WCT - The Writing Competition Thread [September Round]

[G_D]

The Writing Competition Thread
In conjunction with The Writers' Thread (http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6771)

News
This month's category: Short Story. Good luck everyone!

Current Stage: VOTING
Contest Dates:
-->Submission: September 1 12:01am to October 6, 11:59pm
-->Voting: October 7 12:01am to October 20, 11:59pm
-->Results: October 21, 7:00pm


General Info:
The Writing Competition Thread holds bi-monthly competitions starting on the first day of every other month. There are three categories that our competitions fall under: Short story, poetry, and freeform. Each competition focuses on one of these categories. We aim to be a non-threatening competition, and to help our entrants improve their writing skills. If you are interested, please enter regardless of your skill level. We try to give feedback and helpful tips for entered works.

Submission Rules:
- Late submissions will not be judged.
- Entries should reflect the category of the competition. If an entry is deemed to not fit into the correct category, it will be ignored.
- Instead of submitting old material, you are encouraged to write something new. After all, we are writers, and we are up to a little challenge, right?
- Only one entry per person is allowed. Subsequent entries will be ignored.
- Finish your work before you post your submission. Edits of submissions after the judging phase begins will disqualify the submission.
- Remember to include a title, or at least a handle for people to call your work during the judging phase.
- Please post your piece directly into this thread! Otherwise, it may get overlooked.

- If you would like your entry to be placed on the Writers’ Thread list, then submit a link with it as well.

Category - Short Story:
- No fanfiction. Fanfiction will belong in the Freeform category. Why? Because creating and developing your own characters in a limited amount of space is a significant challenge. Working with existing characters in existing universes is like remixed music; it's one thing to remix a song, but something completely different to make it from scratch.
- Fiction and nonfiction are both welcome.
- Please limit your submissions in this category to 2500 words.
- Please label your work as fiction, non-fiction, hybrid, etc. This will help people understand and better judge your piece.

Category - Poetry:
- Poetry can be almost anything. You need not adhere to a particular form unless you wish to. Anything from sonnets to haikus to free-verse belongs here.
- Please limit your submissions in this category to 1000 words.
- Please label your work regarding the type of poetry it is. For example, ballad, villanelle, palindrome, limerick, free-verse, acrostic, etc.

Category - Freeform:
- If it has words, it belongs here. Examples could be Maddox-style rants, journalistic articles, How-to documents, or really whatever creative idea you can come up with. Hell, even ASCII art would probably find a home here.
- Please limit your submissions in this category to 3000 words.
- Label your work, if you think it will help.
- I will kill you if you use an ASCII art generator to make a submission.

Voting rules:
- Early or late votes will not be accepted.
- *NEW* Anyone who has submitted an entry in past competitions may vote, even if they are not current submitters. The purpose of this is to prevent one person from having their friends (or alt accounts) to win by flooding the vote, while maintaining a larger voter base than normal.
- When voting, you will choose a 1st Place and a Runner-Up.
- *NEW* Scoring: If the voter has submitted an entry this round, their vote for 1st Place will be worth 3 points, and for Runner-Up worth 2 points. If the voter has NOT submitted this round, their votes will be worth 2 points and 1 point.
- Honorable Mentions can certainly be made, but will not add any points.
- You may not vote for your own work
- Voting in this competition automatically gives your entry an extra point!

Determining the Winners:
- After the deadline for voting has passed, I will tally the votes for each submission. The submission with the most will be declared the winner, and second place will be the runner-up. Winner and runner-up will both receive a custom signature badge so you can show off your achievement!

[G_D]

Short Story Submissions

No entries in this category

[G_D]

Poetry Submissions

No entries in this category

[G_D]

Freeform Submissions

Antonio Pizza
"Why I Hope My Marriage Is Like Super Mario Bros. 3: An Improvo-Essay by Antonio Pizza" (http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10582)

Barnsalot
A Herculean Effort

He sat there, abdominal muscles tensed to the breaking point, straining, moaning, panting, pushing. His foot tapped at the ground, and his toes curled as if attempting to dig through the tiled floor. A groan escaped his lips, and a quiet whimper followed not far behind. He rocked back and forth, his arms wrapped tightly around his middle, while his palms dug deep trenches into his flanks. His eyes seemed to bore through the far wall, feigning an intensity to shame both hammer and chisel, that is, when they were not rolled back into his head, not withstanding the agony that roiled throughout the man's body, seemingly racking his very life away from him.
He gulped for a breath of air, and then held it. His face turned crimson, and the thin vessels in the whites of his eyes bulged and popped as if mortal man were not built for such an experience. He breathed the air out, and continued to rock, continued to grip, continued to dig through the ground beneath his feet. He arched his neck backwards and opened his mouth as if to bellow. But nothing came out. And when he threw his head back down it was in perfect sync with the jerking rock of his body. His foot now pounded at the ground, and his toes no longer curled, they writhed. They seemed to scream in-tune with the man and with his pain. Morbidly, his entire body seemed a chorus, synchronized, and in tune with his moribund agony.

It just wouldn't come out.G_DMinimum Wage: A Strange Celebrity
by G_D

Earlier this week, a bill which was passed by Congress over 60 days ago went into effect, raising the national minimum wage by seventy cents to $5.85. This is the first in a series of three increases set to take place over the next two years, with the final minimum wage to be set at $7.25 per hour. Proponents of the increase are ecstatic, saying that it's about time; this is the first increase in minimum wage in over ten years, and before the recent increase, the wage floor was at its lowest real dollar value (taking inflation into account) in over 50 years. If these politicians opened their eyes, however, they would see the inevitable consequences of this increase, and it would not be a pretty picture.

Whether we like it or not, the minimum wage is here to stay. We are too steeped in an economic policy that requires protection for the poor to simply abolish or even gradually diminish minimum wage, and an attempt to do so would solicit cries of outrage from the general public regardless. However, that doesn't mean we must continue to raise it, and we shouldn't. It doesn't take much knowledge of economics to see that to raise minimum wage is to necessarily increase both inflation and unemployment, leaving our economy in worse condition than before. In addition, the people who are most hurt by a raise in minimum wage are those who it is intended to help: the ones earning it. In response to a minimum wage increase, many companies must try to cut costs as rapidly as possible, and guess where the easiest area is to cut: the unskilled workers making the least amount of money. Granted, the market will eventually equalize, but it does so by lessening the worth of the dollar and increasing the number of marginal low-wage employees who are without jobs.

The logical question that follows, then, is why minimum wage is so heavily supported, and why nobody in government does anything to stop it. Surely there are intelligent people in Congress who understand basic economics. And there are; the bill passed by a vote of 315 to 116 in the House of Representatives, indicating that a good number of politicians know the dangers of the minimum wage. However, many of the opponents of the bill don't get it entirely; a group of Republicans proposed a compromise bill which tacked on tax cuts for small businesses in order to offset the problems caused by increasing the wage floor. It's a little better, but it isn't what we need. So why did the bill pass, against logic and opposition? My guess is that the Democrats who proposed the bill were doing an easy vote-grab at the general public – especially low-income voters – by giving them what they want and what sounds like a good deal. I mean, who wouldn't want to get paid more? It is also possible that they are well-meaning, and honestly believe the negative side effects will not outweigh the positives.

The problem is that this is the presiding line of thought in many peoples' minds, and especially in the minds of well-off lawmakers. They see minimum wage as a good thing, because they only see the bottom line: low-income workers will be paid more. Instead of taking into account the wide range of facts regarding minimum wage – for instance, that approximately half of those earning minimum wage are under the age of 25, and about a quarter are between 16 and 19 – they make their decisions based on what sounds to them like an obviously good idea. Besides that, the debates that take place often focus on only one negative aspect of the increase; namely, the loss of jobs by unskilled low-income workers. The point of inflation and the increase in price of goods is seldom mentioned, and there is still much debate at how much the minimum wage affects unemployment, even among seasoned economists.

Unfortunately, the minimum wage is here to stay. We can do our best to slow its increase, but we cannot neatly abolish or diminish it, especially now that new legislation has passed. One could hope for someone in power who had good economic sense, but that has been a rare phenomenon in our country, and isn't likely to be changed anytime soon. Here's hoping the future will prove me wrong, and this increase will turn out for the better of our economy.Kholdstare
Center Line

I walk the middle road.
Down a horseshoed street
With the sun on my right and
A Hydrant on my left
Watching each step in time.

A bag of mail in my right hand.
Am I the postman?
No, no. just a friend.
My burden I have chosen to bear.

I arrive and the wind
Rather breeze
Picks up.
I am in the shade of many trees
The ground undried from the afternoon sun and the morning’s rain.
I leave the sack at the door and turn back.
Dylan singing, track 6, greatest hits.

I walk the middle path
Head up straight and full
Clarity in the air.
Each sound each sight
Every thing in the light.
Rightly cast the shadows and far free the feelings.
But strange no feeling of freedom
No burden to bring my face down.Leon K
A heart contains several notes-
Melodies for special situations.
Played like drums or quickly strummed,
they produce emotions.
A midnight tryst contains a lovely ballad,
Tempered later by the blues;
Fighting words will illicit drama
sung by a broadway muse.
Fear of fate will still sing the gospel
following a quick bout of prayer-
While a sunset always arrives
following electronic days in subtle layers.
Anothers pain is echoed by a wailing sound,
A guitar crying their hurt that day;
While a flute, light and airy,
brings peace and fends loss away.
A snow covered field on a winters day
is reflected by all that jazz;
And a solo by a lone violin
will remind us of beauty past.
A single aria from a lonely soul
becomes a duet between lovers,
while a dirge follows inevitably
when they depart each other.
So from my heart to yours,
Why can't we sing forever?
Let's let our souls fly free and
see what music we'll make together.

[Fire in the Hole]

How can no new submissions be accepted when the thread was deleted before the submission phase was over?

[G_D]

Sorry. You can blame it on whoever deleted the thread. The problem is, I don't want to give an extra week and a half to whoever hadn't submitted a piece yet.

I understand your pain, though; as a result of this whole mix-up, I don't have any pieces in the competition. If it makes you feel better, I'll try to host the Spring Competition earlier than usual.

[Fire in the Hole]

Nice either-or fallacy. Options aren't limited to a week and a half or nothing, you know.

[G_D]

I don't understand what you're saying. Are you saying I should tell people right now that they have one day to finish their works? What happens then if they have been working on it for the entire time the contest has been off? Then they have an unfair advantage. Not to mention that when the thread was deleted there was just under a day and a half left in the competition.

I am merely trying to handle an unfortunate situation in the most fair way possible. Please, instead of being indignant and angry, why don't you try helping me to understand where you are coming from?

[Fire in the Hole]

"Indignant and angry," ha. Internet, serious business, and all that jazz. I don't even have a piece I'm interested in submitting, so don't jump to conclusions. I'm just defending logic here.

Of course I'm saying that you should tell people right now that they have one day to finish their works. Here's why:

If you're going to ask what happens if they've been working on it since the deletion, then you ought to be asking, what happens if they've been working on it since long before the competition began, or if they merely submit an old work as a competition piece? In the creation of the current rules JamStunna and the others decided it was better to trust in participants, so why stop trusting them now? A day and a half can be a lot of time for a writer, after all, so who knows how many people had plans to submit before the deadline? Why deprive them of that chance because of a mishap?

Also, there's no reason that people who have already submitted couldn't resubmit their works as well. It would be their fault if they didn't, and just as much their fault if they hadn't been working on it since deletion as well (after all, a work is never finished, it is merely abandoned by the author). There's really no reason to protect them from what can only be their laziness or contentment and punish others for what may just as easily have been the fault of time availability or writer's block.

[Old Man Time]

I guess I have to resub... again lol.

"Untitled" - Poem, Freeform
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1196546

"The Blue-Tinged Angel" - Short Story, Fiction
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1197269

I hope you like them.

[G_D]

At Fire in the Hole's suggestion, I have decided to not only extend the submission stage for this competition to the end of tomorrow (Tuesday), I have also included any submissions made since the contest began (save for the Eternal Legends chapter, unless GA wants it in the competition). So, GET CRACKIN!

Also, if I have forgotten or left out anyone's entries, please let me know before tomorrow night!

[Old Man Time]

I guess I have to resub... again lol.

"Untitled" - Poem, Freeform
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1196546

"The Blue-Tinged Angel" - Short Story, Fiction
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1197269

I hope you like them.

G_D, I think that you added my short story, but not my poem. Unless I can only submit one thing, then just put one item in this comp, and one in the next one. Thanks.

