Write it Now II: A 2 Hour Writing Contest (Sign-up Deadline: October 7)

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > The Goodmine > Write it Now II: A 2 Hour Writing Contest (Sign-up Deadline: October 7)

«‹›3 »

Chili: Jan 23, 2004; college kids ain't shit; Fun Shoe

Hungry for more, I see.

Write It Now is an ultra flash fiction contest. I ran one of these back in March and had a blast doing it, so here we go again! If you want to see how it played out, the contest was here:
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3959882

If you participated in the first Write it Now, pay attention to Some Things as there are some new improvements this time around!

You may sign up from now up until 10/7/21 @ 9PM EST. On 10/8/21 @ 9PM EST, a prompt will drop. At that point, start punching keys, because only a mere 2 hours later at 11PM EST, submissions will close. On your honor, do not write anything in advance or prepare for this contest. Any registered member of SA is welcome to join.

Judgment will be fast, and all entries will be judged by myself, and previous champ, QuoProQuid, and runner-up Beezus! We will declare a winner, a place, and a show.

The first prize will be 75 USD.

If we hit over ten entries a place prize of 50 shall be awarded.

If we hit over twenty entries a show prize of 25 shall be awarded.

And that’s it! The prompt will be specific, but not inherently challenging. There will be no other flash rules or conditions. Also, I do understand that this contest is inherently going to be biased to some specific time zones. Thing is, this is when I can run this. I’ve got a family to look after and a job that takes up my time. I do invite others to launch one of these someday and accommodate other time zones.

Some things:

NEW There will be a discord this time! Come and join in if you want! You can even use it during the contest to talk about writing your story when you should be writing your story! Spectators and participants alike are welcome. Join us here: https://discord.gg/dYdauAyz3v
NEW There will be a fan favorite award! Anyone who reads the stories may vote on up to three favorites, not including the three that already won. This includes writers (don’t pick your own) or spectators. Pending turnout numbers there will be a prize of at least 25 dollars, maybe more, awarded to the fan-favorite!
The only penalty for failure to submit is personal shame.
Post all submissions right here, in the thread.
The prompt will not be a specific genre.
NEW-At 9PM a prompt will drop. Then, at 9:10 a second will drop. You only have to incorporate one prompt in your story. The thinking here is that if the 9:00 PM prompt is a bust for you, you’ll have a mulligan with a ten-minute word penalty.
There will not be a word count limit. That doesn't mean that more is better. Consider 600-800 as a reasonable target.
Stay away from erotica.
Do no edit your post. Editing your post will result in disqualification.
In your entry post, include your title in bold, and right below that, the word count of your entry.
Entries will be judged anonymously. Someone will attend to the task of copying and pasting entries, as they are posted, sans author name, into a google doc. The judges will work off of that document.
All entrants, whether they win or not, will receive helpful feedback, from all of the judges, in this very thread within a week or so. Additionally, though we will know that you only had a short period of time to create your entry, that’s not an excuse to be sloppy. Consider budgeting some time for proofing your submission.
For an optional bit of excitement, you may choose to write your story in a google doc and share the link in the thread so audience members can spectate your writing process! Again, that's entirely optional and only opt for it if it will be fun for you. Last time had some people use twitch to broadcast their progress and that was a lot of fun! Feel free to broadcast in the discord as well, if you’d like.
Victors may be compensated by Paypal, Venmo, Cash App, a donation to the charity of their choice, or with a gift card to the venue of their choice.

Your Judges:

Beezus
Chili
QuoProQuid

The Fast Folks

fishception https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OorM-9IbD0m0iLR1h-L2yEOfB4FCjScRLkrJzalv9xs/edit?usp=sharing
t a s t e
My Shark Waifuu https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Y_iuh8MFKlrZ6XpC6UPKjDCHpYd3HHXnnvSxW2iALw/edit?usp=sharing
take the moon
sebmojo
Lunatic Sledge
nesamdoom
Sedgr
Ess
Quiet Feet
kaom
Mystic Mongol
magic cactus
Dermit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mPqnsinjC8eaSEdy7HUE8jAbEDjdRMhDWNEUFQAwaes/edit?usp=sharing
SRQ
Eat This Glob
ChthonicMasturbatr
Ur Getting Fatter
Carl Killer Miller
White Chocolate
Tyrannosaurus https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TnIWhlxDDkHU2qGJw-_s-F7UNWrNCwJ2YzOFcaCnL3k/edit?usp=drivesdk
Ironic Twist
curlingiron
ENEMIES EVERYWHERE
The man called M

Chili fucked around with this message at 01:57 on Oct 9, 2021

# ? Sep 8, 2021 03:14

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 24, 2024 12:30

fishception: Feb 20, 2011; ~carrier has arrived~; Oven Wrangler

now?

wow

in

# ? Sep 8, 2021 14:07

Lock: Aug 8, 2007; hardcore sound gets you hypah

Thank you for doing the banner, otherwise I would have never seen this. Time zones definitely hurt me, but I totally understand. I will try to be in, because I love this idea.

# ? Sep 8, 2021 18:00

Chili: Jan 23, 2004; college kids ain't shit; Fun Shoe

Lock posted:

Thank you for doing the banner, otherwise I would have never seen this. Time zones definitely hurt me, but I totally understand. I will try to be in, because I love this idea.

Awesome! I'll put you down, no biggie if you can't make it.

# ? Sep 8, 2021 20:27

Lock: Aug 8, 2007; hardcore sound gets you hypah

actually I just double-checked the time and I will be working when this starts. If it were one day earlier or later I could take part but I�ll probably have to miss it this time. Still, I�ll be following because I really do love the idea.

