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HELP MIZAL GET GIFTED A VIDEO GAME FOR CHRISTMAS: A SHORT STORY ACTIVITY 

Okay, I'm just going to try this over again from the start. Between the alleged cyber sex that I'm not going to read, the random explosion of digital fecal matter, and whatever it was that Thara ate this morning that suddenly turned her into a bitch, I feel it's for the best to start a new thread. 

Joking premise aside, I was serious about both the "rewards" as the more important spirit of the exercise - encouraging a friendly writing competition - should be the focus point. And just as a reminder, this is a non paying writing website. If you need an actual incentive beyond the joy of writing or collective community activity to write something, then I recommend you make the jump from hobby writer to professional or find a new hobby altogether. Because clearly something isn't working for you. 

If you don't want to participate, that's perfectly fine, but generally, when people don't want to take part in an event, they just ignore it and go about doing whatever they feel is a better use of their time, versus taking a giant shit in the midst of the people who are participating in said event. 

Back to the contest - it will be appreciated if you post here if you have an intent or interest in participating. 

So, trying again... 

Deadline: September 9, 2016 at 23:59 Eastern Time 

Guidelines: 

1) Write a non-CYOA short story between 3,000 and 8,000 words and post it in the Writing Workshop. 
2) The short story cannot contain tanks or elements of modern warfare. 
3) Edit lock your posted story, so you can't be a filthy stealth editor. 
4) Send a PM to Bucky when you post your story. 

Judging: 

A super secret special mystery judge will select the winner. 

Rewards: 

1) If five people make acceptable submissions, as determined by the guidelines and/or the super secret special mystery judge, Mizal will receive a video game for Christmas. 
2) The winner will also receive a rare kind compliment from Bucky. 

Extra Incentives: 

1) Mizal may go vertical for business if she goes without a video game for Christmas. 
2) Finishing stories and projects offers a chance for personal growth. 
3) You only get better at writing by practicing.

I'm going to preemptively thank @Kiel_Farren for not editing words into my posts in the future and destroying the formatting of said posts in the process.

Sorry. I'm so sorry. My contrition could make a priest blush. I am on my knees wailing and gnashing my teeth. I'm so fucking sorry, oh God. 

The truth is, I'm a sad piece of shit. I'm not even really a man. I'm a fat woman. I have to wear this ankle monitor because I keep doing erotic furry roleplay with children. I'm not allowed to be within a hundred feet of a school, nor am I even allowed to email the many preteens who I encourage to "experiment with gender presentation"

I'm so fucking alone. I even left my HAWT WIFE (who is a man) to cybermolest kids. She's out there getting piped by various Chads. And then when they're finished ravaging her every orifice, they read Eternal and talk about how it's better than The Other World. And what do I get? Seth and I split the Kickstarter money 50/50, and I spent my share on experimental neodong surgery. This immortal Argentian called Herr CyberMengele sliced my nose off and stiched it to wear my manhood should be. It's already rotting off; at least I can't smell it. 

I'm so sorry for everything.

He edited it. You obviously fucked up the formatting, because there was no paragraph spacing and there was a snide message. 

Huh?

Ask Bucky. Kiel decided to make an alteration to the post, and then undid it. 

In an effort to avoid another disastrous derail.

1) I wasn't quoting or paraphrasing anyone in my OP. It was what I gathered from a brief perusing while I moved to a less filthy thread.

2) Malk was referring to Kiel_Farren editing words into the OP, which destroyed the formatting. Kiel_Farren took note of this and removed his inserted words, which were, as Malk says, "a snide message." This fixed the formatting issue.

I preemptively thank everyone for staying on topic. Also, I hope you participate, Killa, your writing is enjoyable to read.

I can chip in a ten dollar Steam game of your choice. 

Two games for Mizal? Wow, what a lucky girl.

Yes. She gets to play Bad Rats and HuniePop. 

