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Post by agedbeauty on Apr 15, 2020 16:46:27 GMT -5
I'm glad the STC is back. It's not as regular as it used to be, but it's really awesome to be able to do it again.
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Post by RielCZ on Apr 15, 2020 17:09:42 GMT -5
Aged! Welcome back! I saw your name in the competition last "week" and I got really excited. And I know, it's not regular, but at least it's finally back. (I've since won twice this year, which is the same number of times I won in 2018 and 2019 combined, heh.)
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Post by June Scarlet on Apr 17, 2020 20:38:12 GMT -5
Ah, I'm so excited! Look! www.neopets.com/art/storytell.phtml?issue=832It's my first ever submission to the Storytelling Contest that got in! I got to write the ending for this piece! I've entered sporadically a few times here and there, but tend to get discouraged easily because it's so much more competitive than the NT. When I write something for the Times, I generally know it's going to get in. Not so with the Storytelling contest. But I finally did it! And it's an ending too!
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Post by Kat on Apr 17, 2020 22:27:10 GMT -5
Ah, I'm so excited! Look! www.neopets.com/art/storytell.phtml?issue=832It's my first ever submission to the Storytelling Contest that got in! I got to write the ending for this piece! I've entered sporadically a few times here and there, but tend to get discouraged easily because it's so much more competitive than the NT. When I write something for the Times, I generally know it's going to get in. Not so with the Storytelling contest. But I finally did it! And it's an ending too! Congratulations on your first win, June! I know how you feel; I entered this competition several times before I got in myself and IMO it's more difficult than the NT. I haven't done this in years but I'm happy to have been able to contribute to this story as well. I've been thumbing back to some of my older entries and they make me super nostalgic. It was much more competitive then but there were also a lot of us discussing the direction of the story and what we wanted to do with it. And it was comforting, in a way, to be able to talk with and learn from them.
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Post by Stephanie (swordlilly) on Apr 20, 2020 14:33:10 GMT -5
My start is up! ^-^
It feels good to be back.
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Post by Kat on Apr 20, 2020 21:42:39 GMT -5
My start is up! ^-^ It feels good to be back. Welcome back! How DO you submit starters, anyway? Do you just send them when a storytelling competition is over? I'm not getting any ideas right now for the next part but I'll try to pick my brain for something.
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Post by Pixie on Apr 20, 2020 21:58:36 GMT -5
Welcome back! How DO you submit starters, anyway? Do you just send them when a storytelling competition is over? I'm not getting any ideas right now for the next part but I'll try to pick my brain for something. Yes, you submit the starters after the last story ends![/quote]
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Post by Kat on Apr 20, 2020 22:36:53 GMT -5
Welcome back! How DO you submit starters, anyway? Do you just send them when a storytelling competition is over? I'm not getting any ideas right now for the next part but I'll try to pick my brain for something. Yes, you submit the starters after the last story ends! Thanks, I'll keep this in mind. I've ended a storytelling competition once; it might be a nice change to try and write a starter. EDIT: I wound up submitting two different entries, different in all but the first paragraph. I had no idea which one to use, so I ended up fleshing both out.
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Post by agedbeauty on Apr 21, 2020 16:13:26 GMT -5
Aged! Welcome back! I saw your name in the competition last "week" and I got really excited. And I know, it's not regular, but at least it's finally back. (I've since won twice this year, which is the same number of times I won in 2018 and 2019 combined, heh.) Woot! Yes, I saw you too and was happy to have a familiar face! Congrats everyone who made it in, and June_Scarlet well done on the ending! I haven't written an ending in a billion years, I like early entries! It looks like the STC is trying to get in about once a day, which is good to know. I loved the twice daily updates it used to have but I think once a day probably matches the audience better right now. As for it being more competitive...I'm not sure that's true; I think it may just be a different skill? Or, maybe the NT has changed - I know I found it harder to get into the NT. I should probably try that again though...I used to enjoy it. (I need to start Poetry again too...I am graduating this semester so life should be calm enough to actually NEO again!)
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Post by Kat on Apr 21, 2020 21:12:12 GMT -5
It looks like the STC is trying to get in about once a day, which is good to know. I loved the twice daily updates it used to have but I think once a day probably matches the audience better right now. As for it being more competitive...I'm not sure that's true; I think it may just be a different skill? Or, maybe the NT has changed - I know I found it harder to get into the NT. I should probably try that again though...I used to enjoy it. (I need to start Poetry again too...I am graduating this semester so life should be calm enough to actually NEO again!) Yeah, at least the STC might be more regular now. Also hey, I'm starting poetry again too! It makes sense that the STC and the NT would have slightly different skill sets, though, since with the STC you have to collaborate with everyone else on it and even if you have the best plot twist, if it doesn't agree with the flow of the story you're likely to get rejected, while with the NT, you have free rein over your story but you also have to build it by yourself. Maybe it's the freedom of the NT that makes it easier for me...I managed to reach 100 publications before I could win a single STC. That was years back with the twice daily updates. Both my entries were not chosen even though I thought they had good twists (one of them had Anshu missing from the scene, and the other had Anshu witnessing how the fire started and pointing a finger at Bonju, sorry Bonju), but oh well, that's the way it goes. Guess I still have to shake off some more of the rust.
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Post by June Scarlet on Apr 21, 2020 21:23:53 GMT -5
I... actually got a fanmail for my ending. I didn't realize that might happen. They said it gave them a good laugh, and wanted to know how I got so good at writing.
Kind of hard to answer, though I did my best to. How does one get good at writing? How did that happen to me? You'd really need an article to answer that, I think, not just a short neomail. And even then, hard to answer.