[G_D]

Sorry bout that Old Man Time...I coulda sworn I got that.

5 more hours for entering the competition!

[Kholdstare]

If it wasn't saved, here's my entry for poetry again.

Category: Poetry
Form: Pantoun
Title: Fly-Trap.
Link: http://kholdstare13.googlepages.com/flytrap.doc

[Old Man Time]

Sorry bout that Old Man Time...I coulda sworn I got that.

5 more hours for entering the competition!

Thanks. I'll vote tomorrow after I finish finals, though now that I think of it I have items in two categories, and there aren't any in the third, so maybe I shouldn't vote because I wouldn't be all that objective? Either way I'll still review other peoples work.

EDIT - I looked over the judging rules, and tell me if I'm wrong, but it looks like I should just vote in all categories.

[G_D]

As of this writing there is just under an hour and a half left in the submission stage. I won't be awake when it gets over (slight oversight), so I'm pushing the start of the judging stage back to 1:00 pm tomorrow. That way I'll be sure to get all the entries onto the front page.

In other news, I added a Judging Rule: You can't vote for yourself. That's just lame. If you have a serious complaint, please let me know.

[G_D]

Ok! The voting stage will start in about 45 minutes. Though there are no freeform entries, you will still get an extra point if you vote in Short Story and Poetry. Also, before you vote please read through the Judging Rules again. All entries are posted on the first page.

Happy voting!

EDIT: I just realized I missed Manic Cinq's poetry entry. I really apologize if I missed anything else, and please let me know ASAP if I did!

EDIT 2: I also just added ZeaLitY's entry, so be sure not to miss that one. Man, poetry competition is stiff this round!

[Old Man Time]

I pm'ed you, G_D. Pretty sure thats what we're supposed to do.

EDIT: I just look at the a-z of ocr comp. thread, and the writers thread isnt in it. Is it just that it hasn't been added yet, or what?

[G_D]

Those, I believe, are only the official music competitions. This is not official, nor is it a music competition, so it doesn't fit there.

PMing me your votes is good.

[Old Man Time]

Those, I believe, are only the official music competitions. This is not official, nor is it a music competition, so it doesn't fit there.

PMing me your votes is good.

They have other comps in there, like the comedy one (funny haha or whatever its called), and I think the fanart one too.

[Fire in the Hole]

You should be submitting the necessary information to Zircon to add the competition to the list. That's how they keep track of what should and shouldn't be here.

[Doulifée]

I pm'ed you, G_D. Pretty sure thats what we're supposed to do.

EDIT: I just look at the a-z of ocr comp. thread, and the writers thread isnt in it. Is it just that it hasn't been added yet, or what?

just send a pm with a small text that explain the competition, to the Orichalcon or myself. Gathering info take time that's all.

[Old Man Time]

^^ thanks doulifee

so we have another day or two left in the comp?

[G_D]

We have a while left for voting. I set it to end January 31st, but if everyone votes before then it can end earlier. I just know that sometimes we've had trouble with people not voting very quickly (myself included).

So, does somebody want to volunteer to write something up and send it to TO? I'm getting pretty busy right now, and just don't have the energy. I'd suggest sending a description, history, and links. I would appreciate if someone would do this, but if nobody does in the next couple days I'll try to write something up Saturday.

[HalcyonSpirit]

If I find the time over the weekend (and assuming no one else volunteers by then), I'll try to come up with something.

Oh, and G_D? My Eternal Legends chapter most certainly is not short enough to be put in this competition (by about, oh... 16 pages). I thought you would've figured that out already. Seriously. :rolleyes:

[G_D]

Like I said, I've been swamped. I haven't even looked at the new chapter yet, sorry. I will get to it in time, though.

[Old Man Time]

<bump>

keep voting people!

[G_D]

Yeah, seriously. The faster all the votes come in the faster the competition is over, but I've only received votes from two people.

[Barnsalot]

Right.. I entered this, didn't I?

I'll get busy with reading the submissions and voting then.

Edit: Voted, and thanks for the reminder G_D

[Old Man Time]

Right.. I entered this, didn't I?

I'll get busy with reading the submissions and voting then.

Edit: Voted, and thanks for the reminder G_D

Good work. Keep voting people!

[HalcyonSpirit]

I'd vote, but... I didn't enter. :(

Still going to read the entries at some point, though.

[Fire in the Hole]

I'd vote, but... I didn't enter. :(

characters

[Old Man Time]

bump

c'mon guys, time is running out on the voting stage.

[HalcyonSpirit]

G_D, have you tried PM'ing the people that haven't voted yet? They might've forgotten about the voting part. PM them so they'll at least know.

[G_D]

Yeah, I pm'd everyone the second or third day of voting.

REMEMBER TO VOTE IF YOU HAVEN'T!!!

Three days remaining...

[Old Man Time]

Yeah, I pm'd everyone the second or third day of voting.

REMEMBER TO VOTE IF YOU HAVEN'T!!!

Three days remaining...

two days...

[Old Man Time]

Today is the last day... I hope someone else voted, because there would be no way I could win as I can't vote for myself.

[Manic Cinq]

Today is the last day... I hope someone else voted, because there would be no way I could win as I can't vote for myself.
hahahahaha

[G_D]

Well, all but two people voted. Voting will end tonight at midnight, but I won't be around. I will probably get the results up in a couple days.

[Old Man Time]

Well, all but two people voted. Voting will end tonight at midnight, but I won't be around. I will probably get the results up in a couple days.

Oh. Thats good. Maybe I have a chance after all...

[G_D]

Thanks to everyone who participated! I'll get the results up as soon as I can.

[Old Man Time]

*keeps fingers crossed*

[G_D]

Heh, I have the votes tallied, but forgot who I voted for. I wrote it down on my computer before I counted votes so that I wouldn't be influenced, but I don't have access to my computer until tomorrow night late. I will post the results tomorrow night. Sorry about the delay.

[epinephrin]

I dunno about competitions or anything, but I wrote this recently and I'd like to see your thoughts on it. First story I've ever wrote:

Forgiveness and Compasssion

Sean Elihu took one last breath of his cigarette. Stress had the kid caring a lot more about avoiding another anxiety attack than some cancer that might put him on a deathbed if he survived the next few decades. The nicotine high felt something graceful, like absolution from sin. He put the ash out on his clothes and flicked the butt as he could, as if the farther he threw it the farther he could cast away the evils. If Sean was concerned about his own wrongdoings he could just go to confession. But how can a man redeem offenses that are not his own?
It’s been two lonely years since he’d been kicked and left homeless to support himself. Most of the time extended family and friends were kind enough to let him sleep on their couch and have a few good meals, but nothing felt more shameful than leeching off of people’s sentiments. He should be supported by his own flesh and blood, but he wasn’t able to coexist with a once loving father turned monster who abused his wife and daughter. Instead the only place he could call home was a state of mind consumed by rage and torment. He never smiled, never frowned, and never spoke unless obligated to, but inside was a quiet storm.

Sean’s stomach rumbled as he made the sign of the cross and began say what could be his last prayer. He begged God to properly heal the wounds of his baby sister in the hospital. Her suicide attempt would probably leave scarring down her arms. He also had to be thankful that he didn’t have to grow up anymore in such a cold household filled with suffering. The priest told him that Christ didn’t die for our sins so we could seek vengeance. Obviously Sean no longer held the same view of the Savior. To him, God couldn’t care enough to listen to his prayers every night, but He did expect justice to be upheld. This was Sean’s duty to embody Divine Wrath upon a wicked man, and he refused to eat or sleep until his father was repaid twofold.
Finally Sean peeked through the window and spotted his father rolling his car into the driveway. It was time for a more passionate hunger to be satisfied. Moments later he clutched his knife as his father opened the front door. The guy dropped his keys on the ground and looked like he saw a ghost. Sean knocked him out with the blunt side of his weapon.

Sometime later Mr. Elihu woke up with both hands tied to each arm of a chair. Towels were placed all over the floor. Sean sat across, facing him, while sipping on a glass of scotch.
“Cut me free right now and I won’t press any charges.”
“You’ve dishonored my family. Shamelessly hurt women—my mother and little sister. And now your emotional scarring on that little girl has left her thinking she’s got nothing to live for. I used to love you, Dad. You were everything I could dream to be in a man. And now look at you. I’m gonna cut you free of something a lot worse than that chair you’re tied to… I’m gonna bring you closer to God. And considering what that little girl’s done to herself because of you, I figured justice should be poetic.”
Sean took his blade and sliced it down father’s forearms. The blood dripped down and was soaked up by the towels on the floor. He shook his head as Mr. Elihu screamed and cried in pain.
“What do you want from me?! This is murder!”

A hot iron was forced against his forearms, cauterizing the wound, stopping the bleeding, and leaving charred, peeling skin. “I heard your daughter didn’t even cry when she did this to herself. Shut the hell up and show some dignity. Like I said before, I’m here to free you. Not kill you. You show no remorse for everything you’ve done, and expect to continue hurting the people I love. And no church or pastor can save you because of that. So this will continue until you convince me you’re going to change your ways.”

The same thing happened again and again for hours. The room reeked of fresh blood, which could no longer be contained by the towels. Every time a little bit of that fury in the father’s eyes faded away. Only a sad look and a twinkle remained. He was pale white, and muttering inaudible prayers. The wounds started digging deeper into muscle tissue. Every time the iron pressed against his skin it smelled like freshly cooked steak. Suddenly, in a soft, raspy voice, he spoke

“I’m… I’m sorry. I never wanted to be a parent. I got your mother pregnant, and tried to be a dad. But I guess I never really had the guts in the long run. After a couple decades I grew sick of having mouths to feed, and watching my youth and chance for success fade away. It was never your guys’ faults. I could have brought you guys up in a great family, but I was too selfish. I wanna… I wanna be a good father. I love my family, especially after the years of burden and torment I’ve given you. Oh God …”
Sean never cried before. A man can’t let his emotions get in the way of what he has to do. But this time he couldn’t control the tears which flowed down his face into the puddles of blood all over the floor. It was the first time he could remember smiling, too.

“Dad I… Dad? Oh God!”

[HalcyonSpirit]

Since that isn't going into a competition, epinephrin, it's better suited for the main Writers' Thread (http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6771). Post it there; the thread is in need of a bump anyway. I'll try to get around to reading it after this week is over... too many tests coming at me all at once.

[G_D]

I moved your story to the Writer's Thread, epinephrin. Hope you don't mind.

Also, the RESULTS ARE IN!

Short Story:
First place --> Literary Technique by Wacky
Runner-up --> The Blue-Tinged Angel by Old Man Time

Poetry:
First place --> "Of Starry Visions" by Zeality
Runner-up --> "Untitled" by Leon K

Congratulations guys, and good job to everyone who entered. This was an excellent competition. We'll get the winners' sig badges out soon for you. I'll also be adding your work to the list in the Writer's Thread, provided that you posted a link. If you didn't have a linked work but still would like to be in the list, just provide a link somehow, and I'll put it up.

Here are some critiques by Zeality:
Short story:

Literary Technique

You either spent a great deal of time on the premise, or hardly any at all, choosing to just blend girls and analysis of ancient literary technique. But at any rate, the execution is what makes it stand out. It maintained my attention and made me pretty curious about the wise one. My only complaint is that the protagonist is one hell of a horndog, which didn't do much to bond him to me (the audience).

~

Radcliffe Residence 9/3/97

I'd normally pick a larger short story over flash fiction, but this captured my attention. We can only wonder what kind of horrible fate Bob suffered, and how J.W. is finding the tremendous strength to keep moving. It's also dated in the 90's, which blows my mind in the curiosity department. It isn't pretentious at all, which lets me believe that this really is J.W.'s writing.

~

The Blue-Tinged Angel

Interesting premise, but just make it a bit more unique and flavorful. You can pull a dystopia ruled by a computer out of a closet as a stock setting, but there's so much room to add your own spin and touch. Huxley had soma, Orwell had constant surveillance.

~

A Second Chance

I just wanted a liiiiiittle more. I'm not sure what the purpose of the piece was except to describe a hunt. It didn't really have a theme, or else it's so subtle that I missed it. I mean, not all literature has to be moralistic or instructional, but...I'm not sure. My criticism is vague.

~

Poetry:
Jesus people, start giving your poems some titles. It's something to take pride in and use to define your poem or add to it another dimension. Anyway, Leon K, just for future reference, try removing the line breaks (so you can view the poem in the form of a big sentence) and add proper pronunciation. The lack of an important semicolon at the end of the third line didn't absolutely blow it for me, but it makes it look less professional.