I knew someone would suggest Bad Rats. I've been gifted and regifted that one so many times. 

 

Bucky, I wanted to ask again if I was allowed to enter? It's going to be another writing weekend and it shouldn't be any trouble cranking out Generic Fantasy Story #172.

Yes, you can enter.

*HunieCam Studio

I hope this means you plan on writing a short story, Tim. Theoretical huzzahs!

I mean, I really can't pass up the opportunity to deposit ethically dubious anime softcore right into Mizal's Steam Library. 

There are so many socially broken people in this community.

Good luck with the new thread, you will need it.

(Archive of the old available by request for the curious, but PM me and let's trrryyyy to keep the thread on topic this time. )

I'll be providing 20*x (where x is the number of entrants) in points, for the first five entrants, and then 10 points for the next 10 entrants, and then 5 points for the next 20 entrants.

I am now sold.

If a lot of people enter, that is going to become ridiculous.

Oh, if that happens, I'll just completely renege on my word. Don't worry.

No, but in all honesty, I'm going to modify it to prevent that.

Don't give them points, 3J!  Don't encourage their disgusting capitalist greed. A rare hand crafted limited edition etc etc compliment from Bucky should be enough, his other threads have had people posting stories without even a promise of that much. It's only very recently that CYS members have desired to pimp out their muses and forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, but it was only a temporary madness, a side effect of the 24 hour poo-flinging bug. I believe in our writers. They are better than this.   

Hm, a game and some points. I never saw the point in points, but I might jump in. If I win, can I get a stun gun? I'm not much of a gamer these days.

EDIT: I lost the charger for my last stun gun and it would be nice to have two of them.

Won't you just have two uncharged stun guns then?

Reread the OP. The game is for me. It is my game.

Unless it's Bad Rats or HuniPop, then I guess you can have it.

Malk said something about throwing a $10 game into the kitty himself.

One thing I brought up in the old thread that I guess I should re-mention is that any stories that catch my fancy, I'll be requesting to feature as an in-game book on a collab project. (with credit given, of course) 

It's still in the early stages but the idea is that it's a 'game' that basically exists to showcase short stories, with the backdrop of exploring a magical library. I've seen so much quality stuff posted in writing prompt threads that always inevitably get buried, I'd like to dust them off a little and put them on display somewhere easy to find.

I'm going to suggest getting her Darkest Dungeon.

Haven't played it yet, but the concept seems pretty cool. You inherit corrupted property and have to hire adventurers to go clean it out. Due to the psychological strain of facing horrors on a regular basis, your hired adventurers start developing various mental problems along with the usual physical wounds. 

If any die or completely break down mentally, you just have to keep hiring replacements and send them down there like an assembly line.

Sounds like a game about posting on this forum.

I just looked up Darkest Dungeons.

It sounds awesome. I like turn-based games...and this one sounds way more challenging than most of the ones I've played.

I also really like horror >///<

At first, I read that as "Dark Dungeons".

You'll have to pry a story outta my cold dead gauntlet if you want to give a game to that WITCH!

I just got it :D

I"m going to probably take a nap first, then I'm going to start download and try it out ^-^

If everyone would be so kind as to not reply to this post, I'll keep an updated list of entries here.

Steve - Steve's Spectacular Spooky Story

KitKatKaity - Untitled: Vampire Story

WouldntItBeNice - Untitled: Warrior Cows

Romulus - Screw Africa: Mizal Needs a Present

Will11 A Chinese Tale

IronPanther - Santa Claus Vs. The Alien Menace

Tim36D- Tim

bilbo - For Mizal! And for Aslan!

