plans, oh we have plans :)

[Rubber Soul]

Hi would be writers, musicians, artists, and the like.

As the curator of this sub-forum I'd like to introduce myself. Of course, I'm part of the MB forum but I was also a member of a writing forum where I was a supervisor over a group of moderators. I'm still not what you would call the greatest writer but I did learn a lot of my craft at the WF (short for writingforums.com).

And I'd like to bring some of the better parts of that forum over here. Maybe some of you know of writing tips. What writers have influenced you or, for that matter, what musicians influenced you budding musicians out there, same with the artists.

I will be starting threads on famous writers and maybe ask some provocative questions as I think many of the great writers had an influence on world history at times.

And, starting in March, we will be holding writing contests with (hopefully) three judges. Maybe Guybrush can come up with some suitable award for the monthly winners but we can cross that bridge later. Maybe someone who is knowledgeable in art can hold an artists' contest as well.

So, to those of you who have interest in this section, welcome to the Creators Corner

[Guybrush]

Sounds really good, RS! I definitely think we can come up with some fun awards.

I've been playing with the idea of doing something like a music competition as well, but haven't really figured out what the best format might be or even if we are currently enough musicians on here for it to make sense. If, dear reader, the idea of music competition entices you, let me know.

Anyways, there's lots of potential here for stuff to do and I'm eager to be a part of it

[Trollheart]

Writing contests are great, however I would just let you know that at present I take part in two a month on another forum. They're only 100-word ones, so it doesn't take long, but if the ones here are going to be longer, much longer than that, I might have a problem keeping up with entries. That said, I don't know how many writers we have here, so maybe a roll call might be good? Anyone who has an interest might post a line or two, see if it's worth running the thing? We're still very young and even on MB the likes of a writing contest fell completely flat on its face, so perhaps gauge the level of interest first?

I'm sure there are other things that can be done too; I'll have a think and get back to you, see if anything suits. Porting over links for members' albums and songs might be good, too. Just suggestions, take or leave as appropriate.

[tristan_geoff]

Sounds really good, RS! I definitely think we can come up with some fun awards.

I've been playing with the idea of doing something like a music competition as well, but haven't really figured out what the best format might be or even if we are currently enough musicians on here for it to make sense. If, dear reader, the idea of music competition entices you, let me know.

Anyways, there's lots of potential here for stuff to do and I'm eager to be a part of it

Yes.  I could think of ideas later but for now what about a competition with who can like listen to music the fastest?  Like there's an album we all agree on listening to and someone has to listen to it faster than anyone else.  Like on 50% speed or something.  A speedrun competition

[Lexi Darling]

Writing contests are great, however I would just let you know that at present I take part in two a month on another forum. They're only 100-word ones, so it doesn't take long, but if the ones here are going to be longer, much longer than that, I might have a problem keeping up with entries. That said, I don't know how many writers we have here, so maybe a roll call might be good? Anyone who has an interest might post a line or two, see if it's worth running the thing? We're still very young and even on MB the likes of a writing contest fell completely flat on its face, so perhaps gauge the level of interest first?

I'm sure there are other things that can be done too; I'll have a think and get back to you, see if anything suits. Porting over links for members' albums and songs might be good, too. Just suggestions, take or leave as appropriate.

I'm a writer! I'm very much planning on posting some music writings soon, I want to do something like write about my top 100 electronic albums. I'm not sure about contests though, I'm not a competitive person at all.

[Rubber Soul]

Well, keep in mind that a writing contest would be something akin to a figure skating contest. In other words, you'd be at the mercy of the judges which would include myself and, hopefully, two other members.

The idea, at least at this point, would be to have a monthly theme (I thought anything Irish would be a good theme for March) and we'd limit each entry to 700 words. I'll post the basic criteria for judging as we get closer to March but, since we don't have a lot of members yet, I'd let the judges also enter as contestants with the stipulation that they couldn't judge their own entry. Maybe if we get more entrants, I'll revise that.

Anyway, have my fingers crossed. We might be able to make a go at it.

[Trollheart]

I'm a writer! I'm very much planning on posting some music writings soon, I want to do something like write about my top 100 electronic albums. I'm not sure about contests though, I'm not a competitive person at all.

Ah Great to have another writer around here. Most people here are philistines! Couldn't even spell supercalifragilisticexpealadocious if their lives depended on it.  What do you write? You should consider starting a journal.

Yes.  I could think of ideas later but for now what about a competition with who can like listen to music the fastest?  Like there's an album we all agree on listening to and someone has to listen to it faster than anyone else.  Like on 50% speed or something.  A speedrun competition

I seriously don't get either the point or how this would be achieved? 

[Lexi Darling]

Ah Great to have another writer around here. Most people here are philistines! Couldn't even spell supercalifragilisticexpealadocious if their lives depended on it.  What do you write? You should consider starting a journal.