Anyway, I won't individually critique these, but I will say that if you write a dark poem, make it dark. There is a better way to convey despondency than to mimic Linkin Park or make sweeping, generalized criticisms of governmental and corporate institutions.


One more thing before I'm done today. How would you guys feel about splitting the competitions? I'm proposing having separate poetry/short story/freeform competitions so that we can focus on a single type of writing. I know that I personally would like this because I never have time to do both a short story and a poem, and in the last three competitions we've had a total of three freeform pieces. If this were to happen, I'd probably hold them a little more often.

Please post your thoughts on this, and again, congratulations to the winners of the Winter Writing Competition!

[epinephrin]

Thanks man. Woulda done the same if I knew it existed.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Congratulations to the winners and runner-ups, and nice work to those that entered!

One more thing before I'm done today. How would you guys feel about splitting the competitions? I'm proposing having separate poetry/short story/freeform competitions so that we can focus on a single type of writing. I know that I personally would like this because I never have time to do both a short story and a poem, and in the last three competitions we've had a total of three freeform pieces. If this were to happen, I'd probably hold them a little more often.

I LIKE this idea! I'd let me focus on one at a time. Dooooooo eeeeeeeet! :)

[Old Man Time]

One more thing before I'm done today. How would you guys feel about splitting the competitions? I'm proposing having separate poetry/short story/freeform competitions so that we can focus on a single type of writing. I know that I personally would like this because I never have time to do both a short story and a poem, and in the last three competitions we've had a total of three freeform pieces. If this were to happen, I'd probably hold them a little more often.

Please post your thoughts on this, and again, congratulations to the winners of the Winter Writing Competition!

I think split competitions would be really good, for the reasons you just mentioned. Oh, congrats to all the winners. I'm happy just to place, especially behind some of the great pieces you guys submitted.

[Kholdstare]

Congrats to the winners!

I too like the idea of splitting the competitions. Also, I think making them more frequent would be cool too.

[Leon K.]

Nice, runner up. Not bad at all. I wish I still had all my other sigs though, I had like 3 of em that I never saved.....


btw, my poem DID have a title,... I was just being lazy and didn't post it.

It's called, "Fall Redux" =D

[Old Man Time]

Yeah, I was one of the ones too lazy to name their poem. Though I think it was more because I couldn't come up with anything that accurately reflected what I thought of the poem, than because I was lazy or anything. In the next competition I'll be sure to name my entry.

[Barnsalot]

Congratulations, guys, and thanks for the criticisms, Zeality. I really didn't spend much time on my story- Kinda rushed it out which I shouldn't have done... And, no, it had neither a theme nor a point. I'll spend more time on the next one.

I don't know about splitting the competitions up. We don't get many entries as it is, and if we split them apart each compo would only concern 3 or 4 people at most. But, I could be wrong. Just do what seems best.

[G_D]

Well, I think the problem for some people (myself included) is that there isn't enough time to enter more than one category at a time. This would help that.

I would propose doing a competition every two months (i.e. 2 comps per category per year).

Also, here are the sig badges for the winners. Thanks to Manic Cinq for making these!

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/2492/wwcstarryfj9.png
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/420/wwcleonkii8.png

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5971/wwcwackydq1.png
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1407/wwcomtba2rz3.png

[Fire in the Hole]

If you split them up, it could be feasible to do one a month (which would be equivalent to the current amount of combined competitions). I think Barnsalot's concern is valid, but this is my selfish recommendation because that's about the rate at which I write things anyway, so it would be a more plausible schedule in that regard. Plus, having such frequent activity could help to generate energy for the competition. But if it's only going to be semimonthly, then there's little value in doing it; we might as well do the seasonal thing.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Yeah... a monthly competition would be good. Not so long of a wait between opportunities, more chances to write something, and less of a chance of not being able to write something for all the competitions (as has been my case).

[Old Man Time]

Well, I think the problem for some people (myself included) is that there isn't enough time to enter more than one category at a time. This would help that.

I would propose doing a competition every two months (i.e. 2 comps per category per year).

Also, here are the sig badges for the winners. Thanks to Manic Cinq for making these!

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/2492/wwcstarryfj9.png
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/420/wwcleonkii8.png

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5971/wwcwackydq1.png
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1407/wwcomtba2rz3.png

Thanks. These are pretty cool.

[G_D]

A monthly competition would likely break down into 2 weeks for writing and 1 week for voting.

I don't believe there is any chance we could sustain that. We have yet to see a !00% turnout for voting, even when given three weeks. Not to mention what happens when those two weeks for writing fall at critical times (aka exams, holidays, etc). I just don't see how we could keep up with a comp every month.

We can try if you really want.

[Old Man Time]

A monthly competition would likely break down into 2 weeks for writing and 1 week for voting.

I don't believe there is any chance we could sustain that. We have yet to see a !00% turnout for voting, even when given three weeks. Not to mention what happens when those two weeks for writing fall at critical times (aka exams, holidays, etc). I just don't see how we could keep up with a comp every month.

We can try if you really want.

I think a competition every month and a half to two months would be more realistic. We would get better turnout and better quality, as people would have more time to polish their entry. As a side note, how well did my poem do it the voting? If you don't feel like posting it you could just pm me, but I'm curious to find out, since I actually thought my poem was stronger. Of course, my poem didn't place and my short story took second, so what do I know?

[Leon K.]

Man, this may seem petty, but I voted Manic Cinq for first place just because he was daring enough to use the word "srsly" in a poem and enter it.

What a Man.

[Old Man Time]

Man, this may seem petty, but I voted Manic Cinq for first place just because he was daring enough to use the word "srsly" in a poem and enter it.

What a Man.

I guess that does take some balls... I couldn't have done it.

[G_D]

Just some advanced notice, we'll be starting a Short Story competition at 12:01am March 1. I'll be putting up details and making a stink about it this weekend, probably.

[G_D]

The March Short Story Competition will be starting Thursday morning. I added the start and end times of everything to the first page. This competition will be only short story entries, as I have decided to do competitions more often and focused on a single writing style. There will be six competitions each year now, starting on the first day of every other month. Hopefully this suits everyone well.

If someone would be so kind as to make new advertisement sigs for this competition, I'd appreciate it. Some generic competition sigs would be nice, too, so we don't have to make new ones for every competition.

If you have comments on the new competition style, please feel free to make them here. Happy writing!

EDIT:

I WILL BE CLEARING THE SUBMISSION POSTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS THREAD!
Please save any unlinked work (linked work has been stored in The Writer's Thread)


EDIT 2: I modified the first post to reflect the changes that have been made in the rules and format of this competition. It shouldn't really be a noticeable change, though, other than only having one submission per contest instead of three.

[HalcyonSpirit]

I'm going to try to enter this one; it just so happens that my Spring Break is starting on March 3rd. However, as I've already mentioned, I'm going to try to get the next chapter in my story done first. That'll leave me about a week to write something for this...

I'll wait to see what the future brings...

[G_D]

Well, hopefully at least somebody enters...everything related to this thread seems to have died.

By the way, we are now taking submissions!

[HalcyonSpirit]

Well, you can't exactly blame people; not only is this not in General anymore, but it's the middle of the school year. Most people just don't have the time right now.

[G_D]

That's true. My school year runs a lot differently, so I don't think about what time period it is for others. Though, spring break should hit in the middle of submissions, so maybe that'll give people a chance.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Spring Break is in the middle of submissions for me (next week, specifically), but as far as I'm aware, most people have Spring Break two weeks later (as in the week after the submission period ends). I could be wrong, though. There are schools that have break next week and the week after, placing them in the submission period, but I think they are in the minority.

Oh well. At least having the competitions more often will give more people a chance to enter, as there are more chances for them to have free time to write something. :smile:

[Old Man Time]

i will try to enter, though i am a little swamped right now.

[Barnsalot]

I have an idea for a story to write, but I also have 2 research papers to pump out in the next couple weeks, so I can't make any promises.

[G_D]

would it help if I extended the submission stage? I could add up to two weeks, since the competition has a month of wiggle room.

[Barnsalot]

We'll see. I've started working on mine this morning so I may be able to get it out without an extension.

[HalcyonSpirit]

would it help if I extended the submission stage? I could add up to two weeks, since the competition has a month of wiggle room.

One to two weeks would definitely improve my chances of entering considerably. As it turns out, I have twice as much work to do over Spring Break (this week) than I originally thought, and I also just found out about two tests I have that are next week. I have a workable short story for the competition in my head, I just don't have the time between now and the current deadline to crank it out.

Extending the deadline is your decision, however. Don't feel you have to just because I'm having unexpected issues.

(Side Note: The sheer amount of work I have right now prevents me from even starting Chapter 9 this week... blargh. Maybe after next week...)

[Atlas Shrugged]

I'll definitely try and get something in. I've always managed to miss the writing competitions by the time I find them.

Now that I saw this when it started, I'll try and have something in soon.

[G_D]

I'm going to extend this by a week initially, and maybe more time depending on if we get more interest.

[ifirit]

Aww, man. I just wrote a poem to submit for this competition, and then I read that this month is only for short-stories. That blows.

Maybe I'll write a short-story tomorrow. Maybe.

[G_D]

Aww, man. I just wrote a poem to submit for this competition, and then I read that this month is only for short-stories. That blows.

Maybe I'll write a short-story tomorrow. Maybe.

Bummer. Well, if you have no other use for that poem, this thread (http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6771) could probably use some content.

We'd love to have you enter a short story here, too!

[Leon K.]

I'll try and enter.
I go for the big win however, so all you kids better watch yourselves >:0

[G_D]

ONLY 10 MORE DAYS!!!

bump.

[G_D]

So where's my peeps that wanted a competition once a month?

Seriously, not even PMs could get you guys out of your holes.

This shameless bump brought to you by: Another frustrated Competitions forum user

[HalcyonSpirit]

Hey, I'm still here! ... I'm just bogged down in schoolwork and test-studying. :banghead:

I'll be sitting down to write something sometime this weekend, most likely Thursday night going into Friday night. After that... MORE STUDYING!!!

[G_D]

I tried my hand for the first time at making an advertisement sig:

http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/9378/march2007vw5.png

It isn't very good. You're welcome to comment if you'd like, but only after you enter a short story.

[Fire in the Hole]

I might have time for something after I'm through with my psych project for Friday. Of course, I never expected to have much time for short stories until school is over, but poetry next month would be spot-on.

[G_D]

*Note to self: March is a good month for a poetry competition...not short story.

[Fire in the Hole]

More like any month during this school year is not a good time for a short-story competition... nothing against March in particular.

[Barnsalot]

I think there's something about Spring, though- Teachers rush to get certain assignments in before the end and decide that its time to assign end of the year projects. Pretty soon we're all swamped.

[Manic Cinq]

I have an vague idea. I'll probably write something when I'm not preoccupied with a certain mmo or trying to get a job.

[G_D]

7 DAYS TO SUBMIT!

Would another week help out some of you late-comers and busy-bodies?

[HalcyonSpirit]

We'll see, we'll see. As it stands, I'm not sure whether I can pull off writing something this weekend, but I'm sure as hell going to try! I've got two tests and a quiz next week (the quiz and second test I absolutely MUST ace if I'm to have any hope of passing the class), so I can't exactly spend too much time writing, but what I've got in mind shouldn't take too long to write anyway.

Long story short: Vote = Undecided (for now)

[Barnsalot]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as GA Jedi Knight, but I'm working on the story right now and it's about half-way done, so I'll most likely be able to finish it in time.

[G_D]

5 DAYS TO SUBMIT!

I may have to extend the contest so I can finish my story :?. Though I have this whole weekend with pretty much nothing to do, so hopefully I can pull it out.

How is everyone else coming? I haven't received any submissions so far. Also, remember that I'm clearing out the three submission posts at the beginning of this thread, so if you haven't already, save your work!

[Barnsalot]

I'm finally done. So here's my story:

The Genetic Chic (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/51017572/)

[HalcyonSpirit]

Barnsalot, I won't go into the specifics of it yet, as the judging phase hasn't begun, but I will say one thing of your submission right now: :nicework:

On the topic of submissions, I've officially begun mine. 225 words in as of right now, and so far so good. I'll probably get it done within the next couple of days, since I'll only be working on it at night (daytime is reserved for test-studying :-( ). Good luck writing to the rest of you!

[G_D]

If I don't get at least two more submissions besides my own by Wednesday, I am adding a week. Unfortunately, it seems there isn't much interest this time around, so that probably won't help much.