Mizal - Freedom of Flight

If I submitted a story to this contest, would it be possible to have it deleted at some point? I promise that when I do ask for it to be deleted, that'll be when it's freely accessible, and I'll put up/PM a link or something as long as we all promise not to mention its connection to this site, or my connection to it as SentinelPenguin. My best idea is something I intend to put into a book of other short stories, and for some reason I get this creeping feeling that if anything I do "publicly" gets connected to this site, which will then be connected to real me, I will never be able to get a regular job at any place with a boss who does internet background checks. Or at the very most worst case scenario, every place I've been will be eaten by either a small niche band of tenacious Tumblrinas with nervous tics and/or a small niche band of implacable ED writers with bad aspergers, and I wouldn't wish more than one Ryder on a site that I truly hate, let alone sites that I frequent.

I'm willing to forfeit the chance for a compliment, as long as it counts towards Mizal getting Aftertale or That Dragon, Cancer, or City Bus Simulator 2016. I just want additional motivation to finish a 3,000-4,000-worder in record time.

Have you considered using a pen name if you ever publish it?

I have considered using multiple pen names for multiple things, so that people will trust one name writing kids' books if the need ever arises, and never know that it's the same guy who writes bizarro horror stories about his sexual frustration. But people, myself included, let hate come easier than enjoyment, especially if you have no existing fanbase. I know what goes around is going to come around, but if someone has more dedication to their bile than I, and wonders how pathetic/rude I am in other aspects of my life and presence, I'd at least like to know they had a harder time doing it than they did with Zoey Whatserface.

Talk to Axiom then for advice or opinions. She is doing anti doxing things for her projects or whatever since she is a woman programmer, which apparently sends imbeciles into a frothing rage.

Still, though, I'd like for this not to be too connected with the site. It's all only one search away from connecting any rando to this site, and even though I can get people to help me with Anti-Doxx, Cthulhu only knows what kind of security measures we have here. That's assuming randos with bile towards the opinions I have here or elsewhere actually know I write things, which is unlikely, but it's also unlikely that your house will get burglarized, and it's generally good juju to lock up your doors. It's much more likely that Amazon will get catty either with me or with Halogen because CYS has the distributing rights to the site content. I could send you guys a link to a google doc, but that might detract from the spirit of site contribution...

Odds are I'll put up that CYS-themed story I was working on for Tim's birthday next year.

Strongly considering entering. I have an idea, so I guess I'll see if I can hammer out a decent outline.

I'd actually love to write something like this, considering I'm not great with branching paths. I suppose I'm in.

Not sure if I'll be any good, but I'll try I guess.

Those free points are oh so tempting.

Still a week left for anyone new who wants to participate. Steve wrote his in a day, just saying.

Steve's a better calibre than everyone else here.

Here's my notice.

So I don't think I'm going to have time to enter after all, but as a consolation prize, I'm offering to provide feedback on the entry of anyone who wants it. I'm not mean, but I am very critical, so fair warning.

Disclaimer: I may become lazy busy and leave you hanging.

Yeah, I would love some feedback in my thread if you're able.

You don't want to share your thread with me? :'( I'm so, unbelievably hurt.

Kit, you're supposed to make your own thread xD

I considered where to post it, but then to make it easier for Judge Bucky, I thought one thread made more sense. Plus, my story wanted to be close to Steve's story. Alas, I shall request an official separation.

Bucky's the one who said they need seperate threads

Sorry, I missed that. I based my entry off the OP in this thread, specifically this:

"Guidelines: 
1) Write a non-CYOA short story between 3,000 and 8,000 words and post it in the Writing Workshop. 
2) The short story cannot contain tanks or elements of modern warfare. 
3) Edit lock your posted story, so you can't be a filthy stealth editor. 
4) Send a PM to Bucky when you post your story."

The very first one says post it in the Writing Workshop, where it's implied NOT in other people's threads. This is the worst thing KKK has done since the Birmingham bombings. No, this is worse, actually.

Well, it is just implied and not outright stated so... :P
I mean...

I've always liked you, Seto. :)

Didn't you learn to share in school? As a former teacher, I weep for humanity's children the world over.

