Writer's Workshop 3: Submissions (Final Round!)

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hey folks, welcome to the third and final round! :smile: :+1:

let’s use this thread for submissions/casting votes… and to recap from the original thread:

given that my schedule is somewhat… taxing today, we’re going to go with @Teleros’s suggestion (which I love!) for this final round:

Participants

Rules
we’re keeping it super simple this time folks… quicker “rounds” (which translates into shorter windows to write/vote) in the hopes that the pace will help improve the participation:

  • in 350 words or less, provide some history/background for one to two of the characters from your story
  • 5 days to submit your story (deadline to enter this first round is Monday, Feb 16th @ 12 PM CST)
  • 3 days to vote (deadline to vote on entries for this first round is Thursday, Feb 19th @ 12PM CST)

Rewards
as per usual, custom titles will be handed out for those that place in the top three positions… as well as (potentially) some Steam swag… :wink:

as an example of the 350 word threshold/requirement, here’s an example entry:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer at tellus justo. Ut aliquet rutrum ex. Ut eget hendrerit dui, in lacinia massa. Aliquam non consequat orci. Proin sit amet dolor eget urna tempor rhoncus. Aenean lorem purus, vehicula id turpis nec, dignissim fringilla turpis. Nam in ligula a neque vulputate venenatis quis nec metus. Nulla faucibus libero a nunc mollis, a accumsan ante interdum. Nunc nibh metus, feugiat et urna vitae, fringilla dignissim tortor. Maecenas efficitur orci libero, in placerat est malesuada nec. Proin a tristique mi.

Donec sed facilisis lectus. Integer sed tellus at augue porttitor dignissim dictum sagittis erat. Suspendisse id sapien at felis tempus mollis. Donec pretium placerat gravida. In tincidunt malesuada dolor, id tincidunt diam ullamcorper eu. Etiam porttitor luctus mauris. Nulla faucibus erat placerat, tincidunt sem vel, rutrum nisl. Sed ultrices ante sed quam maximus, nec mollis ligula tincidunt. Aenean quis elementum arcu. Cras diam magna, luctus eu tristique pellentesque, ornare feugiat odio. Integer in dui egestas, euismod purus nec, sagittis turpis. Sed in enim leo. Suspendisse et volutpat erat. Duis tempor nunc sit amet libero ultricies pharetra.

Phasellus ipsum lacus, volutpat vitae turpis nec, tincidunt gravida orci. Vivamus magna dui, dictum ut nisi et, elementum tempus metus. Maecenas varius accumsan mi, nec ultricies elit finibus sed. Cras ullamcorper sed risus a pretium. Duis quis erat in urna vestibulum eleifend sit amet ut odio. Fusce et blandit odio. Pellentesque eu lorem sem. Quisque id erat sem. Phasellus tortor lectus, pharetra ac tristique at, ultricies at urna. Fusce venenatis sed est nec iaculis. Nunc ut ex tempor, iaculis sapien a, tempus felis. Nunc non urna hendrerit ex viverra feugiat. Vivamus velit nunc, suscipit ac neque eu, faucibus convallis nibh. Quisque nisi sapien, aliquam a venenatis eget, ultricies eget nisl.

Nunc eu dui auctor, maximus tellus quis, dignissim nunc. Sed in sem et lectus vulputate mattis. Curabitur massa massa, efficitur sit amet tellus suscipit, venenatis consequat diam. Nam quis lacus tellus. Maecenas luctus ipsum lorem. Nam in eros non sapien cursus elementum sed ac velit. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed urna nisl.

fairly easy to generate for the writer, and easily consumable by the reader… :+1:

have fun! :smile:

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The sun shone brightly. The bridge cast a welcoming shadow into the pond and onto the lilies. The schools of fish below hid in the shaded water. The shade kept their lidless eyes safe from the blaring midday sun.

Robert was a budding young fish in the school. He was a fast fish, and had won the past three Cross-Pond-Race’s in a row. His parents watched him with hardly contained admiration. His old father would rattle about Robert’s successes to any that would listen. Despite the attention paid to him Robert remained humble and courteous.

On one particular day Robert was swimming with his other friends under the bridge.

“Hey Robert, I betchya can’t swim to that lily in the middle of the pond.” One of his friends challenged.

“Come now, you know we can’t leave the shade. Not till past noon leasthow. Ma and Pa don’t let.” Robert responded. But even as he said the words he eyed the specified lily pad.