Also, bump.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Sounds good to me. I was going to finish mine tonight, but this week is test week, and in the fight between me and studying, studying has thus far decked me every time.

Nothing special next week, though, so I'll have all weekend to finish mine up. :-)

[Leon K.]

-{Shooter}-


Two Shots. That’s what it boils down to. When you’re staring down the barrel of a gun and the other chump is doing the same, all the calculations in the world are simultaneously the most important and last important congratulations in your life. Who has the guts to decide to pull the trigger and risk it all?
This mark was named Shock Jameson. Bully, thug, hitman, Boss. Bad-tempered, bad-mannered, bad person. The most powerful mob leader in South City. But I know that you don’t overstep your bounds without expecting and being prepared for retaliatory reciprocation. Trading drugs overseas? Harassing political figures? Sorry Shock, but that shit just doesn’t fly. You make enemies like the syndicate that hired me, and I always get my job done – thanks to the incident.
So here I was, standing in front of the Shock. He grinned, mocking me. It didn’t matter. His defenses were in shambles, his body guards? They were around. Some in several places. He and I were staring each other down in the middle of some god forsaken warehouse in a bad part of town.
Shock fired.
All the calculations in the world simultaneously the most important and least important considerations in your life. Shock took his chances. He was dead his future gone, his decision was fatal.
Two shots, but if you walk in the sight of a gun, you’d better make sure that I’m not the shooter.
I don’t miss.

[Kholdstare]

I might enter. No gaurentees.

[Leon K.]

omg, huge error. Cannot edit.
Problems!

Make the "congratulations", "considerations"

[G_D]

tsk tsk, that's why we double-check our work before entering :wink:

[Kholdstare]

Holy hell. I actually did something.
Here is my submission.

Title: Reverb

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/51266444/

[HalcyonSpirit]

... MEEP! That makes two entries besides G_D's! Probability of extension disappearing! MUST GET ENTRY DONE!!! 8-O

[Manic Cinq]

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1235418

Pieces of Pisces

She said that, underwater, the waves sound like my heartbeat. We were heading past each other when we started circling. I'd let fate subdue me and float freely, but she's eager to move upstream. This is what will break our departure, end our detour.

Our clothes dried on the ground as we dried on a blanket and the stream crept over the edge of the desk and pooled on the floor. Books were being packed up and commotions arose from their seats. Mei moved into the hall and I took a minute to get over the transition.

In another room, the light flicked on and I blinked back to the waterside. Mei had her feet in the water and said something about the New Year. I said she wasn't really Chinese and she got mad. She looked at me for a second and said "You're pathetic, you know that?" before slipping below the water. She disappeared for a while, and I went under to find her. Bells started ringing and I came up for air. Fire drill.

Our single file herd convened outside and I couldn't find my way back to the stream. The lines started stopping before I finished walking and I bumped into the person ahead of me. I shook out of my daze as I apologized and she said "Oh, it's okay. Hi, I'm Mei." I tried not to look like a deer or a fish in a metaphor as I stumbled out a meek "I know".

[G_D]

Wow, nothing like the last minute to inspire. Good job guys! Now I have to get mine done =/

[Barnsalot]

Good job, everyone, for getting your stories out on time (Come on G_D!). All the ones I've read so far are really well written. I swear I could do better on mine if I didn't always have school looming over me.

[Fire in the Hole]

The Giants

A man approached the large vending stand. He was tall and thinning in more ways than one so that the light of the distant sun, barely poking through the masses of muddy, swirling clouds above, sparkled on the top of his bald head. He couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred and fifty pounds, but the way his body moved when he spoke was like a man of far greater size.

“How’s business?” he said.

Another man leaned forward across the front of the stand. He wasn’t quite as tall as the visitor, but his hair was slick, with rigid shape, and more importantly on his head, and he smiled a smile similar to the one that would make any girl clad with a proper skirt in any ‘50s movie dip and swoon.

“Usual,” he said.

The stand as a whole was fairly sturdy, the product of a fine session of woodwork, but the ground it stood on didn’t seem sure whether it wanted to stay in one place or not. This was probably because it consisted of all the gas that just didn’t have the courage to rise and take a glance at the sun, preferring to live in the dark, cold comfort beneath the brave gases. Restless as the chickens were, the stand still stood.

The visitor sighed and glanced up at the large sign hovering over the front of the stand. There, in large white paint, were the words, “Frozen Yogurt,” and the outline of a well-topped cone rested to its right.

“I don’t know why you came out here,” he said. “I warned you that I’d be your only customer.”

The man at the stand wobbled for a second as the chicken gas beneath his feet reared its courage in one shining moment before having the good sense to settle down.

“I really thought you was exaggerating, Bob,” he said, “after all the tabloid stories about them.”

“They never come out of the Great Red Spot—ever,” Bob said in the low whisper of a parent trying to carry a discussion with his or her spouse about their child while the child is glued to a television screen in the next room. “Not even when it moves.”

“Yeah, I know now,” the man at the stand whispered back like a spouse. Then, with a tentative glance around him, he bent down and resurfaced with an empty cone and a metal scooper. “What can I do you for?” he said, about as cheery in manner as the gas mounds beneath him were in ambition.

A soft wind blew across the gas mounds, stirring them up and even pressuring a few bodies of the stuff to work up the gusto to rise, as the man at the stand plunged the scooper into a large bin full of a greenish cream without waiting for an answer and pushed it into the cone like the proverbial parents would proceed to force their child into a doctor’s office for a short. He made two more scoops from different bins of frozen yogurt and handed the cone to Bob.

“Usual,” Bob said with a smirk.

The wind faded and Bob looked up at what he could see of the sky through the muddy swirls of courageous gas while licking away at the scoops.

“I got tired of the music scene back home,” the stand man said. “All show and no work, you see? I figure, go out and do something, really earn something—for myself—and then go back and try again.”

“Mmmhmm,” Bob hummed while he licked the top scoop clean.

“But, you know, I spent so long going wild every day, I couldn’t just slip off and pick up washing dishes at a diner.” He reached down behind the stand and pulled out a mirror, holding it up so that he could check his hair and give it a quick slick back into shape. He clicked his tongue before setting the mirror down and continuing in the voice that would go along with that ‘50s movie smile, “So I said to myself, I know a guy out in Jupiter. I’m-a gonna go and-a make myself a stand.” Right around this last phrase the voice gave way to a sort of singsong falsetto and he trailed off into a series of ba da dums and la di das.

“Sure thing,” Bob said, halfway through the second scoop. “But it didn’t work out.”

“Nope.”

Bob licked his way through the rest of the second scoop until the stand man sighed and interrupted the whole serious business of eating frozen yogurt again.

“Bob, what about them?”

Bob stopped cold in mid-lick and a look crept across his face that must have been either brain freeze or sheer terror. It may have been both, because he rubbed his forehead before answering in a trembling voice.

“I got caught in the Spot once. Couldn’t move fast enough and didn’t know better. They are giant, I tell you. Fifty, sixty feet, and I think those were just the kids. Hairy—can’t even tell what their skin is like. The only thing I could make out were the eyes. Bug eyes, horrible things.” Bob shuddered. “But they sure did leave me well enough alone until the storm passed over and them with it.”

The color in Bob’s face rose back up like a tiny mound of gas barely a couple of inches to his right rose up and went off to see the sun. Bob went back to licking the last scoop, but this time more gradually, taking a deep breath after every long slurp of the now-runny cream. Both of the men’s eyes drifted upward to take in what little of the sky they could make out.

“Titan’s sure in full bloom tonight,” Bob said after one slurp-breath.

“Yep. Io’s looking nice and pretty, too,” the stand man mused.

“Oh, so it is.”

“Bob, I’m going to see them.”

Bob licked half-heartedly.

“And I ain’t coming out until I sell a cone.”

The man buzzed around the stand, picking up the scooper and the mirror and shoveling a couple scoops out of several different bins into several different smaller bins with lids, and began wrapping it all up in a small sackcloth. Bob slurped up the last runny bit of the yogurt and took a bite out of the cone with a resounding crunch.

“I tell you, Elvis, Jupiter’s a boring scene,” he said.

“Yeah,” Elvis Presley said, flashing the shadow of a smile at Bob, “but no one else need know.” He tied off the sackcloth bundle and swung it over his shoulder. “And if I got anything to say about it, no one will.”

Bob stuffed the rest of the cone into his mouth and munched on it like a man sitting hunched over might rest his chin on his fist and his elbow on his jutting knee, while Elvis Presley marched off across the gas mounds. Bob swallowed just as the sleek shape of hair disappeared.

“There goes a giant,” Bob said. “A real Titan.”
__________________

Hooray for unpolished work written on a whim. Back to essay-writing now.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Wow, the number of entries jumped right at the end... looks like the competition is going to be quite stiff this time around. It's my first entry into a competition, too. Just my luck. :-P

Speaking of my entry... I'm essentially finished with it. A little tweaking left to be done, but other than that, it's ready for submission.

... Except I can't figure out what to call it. Naming my works is always the hardest part of writing. for me. :banghead: It certainly doesn't help when the work in question doesn't really present itself with a theme for a title...

Oh well. I'll sleep on it, see what I come up with. I'll upload it sometime tomorrow and submit it.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Short Story Entry

Island of Eden (http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2336587/1/)

The title is a half-misnomer, I think, but I couldn't come up with anything better... oh well.

I'm not 100% happy with how this came out, but that is mainly because I still lack writing skills that would have come in handy for a work such as this. My artistic style hasn't been properly developed yet, so it may seem a bit bland for what I was trying to do... but considering this is the first short story I've ever written to completion, I won't be too hard on myself. :-P

[G_D]

I will be submitting my short story tonight. I haven't read any of the entries yet, but I'm happy to see so many! I'm also going to update the first four posts now.

[G_D]

Peace (http://www.joel-mills.com/writing/Peace.doc)

I would've liked another read through, and a more creative title, but it's storming so I have to shut down my PC.

Peace
Copyright 2007 by Joel Mills

Harek’s left hand shook as it held the bronze doorknob, prepared to turn it and face the necessities of the moment. This thick wooden door was the only barrier between him and the harsh realities of the battle raging just outside. In his right hand was a short sword given to him by his father when he was young; it seemed like ages since that day.

“Don’t go! We could escape, go further south – go anywhere! Please, you don’t need to do this.”

Through the heavy oak door came the muffled sounds of fighting: commanders calling to their troops; the sharp clang of metal on metal as swords met; cries of pain and anger from men of honor who shed blood for those they loved. Harek turned and looked into Reeve’s blue eyes, caught in the sudden stillness that came in the moment of decision. She looked so beautiful to him now, standing there begging for his life. Her brown hair fell gently across her shoulders, and her face seemed framed by its own luminescence. He wished he could stay frozen in time for all eternity, but a sense of duty called more strongly than his desire.

Clenching the sword in his right hand a little tighter, Harek answered softly, but with force: “No. We have ignored this too long, hiding out hoping the war would never reach us. It is time to stop running.” Reeve looked at him with despair, knowing he meant what he said. “Go to the cellar and lock the door. Don’t come out for anyone but me.”

Warm tears welled up in Reeve’s eyes, soon cascading down the sides of her face. “Come back to me, Harek. I…need you.” She ran to him and threw her arms around him, sobbing into his maille-covered chest.

“I will return,” he assured her, returning the embrace, “and when I do, I will bring peace.” He gently lifted her face in his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. “This war has taken our home, our families, and our freedom. But it can never take our love. I will return. Now, go!”

As Reeve ran to the cellar and bolted the door, Harek clenched his teeth and braced himself for what lay outside the protective door. As he turned the knob and thrust himself into the broiling battle, he vowed to himself that, somehow, he would return to his wife, and when he did, there would be peace.


- - -


For ten months the war raged on throughout the countryside. Villages were laid waste by fire and sword; the oppressed cried out in agony as those who fought for them raised glorious battle calls. The rivers ran red with the blood of innocents and killers alike, and the skies were filled with a strange mix of anger and grief.

Finally, one bright spring morning, the air was still and quiet. The fronds of the willow by Greilor Pond wisped gently in the breeze as three young children hunted for frogs by the water’s edge.

Reeve stood with an infant in her arms, and quietly addressed the air: “My Harek has returned, and as he promised, there is peace.” She laid a flower on the small mound by her feet, and held the infant closer. He wiggled a little in her arms, looking up at her wide-eyed and curious.

