Contest Theme: Swords and Sorcery / High Fantasy Deadline: August 1st
Stories are NOT automatically entered! You should post in this thread with your intent to write a story for the contest. If you post your intent in the next week and then come through and actually release something, there will be a 15 EXP point reward. You don't have to post your intent, you can just publish a story and then afterwards tell us that you're entering but you won't get the 15 point reward.
On August 1st, each person who has entered the contest (and anyone who hasn't, but who wants to vote) will read ALL of the stories. No one is allowed to vote on just a few. You have to vote on ALL or NONE of the stories. If you enter a story, you really should participate in voting. The reason you can't vote on just a few is that if you're a person who leaves exceptionally high or low ratings, the stories you vote on will be affected either negatively or positively with respect to the other stories.
Voting will occur by sending your votes to me. You will send your opinion of MY story to a delegate (we'll choose who closer to August) so that it's anonymous still, and you don't feel intimidated to rate how you feel about my story. That person will send me the votes for my story and I'll tally an average. I think we'll probably just give a mark out of 10 for each story. Infinite story rates on three categories (Creativity, Enjoyment and Technical Aspects) but in my opinion, only enjoyment matters. If a story is more creative and better written, you'll enjoy it more and that will reflect in your mark. You will also be expected to leave approximately a paragraph in comments for the author, this can be left on the comments section or messaged with your rating if you'd like it to be anonymous.
Afterwards, we'll all vote on the person who left the best comments (if you submit your comments anonymously, you forfeit the chance to win this vote) and the winner will receive a prize.
REWARDS
Contest Winner: 200 EXP points and hopefully the contest trophy. Contest Second Place: 50 EXP points Contest Third Place: 15 EXP Points All Contest Entrances that Confirm Their Participation in the next week: 15 EXP points Best Commenter: 50 EXP points
I may as well enter this. I've got two months off uni in about five or six weeks, which is ample time for me to finally publish something.
I'm entering. Hopefully my lazy ass will be able to get my story done.
I'm in too! Gonna try to start writing it tonight.
Meh, I can still slack off if it is a few months ;p
Im in for certain. i might even get a story finished.
im not in favor of it but i dont feel i should be able to tell people that they cant do that.
yes, if they can harmonize. or they can just right two totally different branches from some early choice. which case they could go ahead and make two different stories on there own.
I feel that people should be able to team up since that is how it works in real life too. If you know your employer, you have a better edge of getting a job, but it also doesn't mean you will. It probably will make the overall collection of stories much more fascinating, and if we had a limit to how much % of the exp the co-author receives, then we're all good. Well, with one exception, you cannot co-author for more than 1 story, period. It would be totally unfair at that threshold.
Should we say...75% for main writer and 25% for co-author?
I'm in. Just one question though...I know what sword and sorcery is, but what exactly is high fantasy?
Lord of the rings is the ideal example.
I'll be a VOTER for the contest, as I don't have time to write a story, but would love to read them and give feedback. Just send me a PM before the voting starts as a reminder.
I'm curious and is it just me or are we having a lot of visitors lately? Usually they would be a few of our regulars, but I get the sense that we're becoming quite popular for some odd unknown reason. Anyone care to share the loop?
Ok, under this definition, there are references made to the Harry Potter series, which starts in the real world then detours into an alternate fantasy world. Does that mean my story can begin in the normal world and take a similar detour? I hate to be a nuisance with the technical questions, but I already have a concept and title worked out and I want to be sure it's appropriate for the contest.
Does this mean I can't enter a story with a co-auteur? well... Then I make one one my own.
Count me in as well, I just hope I manage to finish my story in time
I'm definitely in! Geez. A lot of people are entering, a lot of really experienced ones as well as some great new writers. Anyone can win!
To Erudite: About the visitors, I think you could thank alienalpha! He started a Facebook page about this site, I believe. And, as we know, a lot of people go onto facebook. So that's probably why there's so many visitors! Well, I'm gonna start on my story.
