COMING IN APRIL -- The 300 Word Writing Challenge

[cornelius]

I've already thought of a story, but it would befit the 75 word- challenge more. They say a picture says a thousand words- But they fail to mention that 75% of those are incoherent and redundant

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I can come up with ideas for stories based on a briefly worded theme, but after staring at the picture for a while, all I've managed to come up with is "weird clock."

But if you look at photo, you should be able to see a lot more than a clock. Isolate the different images within the overall picture, and you should be able to see that it offers not one but many different themes, and you get to choose which one you want to write about.

 

[Heck Tate]

I know, TE, but I'm not a very visual thinker at all. It takes so much longer to get my brain up to speed thinking about a picture than the sounds of a few simple words. Even with my limited visual skills, I think it's a great picture, should result in very interesting stories.

 

[Ursa major]

Just checking out the 300 word challenge thread. I love the idea of a longer challenge, but I really do hate it being based on pictures. I can come up with ideas for stories based on a briefly worded theme, but after staring at the picture for a while, all I've managed to come up with is "weird clock."

Even if that is all you derive from the picture - and by following Teresa's advice you should get far more - what story would you write if the given topic was, simply, "Weird Clock"?

 

[Heck Tate]

Even if that is all you derive from the picture - and by using Teresa's advice you should get far more - what story would you write if the given topic was, simply, "Weird Clock"?

I'd get some story with a very strange timeline, that's for sure, but I know what you guys mean. I'll make that picture my desktop background or something so that I can stare at it when I'm not doing anything else.

 

[alchemist]

Try Prague Astronomical Clock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for further info. I know it's almost cheating, knowing where the image comes from, but you can use it to bounce ideas.

 

[MstrTal]

Is that cheating?

When I 1st saw the image the very first thing I did was scour the web in research. Granted that might be the Historian in me. Granted it could be the touch of OCD. Regardless I HAD to know. Now I am formulating a story and adding it to my WIP world-building universe.

 

[The Judge]

No, it isn't cheating -- so don't worry, MstrTal.

The important thing is for us each to react to the image and be inspired by it. If it helps you to find out more about it in real life, that's fine -- but there's no obligation on anyone to do any research. For instance, if you do look at the wikipedia entry it tells you who/what the four statues are meant to represent, including one who is a figure of vanity holding a mirror. But if someone wants to interpret the statues in different ways, and eg write about a nobleman holding a large mirror for scientific purposes, then that's fine. It's however you want to react to the image -- which can be as broad or as narrow as you want.

 

[alchemist]

Is that cheating?

Nah. Sorry if I misled you there. What I meant was, doing research is more like going with your head rather than the heart. I did the research too, but ended up with my story by going back to the basic picture.

 

[slack]

I haven't read all the entries, so forgive me, but -- quarterly? For a 300 word story?

I'm just curious why such a long time period for a such a small word count.

As I'm trying to write more and larger works -- building up to novel length, really -- I'd prefer the challenge be 1,000 words minimum, and perhaps a limit of 5,000.

Has anyone thought about doing that kind of challenge?

 

[chrispenycate]

I haven't read all the entries, so forgive me, but -- quarterly? For a 300 word story?

I'm just curious why such a long time period for a such a small word count.

As I'm trying to write more and larger works -- building up to novel length, really -- I'd prefer the challenge be 1,000 words minimum, and perhaps a limit of 5,000.

Has anyone thought about doing that kind of challenge?

Yes, several people have made similar suggestions; but it's hard enough to get people to read, and vote for, the shorter pieces. Who could be expected to judge ten four thousand word offers?. A professional editor, perhaps, at professional prices?

And remember, posting something in a public forum, where anyone can come along and read it, severely compromises its chances of being saleable elsewhere. For seventy-five words this is hardly relevant, but already with three hundred there are possible markets. I will go out on a limb and say eighty percent of contributors in these challenges aspire to eventual commercial publication; you're suggesting that a complete story of several thousand words, polished and edited, to someone's highest standard be voluntarily withdrawn from the potential of alternative exploitation?

Perhaps if we knew that a dozen literary agents were regularly perusing the site, checking for talent… But they're not. They have more people applying to them (begging, pleading) to ever give a totally unbiased judgement anyway, and certainly too many to go searching more.

Add to which, while what you're learning in a multi-thousand word exercise is not the same as in the seventy-five, I don't feel it has that much more relevance to novel writing. The pace is different, the structure more compact, characterisation less profound - it's not the same (except that all writing carries similarities).

All right, rant over, you probably didn't deserve it. But sometimes practical details are important.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Of course we have. But if members are writing 1,000 word stories they should be trying to get them published, not entering them into an exercise that is basically just for fun.

We like to keep the community friendly here, and people are likely to get rather intense about stories they have put that much work into. Competition could run high, to the detriment of the community. We don't want that.