She spoke again, softer, and this time to her son. “You have your father’s eyes, Harek, and his smile. When you are older there will be many adventurous stories to tell.” She allowed her lips to curl up slightly, winking away her tears as she sang a sweet lullaby:

Life will take you where it will
Hard times will come your way
When you find yourself astray
I will be here still

Look at me, my precious son
And know a mother’s love
Though the rain-clouds drift above
We will carry on

[Barnsalot]

Good job finally getting it done, G_D. There's been a surprisingly heavy turn-out here at the end, so hopefully we'll see some good competition.

[G_D]

Congratulations on your entries, everyone! The submission stage is now officially over. You will have two weeks from yesterday to read through all the entries (listed concisely on the first page), and cast your vote for winner and runner-up. Please PM your votes to me, and refrain from posting comments on entries until the voting stage is over.

[Fire in the Hole]

When did we start PMing votes?

[G_D]

When did we start PMing votes?

Right about here (http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?p=219178#post219178). Do you have a problem with it, or are you just asking?

[Fire in the Hole]

I'd ask why, but wouldn't object.

[Barnsalot]

There's less hard feelings when people don't know who voted for who. Anonymity also keeps people from changing their votes dependant on others' votes.

There probably wouldn't be much of those things here anyway, but better safe than sorry.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Yeah, pretty much.

Remember to vote, you guys. I've already put in my votes. Don't make me pull my lightsaber on you! ;-)

[G_D]

I am waiting on one person, and I still have to vote. It's been a really busy weekend, so I haven't had a chance yet. Hopefully I'll be able to vote tonight or Wednesday.

[HalcyonSpirit]

One person left? *ignites lightsaber* There shall be a hunt tonight! :twisted:

Do make sure you stay off my list, G_D... ;-)

[Kholdstare]

Do lightsabres actually ignite? I didn't think there was any flame going on...

[HalcyonSpirit]

G_D, where's our results? We want results! GIVE US RESULTS!!! :-P

Do lightsabres actually ignite? I didn't think there was any flame going on...

Ha... It's just a term. Other people use other terms. Activate is also a common one. I think "ignite" become a common one because the lightsaber often burns/melts anything that comes in contect with it, similar to what one might attribute to a flame. Plus, you know, the "fires of justice" and all that...

[Kholdstare]

Ya, your probably right /homestar.

I was just splitting hairs. ^_^

[Fire in the Hole]

Hm... ?

[Kholdstare]

Wasn't there something about results or somesuch?

[HalcyonSpirit]

I already PM'd G_D about it. He's just waiting for Joyzilla to get back to him about the sig badges for the winners. To quote him: "Results should be up shortly."

[G_D]

Sorry guys. I've been really busy; this was my first week back at school. I will get the results up as soon as possible.

[Kholdstare]

not a problems.

[G_D]

FINALLY
the results are in! And the winner is (drumroll please)...














Barnsalot, with the runner-up being Manic Cinq. Here are your fancy sig badges, made by Doulifée:

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/8457/1rstaw0.png

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1892/runneryf1.png

Sorry for the long delay. Hopefully the next competition will run a little smoother.

Speaking of which, I am updating the first post, and want to give you advanced notice that there will be a poetry competition starting May 1. Hopefully that won't conflict with anyone's finals week.

So, congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone for participating. I hope to see you all in a couple weeks!

[HalcyonSpirit]

Whoo! Congrats to Barnsalot and Manic Cinq! Also, good job everyone else!

I was hoping for at least runner up, but hey, it's both my first short story competition entry and my first short story ever. Can't exactly expect to win anything like that. :razz:

Speaking of which, I am updating the first post, and want to give you advanced notice that there will be a poetry competition starting May 1. Hopefully that won't conflict with anyone's finals week.

*raises hand*

Not that it'd cause a problem about entering, though; my poetry is not fit to see the light of day. The odds of me entering a poetry contest ever is 3,720 to 1.

Also, G_D, are you going to update the other thread with the entries that were linked?

[G_D]

Also, G_D, are you going to update the other thread with the entries that were linked?

Done. LOL 10 CHARACTERS

[Kholdstare]

Congrats to the winners.

I can't wait for the poetry contest.

[Manic Cinq]

I might comment on the entries later. I really liked some of them.


Now back to playing games.

[ifirit]

Speaking of which, I am updating the first post, and want to give you advanced notice that there will be a poetry competition starting May 1. Hopefully that won't conflict with anyone's finals week.
Hopefully, I can get something written up for that contest.

BTW, congrats to the winners this month.

[Barnsalot]

:D


I really didn't expect to win, but I'm not complaining. Thanks for the congratulations (and for the badge), and congratulations to you as well Manic Cinq. What a great start to my Spring Break. ;)

[Old Man Time]

I'm in for the poetry contest, not as much as a time whore as the short story comp.

[Fire in the Hole]

I may not be a smash hit myself, but apparently I'm a damn good critic. Spot-on job, guys.

[Barnsalot]

Poetry's not my strong-point, but I may write something for the competition anyway.

[Imagist]

I hope I have time to write come Tuesday. I need to pull something together for class sometime soon anyway.

[G_D]

Just a reminder, the poetry comp is starting in two fun-filled days!

[Old Man Time]

Well, here's my submission. Its a haiku that I just wrote now, which I based off of a camping trip I had in northern Wisconsin. I hope you all like it. Note: I edited this post to do some capitalization in the poem. Good change/bad change?

Hiking at Midnight

Silent, gentle leaves
Little rivulets of grass
Grasp the starlit night

[Leon K.]

I may be wrong, but aren't haiku's supposed to have a reference to a season in them?

[Imagist]

I may be wrong, but aren't haiku's supposed to have a reference to a season in them?

A) No comments on submissions until after the contest is over.

B) You seem to have an extremely limited definition of haiku. You probably also think all haiku are three-line poems with a five-seven-five syllable pattern. I refer you to Mr. Ezra Pound (link) (http://plagiarist.com/poetry/3876/).

[Leon K.]

Erm, I was pretty sure that the traditional haiku was supposed to contain a season word, and that example you showed my simply seemed to be a moku poem or whatnot. I'll keep my comments to myself for right now, if you would like to discuss this maybe we should move to pms or something of the like.




Anyway! Here is my entry, oooh I enjoyed writing this one.

Title: Mount Gaze

Style: Freeform

I hesitate to call this freeform actually. I have written several poems of length in this style. I don't know if it has a name, but it is enjoyable to write in, and has some rules that I use when writing this way. I would call it, "Thought Poetry", but I think that name is too simplistic.


The top of the mountain is a lonely place.
Overlooking the crystal peaks from my frozen sanctuary,
it's as if everything is meaningless and insignificant.
Peering down, everything seems as if nothing really matters.
The problems of the earth are no longer my concern,---
I am content with being the watcher.

I have no true power however;
No true reason for my haughty airs.
It is simply an illusion granted by the monolith.

The cold is near unbearable.
The skies don't show it though.
There is no sign of all the freezing rain,
and all the snow that lies below.
All that exists-
Is a single moment of perfect clarity and reflection-
untainted by anything,

The sun hangs at the lower edge of the eastern sky, partially obscured by crystal peaks. Such power!
Even the sun cannot move them, Its rays blocked by their forms.
A light show emerges, terrific hues play over the scene giving the entire landscape a pastel aura.
orange near the horizon, and red, then purple, and finally dark, dark blue as the sky reveals itself.
A single bold star defies the sun, refusing to give up it's light just yet. The moon is the stars consort, and they stand together in inevitable rebellion!

.....

It is a time of compromise however; The sun and the moon can coexist. They agree that for a few moments, they can share the sky; and the harmony remains unbroken for the moment.


Poetry? Prose? no. It is simply an experience. A discovery for the curious and bold, the ones of wit and cunning.


The sun paints no picture; there is armistice in the heavens. The sun and the moon hold no compacts, and I?


I start back down the mountain.

[Imagist]

No need for PMs. Not all nontraditional haiku is "moku," which is really just a neologism coined by one modern poet to describe her own work rather than everyone else's. Modern Western haiku is extremely broad and varied, often staying true to the Japenese tradition in brevity only, and that Ezra Pound haiku is one of the most famous examples of it. Here is my entry:

*edited out to protect potential publishing interests--pm me if you'd like to see my co-winning entry of this competition for critical purposes*

[Old Man Time]

Well, here's my submission. Its a haiku that I just wrote now, which I based off of a camping trip I had in northern Wisconsin. I hope you all like it. Note: I edited this post to do some capitalization in the poem. Good change/bad change?

Hiking at Midnight

Silent, gentle leaves
Little rivulets of grass
Grasp the starlit night

Well, I don't know much about what a traditional haiku is or whatever, I just did the 5-7-5 thing. Anyways, I uploaded it to writing.com, here's the link:

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1258064

And this is the link to my writing.com profile:

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/old_man_time

Good luck to everyone in the competition! I look forward to reading all of your poetry.

[Imagist]

In case you haven't already, G_D, you might want to petition a mod to change the thread title to reflect the new competition. Don't want to turn away potential entrants.

[Kholdstare]

I hope to write something for this. no gaurentees though.

[G_D]

Thanks to Doulifee, there's a new advertisement sig (see my sig). Also, don't forget, you only have 11 more days to submit an entry!

[Barnsalot]

I had forgotten about this competition for a bit, there. >.<

Here's my entry (Rhyme scheme of ABACB):

Why do Men Die?

Why, I ask,
do events unfold in these ways?
Why, I ask,
do men toil away,
all their short days?

I watch,
they linger still.
I watch,
through all suffering,
a vain will.

I see,
the lives float by.
I see,
man and woman alike,
they cry.

A pity,
and I know not why.
A pity,
my heart, it asks me,
why do men die?

[G_D]

Five More Days To Submit

Don't Forget!

[G_D]

Remember, you must submit by 11:59 Monday!

Here's mine:
Inertia

The Force of gravity holds me down
Caught in this Moment today
The words begin to assault my ears
But I cannot run away
My mind goes numb and my Body is Static
As I sit in my Composite chair
The Distributed Load of my head on my desk
Leaves marks on my face
But I couldn't care
LessIt's dumb, but oh well. I wrote it during class, and was too busy to come up with anything better.

[G_D]

Last Day Of Submission!

[Imagist]

Come on, guys?

[Kholdstare]

I'm writing something now. I'll edit when done.

Edit: It's kinda a different style for me. I just wanted to try it out. I kninda just threw it together. Let me know what you think of it.

Just Peachy

“Aye, I write in verse.
It comes naturally.”

“It?” you ask.
“What is it?”

“It is amorphous,
changing, wild,
like an orchard.”

“How’s that?” you further inquire.

“I tend each bush each branch
looking for the ripest words or phrases.
And place them, plucked fresh, into
my basket.”

“Well what next?
Don’t stop there!” you implore.

“I like to take each piece of fruit
and line them up accordingly.
Making each piece flow into the next;
occasionally festooning a line of fruits with a
Flourish of flavor.
In the end I leave myself with a piece of beauty,
of deliciousness, of fortitude,
of emotion.
Aye.
I write in verse.”

[G_D]

We have now entered the voting stage. I have added all of the submissions to the first page, and will be removing the short stories tomorrow. Hopefully everyone saved their work.

Thanks for your entries, everyone, and good luck!

[Imagist]

So, can we go back to actually voting in the thread? It just makes so much more sense, to me, and I think we should all be mature enough not to be offended by the vote spread (or lack thereof). You even kept the old part about making honorable mentions in the voting rules, which is something that's not done via PMs.

[G_D]

Let's vote on having votes in the thread. Honestly, the reason I switched to PM wasn't because people got offended by openly-posted votes; I did it so that people who hadn't voted yet wouldn't be influenced by the others' votes. (In turn, I don't open my vote PMs until I've already voted)

However, if you collectively decide that this isn't a legitimate problem, we can switch back. So, yay or nay?

[Barnsalot]

I've already PM'ed my votes to you.

As to the poll: I don't care either way.

[Kholdstare]

As far as voiting in the thread goes, if it ain't broke don't fix it. The current system works so just leave it that way. Also, people might be influenced blah blah. I don't have a problem with it as is so I say just leave it.

[Imagist]

As far as voiting in the thread goes, if it ain't broke don't fix it. The current system works so just leave it that way. Also, people might be influenced blah blah. I don't have a problem with it as is so I say just leave it.