I guess with the Times, I have a good feel for what does and doesn't get in. You probably have that same feel for the Storytelling contest. And yeah, also, the NT has changed, lower submission numbers means it's easier to get in.
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Post by Stephanie (swordlilly) on Apr 21, 2020 23:25:25 GMT -5
Both my entries were not chosen even though I thought they had good twists (one of them had Anshu missing from the scene, and the other had Anshu witnessing how the fire started and pointing a finger at Bonju, sorry Bonju), but oh well, that's the way it goes. Guess I still have to shake off some more of the rust. Janice (_razcalz_) sent in a good entry as well for the second part and it was not chosen. To be completely honest, I don't think the entry that won was the best. Either Aesop is overwhelmed by the NT backlog and didn't have time to go through all the entries that were submitted, or there's some kind of affirmative action going on. I remember it being pretty controversial that the same 20ish people would keep winning every week. Maybe TNT is trying to make the contest more inclusive. I do hope you manage to get in once this week though!
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Post by Kat on Apr 21, 2020 23:44:44 GMT -5
I... actually got a fanmail for my ending. I didn't realize that might happen. They said it gave them a good laugh, and wanted to know how I got so good at writing. Kind of hard to answer, though I did my best to. How does one get good at writing? How did that happen to me? You'd really need an article to answer that, I think, not just a short neomail. And even then, hard to answer. I guess with the Times, I have a good feel for what does and doesn't get in. You probably have that same feel for the Storytelling contest. And yeah, also, the NT has changed, lower submission numbers means it's easier to get in. Congrats on your storytelling fanmail, June! And well, that's both an easy and a hard question. The short answer is "practice" but what constitutes practice and what helps people become better writers differs from person to person. People see us winning competitions and getting published in the NT but what they don't see are our attempts that fell short, and how we just keep trying and practicing and writing anyway. I agree on having a feel for what will fly with the NT, as well. It's been years and I still have a general idea of what will and what won't. Both my entries were not chosen even though I thought they had good twists (one of them had Anshu missing from the scene, and the other had Anshu witnessing how the fire started and pointing a finger at Bonju, sorry Bonju), but oh well, that's the way it goes. Guess I still have to shake off some more of the rust. Janice (_razcalz_) sent in a good entry as well for the second part and it was not chosen. To be completely honest, I don't think the entry that won was the best. Either Aesop is overwhelmed by the NT backlog and didn't have time to go through all the entries that were submitted, or there's some kind of affirmative action going on. I remember it being pretty controversial that the same 20ish people would keep winning every week. Maybe TNT is trying to make the contest more inclusive. I do hope you manage to get in once this week though! Thanks, Stephanie! I should message Janice, say hi and catch up a bit. It's likely a bit of both. With the volume of people submitting since issue 900 is close, I'm not surprised if Aesop is still overwhelmed and didn't have time to read all the entries. I understand them trying to make the STC more inclusive though; I remember the old contests wherein NTWFers would dominate...it feels great, but it would also be good to see more new blood. I remember when we would be thrilled to find folks who won their first Storytelling. This is just me but I wish they could strike a balance between inclusiveness and overall quality. I feel like my last winning entry doesn't quite match up with the quality of the stuff I wrote for, say, competition #400.
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Post by RielCZ on Apr 22, 2020 1:11:55 GMT -5
I also wrote for the second slot, in which Anshu intentionally burned his stand and it ended with all of Shenkuu on fire. A very intentional burning of Shenkuu, much intrigue, etc. I would say the "inclusivity" is the dominant factor. It was the official policy since ~STC520, and I'm sure that it still in place, though the judge has changed hands about 3-5 times since then. It was officially referenced by "the storytelling contest" here: ntwriters.proboards.com/thread/39534/campfire-catacombs-storytelling-contest?page=546But this is something of an age-old debate, too. I recall a rather lengthy post by Diana (another face I would love to see back), here: ntwriters.proboards.com/thread/39534/campfire-catacombs-storytelling-contest?page=721 . But, that was 4 years ago. I'll try to enter again a little later in the week. Maybe see if I can get my charm with endings back, heh. EDIT: Unrelated, but my 777th post! Exciting.
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Post by Kat on Apr 22, 2020 1:44:47 GMT -5
I also wrote for the second slot, in which Anshu intentionally burned his stand and it ended with all of Shenkuu on fire. A very intentional burning of Shenkuu, much intrigue, etc. I would say the "inclusivity" is the dominant factor. It was the official policy since ~STC520, and I'm sure that it still in place, though the judge has changed hands about 3-5 times since then. It was officially referenced by "the storytelling contest" here: ntwriters.proboards.com/thread/39534/campfire-catacombs-storytelling-contest?page=546But this is something of an age-old debate, too. I recall a rather lengthy post by Diana (another face I would love to see back), here: ntwriters.proboards.com/thread/39534/campfire-catacombs-storytelling-contest?page=721 . But, that was 4 years ago. I'll try to enter again a little later in the week. Maybe see if I can get my charm with endings back, heh. EDIT: Unrelated, but my 777th post! Exciting. Not gonna lie, I thought of an insurance fraud when I saw the part about Anshu's shop burning. I considered posting a gag entry here for the heck of it (but not actually submitting it). Thanks for the links. Oh man, looks like more things changed while I was gone than I thought, especially compared to the competitions I remember and entered. And I really miss Diana and a lot of the old guard, although some of them just aren't at the NTWF anymore but are still on Neopets, like Janice, who got back to me. I wish you the best with your entries! And congrats on your 777th post!
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