These short stories take more thought and more skill than you may think. The 300 Word Challenge is quarterly, in part, because we already have the monthly 75 Word Challenge.

But if and when you finally complete a novel and want to send it out to agents and publishers, you will have to learn to write query letters (which may include a "pitch," a summary of your book amounting to nothing more than a brief paragraph, something along the lines of 75 words or even less) and also learn how to write a synopsis (generally at the length of a single page, which is about ... 300 words). Many new writers find this part of the process almost as daunting as writing the book itself. It can be a source of such deep anxiety that it causes them to put up mental barriers that make what should be (and would be) an easy task almost impossible.

In these challenges, our writers learn to be concise, to boil a story down to its essence, and to imply whole worlds of meaning in as few words as possible. Although these competitions are meant to be fun and to allow writers a chance to challenge themselves on a regular basis, they are also good practice for acquiring the necessary skills and confidence to tackle a pitch and a synopsis when the time comes.

So, yes, we have thought about it and discussed it a great deal, and for all the reasons I have mentioned (and probably others that I don't remember at the moment), decided that the shorter challenges work better for us. As for the timing of the 300 Word Challenge, well, it's brand new, and we'll see how it works out. We can make adjustments to that later.

Edit -- Chris managed to sneak in with his post while I was composing mine.

 

[chrispenycate]

Edit -- Chris managed to sneak in with his post while I was composing mine.

I never manage that.

But we didn't contradict each other on any point, as far as I can see. Just slightly different emphasis.

 

[slack]

Who could be expected to judge ten four thousand word offers?. A professional editor, perhaps, at professional prices?

It's not really that much reading over a three month period, but I'll agree 5,000 seems a bit generous as an upper limit.

I was not suggesting that a lengthier challenge be used as a means of bridging the gap to novel writing.

At any rate, I agree with your comments about large work posted to a public forum. I guess I am just not that paranoid about theft at this stage in my writing 'career'. Are there private workshops here, as on other, similar, forums?

Of course we have. But if members are writing 1,000 word stories they should be trying to get them published, not entering them into an exercise that is basically just for fun.

I figured as much. I guess I was more curious about the quarterly aspect of the challenge. That still seems like an awfully long time to compose 300 words. I do that daily, as I'm sure most here do.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

If you'll read the first post in this thread, you'll see that the competition is quarterly, but people only have a month to write their stories.

I guess I was more curious about the quarterly aspect of the challenge. That still seems like an awfully long time to compose 300 words. I do that daily, as I'm sure most here do.

Our members who produce 300 (or more) words per day on a regular basis are generally putting that effort into short stories or novels they are serious about submitting to publishers. Few of those would be willing to take time off from their serious writing that every month and devote that time instead to writing and polishing a 300 word story. We wish to have a competition that many people will want to enter.

I guess I am just not that paranoid about theft at this stage in my writing 'career'.

Theft is not the issue. The issue is that publishers are less interested in accepting work that has already been published -- and posting something on a public forum is indeed publishing. If something that was 300 words long was expanded to 3000 it is unlikely that a publisher would have a problem with that. But a 1000 word story that was expanded to 3000 would be quite another matter.

And no, there are no private workshops here. Although we have a large and growing writing community here, this is not primarily a writing forum.

 

[Parson]

And no, there are no private workshops here. Although we have a large and growing writing community here, this is not primarily a writing forum.

This surprises me Teresa, I sort fell in the side door here years ago and over the past year or so. Since I've been working on the 75 word challenge I'd come to understand that there were a lot more writers on this forum than I'd imagined. I sort of suspected that it started as a place where writers got together to chat about SFF and that it sort of developed after that. What you are saying makes me think I've got it backwards. Did this forum start as strictly a place to talk about SFF and et. al. and writers have gravitated toward it?

 

[Moonbat]

this is not primarily a writing forum.

This surprises me too, I'm sure I came here under the pretence that it was a writers forum, dedicated to writers of sci-fi and fantasy. Maybe I was just living in a fantasy world

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

As I understand it, Parson, the forums started out as a place to discuss Brian's writing (Chronicles of Empire), but when the site thrived he decided to make it into a general SFF forum, and at some point whisked away his own (as yet still uncompleted) novel.

This all happened before I joined the site, six and a half years ago. At that time there was the AW forum, but it was not nearly as active as the Books forum. Over the last two or three years, we have been attracting more and more writers; I'm not sure why. Obviously I enjoy participating in that side of things, and that is where you will find me most of the time (but you already know that) but I came here for the book discussions.

 

[Parson]

Oh Princess of Goblins, I bow to your depth of knowledge and history. This humble Parson accepts with gratitude the enlightenment and shall go forth to work.

 

[nixie]

I've always seen it as a place to discuss books. I only ventured into the writing section out of curiosity for the 75 word challenge.