The Weekly Review - Edition 9
What's New?
- In the Lounge Dynamism raises an interesting point about whether it is more fun to be yourself in a story game or being forced into an existing character (Being forced to be someone else in CYS stories thread).
- In the Parlor Room celebrations continue over Kiel’s fantastic story The Other World and Tanstaafl’s masterpiece Undead Personna being featured (congratulations to new featured stories thread).
- In the Forum Games section fifteen people eagerly await the opportunity to become slime (Slime Simulator Sign Up thread).
- In the Writing Workshop Kiel Writing Exercises enter their third week as the site’s writers produce more and more great writing (Writing Exercises Restart – Week Three thread).
- In the Reading Corner writers continue to discuss the pros and cons of the epic Fantasy novels of Brandon Sanderson (Sanderson (moved) thread).
Featured Interview - Introducing Killa_Robot
Q: Why do you write Choose your Own Stories?
A: When I was younger I remember reading those Goosebumps choose your own stories, so I've always found the format fun. They're a great outlet for creativity, and allow me to share some of the ideas bouncing around in my head.
Q: What is your preferred method and writing style?
A: For ideas they just sort of come to me every once in a while. I think up with an idea, decide on what kind of endings that idea could reach, where it could start, then figure out the middle as I go. Generally I have main story points that follow, but in between those I usually just write whatever I feel flows well for the story to branch the points.
Music is a good source of inspiration and motivation for me. Usually it's just one song on repeat, to the point where it just becomes background noise really.
Q: Do you have any plans for future stories?
A: Lots of plans, though most have been left alone for so long I probably have to rewrite them by now. The most immediate one is about a month away from being finished I think. It's more of a game than a story though, and has next to nothing in terms of choices, but once finished it'll easily be the greatest advanced editor achievement on the site. Not sure how it will be received.
Q: Who are your favorite authors and what are your favorite stories on this site?
A: Endmaster probably. I think the format he writes in is one of the few that actually fell like a true CYS adventure. Most other storygames seem to have a main plot with branching possibilities instead, while his paths tend to branch out pretty far. I have some other authors I like, but they have flaws here and there that prevent them from being at his level.
Ground Zero is my favourite storygame. Secret of Daphne and Dead Man Walking are probably the next ones down.
Q: Any advice for other writers?
A: I could write pages of advice. For now I'll leave it at:
- Your first storygame will not be epic. Set an achievable goal, do everything (writing, ideas, etc) but the editing yourself, and aim for a 5 or 6. Even if the storygame is a flop, you'll learn enough to succeed on your next one, and just finishing one will prove to yourself that you can do it. It's a big confidence boast.
- For editing, send out some PMs or make a thread AFTER the storygame is finished (finished, not published). No one wants to play an unfinished storygame , but everyone wants to play a finished one first. Play the storygame through several times yourself as well. Do not publish it until at least one other person plays through it as well.
- Accept whatever constructive criticism you get.
Featured Reviews: Through Time
Through Time
Through Time is a thoughtful and detailed story populated with complex and strongly drawn characters and choices that really matter: like the best written choose your own stories it is written as many stories contained within one. After seeing how one path turns out the reader might be struck by a compulsion to explore all the what-ifs and travel down all of the paths for a perfect score.
The Love and Dating section naturally contains the stories most likely to emotionally move the reader and those who take the time to read well-written and intelligent stories like this one will get far more from reading than those who don’t move outside their preferred comfort zones such as Fan Fiction or Fantasy (or in my case Edutainment). Stories like Through Time demonstrate why multiple-choice options add so much depth and re-playability to literature.
Jokes
The world is a strange place and often the strangest and most eccentric people find themselves in positions of authority with the ability to pass laws and rules over others. Here are some of the more creative laws that have been passed in America and other countries in the last fifty years:
Things you wouldn’t expect to be problems that apparently are:
In Atlanta, Georgia, it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp.
Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields in North Carolina.
It is illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona.
Turtle racing is prohibited within city limits in Florida.
It is illegal to lasso a fish in Tennessee.
It is against the law to advertise on tombstones in Virginia.
It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle in Alabama.
It's illegal to have sex on a parked motorcycle in London.
Interesting Ideas:
It was proposed in the Rhode Island legislature in the 1970s that there be a $2 tax on every act of sexual intercourse which would go a long way to solving any National Debt problems.
In Colombia, if a Goajiro woman is successful in tripping a man during a ceremonial dance, he's required to have intercourse with her.
Early in 1975, the U.S. Senate voted on the following:
"A motion to table a motion to reconsider a vote to table an appeal of a ruling that a point of order was not in order against a motion to table another point of order against a motion to bring to a vote the motion to call up the resolution that would institute a rules change."
Rather harsh punishments:
An ancient law in Indonesia prohibited men from masturbating. The punishment was decapitation.
In July 1981, a tortoise was sentenced to death for murder. Tribal elders in Kyuasini, a village in Kenya, formally condemned the tortoise because they suspected it of causing the death of six people, apparently through magic. However, because none of the villagers was prepared to risk the tortoise's wrath by carrying out the execution, it was instead chained to a tree. The tortoise was later freed after the government promised an official inquiry into the deaths.
After January 14th you will be charged a fine for having your Christmas decorations still up in Maine.
Rapists in Nambia can choose either castration or 20 years of hard labor.
Up until the early 20th century, New Jersey and Wisconsin had laws allowing the castration of epileptics.
Quiz of the Week
Humans are beautiful and wondorous creatures (or at least I am) but unfortunately have a tendency to over-estimate their appearance, abilities, capacity for drinking alcohol and other things. This foolproof test will tell you exactly how sexy you appear to roving eyes, curious glances, wandering hands etc. This quiz, like all random quizzes, is of course 100% accurate for everyone who takes it except for those cases when it’s not.
1) Which of these characters do you most resemble?
A) Jabba the Hut
B) Any of the Cast from Friends
C) Either Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie
2) What is your kissing technique like?
A) Have you ever seen a dog lapping water...
B) Firm and gentle at the right times
C) You have been known to make people pregnant just be kissing them
3) Where would you take someone on a date?
A) KFC and stay all night
B) A nice restaurant and then a movie
C) France
4) You are in a bar and a handsome girl/guy keeps smiling at you. What do you do?
A) Go over holding a wad of notes and whisper in their ear “do you charge by the hour or the night?”
B) Go over and say something like “do you know anybody who’d like a free drink?”
C) Go over and seriously inform them this night will change their lives.
5) Which of these best describes your typical holiday?
A) A film-watching extravaganza in your bedroom
B) A week in another country
C) A mountain climbing expedition in the Himalayas
If you answered mostly A’s... some people are born beautiful while some are gifted in other ways. You fall into the latter category but that is ok, if sexiness is not your strong suit a good personality, money or a gun may be your path to romance.
If you answered mostly B’s... you’re a pretty decent guy/girl and either are enjoying or will enjoy good success in your romantic life. You might not quite be Hugh Hefner but on the other hand people are unlikely to emigrate just to avoid you.
If you answered mostly C’s... you either have amazing powers of imagination or you’ve been blessed by the powers of darkness with all the charms of a regular Casanova. You don’t need this quiz: you’re sexy and you know it!
Special Thanks to Killa_Robot for his interview this week.