Well, that's the thing. I got used to it being in the threads, before the vBulletin switch. As far as people being influenced, well, I'd say that if people are not strong enough in their conviction to vote as they and they alone feel is best, then it would be better to have more conformist votes than flimsy and ignorant votes. I can't see influenced opinions being a bigger issue than unsure, unfounded, uninformed or random opinions, so if you're worried about either occurring at all I would be more concerned about the latter set.

Also, this is just me, but I kind of like seeing the vote spread. It gives me a good idea of how much a victory is achieved or if a piece (most particularly my own) wasn't well received, which is in my opinion very vital feedback. If we're not going to do open votes, then perhaps we could at least receive a more comprehensive coverage of the results, like how many votes each piece received.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Also, this is just me, but I kind of like seeing the vote spread. It gives me a good idea of how much a victory is achieved or if a piece (most particularly my own) wasn't well received, which is in my opinion very vital feedback. If we're not going to do open votes, then perhaps we could at least receive a more comprehensive coverage of the results, like how many votes each piece received.

If nothing else, this would probably be the best option. I agree with Imagery that knowing how well a work is received is one of the big factors for feedback.

I don't really care either way whether the vote is open or not. However, you can count another vote for the totals being revealed at the end.

[Barnsalot]

On second thought, I kinda like not knowing the votes- then being surprised by the results.

But I understand your point, Imagery, and, really, whatever you guys decide on I'll be fine with.

[Kholdstare]

Yea I agree with barnsalot. As far as feedback goes though we could do what the vocal remix competetion does and have feed back for each person's poem accompany the votes.

Imagery: I like your idea of seeing if it was well recieved or not and maybe seeing the vote spread might help.

I dunno. Just chucking some ideas out there. Whatever is deecided is fine with me.

[Old Man Time]

I like the idea of publishing the vote spread after the voting stage is over, but its really not that big of a deal to me. Oh, and I got my vote in already. There weren't a lot of subs, so hopefully everyone will get a vote in quickly and we can find out the results.

[G_D]

I've only received 2 votes so far, so that means the other 3 of you need to vote, as do I. Posting the vote spread is no problem, so I'll definitely start doing that. I always intend to post a review of the submissions as well, but the last couple times I didn't actually get around to it.

[Imagist]

All right, PM ballots are fine if you do post the vote spread.

[G_D]

Wow, looks like I'm behind on my game. All votes are in except for mine. I will be afk for a few days, but will post the results on Tuesday.

[G_D]

RESULTS ARE IN!


Congratulations to all entrants. This time around there was a tie for first, so both of you will be getting a shiny new badge (which are unfortunately not done yet). So, without further adieu, the winners are:

Runner-Up: Kholdstare
1st Place: Imagery and Old Man Time


Votes were cast as follows:

Barnsalot: 1
G_D: 1
Imagery: 5
KholdStare: 4
Leon K: 2
Old Man Time: 5

I will be putting up the sig badges as soon as possible. Once again, congratulations to all entrants.



- - - - - - - - - -


On another note, I want to talk about the future of the Writing Comp. Thread. In particular, I would like to discuss the possibility of allowing non-entrants to vote. This would allow us a significantly broader vote spread, and would probably still be limited mostly to other writers (since I doubt anyone else would visit this thread). If you think we should do this, should we also give the entrants' votes more weight? Please, post your thoughts.

Also, I want to give you the heads-up that July's competition will be Freeform, and will be accepting pretty much anything with words as submissions.

[Imagist]

Wow, that's a very close-knit spread. The voting procedure probably could use a change, but we do have till July to discuss it so I'm going to take my time to think about it.

[Old Man Time]

Wow, that's a very close-knit spread. The voting procedure probably could use a change, but we do have till July to discuss it so I'm going to take my time to think about it.

I guess I can live with sharing first ;-)

I also agree that it would be better if more people were allowed to vote, maybe restrict it to people who have submitted an entry in the past, or to people that we're pretty sure aren't alt accounts? I don't know how you'd determine that, maybe just they have to be registered users for a while, and active on the boards, though of course that doesn't guarantee anything.

[Imagist]

If we're afraid of alt accounts, one measure we could take would be to ask mods/admin to check the IPs of voters and ensure no two are identical. But honestly? With the current group, I wouldn't be terribly concerned of shady deals.

[Old Man Time]

If we're afraid of alt accounts, one measure we could take would be to ask mods/admin to check the IPs of voters and ensure no two are identical. But honestly? With the current group, I wouldn't be terribly concerned of shady deals.

I totally agree, I just know that that was one of the original arguments for restricting voting to the actual writers.

[Barnsalot]

Or we could disallow votes from anyone with a postcount of 100 or less.

[G_D]

SIG BADGES

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/306/first2tn6.png
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/4532/firstdg7.png
http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/6209/runneruplm3.png




As for the topic at hand, I like the idea of only letting those who have submitted an entry in the past vote. It's almost like having a membership. Besides, I doubt many people who haven't been involved in a competition would even bother to drop by this thread. Is everyone alright with trying this next round?

[Kholdstare]

Cool thanks! I'm alright with trying it yea. Go for it G_D.

[Doulifée]

why not trying two title. a "popular" vote (made by regular) and a "writer panel" vote made by previous and current contestant? that need some vote, at least enough to made boh category to work.

i should try to vote more regularly on various contest like that >_>.

[Imagist]

why not trying two title. a "popular" vote (made by regular) and a "writer panel" vote made by previous and current contestant? that need some vote, at least enough to made boh category to work.

It's a good idea, but like you say, it banks on having enough voters to make up two categories. Maybe cutting the categories differently, with the popular vote being anyone without a current submission and the other being only those competing in any given round?

[Old Man Time]

SIG BADGES

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/306/first2tn6.png
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/4532/firstdg7.png
http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/6209/runneruplm3.png




As for the topic at hand, I like the idea of only letting those who have submitted an entry in the past vote. It's almost like having a membership. Besides, I doubt many people who haven't been involved in a competition would even bother to drop by this thread. Is everyone alright with trying this next round?

Sweet sigs. That sounds like a good idea with the two seperate votes, but maybe if we don't have enough for two categories, we could simply weight the votes? So the people who have entered the competition would have their votes counted twice compared to those who didn't enter, or who haven't entered in the past, or something like that.

[G_D]

Sweet sigs.

Speaking of which, I forgot to publicly thank Doulifée for his awesome sigs. So, thanks Doulifée! Sorry about the forgetfulness.

[Barnsalot]

You can probably count me out of the freeform competition. I can't think of anything to write for it, and I'm busy with summer school-work and writing other stuff.

[Imagist]

You can probably count me out of the freeform competition. I can't think of anything to write for it, and I'm busy with summer school-work and writing other stuff.

It, er, hasn't even begun yet. Seems a little silly to call a verdict this early.

[Kholdstare]

Rants are acceptable right?

Oh I've meaning to rant on a few things. I dunno

I might write something for this

[Barnsalot]

It, er, hasn't even begun yet. Seems a little silly to call a verdict this early.

You may be right. I just thought of something to write for it, so I may give it a shot.

Also, why doesn't the competition start until July? Small summer break for the writing competition I'm guessing?

[HalcyonSpirit]

Competitions are now held once every two months. The last one started in May, so the next one is in July.

[Barnsalot]

Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten about that.

[Jam Stunna]

Hm, the Freeform only competition sounds interesting. It's been a long time since I've entered one of these competitions. Let's see if I still remember how to write.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Hm, the Freeform only competition sounds interesting. It's been a long time since I've entered one of these competitions. Let's see if I still remember how to write.

Jam's back! :-o Good to see ya!

This next competition should be interesting. I should be able to get something done, given that my summer classes end this Saturday. Hope to see a high turnout!

[Jam Stunna]

Jam's back! :-o Good to see ya!

This next competition should be interesting. I should be able to get something done, given that my summer classes end this Saturday. Hope to see a high turnout!

Yeah, it's been way too long. I haven't written a short story (or anything else for that matter) in over a year. It's great to see that the writing competitions have been so successful.

[Old Man Time]

Hm, the Freeform only competition sounds interesting. It's been a long time since I've entered one of these competitions. Let's see if I still remember how to write.

Freeform only... ha. That's kinda an oxymoron. I command you not to follow conventions!

[Jam Stunna]

Freeform only... ha. That's kinda an oxymoron. I command you not to follow conventions!

hi i write like ee cummings do i win yet

[Jam Stunna]

Can we submit more than one piece for this competition?

[G_D]

Hey guys. Sorry for the silence, but I've been on vacation for the last two weeks. Just so you know, this competition is officially started, focusing on the Freeform category. By definition, I can't really stop you from submitting poetry or short stories, but I encourage you to think outside the box and be creative.

And no, Jam Stunna, only one entry will be allowed, as usual. Nice to have you back, btw.

[Barnsalot]

Please don't ask me what inspired (possessed) me to write this because I don't know.

Here's my submission:
A Herculean Effort

He sat there, abdominal muscles tensed to the breaking point, straining, moaning, panting, pushing. His foot tapped at the ground, and his toes curled as if attempting to dig through the tiled floor. A groan escaped his lips, and a quiet whimper followed not far behind. He rocked back and forth, his arms wrapped tightly around his middle, while his palms dug deep trenches into his flanks. His eyes seemed to bore through the far wall, feigning an intensity to shame both hammer and chisel, that is, when they were not rolled back into his head, not withstanding the agony that roiled throughout the man's body, seemingly racking his very life away from him.
He gulped for a breath of air, and then held it. His face turned crimson, and the thin vessels in the whites of his eyes bulged and popped as if mortal man were not built for such an experience. He breathed the air out, and continued to rock, continued to grip, continued to dig through the ground beneath his feet. He arched his neck backwards and opened his mouth as if to bellow. But nothing came out. And when he threw his head back down it was in perfect sync with the jerking rock of his body. His foot now pounded at the ground, and his toes no longer curled, they writhed. They seemed to scream in-tune with the man and with his pain. Morbidly, his entire body seemed a chorus, synchronized, and in tune with his moribund agony.

It just wouldn't come out.


Also, could we possibly get the thread title changed from May submission to July submission?

[Leon K.]

Here's my entry guys:

A heart contains several notes-
Melodies for special situations.
Played like drums or quickly strummed,
they produce emotions.
A midnight tryst contains a lovely ballad,
Tempered later by the blues;
Fighting words will illicit drama
sung by a broadway muse.
Fear of fate will still sing the gospel
following a quick bout of prayer-
While a sunset always arrives
following electronic days in subtle layers.
Anothers pain is echoed by a wailing sound,
A guitar crying their hurt that day;
While a flute, light and airy,
brings peace and fends loss away.
A snow covered field on a winters day
is reflected by all that jazz;
And a solo by a lone violin
will remind us of beauty past.
A single aria from a lonely soul
becomes a duet between lovers,
while a dirge follows inevitably
when they depart each other.
So from my heart to yours,
Why can't we sing forever?
Let's let our souls fly free and
see what music we'll make together.

[G_D]

One Week Left People!

[Barnsalot]

Are you submitting anything, G_D?

[Antonio Pizza]

Upon the request of G_D (whom I shall hereafter replace the underscore with a "y"), I sumbit this for the freeform category.

"Why I Hope My Marriage Is Like Super Mario Bros. 3: An Improvo-Essay by Antonio Pizza"

http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10582

[Imagist]

Uh... crap, I don't know when I'm going to be able to finish my entry. I'll be trying my damndest, though.

[Kholdstare]

Yea so I wrote a poem for the comp. I hope that's ok.

Center Line

I walk the middle road.
Down a horseshoed street
With the sun on my right and
A Hydrant on my left
Watching each step in time.

A bag of mail in my right hand.
Am I the postman?
No, no. just a friend.
My burden I have chosen to bear.

I arrive and the wind
Rather breeze
Picks up.
I am in the shade of many trees
The ground undried from the afternoon sun and the morning’s rain.
I leave the sack at the door and turn back.
Dylan singing, track 6, greatest hits.

I walk the middle path
Head up straight and full
Clarity in the air.
Each sound each sight
Every thing in the light.
Rightly cast the shadows and far free the feelings.
But strange no feeling of freedom
No burden to bring my face down.

[G_D]

Wow. Am I a horrible person for not entering my own competition?

Anyway, I'll get everything fixed up for voting tomorrow afternoon. Right now I'm off to bed; it's been quite the busy week.

[Imagist]

Well, shit.

[Jam Stunna]

Damn it, I missed it. Oh well, there's always next time, hopefully.

[G_D]

Do you guys want to extend the submission deadline a week, since at least three of us simply missed it? We don't have to, just wondering. Depending on the responses I get by tomorrow, I will either extend or leave it, so don't vote yet, just tell me what you want to do.