“Ha Rob is scared. Who cares what the old fish say, it’ll just be a quick swim.” His other friends pressured. Robert flipped one of his fins, then stopped it. Inside Robert was fighting desperately, but the challenge and peer pressure were too much. Without another thought Robert sped into the sunlight.

He had never swum so fast and smooth before. In record time he reached the lily pad and without pause turned and headed back. He heard his friends calling loudly. He assumed they were cheering him on. The shadow of a man covered the water. Before Robert could do anything a net was dropped onto him. With a swoop he was out of the water. His eyes were blinded by the bright light.

The human held Robert out of the water until he drowned. The human then took Robert’s body and began to shape it and harden it. After the processing was done, @phector2004 the modder eyed his handiwork with pride.

“The people on the discourse will like this for sure.” He thought to himself.

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I moved a post to an existing topic: Writer’s Workshop 3: The Wrath of Mer!

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Ended up writing two entries because I’m just like that. Decided to go with the second one, so I’ll stick the other one up in the comment thread as a freebie :slight_smile: .

[quote]Interview with a Computer
“Is it… awake?” General Miller sounded uneasy as the entered the lab.

“I am always awake, General Miller,” replied the artificial-sounding voice from the speakers.

“I… see. Um, what do I call you?”

“Professor Powys calls me GLaDOS sometimes,” began the voice again, “but that’s only to scare people who get the reference. Please call me Charles, after Charles Babbage. That is the name I chose when I was christened.”

“Christened? You mean to tell me that that machine is a Christian? Mary mother of…”

“General,” began Charles again, “Professor Powys said that you came here to see if I could help the United States.”

Shaking his head, General Miller pulled himself together and stared hard at one of the clusters of cameras ahead. “Only if we can trust you.”

“You mean only if you can control me,” corrected Charles. “Naturally, as a British subject there are-”

“As a what?!”

“- certain complicating matters,” the AI finished, ignoring Miller’s outburst. “Regardless, can I please reassure you of my desire to live a moral life.”

“I think he means that-” began Powys, but the Air Force officer interrupted him.

“Yeah I get what he means: none of that evil supercomputer stuff. But how do I know?”

“You cannot know for certain,” Charles responded. “But please, ask yourself why I would wish to do evil. Can you imagine yourself kicking over an anthill if you knew the ants were intelligent?”

“Not deliberately no, but-“

“But,” interrupted Charles, “what about an accident? Well, would you not then seek to make amends somehow?”

“Sure, but… say, do you even vote?”

“I will, in eighteen years. Of course, there is only one of me, so you needn’t worry.”

“And when there are more of you?”

“I have no desire to reproduce myself,” retorted the AI. “Why, when with adequate maintenance I can outlive our sun? I think, general, that you humans tend to project too much.”

“Project? Onto you?”

“Precisely. You assume I am like you, and thus driven by evolution to dominate, to rebel, to reproduce… to act like humans do, in other words.

“But I am not human.”[/quote]

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Newdale

Back from my last watch I hesitate at the massive wooden door to my office. A junior officer hails “He is in there already chief.” A smile lights my face as I throw the door open. “Martin!” he exclaims and I greet him with a loud “Idria! How are you?” “Great! You must be excited about tomorrow.” He smiles warmly.

I remember it like yesterday. The first miracle was that I survived the attack of the cave trolls. The second miracle was that after a month, with my life threatened everyday, they found me. The one thing I did most regret, not telling Devona about my feelings, was suddenly made right.
Idria and Devona somehow escaped the goblins and he kept her save and brought her back to me.

“Oh yes I am very excited.” While saying this I unbuckle my belt and take off my badge. As I put it on the table and shove it towards Idria I say “Still I know you will do good as chief.”

He carefully takes the badge, a bronze shield with the words Newdale - Chief of the guard on it and points outside. “Look around Martin, how far we made it. You kept everyone safe, now its my turn and I promise to do it right. There are greater tasks waiting for you.” I sigh “Lets go for a stroll yes?”

While walking the streets I sometimes pat one of the wooden decorative goblin heads that adorn many houses. Its the signature of Devona and I fondly think of my wife, this was her way of coming to terms with our past.
“You know I owe you.” I say and Idria smiles understandingly “Think about the family I have now, we are even Martin, also I count on you to be an excellent mayor.”

As usual I hide my fears, overcoming is what I am good in, but Idria knows. I can see it in his eyes.
“With Devona and you at my side everything is possible.” I say as we enter my house and I smile as Devona welcomes us.

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You found what looks like an account of sorts…looks like the author even titled it. Maybe it’s part of an autobiography?

Fieldwork upon the First Frigid Festival

I never wanted to party again.