As long as you're hopelessly derailing my comment thread, I was wondering about your profile mentioning you're a published author. That's pretty cool. Is it a novel? Can we see it?

*searches up KitKatKaity*

https://www.wattpad.com/user/KitKatKaity

That isn't me. I'm 26, for one thing.

True.

That was just the first thing that came up to the search kitkatkaity story on google

It's funny someone made the same KKK mistake twice.

Ooops. I'm sorry. I'm bad about that.

Yes, it is a novel. I write under a pen name and keep it separate. I've been jaded in the past with crazies on the internet attacking my professional work, with reviews and comments and such, in response to how they feel about my personal online persona. In the interest of preventing that, I'd rather not.

If you're unwilling to show us your novel because "crazies" gave it bad reviews or comments, it's probably shit.

Not always true.

I mean some really popular youtubers have gotten really bad comments, enough that they've gotten depressed

They're not hiding their work because of bad comments. If you are, it's either because you're not cut out for the world of adults where criticism happens and you need to shrug it off if it's baseless or not constructive rather than cry and hide your work, If that's what you're like, you objectively shouldn't be a writer, or because your work is genuinely shitty.

To be fair, online harassment is a real and serious problem. Death threats are par for the course for game developers, for example, and doxxing is common. I'd expect less of that kind of thing for authors, but I'm not as familiar with the traditional publishing scene. I totally believe that floods of one-star reviews from internet lynch mobs happen, though, and that kind of thing can have a serious negative impact on your sales.

Eh. Her second point is that she doesn't want her online persona connected to her.

 

And this is getting slightly offtopic. We should probably either make a seperate thread to keep going on about this or stop.

I don't hide my work, Steve. It's out there for anyone to purchase and read. I also don't cry over criticism. However, as this site's members can attest, trolls are real. And what may seem like trivial fun to a troll, in the form of one star reviews, can tarnish a novel's reputation. When people buy books, they read those reviews.

If you're unwilling to show people who want to see it, you're hiding it. Don't brag about being a published author if you're not willing to show people your published work.

We're going in circles, and it's a waste of time. I'm not unwilling to show people. I am unwilling to attach my personal online persona to my professional name for random people on the internet I will never actually meet. I've explained the reason behind the publish mention on my profile in other comments, but as this is so upsetting for you, I've updated my profile to be as generic to the public as you are to me.

And before you start on something else, don't misread the tone of this comment as my being hurt, or angry, or whatever other emotion. I'm mildly annoyed by you, that's it. But that's always the case, so no big surprise there.

Pretty odd that you'd start a whole 'nother paragraph to explicitly state "I'M NOT MAD BRO" without being mad. Not sure I buy it. You've been Steve'd good.

I don't deny being annoyed, Sent.

Yeah, but I think you're a fair throw more than annoyed. Otherwise you wouldn't have felt the need to specifically deny it in order to prove yourself high and mighty enough to maintain a condescending tone, which I'm assuming is your salt style of choice today.

Her username is the same here as it is on Figment.

Figment is full of twats, one of which actually threatened to find her Amazon and lynch her shit.

Ergo, KKK hides all the shit she plans on selling. It's an understandable thing.

Oh, that's a shame. Sorry you had that experience, and I can definitely understand why you wouldn't want a repeat. Why mention it in your profile if you're not willing to show it, though?

Thanks for your understanding, Axiom. I guess I mention it just to excuse my less than frequent appearances on the site now. Writing the sequel is more of an obligation now with the publication of the first. Before it was for fun, now it's necessary.

Ah, fair enough. Yeah, publisher deadlines are rough. Good luck with your writing!

Actually I’m finding it more amusing that you submitted a story at all. Mizal’s going to LOVE that. Lol.

I did it despite my...feelings for Mizal.

I'm not the judge, just the concept organizer. I acquired a super secret special mystery judge.