I just moved to LA and am getting used to a new job, but excuses can be endless when quitting smoking or picking up the old pen, so I'm in.
Although I just joined yesterday, I want to participate in this. I'll have a lot of studying and research to do if I want to get my first game completed by August 1st though. I can't guarentee what the end result will be like, but it should be fun.
lets see another mommy quality story madglee.
Wow. This is going to be...wow.
I hope everyone's started. At least a little!
ya, 3J could wait for the last couple of days though if he wanted, lol.
I have nightmares thinking about it.
I'll try my best; that spewed from me.
it'll also be hard for the ones in the mafia game, they'll have 2 things to do. October especially.
im ahead of schedule so far.
I haven't started and am not worried haha
Well... I just joined yesterday, but... I guess I just have high hopes for myself. Plus, this will motivate me to create a game and not just read/rate games.
Glad to see a fellow new member joining in! I decided to start right away to help encourage myself to really follow through with this. I wish you luck in your creation of a story game!
Is it too late to post intent to enter the contest? Oh well, either way, I think I'll give this a shot too.
Sweet, good to know!
Better get started on it right away!
I already got started on it, heheh. Admitedly, it's just three paragraphs at the moment, but at least I have the rough idea drafted. Getting started always seems to be the hardest step... besides keeping going once you do, heh.
um..... you forgot me!
I'm in. I know none of you know me since I've never posted or published but I love this site and have been outlining a story ever since I joined. Guess I'll start typing it in :)
My story takes place in a world abandoning magic and starting to use technology. Some gunpowder weapons will exist and will be common on palace guards or whatever, but the main weapon of choice is still the sword among most people (even though guns are becoming more popular), and most things that you'd find in a fantasy story still exist. Would this be eligible for entry under the theme (magic is actually a strong part of the story).
its fantasy is it not?
yes it is
I am entering.
you are totally capable man, just watch your conjugation. i just read your first story, and im impressed.
ugilick, I thank you for your kind words.
If almost everyone submits something, we'll have a crapload of good Fantasy stories added.
ya, judging is gonna suck.
haha you know its gonna take us all forever to get all these stories read. Theres no telling how long the voting stage will have to last if everybody actually submits a story.
i will be surprised if we get ten honestly, im hoping for more, but im not expecting it.
I'll sign up
yeah, not a lot o' people will sign up probably.
sorry, "will publish a story" is what i meant to say.
I want to enter the contest as well :)
JJJ has the final say, but probably yes. That's the point of a contest. Imagine if Banisher entered OMS or EndMaster entering Necromancer. It would make the contest pointless, not that we cannot compete, but more in the sense, what is the point of the contest? Either way, you can enter anything you have that is unpublished is what I would say. Of course, just remember to mark your story Specifically for this contest to ensure It Is For The Contest.
As long as it isn't published in CYOA, probably yes. And if you have a similar theme prior to the contest that isn't published, yes. Though, J still has the final say.
3J said earlyer that it had to be a new story i do beleive
Okay, so my brain kind of went, 'I'm not writing enough! Let's sign up for something else!'
Soo... I guess I'm gonna enter here. Two questions, though. How long does it have to be? And does it need to be complete?
And too long that I will look like Gandalf.
Sounds cool, count me in. (3J what are exp points good for exactly? sounds like you people are spoiled here with his 'rewards' stuff, real writers only enter contests to avoid SHAME)
well thats no fun, we are entering this contest for fun!
Aww, but I hate the Brotherhood.
Who's Talon Company?
no no it's cool, I got a plan. I write the fantasy story for this site, then search and replace all instances of 'elf' with 'robot' and enter it in the sci-fi one over there and bam! SHAME all gone and I'm safe for another year!
only I got a sudden urge to reinstall Fallout now so maybe later
Haha dang. I was hoping this would erase a little bit of shame for my failure to enter at IS. O well, I am 100% this one will be done by Aug 1st. ( Im loving the fallout comparision by the way End.)
ya ive already said that i would be surprised if we got ten stories out of this.