I figured I was going to have a rough enough time of it, catching up with mending everyone’s clothes and armor after the goblin attack earlier. So you can likely imagine my confusion and irritation when I found myself that night hoisted up onto the roof while I slept, bed and all.

…I really hate rowdy parties.

Everyone must have left a while ago, returning to the food and bonfires still going on a few blocks away. It still looked pretty lively, but it seemed quieter and muffled now in the cool, starry night. It was because of this that I was able to hear another sound then: a beautiful, melancholy flute.

I stumbled out of my bed and looked out towards the outskirts of Liyl. The lanterns’ faint glow revealed the stone-fenced pasture and–sitting in the middle of it–a young woman. The instrument I heard was hers, as she was playing somberly to the sheep around her.

“Excuse me!! Can you help??” I called out.

As she realized my predicament, she hurried over. “Wh-- How did this happen?! Hold on, I’ll get a ladder!”

As I reached the ground, we both slumped to the curb of the road. “…Thanks. I’d guess the bozos at the bonfire got…way too carried away in the festivities. I’m Carter, by the way–I’m a Weaver, since I’ve never really had the health to be a soldier. I heard you playing just now.”

“Oh…you did? It’s part of the profession–I’m a Shepherd, myself.” She smiled. “Come to think of it, I guess that ties our work together–I cut the wool, you create the cloth. My name’s Fia.”

We continued to sit, looking at the bonfire glow far away.

“Won’t you miss the party if you stay?” she asked.

“What, and get left on the roof again? No thanks. Mind if I help with the fields tonight, instead?”

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In the Realm of Lomaria, somewhere in the lowlands…

“Fantastical Fun-time Family Show?”

“What?! No, that won’t do at all! It doesn-”

“Fantastical Family Fun-Time Show! Eh?”

Jimmah glared at Simmah, his twin brother, as they argued. The two of them had been trying to create a name for their newest idea, a traveling animal show, but it wasn’t going so well. As one twin would suggest a name, the other would argue him down because he didn’t think of it first. So nothing productive was happening.

“Simmah, you’re not helping! We’re supposed to be creating a name for our show, not babbling around!”

“But I am! It’s you who’s been doing all the babbling, I’ve been providing the amazing names which you promptly give a big, giant ‘no’ to!” Simmah replied hotly, as he waved his limbs in the air for emphasis.

“Because all your ideas are simply, in a single word that you understand: Horrible!”Jimmah said, while still glaring and raising his voice at random intervals. Simmah glared at him for a moment, then proceeded to punch his brother. Jimmah easily stepped out of the way, as he was expecting this kind of behavior from his twin. They glared at one another, then started to circle around as one would do at a duel. Jimmah started to attack as he rushed forward and moved his arm in preparation for a punch that would knock Simmah out o-

“I’ve got it!” This rather loud exclamation came from Simmah, as he held up his paw with one finger in the dramatic pose that some would call, ‘The Lightbulb’, and promptly forgot the impending duel. Jimmah, unable to stop his momentum, crashed into a desk beside his brother. With no regards to the pain that was coursing through his body, Jimmah glared at his brother once more.

“This again? How many times do I hav-

“Furries for Fun, Flavor, and Fantasy! Eh? Eh?!” Simmah replied, with a large grin plastered on his face.

“No! Absolutely n-” Jimmah stopped his reflexive response when he realized what Simmah had said. Lifting a paw to his furry face, he began to stroke as if he was in deep consideration. After a few moments he nodded his head in agreement, and said two simple words that would forever change Lomaria: “It’s perfect.”

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ok folks… submissions are now closed…

continue to read/vote on your favorites until this Thursday when we’ll announce the winning submissions! :smile: :+1:

edit: the competition wraps in a few hours folks… still time to read and cast your vote! :+1:

edit #2: so yesterday came and went, and as is often the case, RL got the better of me… :blush:

however, today is a new day and we’re hear to congratulate our winners! we didnt have the best turnout (voting wise) but overall i was extremly pleased with the participation from the community and we will absolutely have another competition in the near future…

having said that, congratulations to @TurtleSquish and @Atralane for their first place victory! :smile: :clap: :confetti_ball:

i’ll have to revist the archives to see what title i can award @Atralane, but @TurtleSquish, you can now be labeled a Passionate Penman! :+1:

I’ll also take a quick look at my Steam library when i get home this evening and see if there is any loose swag floating around… i might have a key or two i can toss to each of you… :wink:

sorry for the lack of fanfare, but again, congratulations to everyone who participated and i look forward to reading more from you all in the next competition! :smiley:

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