Way ahead of you, my friend!

I like to write a lot of stuff. I write about music, I keep a daily diary in my personal life, and I write a lot of adult fiction. I'm always writing; even when I'm hard at work on household chores I keep a word processor open to write down any thoughts and rambles. Been a passion of mine for over 20 years.

[Guybrush]

Yes.  I could think of ideas later but for now what about a competition with who can like listen to music the fastest?  Like there's an album we all agree on listening to and someone has to listen to it faster than anyone else.  Like on 50% speed or something.  A speedrun competition

I seriously don't get either the point or how this would be achieved? 

I have to agree with Trollheart here. What's the point of listening to something as fast as possible and played at a faster playback rate? So instead of listening to a Led Zep record, we listen to it speeded up so they sound like the smurfs with ADHD?

What I meant with music competition was more like.. Perhaps make a chip tune or make an instrumental song about comets that last for about a minute or something like that.

For the record, I am DOWN for a writing competition if we can curtail the max word count some

[Rubber Soul]

For the record, I am DOWN for a writing competition if we can curtail the max word count some

We can do that. 700 was just the number we used at the Writing Forum but we can pare it down to maybe 500 words or even less. I don't think 100 words gives you enough to write a full story though.

[Trollheart]

Oh, it does.

A Woman's Heart

"What do you mean, you don't know?" the President snapped.
The lead scientist swallowed.
"I'm sorry, sir.."
"Cities are vanishing," the President went on. "and you don't know why?"
A voice: "We just lost Beijing!"
"I want answers!" snarled the President, just before he, and Washington, became no more.
****
The ring, a mere trinket now, all she had to remember him by.
Left at the altar.
He had called her his goddess.
It wasn't fair.
Only women bleed.
Heart.
Broken.
His goddess...
Why didn't the world end?
And so, it did.

Behold the Man

Hoisted high on the shoulders of his fellows, he luxuriated in their cheers and applause. Finally, the old order had been overthrown. In the background the royal palace, a symbol of hatred and fear, oppression and tyranny for so long, was a burning shell, sending thick black plumes up into the night, while the stars above seemed to twinkle in approval.

A pretty girl broke through the crowd, a smile on her face, reached out to him...

"Sire? Sire!"

He opened his eyes, sighed.

Man, it really sucked being the king.

A Passage to England

"I do apologise, sir, but there appears to be a problem with your luggage."
"Luggage?"
"Your, ah, trunk, sir? The large box?"
"Oh my coff-coff-coff! Sorry: curse this dry throat."
"We don't seem to have your licence to export local soil, sir."
"My agent was supposed to have sorted that."
"Are you in contact with him, sir?"
"No. He's, ah, indisposed at the moment. Can you look again please?"
"Yes, sir, and your name again?"
"Dracula. Count Dracula. D-R-A-C..."

Encore

The tour bus jolts.
He reads the newspaper with approval.
Photograph of buildings burning, vehicles overturned in the street.
RAMPAGE IN DETROIT. LATEST IN WEEKS OF VIOLENCE ACROSS AMERICA. THOUSANDS KILLED.
He smiles. They'll do anything he tells them.
Even murder.
He's a rock god.
They love him.

He looks up.
A sign says WELCOME TO COLUMBUS.
Only the start of their world tour, and over forty thousand dead already.
He grins.
The others are pulling on their suits.
Human skin itches like blark but it's worth it.
Who needs an invasion fleet when humans can be controlled so easily?

[Rubber Soul]

Sorry, but except for maybe the first story, they either don't make sense or come off as snippets in a book. Maybe they work as punchlines but they're not really stories. Just my opinion, however.

[Trollheart]

Seriously? You want me to explain them to you? They were all entered in contests and got decent feedback.

A Woman's Heart: The world is ending because a goddess who has been made human is heartbroken and wants the world to end.

Behold the Man: The king dreams of his own deposing from power, but he's still on the throne.

A Passage to England: A conversation between Dracula and a customs guy as he prepares to leave Transylvania, and gets tied up in red tape.

Encore: Aliens arrive and find that, in a gig situation, crowds will do anything the star asks them to do.

I think they're all pretty self-explanatory, given the restrictions of the word count.

[Rubber Soul]

You were especially subtle with the Dracula story

I still think you need a larger limit than 100 words. Most people won't be able to convey what they're trying to get across in 100 words. I'm able to make a solid story in around 300 words myself but someone else might need a few more words than that. Besides, I'm only talking about a maximum limit; if you want to write a story in less than 100 words, nobody is going to stop you.

[Trollheart]

AH no, I know it's hard, and I'm not suggesting you set a 100-word limit. I just wanted to show that it can be done. I'm okay with anything up to 1000 words, but then it does depend on how frequently the contests will be run. Will you be doing what we do elsewhere, that the winner gets to choose the theme of the next contest?