Also, I think it'd be kind of cool if the community did little pseudo contest writing prompts on a monthly basis. A bit of a combination of a writing drill, contest and community event in one bundle. Thoughts?

I think that'd sound like fun.

I don't know if a lot of people would participate, but I know I would try c:

Yeah, that'd be super cool.

@JJJ-thebanisher @BerkaZerka @EndMaster @Killa_Robot @Ogre11 @Will11 @mizal

Thoughts?

It's always like herding cats trying to get people to participate in these things, but I don't think it's a bad idea, as long as whoever is organizing the stuff has the patience.

I forget who organized it, but I'm pretty sure for a while we had a monthly writing thing. Interest just waned over time.

I enter competitions in search of points or trophies but as this doesn't seem overly difficult or challenging I can give it a go. Basically I should post a short story by September 9 and the prize is Mizal gets a video game if 5 or more people enter and we can't write about tanks? Sorry, I might have skimread the rules :D

3J has promised points, but yep, that's the short version. I'd love it if you entered, Will. Steve needs some competition.

Bucky's tossing around the idea of monthly writing prompts as well.

Ok got it, I'll either write something new or put it one of my very many finished stories :) I've got an hour this afternoon so I'll start work on something then :D Do we need monthly writing prompts if the deadline is September 9th?

Well this one is just a one time thing, I'm not sure what he has in mind if monthly prompts become a thing

Hmm, actually not sure what the ruling on previously finished stories would be. @Bucky ?

smartest thing is just not to tell anyone...

Monthly prompts could be useful or annoying :D It depends on the person. And either way I don't mind, writing from scratch or putting in a previously finished story, either way is ok :)

It'd probably be preferable to write something new. But if it's the difference between you sharing something and not, then go ahead.

Someone else asked about submitting previously written flash stories that added up to 3,000 words, but I vetoed that one.

Tbh it may but I've been visiting islands around Hong Kong island lately and some of the caves and villages where guerrillas used to operate from in WW2 have inspired me... basically if I submit a scary story set in a place called Hurse Manor it's a pre-written story but if I submit something to do with WW2 it's a recently-written piece :) 

There would have to be enough interest to sustain it even with a certain percentage of people flaking out and getting busy or distracted every month, because you know that'll be inevitable. 

A lot depends on what sort of prompts you have in mind and how much of a commitment they'd represent. Asking for short scenes or similar would probably get more response than requiring a full story every month.

Otherwise, it's a great idea. And it's not like most of our posters can claim they have anything better to do anyhow, we've all seen what goes on in Forum Games.

I figured we could try something different and rotate through multiple types of writing. A few things off the top of my head that could be overarching concepts, with varying lengths and styles.

Short Story
Ballad Poem/Story
Flash Fiction Story
Best One Line Story
CYOA Story
One Scene Story

We've had a few different people run daily and weekly prompts a number of times in the past. They were always neat and fun, and they always lasted just a few weeks to a month before someone ran out of steam or participation waned.

Yeah, I remember some of the weekly ones that died off. I thought that a monthly attempt would give people enough time to cook something up, while not being so constant as to become quickly mundane. Enthusiasm does tend to come in spurts here though.

I really need something like this.  I've been in a slump for quite a while now and need all the practice I can get.  Assuming the deadline is far enough away that I have a chance to actually finish.

Congratulations on your dedication to improvement. I'll see if I can get to it after work.

As requested, I left Steve fairly detailed feedback. The offer of feedback is still open to other entrants.

I've written 10%, 3000 words is a lot more than I thought.

Have faith, Beta. Just plug away, a few hundred words at a time.

I'm gonna have to bow out of this one.

Frankly, I can't concentrate long enough to form a 1,000 word story, let alone 3,000.

Apologies to Mizal and Bucky.

I mean, you still have seven days. Show a little faith in yourself; you can manage.

*Points at Steve's one day outburst as inspiration.

I've been trying since announcement, and wrote (or at least attempted to write) 3 stories, all of which I couldn't finish because I stalled mid-story.

