September - October SS

**roozmarry871** · September 28th, 2012, 01:39 AM

you have any lovely and short story..?

**Noumenon** · September 28th, 2012, 02:16 AM

Originally Posted by Andr01d

Hey guys. For some reason it says my story can't be posted to the story sub-forum because the text is to long 36947 characters and it want's me to reduce it to 20000. How can I even post my story?
Andr01d.

My understanding is that you have to manually split anything over that character limit across multiple posts. Not the most elegant situation, but it's not too distracting for the reader. I usually write in Word which (probably you know) gives a character count alongside the word count, so I'd use something like that to break the piece into post-sized chunks then paste them in one after the other.

**PeteMC** · September 29th, 2012, 03:57 PM

Yup, stuff the maximum it will allow into the first post, then reply to your first post with the next chunk, lather rinse repeat as many times as required to get it all posted.

I might just have an idea for this as well. Maybe. How long have we got till the deadline, did anyone ever find out?

**PeteMC** · September 29th, 2012, 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by roozmarry871

what kind of writing to write of this forum..?

We're a Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror forum so anything that roughly fits one (or more) of those definitions is fine

**tmso** · September 30th, 2012, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by PeteMC

I might just have an idea for this as well. Maybe. How long have we got till the deadline, did anyone ever find out?

I'll ask, and if I don't get a response from Caedus by tomorrow, we'll just pick a date.

**norm** · September 30th, 2012, 03:28 PM

I've been trying to focus on a bigger project of mine, but one or more of its characters relate well to the contest theme, so I may post an excerpt from it as a contest entry if I like what I can come up with.

**Caedus** · October 1st, 2012, 02:07 PM

Sorry fellas, I've been MIA because of work, school .. etc.

The deadline is in three weeks (October 22nd).

Giving people a week to read over the entries and vote should be enough.

**Eddy Gemmell** · October 3rd, 2012, 02:49 AM

Cool.I have started ...my skeleton has awoken after a long 'sleep' ...

**DailyRich** · October 3rd, 2012, 09:35 AM

Ah good. After a, heh, spirited beginning, I sort of lost the thread and had to step away from my story for a bit. I think I have it again, so it's good I have some time.

**norm** · October 4th, 2012, 11:40 AM

The other day I perused through my vast folder of abandoned stories, and rediscovered a good one that fits the theme well. It's a nice surprise sometimes, coming back to forgotten projects. I don't know why I end up abandoning some of them, they're pretty decent. If I finish this one and submit it, it'll be a real beauty.

Y'all better be bringing yer A-game for this one, else you'll be in trouble.

**PeteMC** · October 4th, 2012, 12:07 PM

I'm glad it's not just me who has a huge collection of abandoned stories!

**norm** · October 4th, 2012, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by PeteMC

I'm glad it's not just me who has a huge collection of abandoned stories!

It's a little bit ridiculous, it must be my short attention span or something that causes me to get bored with my stories so quickly. My 'incompletes' outnumber my 'completes' by at least three to one.

**PeteMC** · October 4th, 2012, 12:24 PM

Oh hell yeah me too, easily.

I know some people say "finish everything you start" but to me a lot of my writing is like an artist doing a doodle on a sketch pad, just for fun or to try out an idea. I might like an idea for a setting, so I'll throw out a few hundred words of story in that setting to try it on for size, but it doesn't mean that particular story is ever going to go anywhere.

Once it stops being fun or you've evaluated the idea one way or the other, it's done with. What's the point of turning a doodle into an oil painting unless you think there's real merit in it?

That said, I never throw anything away either, you never know when it might come in handy.

**zachariah** · October 4th, 2012, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by norm

It's a little bit ridiculous, it must be my short attention span or something that causes me to get bored with my stories so quickly. My 'incompletes' outnumber my 'completes' by at least three to one.

I hear you there. Creativity and imagination are the easy parts - the ability to consistently see a project through to completion is a much more valuable skill for a writer than being able to make stuff up. This is why good project managers are worth their weight in gold.

Maybe there's mileage in creating some kind of service that compels creative, but flighty people to finish their projects. There are novelty websites that kind of force you to write something, but nothing that really grabs you by the scruff of the neck and takes you from idea to finished novel.

Idea: A site that takes cash deposits from would-be novelists, which is only returned if they complete their work in the agreed time (or to an agreed schedule). The missed deposits and the interests should more than cover server charges. Anyone with me? Size of deposit affects the level of service and badgering. Ten bucks gets you an automatic weekly email. A hundred gets you personalised attention. A grand and we kidnap your kids.

**tmso** · October 4th, 2012, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by zachariah

Idea: A site that takes cash deposits from would-be novelists, which is only returned if they complete their work in the agreed time (or to an agreed schedule). The missed deposits and the interests should more than cover server charges. Anyone with me? Size of deposit affects the level of service and badgering. Ten bucks gets you an automatic weekly email. A hundred gets you personalised attention. A grand and we kidnap your kids.

Oh my gosh. We could make millions. PM me. Seriously.

But, to be honest, while I think it will work, it would feel too much like taking candy from a baby. But, damn. I'm tempted.