or handle
this contest, so I still don't think it's going to happen,
but I would gladly hear of any other theme suggestions,
if you have any.

 

[Traxamillion]

The issue is creating lore in a short story format. Books have the ability to explain things as time goes on in the narrative; however, like this I'm gonna need half the 10k words to explain what the other 5k words are talking about.

 

[NightStalker]

Then some mad writing skill will be needed

 

[Celaquil]

The issue is creating lore in a short story format. Books have the ability to explain things as time goes on in the narrative

Yeah, exactly, that was sort of part of the challenge.

Regardless, as I stated: Do tell if you've got suggestions
for different themes.

 

[NightStalker]

And a theme limitation would be nice else people will have very distinct themes which will be impossible to compare.

Im not sure about what theme would be better tho

 

[The World Is Flat]

I'm down for this theme, either to enter or judge.

 

[Silva]

Is this waiting for judges or is it never starting in the first place ?
anybody know ?
Also I think that 10k words seem like a good limit to explain the theme.

 

[Kyrbi0]

Yeah, exactly, that was sort of part of the challenge.

Regardless, as I stated: Do tell if you've got suggestions
for different themes.

Regardless, as I stated: Do tell if you've got suggestions for different themes.

I have given it thought, and I am more and more convinced that "Lore" is a poor Theme; not for the reasons stated above, but primarily due to its redundance.

Every story should be creating something 'new'; new story, new characters, new locales, new magicks, new "lore". To me, this Theme is like saying "Short Story Contest: Write a short story using words on a digital medium that convey an idea".

A Theme can be quite simple and can be thrown together quickly; we could have little mini "NaNoWriMo's" of a sort with some frequency here, I think. For the sake of simplicity, we can just borrow from MtG's rich thematic core (the "color pie") for a good 5 Contests.

e.g. Let's just do, say, "Mountain: Write a story in which a mountain plays a prominent role". Right off the top of my head, there's a half-dozen story ideas; a dwarven mountain city during a civil war, a village at the base of an active volcano (~mountain), a touching and intimate story of a family of goats living on a mountain-side, the escapades of a monstrous mountain-sized rock golem, a squad of colorful ponies seeking to oust a mountain-dwelling dragon, a monk seeking enlightenment at the top of a mountain, a farmer literally making a mountain out of a molehill... Etc. Bam, new Contest.

Following that, the concepts of Swamp, Island, Forest, and Plains are all plethorically-rich story-telling veins to tap. This doesn't have to be hard.

 

[Silva]

I have given it thought, and I am more and more convinced that "Lore" is a poor Theme; not for the reasons stated above, but primarily due to its redundance.

Every story should be creating something 'new'; new story, new characters, new locales, new magicks, new "lore". To me, this Theme is like saying "Short Story Contest: Write a short story using words on a digital medium that convey an idea".

A Theme can be quite simple and can be thrown together quickly; we could have little mini "NaNoWriMo's" of a sort with some frequency here, I think. For the sake of simplicity, we can just borrow from MtG's rich thematic core (the "color pie") for a good 5 Contests.

e.g. Let's just do, say, "Mountain: Write a story in which a mountain plays a prominent role". Right off the top of my head, there's a half-dozen story ideas; a dwarven mountain city during a civil war, a village at the base of an active volcano (~mountain), a touching and intimate story of a family of goats living on a mountain-side, the escapades of a monstrous mountain-sized rock golem, a squad of colorful ponies seeking to oust a mountain-dwelling dragon, a monk seeking enlightenment at the top of a mountain, a farmer literally making a mountain out of a molehill... Etc. Bam, new Contest.

Following that, the concepts of Swamp, Island, Forest, and Plains are all plethorically-rich story-telling veins to tap. This doesn't have to be hard.

Neat. I'm down for it.

 

[Traxamillion]

I could be into that.

 

[Apheraz Lucent]

This "theme" actually, Lore, happens in all stories whatsoever the content is. It's not versatile theme to go with, and it's not quite something that you can actually kinda predict the results from. I agree for the new theme. The "Create a story around the specific center object" seems fun tho.

 

[Celaquil]

How about "Ancient Architecture"?

Though, personally, I'd love something a little more multi-dimensional, such as a
one word description contest like, say, "Deep": Where some could interpret it as
writing a story set "deep" beneath the crust of the surface, some would write a
"deep story", or maybe even write a story that is continuously descending, be
that physically or mentally. Something that encourages creativity in way of
directing creative thoughts.

 

[Apheraz Lucent]

Shouldn't we get a theme discussion up, and a poll afterwards?