Hell, that sentence took me the longest time.

"Completing things is a skill that needs to be developed." ~ Axiom

Tim, I'm going to summon someone to give more detailed advice than I can give. But picking a general concept you like, and then spending some time making a solid outline is a good starting point.

//

@Axiom come give Tim advice on outlining and your "How to Guide for Completing Projects."

Thanks, you're a peach.

Quoting me was very touching, thanks.

Anyway, Tim, completing things is indeed a skill that needs to be developed. If you want to complete projects, you need to practice. You should definitely write something for this contest even if it sucks.

In my experience, there are generally three main reasons people get writer's block.

1. Lack of commitment. Writing is very hard, and every story idea you have will be broken in some way. Generally when people get to the point where it's not fun anymore, they start fantasizing about working on some other story that will surely be better, and if they are weak they succumb to the temptation. You need to stick it out even when you feel like it sucks and no one will want to read it. To be honest, this is probably true when you're less experienced, but the only way to get better is to tough it out and keep going.

2. You get in your own way too much and can't stop self-censoring long enough to spit something out. The solution to this is twofold: an iterative drafting process and writing drills designed to make you spit out words as fast as possible. I like drills where you try to write as many words as you can in half an hour or so, accepting that they will suck, with the only measure of success being how many words you wrote. It's fun and motivating to do this with other people, too. You can turn it into a contest where whoever writes the most words is the winner.

Anyway, accepting that your story will require multiple drafts frees you from the obligation to write something good the first time, which is very helpful. I'm at the point where my rough drafts often read like detailed outlines with dialogue, which is great because I can skip all the unfun parts and don't feel bad about cutting entire sections during revision if I think they're not working. Once the general shape of the story is good, I'll go back and add all the details.

3. Something is legitimately wrong with your story. When I get to a scene I just can't write, I step back and try to figure out why. Usually there's something wrong, like there's not enough tension or conflict in the scene, or some plot point didn't work out like I'd hoped. Identifying the problem and making the change is usually enough to unblock me.

If you haven't planned out your story yet, I would start by doing this. Start by figuring out your ending, which is by far the most important part of the story. After that, figure out your three-act structure and write an outline.

I might have to quit too. I have about three paragraphs written, around four hundred words. I didn't realize how much a thousand words actually was.

... 3?

Lol, if Tim's corpse is found cooling in a ditch somewhere, I believe this post is all that's needed to make Axiom a prime suspect.

I'm going to enter something, whether it will be good is another question. About 2000 words and a third of the way in atm. 

I was expecting to easily finish this weekend, but the problem I'm running into is 1.) It's a holiday and seriously I hate holidays I want to relax not come home from work and bust my ass cooking and cleaning till 2am. D:  and 2.) For the last few years, various people in my family have been making children in a deliberate attempt to sabotage my writing efforts.

But I'm going to soldier on regardless of the bad timing and obvious conspiracies against me, if I manage 500 words a day I think I can do this.

Axiom, you've just been full of sagely advice lately, thanks for all that.

I've been meaning to write some non-cyoa stuff lately, so I intend to submit a story (if I find the time to finish one). 3J handing out points is of course an added motivation. I mean, it's not like giving Mizal a free game actually motivates me to write. Then again, there are plenty of bad games to choose from...

I have 2k words written so far xD

I feel like I may need to enter a pre-written story as I'm not sure if I can finish this one on time.

You're 2/3 there with 3 days and change left. You can finish.

It's true I'm almost there in terms of word count, however I don't think I can finish it as I'm not even in the middle of the story yet.

I guess I could do a sudden ending.

End it early. A thousand words should be more than enough to transition into an ending. Just don't end it abruptly like this -> "You died. LOL."

I would never do that xD

End it with "You died. LOL." I mean.