I like reading the games here, so it won't really be work to me. It's an awesome way to become a better writer, reading other peoples' works, commenting, maybe editing (which I love to do). I remember that csf143 dude, I edited a story by him. It was pretty terrible because his grammar was like a foregin exchange student's, and his plot was basically: "Kill the guards, kill more guards, hey do you want to go to Burger King?" But yeah, if anyone wants something edited, PM me or send me 1000 USD. Either works.
@donteatpoop
i would say i have 20 (blanks) for all of them, but i cant fill the blank. :)
May I join?
Describe to me the difference between high fantasy and fantasy.
But no saying "LOTR" versus "X."
You mean High Fantasy includes fantasy and urban fantasy I assume. Still not quite clear. What is the difference between fantasy (e.g., Brik has a powerful sword and runs about killing orcs and demons) and High fantasy other than a completely new world? I suspected that was the difference, but the problem I have with it is, and no disrespect to any genre or writing style, that if I am going to create a completely new world, and expend much effort, it's going to be published, and unfortunately at this point in our existence, publishing a CYOA is going to be difficult as it's not the 1980's. Hmm, that sounds sardonic and I don't mean it so. I badly want to write a meaningful story and perhaps it's my own problem that I feel like if I create a continent and entire world, it would probably be around the scope of the Wheel of Time and not a CYOA.
I just want to know if I can use fictitious, fantasy-based characters, without creating an entirely "new world" to satisfy your requirements for "high" fantasy versus regular. Sorry if I'm overly verbose at this point.
No, he meant what he said - fantasy is a general category (much like 'sci-fi') and high fantasy is a subgenre of it. I hate being one of those people that goes around linking wikipedia for everything, but for what it's worth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fantasy
specifically,
High fantasy is defined as fantasy fiction set in an alternative, entirely fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the real, or "primary" world. The secondary world is usually internally consistent but its rules differ in some way(s) from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set in the primary, or "real" world, or a rational and familiar fictional world, with the inclusion of magical elements.[2][3][4][5]
Also making up a new setting isn't really all that difficult.
Also how do you post links here? Also I'm super annoyed I can't edit my posts.
Unfortunately there isn't a button for it, so instead you have to click Source, which is next to the smiley icon when you're posting. When you're in there, you'll have to use html. So type your message, then click source, find what you want to make a hyperlink and then put html around it like this: <a href="URL HERE">TEXT THAT WILL BECOME A LINK HERE</a> and then click source again and it should be a hyper link.
Also, yeah it's a shame about not being able to edit posts but you'll get used to it eventually.
Mizal, it's fine you use links. 3j uses it all the time. :)
Why don't anybody ever use the smilies? We always do the keyboard ones instead of or something.
Just a few minutes ago I published a game under the fantasy category entitled "The Search For The Craxil". Since I literally just published it I don't think it has been viewed so I'd like to enter it into this contest. It is my first story but I feel really good about it.
I'm afraid I published this a few minutes prior to entering this contest so I don't have the "Fantasy Contest" tag on it. Still, I appreciate that you count it anyway. Thank you.
do we read the story now? Or do we wait until all the stories are finished?
I've already read the story and commented on it. There shouldn't be any problem with reading entries as long as you still do the rating out of 10 and so on after the closing date for entries.
(The story referring to the Cralix one.)
By the High Fantasy definition, though, Harry Potter is HF, but Game of Thrones is not (it's low fantasy.)
Is the defining characteristic "invented world" or "magic/supernatural element?"
I mean, because if "invented world" is all it takes, then a lot of "sci-fi" fits the definition.
Sethaniel's actually right, I've seen it pointed out before that Star Wars is right up there with LotR as sort of the definitive high fantasy adventure. If you read the wikipedia article I linked you can definitely see the parallels, Gandalf and Obi wan are practically the same character.
Though I guess a lot of that owes more to the whole Hero's Journey thing which isn't confined to any particular genre and Christ I'm tired I can't even remember where I wa going with this, screw it