[PassivePretentiousness]

I had a story drop into my head this afternoon and I may be interested in submitting it. I have no reason to believe I'll finish it within a week, though.

[Jam Stunna]

Yes please.

[Kholdstare]

that's fine with me.

[HalcyonSpirit]

That would be great, actually. I was working on something two weeks ago, but I didn't get a chance to finish it before I left for my Myrtle Beach vacation on the 13th. I just got back home a few minutes ago. Long story short, I was going to finish it up while I was there, but I discovered I had no internet access while I was gone, and wouldn't be getting back until after the deadline, so I didn't bother working on it. Extending it a week would be helpful, to say the least.

Oh, by the way, instead of working on the competition entry, I worked on the next chapter for Eternal Legends. Got more of the it done in the past 5 days than I have in the past 5 months! Expect an update before the end of the summer. :grin:

[G_D]

Yay, Eternal Legends. I actually started reading chapter 8, but I'm kind of in the middle of LotR for the first time, and it kinda trumps EL. Sorry.

So, yes, I am pushing back the deadline a week. I don't know yet what day submission will actually end, but you can check the first post, which I'll be updating in about thirty seconds.

[G_D]

Well we're only taking submissions for TWO MORE DAYS!

So, if you missed out the first time, HURRY IT UP!

[PassivePretentiousness]

let's see if I can pump this baby out it the next three hours.

oww I don't write well like this.

[G_D]

Well bugger. I was hoping at least one other person would benefit from the time extension. Oh well.

Here is my submission. I want to apologize in advance for subjecting you to my political mumblings, and warn you that this is more of a news article than an entertainment piece. However, hopefully it is at least somewhat informative.


Minimum Wage: A Strange Celebrity
by G_D

Earlier this week, a bill which was passed by Congress over 60 days ago went into effect, raising the national minimum wage by seventy cents to $5.85. This is the first in a series of three increases set to take place over the next two years, with the final minimum wage to be set at $7.25 per hour. Proponents of the increase are ecstatic, saying that it's about time; this is the first increase in minimum wage in over ten years, and before the recent increase, the wage floor was at its lowest real dollar value (taking inflation into account) in over 50 years. If these politicians opened their eyes, however, they would see the inevitable consequences of this increase, and it would not be a pretty picture.

Whether we like it or not, the minimum wage is here to stay. We are too steeped in an economic policy that requires protection for the poor to simply abolish or even gradually diminish minimum wage, and an attempt to do so would solicit cries of outrage from the general public regardless. However, that doesn't mean we must continue to raise it, and we shouldn't. It doesn't take much knowledge of economics to see that to raise minimum wage is to necessarily increase both inflation and unemployment, leaving our economy in worse condition than before. In addition, the people who are most hurt by a raise in minimum wage are those who it is intended to help: the ones earning it. In response to a minimum wage increase, many companies must try to cut costs as rapidly as possible, and guess where the easiest area is to cut: the unskilled workers making the least amount of money. Granted, the market will eventually equalize, but it does so by lessening the worth of the dollar and increasing the number of marginal low-wage employees who are without jobs.

The logical question that follows, then, is why minimum wage is so heavily supported, and why nobody in government does anything to stop it. Surely there are intelligent people in Congress who understand basic economics. And there are; the bill passed by a vote of 315 to 116 in the House of Representatives, indicating that a good number of politicians know the dangers of the minimum wage. However, many of the opponents of the bill don't get it entirely; a group of Republicans proposed a compromise bill which tacked on tax cuts for small businesses in order to offset the problems caused by increasing the wage floor. It's a little better, but it isn't what we need. So why did the bill pass, against logic and opposition? My guess is that the Democrats who proposed the bill were doing an easy vote-grab at the general public – especially low-income voters – by giving them what they want and what sounds like a good deal. I mean, who wouldn't want to get paid more? It is also possible that they are well-meaning, and honestly believe the negative side effects will not outweigh the positives.

The problem is that this is the presiding line of thought in many peoples' minds, and especially in the minds of well-off lawmakers. They see minimum wage as a good thing, because they only see the bottom line: low-income workers will be paid more. Instead of taking into account the wide range of facts regarding minimum wage – for instance, that approximately half of those earning minimum wage are under the age of 25, and about a quarter are between 16 and 19 – they make their decisions based on what sounds to them like an obviously good idea. Besides that, the debates that take place often focus on only one negative aspect of the increase; namely, the loss of jobs by unskilled low-income workers. The point of inflation and the increase in price of goods is seldom mentioned, and there is still much debate at how much the minimum wage affects unemployment, even among seasoned economists.

Unfortunately, the minimum wage is here to stay. We can do our best to slow its increase, but we cannot neatly abolish or diminish it, especially now that new legislation has passed. One could hope for someone in power who had good economic sense, but that has been a rare phenomenon in our country, and isn't likely to be changed anytime soon. Here's hoping the future will prove me wrong, and this increase will turn out for the better of our economy.



EDIT:
Whoops, didn't see you there, PP. Technically, submission ends in 10 minutes, but if you get it in by morning I think I can let it slide.

[Imagist]

Oh damn. Again. Work really ate the time I wanted to use for writing, but I guess I can finish off what I'd started in a really short, cheap and tacky manner and put that up... If there's an edit to this post in the next hour, it'll be a submission, but otherwise I'm out.

[G_D]

Ok, so neither of you finished? Bummer.

Well, anyway, submission is over now, and we will be tallying votes soon. I will put all entries up on the first post in about a minute.

EDIT: Done, the entries are in the fourth post. Remember, you only until August 5 to vote.

NOTICE: I have changed the voting procedure so that anyone who has submitted to a competition in the past may vote. Votes by people with entries now will be worth 3 and 2 for Winner and Runner-up, respectively, and votes by past submitters will be worth 2 and 1. Also, if you feel so inclined, you may attach some criticisms or advice to your votes in the PM, and I will post those when I post the vote spread.

Happy Voting!

[G_D]

Durr, votes? I've only received one so far...

[Kholdstare]

Working on it ^_^

[Barnsalot]

Remember, you only have until August 5 to vote.

Does that mean results should be out soon?

I don't really expect to do well- My entry was pretty much crap this time around, no pun intended. But, I am interested to see who won.

[G_D]

Eh, I extended to the 12th, but I just realized that all the votes are in. I'll try to have the results out asap.

[Leon K.]

<_< Any eta on the results? >_>

[G_D]

RESULTS ARE IN!


Runner-Up: Barnsalot
1st Place: Antonio Pizza


Votes were cast as follows:

AP: 8
Barnsalot: 3
Leon K: 1
Kholdstare: 1
G_D: 0


Apparently you guys like the minimum wage ;). I will be putting up the sig badges as soon as I get them from Doulifee. Once again, congratulations to all entrants.



- - - - - - - - - -


Nobody outside the competition got involved with the voting this time around, but I will try to make the next competition a little more public. I apologize for how sloppily everything was run; I have been extremely busy the last few weeks, and especially last week.

Our next competition will be either poetry or short story, but I thought I'd ask what you all want. Since it will be around the time school is starting, I was leaning towards poetry again, even though we've done it recently. Thoughts?

[HalcyonSpirit]

Actually, I think Short Story would be better because it's going to be the beginning of school. If we do Poetry next and SS in November, I doubt we'd get as much participation in SS, because school will be in full swing and, for us college people, exams will be coming up shortly thereafter. Short stories typically take longer to write, so we should do them when the school workload is at a minimum (ie: beginning of the school year). But then again, that's just my opinion.

[Imagist]

I agree with GA. Let's just stick to the rotation we've got going for now. Also, next time you're feeling swamped go ahead and let us know ahead of time. I'd even offer to run the competition jointly if you felt it might take some of the load off your shoulders; it was, after all, run by three people before a couple of them disappeared and phpbb went kablooey.

[G_D]

Sounds good to me. Here are the sig badges from Doulifee:

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/5646/pizzayk3.png

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/4138/barnsalotbf9.png


EDIT: I just realized I screwed up the vote tallying a bit. I didn't put in the new scoring system, and gave Imagery's vote the same weight as everyone else's, even though he didn't submit anything. It doesn't change the results, but if you want me to re-tally I will. Otherwise I'll leave it.

[Imagist]

It doesn't matter, it just means AP and Barnsalot both have one less vote than they do now. However, you might want to edit your results post anyway, because you have AP listed as runner-up even though he out-muscled Barnsalot by 5 marks.

[Barnsalot]

Nice job, Antonio! Can't say I'm surprised you won. Yours was definitely the best submission.

Next competition: My vote is for short story because I've got an idea rolling around in my head, but I'll go along with whatever you guys want to do. School is back in session, which means I'll be writing plenty regardless of what competitions are up. I actually wrote a paper just yesterday for English class that was a comparison of my personality and the characteristics of an eraser... I love that class.

Edit: Thank you Doulifée! You don't get enough thanks for drawing these badges so consistently!

[JH Sounds]

How the hell did I miss this? Anyways, tag for next time.

[cobaltstarfire]

I might try my hand at this next time, if I have time...and can actually think of anything.

My writing muscles need some exercise.

[Imagist]

I'm going to guess:

Submissions 9/1-9/28
Voting 9/29-10/12

Let's get it started?

[JH Sounds]

I'm going to guess:

Submissions 9/1-9/28
Voting 9/29-10/12

Let's get it started?

Wat......?

[G_D]

I'm going to guess:

Submissions 9/1-9/28
Voting 9/29-10/12

Let's get it started?

Heh, thanks Imagery. This one really snuck up on me.

So, short story submissions...GO!

[G_D]

Shameless bump. Three weeks left!

[JH Sounds]

Why do these competitions always start when I'm creatively drained?

[Barnsalot]

Hard at work...

[Darklink42]

Same here. Nothing worth submitting just yet though.

[Barnsalot]

Okay. My submission:

Barber Shop
He tossed his long, slinky hair to the side with a quick twist of the neck. "I only want about an inch cut off, Jimmy," he said, whilst taking a seat in the barber's chair. Jimmy chuckled and pulled out a razor.
"Only if you can pay for it this time, Ron," the balding man said, still laughing slightly. There always seemed to be some unspoken joke between the two men that neither could really put a finger to.
"Oh, I can. Don't worry about that, old man. I just got my paycheck yesterday, and it was a doozy. I'm tellin' ya. Those annual pay raises sure are nice." He flashed his teeth from under two wet, meaty lips and the old barber couldn't help giggling sheepishly one more time as he pulled out the an attachment for the razor from a small, blue case on the side-table. The tool started buzzing once Jimmy flipped the switch to turn it on, and Ron sat back contentedly in the cushioned seat. The small spinning blades felt soothing on the back of his neck, and the whirring of the object's motor was pleasently hypnotic. Ron smiled and closed his eyes, intent on treasuring the comfort.

That's when it happened.