I remember back on Infinite Story, DEP couldn’t get his story finished on time for a contest so he just added this at the end of every loose branch:

“So then like a lot of shit happened. Crazy shit. End of story.”

XD Gotta love those random end links.

@Seto

Still another day! IronPanther is going for it. You should too.

Two days left! Plenty of time to finish or do your best Speed Racer Steve impersonation.

I demand a 24 hour extension.

This contest is all about meeee, so I can do that!

What if Bucky was referring to another "Mizal" the entire time? It is a Malaysian surname you know. (I'm not making that up.) What if Bucky is secretly a Malaysian named Bucky Mizal?

Why would a Malaysian name their child after the Wisconsin State Bear?

Easier to get a job in IT support with an American-sounding name?

@Bucky I take your silence as tacit agreement.

Lol - no. Finish. Go forth and type with fury.

Fuck you.

I think you know my default response to you for that.

Since this ends on the 9th, that means there's another 24 hours left. I'll see if I can put something together before the deadline.

Steve did his in a day, so it's definitely possible. Best of luck to you.

@Bucky, I re-demand that 24 hour extension on the grounds that I wasted most of my writing time today trying to keep up with shitty drama.

I would like to second this, as I only have a small amount over 1000 words.

You still have until midnight, Cinderella.

My computer's battery decided to die, and I'm busy this weekend, but I like what little of a story I have. Mine will be finished next week at some point.

Last Day!

Oh, fuck it.

I'm not gonna make the word limit in time, so I'm just gonna write as much as I can, post what I have before midnight, get disqualified, and be done with it.

That's the spirit ^_^

So this got nine entries, wow. I didn't even get a chance to glance at the last few put up yesterday because I was too busy frantically writing my own. 

Apparently CYStians love writing short stories, and love writing them at the last minute. :D

I would've preferred to have the full weekend or least today to wrap things up, but otherwise the length of time given was IMO perfect. 

 

Bucky's talked about monthly writing prompts but I'm not sure if I'd be able to participate immediately in another. Maybe an every other month thing? Or a prompt put up at the very end of September at the earliest. How do those of you who participated feel about it?  I guess the main thing is, none of these should spill over into November.

 

Meanwhile, I hope everyone gets a chance to read and comment on the stories. Now that the weekend's here l'll be working through all of them at a more leisurely pace and leaving feedback. 

 

@Axiom, I know you're busy but any chance you'll be able to review the rest of the entries, or is that by request only (to separate the thin-skinned pussies from the rest).  Your review of Steve's story was a good read in and of itself, that's the kind of feedback anyone who takes writing seriously would be dying to to get. Heh, maybe a full Axiom critique could be a prize for the next one along with the rare Bucky kind compliment. 

 

I also hope your writing sprint thread will stop languishing in obscurity now that everyone's story is written and the various dramas are over with, and I'd encourage everyone to pop in and participate. It's just 20 minutes a day, guys, and it's a valuable exercise.

Glad you enjoyed my critique of Steve's story. I am willing to critique some of the other stories, but it's a lot of work and I'm busy, so I'm only going to do it for people who specifically want it. (All requesters, please keep in mind that I am very critical, but I'm not mean and am here to help you improve.) I wouldn't mind doing a full Axiom critique as a prize for another contest, but there only gets to be one in that case. I could have gone into more detail with Steve's but already spent a lot of time on it.

Yes, I agree that everyone should go do writing prompts now.

Edit: Okay, you know what, we're going to do this on a first-come first-serve basis. Nine is a lot more than I thought we'd get. I'm willing to critique three more stories, so whoever asks first gets it. (If an additional person or two really wants a critique, we can talk about it.)

I wouldn't mind getting some general impressions, but since you're doling critiques out like precious diamonds now I'll leave that opening for the others who'll want them. My story's got some major issues I'm well aware of and isn't really in a state now where I'd want you to have to spend a lot of time going into detail on things that'll be changed quite a bit anyhow.