An enormous crashing sound, an explosion, caused Ron to instantly jerk upwards in his seat. His eyes were wide and searching; his heart beat intensely, and his breath came quick. He looked forward to where the front window of the barber's shop had been blown in. Shards of glass, glittering, littered the floor. No screams for help were heard, nor cries of pain. Ron and Jimmy had been the only ones in the establishment at the time, and... Ron snapped his head back and saw only a quick glimpse of his friend's shoe disappearing around a corner. A much more subtle sound than the one which had preceded it turned Ron's eyes and attention back to the front of the building, to where the window had been destroyed, and from where the glass had been blown in to decorate the rough wooden floor. It was the sound of footsteps, of heavy boots moving slowly, deliberately across the gravel driveway outside. Ron lifted himself out of the barber's chair.
The man that stepped in through the gaping hole in the front of the building was all that Ron could have expected. He was big and burly, his mustaches covered a good third of his face, his eyes were bulging and bloodshot, and the smell of cheap liquor followed him like a shadow. And he carried a double-barreled shotgun over one shoulder, probably the perpetrator of the crime already done here. The big man looked at Ron, weighing him. Once he was sufficiently satisfied he opened his mouth. "Where's Jimmy?" was all the man said, and without waiting for an answer he started walking to the back of the store. He glanced around the corner that the old man had run down and must have found it to his liking, because that was the direction in which he chose to continue his search. His hunt. It wasn't like there were many alternatives, anyway, in the small building.
Ron found himself dazed. He was alone now, with his hair only halfway cut and with far too many questions bouncing around inside his mind. What did this burly man want with his old barber, and why couldn't he have just used the door instead of breaking the glass, and where was Jimmy now, and what had the man done? Ron concluded that he couldn't justifiably leave his friend here, so he hefted himself off the table he had been using as a crutch in the midst of the confusion and walked to the back of the shop. Around the corner was a hallway. Doors to the men and women's restrooms lined the left side of the hall. The right was bare, but at the end was a doorway leading into Jimmy's backyard, to the horse pasture and the pig yard. It wasn't a difficult decision; Ron stepped through the small corridor in a few lengthy strides and emerged into a humid summer day.
Now, Jimmy really was an old man, that wasn't just a nickname. In fact, he was likely pressing the 80 year mark, if Ron's memory wasn't failing him. So, it didn't come as much of a surprise that he found both men outside, not too far from the doorway. Apparently, Jimmy had tried hiding behind several wooden boxes since he knew his lungs would betray him if he tried running, but it hadn't worked. The hulking cubes lay strewn across the dirt, and Jimmy was being held in a deathgrip by the strong man. "Where's the money, Jimmy? Where is it? You know how much the boss hates not getting his money on time, and I know you have it around here somewhere!" Jimmy was writhing in the man's grip, trying to mumble, to beseech of mercy, but it was clear that he was meant to die whether or not he had any money.
All of this Ron noted in only a second. He also noted that neither man had seen him standing there. And that it takes two hands to form a deathgrip, so the deadly shotgun lay innocent and unattended about a foot away from the struggling party. It was clear that someone here would die, if not more than one, so Ron made up his mind in an instant. He crept forward as quickly and discreetly as any overweight, middle-aged man could, and snatched the gun from the dirt. He backed off just as speedily lest he be seen out of the corner of the big man's bloody eyes. It only dawned on him then, as he brought the weapon up slowly to his shoulder and took aim, what he was about to do. He was about to kill a man.
A rasped shriek from Jimmy was all it took to pull Ron back to reality, and he shot the gun instantly. The horrendous bang was met with an equally terrifying explosion of blood and guts that fell on everything in the yard in much the same way the glass had covered the floor of the shop. Ron let the gun drop to the earth, and he wiped the blood spatters from his face with the back of a hand. The big man had fallen on top of Jimmy when he died, and if Ron didn't pull him off quickly, it would be likely that the old man would die anyway from asphyxiation. It took a minute of hellishly tough pushing and shoving, but Ron eventually got the big man off of his friend and onto the ground beside him. "Jimmy, you all right?" Ron asked. No answer. "Jimmy? Come on, old man." No answer. Ron put his ear to the man's mouth and, dissatisfied, started pounding on the man's chest and breathing into his mouth. It was a crude form of CPR, but it was all Ron could think to do. It was to no avail, though. Upon closer inspection, he saw that several of the pellets from the shotgun shell had missed the intended target and had lodged themselves into the skull and chest of his old friend, though whether those had actually killed him or whether it had been the big man's choking exercise, he couldn't say.
Ron got up and walked back inside. After washing himself at the sink set inside the counter, he left through the front door. Hopping inside his truck, Ron tried to think of somewhere else in town he could go get his haircut finished before driving to Mexico to escape the possible charge of double-homicide.

[Darklink42]

Here's what I came up with.

Deviance
It was a beautiful spring day, the kind that seems to just go on forever in a pleasant way. Down the narrow streets and through the open parks a sweet wind was blowing, and across the sky drifted numerous myriad cumulus clouds. A lot of people were out riding their bikes, or tanning in the sun’s temperate heat, or just soaking up the sheer joyousness of the day. Down one of the narrow streets, a man was walking slowly along. He was dressed in a black t-shirt and blue jeans, and the sound of his black boots echoed quietly up and down the sides of the buildings on either side. They kept a decent rhythm as he moved, but he seemed unaware. At first glance, he might have seemed as if he was just another happy tourist in paradise, but for his dark clothing and solemn facial expression. Even as he walked out into an open area, people side stepped him or biked to the other side of the road.
The man, whose name was Lucas, wasn’t thinking about the day around him. And he wasn’t seeing the brief and resentful stares of the others as they passed. His attention was focused entirely on whatever it was that was going on behind his eyes. As he came around a corner and drew nearer to his destination, several others dressed in similar attire began to arrive from other areas of the town. Some were even waiting on the doorstep as Lucas pulled out the key and unlocked the door. Not a word was exchanged between any of them, even as the door closed and they calmly walked down the bare hallway, black attire a sharp contrast to the white walls. Lucas led them to a door on the left of the hallway and let them in, closing the door behind him. Once he ascertained that the door was locked, he turned to the rest of the people gathered and studied them for a second.
There were maybe twelve of them gathered there, some dressed in black, others in a mixture of different colors, but all of them were wearing mostly dark clothing. Suddenly, breaking the solemnity of the situation, Lucas smiled. A little one at first, but soon it became a full grin as seemingly foreign as his attire had appeared outside.
“I can’t believe that we get away with this every week.” He said, taking a seat in the ring of chairs.
“I can’t believe those losers out there actually believe the rumors.” Said a heavily pierced girl to Lucas’ left.
After a brief laugh, one of the others stood up.
“Well, let’s get started then everyone. Rachel, what’s the news for this week?”
“To start out with, we’ve got a new member today. His name is Alex, and he joined on the Friday before last. The 13th.”
Everyone laughed again, and several introductions were briefly made. Rachel waited until the chatter died down.
“We’re getting a little more press coverage lately, and on Tuesday, the newspaper published an article about us. Titled…oh what was it again?”
“‘Something darker this way comes’.” Said Lucas, chuckling.
“Gabe was accused of posting graffiti on the wall of the rail yard on Wednesday. The cop couldn’t find any evidence to link her to it. Nevertheless, she’s been in hiding since then until the statuette runs out tomorrow. Both of the usual groups deny involvement, however we’ll probably know who it was by the end of next week. Neither can resist the chance to brag. Finally, on Saturday we received word about a certain pressing matter which is why we’re here today instead of on Monday. Ree, if you wouldn’t mind?”
“It seems, ladies and gentleman, that we have a plant. A spy in other words. The Smiles knew exactly where to find Brendan on Thursday and he was almost caught. Now, I would like to point out that until now they have worked on the fringes with some of our agents outside this council. It’s only recently that one of them has come into our inner circle. I’m pleased to announce that he is, in fact, here today.”
There was a lot of murmuring between the various members, but not one of them seemed to look nervous about the accusation.
“Our contact within the Punks has informed me that this man was responsible for Michael’s capture, and the erasure of two of their members, three of ours, and sixteen of the Skaters. Obviously these numbers are subjective, being that the Skaters have over three times our membership but any loss is a hard one to bear. No doubt you all remember poor Pepper.”
“Who is it Ree? Yeah, tell us! Let justice be served!” Several members shouted.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me pose a question. Which day, before any other day, have we chosen as a day of rest?”
“Friday the thirteenth.” Shouted Lucas, standing up and looking over at Alex with unhidden anger.
“Our newest member Alex. An agent of the Smiles and a spy. What should we do with him?”
Before anyone could say anything, the door was suddenly slammed into with quite a bit of force. All of those assembled reacted quickly, dodging through one of several doors scattered throughout the room. The next strike knocked down the door, and through it poured several officers decked out in riot gear. On their jackets was a large smiley face and the words “Have a nice day”. Alex tried to get through one of the doors, but was punched back into the room by Rachel. Two of the officers tried to get through, but found it locked.
“It’s no use men, they're gone. I thought we had those damn Goths this time too.” He said, rubbing his jaw and standing up.
“What are we going to do then Chief? They’re getting wiser to our tactics.”
“We’ll just have to do what we’ve been doing all along. Erase and re-adjust them one by one. Let’s go.”
As the Smiles left, one of the Goths who had remained hidden behind a wall came out into the open and looked around at the scattered chairs and the broken door. Trying the rest of the doors, he found each locked and nodded in satisfaction when he found them so. As he checked the last one, the third from the end opened and a man in a black leather jacket stepped through. His long brown hair was tied back into a ponytail, and he was frowning.
“Taylor. I didn’t think you’d show.”
“I apologize. I had no idea the Smiles would move so fast Elijah, but I wanted to make sure your guys got out alright. Did they?”
“Yeah, everyone is alright. Hey, how’s Robert holding up?”
“As well as can be expected for such a task as infiltrating their damn HQ. Man, I can’t believe its come down to this.”
“I think they must be recruiting from other cities. There have been a lot more around lately. Did you know they sent the chief in this time?”
“Yes, I knew. I was hoping that you could get some information from him before they got here.”
“The Goths are a small section, and now they are on the top of the most wanted list. A small respite for your Punks, but not much.”
“Come on, let’s go. They’ll be back to wipe the room soon.”
“Right. These are locked and secure.”
The two of them walked back to the still open door and walked through, appearing in a warehouse full of large crates and shelves of wholesale goods. The door closed behind them, and Elijah locked it quickly.
“About time you showed up. Thought they caught you back there.” Said another Goth, running up and hugging Elijah. Taylor laughed, and walked over to where Ree was sitting. Ree looked up from where she was sitting and smiled brightly despite her black eye shadow and lipstick.
“Are the other leaders here too?” He asked her, kissing her cheek lightly.
“Yeah, they’re here.” Was all she said, standing up to follow as Taylor turned and walked around a large crate.
Several others, dressed in various attire matching their respective groups, stood as he stepped around the corner. Behind them was a podium, and beyond that was gathered a great mass of people as looking as equally out of place as the few assembled on the stage. Taylor stepped forward and nodded to the others before taking the podium.
“Today is the day. The Smiles have grown increasingly desperate. It started out as a small movement, designed to eliminate all deviation within one town’s community. It has since spread across the world like a disease, and that town has become the base of operations for its continued existence. I’m talking about this town, our town. Seattle was the start of the Smiles, it will be the end of them. Today is the day that we take back our liberation. Today is the day that we tell them that happiness is not produced but sought. There has to be winners and losers. Don’t let those they've converted forcibly down now. They are not beyond hope. If we can establish our foothold here, at the center of the Smiles' operation, we can get them back. We can find away to reverse erasure. Stand up everyone. Make your voice heard. Take back your independence. Down with the Smiles, down with docile acceptance, down with forced happiness. Go forth now, and change the world!”
A great cheer rose up from the gathered crowd, and in similar staging areas around the city. Doors positioned around the area were flung open and deviants of every credo and appearance flooded out into the streets of Seattle. Taylor watched as they started out into the greatest battle ever to be fought. He turned with a sigh back to the leaders behind him.
“Do they really stand a chance?” Said Ree, folding him in her arms.
“I don’t know.”

[PassivePretentiousness]

Time

Time, time
We see it tick
It is a crime
We see the time
Are we fated
or consummated
to slowly die in time?

My, eyes
They see its death
Our debt of crime
We're taxed by time.
With eyes jaded
We're lacerated
by the whims of time.

My, sight
I see my death
By whims not mine,
But rather time's.
Satiated,
life eviscerated
Time will win in time.




say it aloud in a very sing song way.

[Imagist]

I'm not sure whether to not take that seriously and laugh or not take that seriously and tell you it's a short story competition.

[JH Sounds]

*fights writer's block*

Wait... A friend of mine taught me a trick that might work. Someone post one random sentence, and I'll write a short story that leads up to that sentence.

[Kholdstare]

Sentence =

And that is how I defeated writer's block.

[JH Sounds]

Sentence =

And that is how I defeated writer's block.

Nice.

:roll:

[Barnsalot]

So... One week left for submissions.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Man, midterms are coming at a horrible time this semester...

[Imagist]

I've been tossing around an idea. I just have to find time to sit down and let it go.

[Darklink42]

Well, I hope somebody gets something in there soon. I really would rather win on merit than by defualt due to there being only two pieces currently...

[HalcyonSpirit]

Well, I hope somebody gets something in there soon. I really would rather win on merit than by defualt due to there being only two pieces currently...

A little confident there, eh? :-P

I might have to spend a few sleepless nights writing something just to challenge you for that. :wink:

[Darklink42]

Bring it on. :mrgreen:

[G_D]

meh, work.

i'm sure i'll come up with something last-minute, just like i always do :?

[Barnsalot]

Or just extend the deadline so it won't be last minute.

[JH Sounds]

Or just extend the deadline so it won't be last minute.

PLZ

Anyways, I'll still be able to submit on Friday, right?

[Kholdstare]

It's doubtful that I will get something together or even start something. Sorry guys, just too busy right now.

[JH Sounds]

I'm putting the finishing touches on my story now. It should be done by tomorrow.