# ? Sep 8, 2021 21:24

Chili: Jan 23, 2004; college kids ain't shit; Fun Shoe

Lock posted:

actually I just double-checked the time and I will be working when this starts. If it were one day earlier or later I could take part but I�ll probably have to miss it this time. Still, I�ll be following because I really do love the idea.

No problem! Feel free to join the discord or read and crit stories later.

# ? Sep 8, 2021 21:45

t a s t e: Sep 6, 2010

Sure

# ? Sep 9, 2021 03:37

Chili: Jan 23, 2004; college kids ain't shit; Fun Shoe

mispots, ignore this

# ? Sep 9, 2021 05:45

My Shark Waifuu: Dec 9, 2012

Sounds fun, I'm in!

# ? Sep 9, 2021 10:08

take the moon: Feb 13, 2011; by sebmojo

i think i can do this, in it to sin it*

*the storys badness will be my sin

# ? Sep 9, 2021 14:34

sebmojo: Oct 23, 2010; Legit Cyberpunk

yeah i'm in

# ? Sep 11, 2021 07:39

Lunatic Sledge: Jun 8, 2013; choose your own horror isekai sci-fi Souls-like urban fantasy gamer simulator adventure

or don't?

gently caress it, $75 is a lot of money right now. I'm in.

# ? Sep 12, 2021 04:23

nesamdoom: Apr 15, 2018; nesaM killed Masen

I'm a terrible writer and no matter what I'm sure if I do this the story(I will work it around the prompt) will be about the only character I ever write about, probably from his perspective(in the style that I write for him), and I'll most likely kill him again. If that doesn't bother anyone then I'd be willing to clack some keys and see what comes out.

# ? Sep 13, 2021 02:11

Chili: Jan 23, 2004; college kids ain't shit; Fun Shoe

nesamdoom posted:

I'm a terrible writer and no matter what I'm sure if I do this the story(I will work it around the prompt) will be about the only character I ever write about, probably from his perspective(in the style that I write for him), and I'll most likely kill him again. If that doesn't bother anyone then I'd be willing to clack some keys and see what comes out.

Welcome to the party.

If you want to warm up, consider checking out thunderdome, found here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3953574

A new prompt should be up soon and you'll have a week or so, as opposed to the two hours for this contest, to start getting the gears turning.

Regardless, happy to have you and your Lazarus join us for this contest.

# ? Sep 13, 2021 03:09

squirrelzipper: Nov 2, 2011

Chili posted:

Welcome to the party.

If you want to warm up, consider checking out thunderdome, found here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3953574

A new prompt should be up soon and you'll have a week or so, as opposed to the two hours for this contest, to start getting the gears turning.

Regardless, happy to have you and your Lazarus join us for this contest.

I'm a novice writer who's likely to stumble but this seems like fun so I'd like to try. I notice there's not a lot of restrictions (I've done NANOWRIMO once) like word count, I'm assuming the judges will handle any edge cases like the infamous baby shoes story equivalents? Not that I care, just curious. Seems fun, thank you.

e; just saw the suggestion� I am also a novice reader apparently � that helps!

"There will not be a word count limit. That doesn't mean that more is better. Consider 600-800 as a reasonable target. "

squirrelzipper fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Sep 14, 2021

# ? Sep 14, 2021 05:01

Ess: Mar 20, 2013

I am totally in

# ? Sep 14, 2021 15:46

Quiet Feet: Dec 14, 2009; THE HELL IS WITH THIS ASS!?

I'm gonna write a story for this but you better have low expectations!

# ? Sep 14, 2021 17:33

kaom: Jan 20, 2007

Better enter to secure my spot in last place!

I hope to at least submit something entertaining

# ? Sep 14, 2021 21:37

Mystic Mongol: Jan 5, 2007; Your life's been thrown in disarray already--I wouldn't want you to feel pressured.; College Slice

What's that, ten cents a word, at a payout rate considerably better than most magazines? Sounds good, I'm sure the two hour deadline won't sink me.

# ? Sep 15, 2021 21:18

magic cactus: Aug 3, 2019; We lied. We are not at war. There is no enemy. This is a rescue operation.

I write best under extreme pressure. :smuggo:

I don't actually, but what the hell, IN

# ? Sep 17, 2021 05:28

Lock: Aug 8, 2007; hardcore sound gets you hypah

magic cactus posted:

I write best under extreme pressure.

I don't actually, but what the hell, IN

I actually like the pressure, forces me to :justpost:

I mean just write. Really wish I could join in this, good luck y�all!

# ? Sep 19, 2021 18:20

Dermit: Mar 22, 2005; [img]https://forumimages.somethingawful.com/images/newbie.gif[/img]

Me r in

# ? Sep 20, 2021 11:35

SRQ: Nov 9, 2009

I appear to have missed this, or did I? Am I reading the dates wrong?

# ? Sep 21, 2021 23:24

take the moon: Feb 13, 2011; by sebmojo

SRQ posted:

I appear to have missed this, or did I? Am I reading the dates wrong?

its sort of confusing but i think its oct 7

# ? Sep 21, 2021 23:41

SRQ: Nov 9, 2009

take the moon posted:

its sort of confusing but i think its oct 7

Well in that case sign me up, also the discord link is broken.

# ? Sep 21, 2021 23:52

Chili: Jan 23, 2004; college kids ain't shit; Fun Shoe

SRQ posted:

I appear to have missed this, or did I? Am I reading the dates wrong?

You're in, if there's a way to clarify the sign up deadline, let me know. Want it to be clear. And the discord link expires every week; I'm about to go update it.

# ? Sep 22, 2021 01:19

Eat This Glob: Jan 14, 2008; God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Who will wipe this blood off us? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we need to invent?

shoutout to whoever sprung for the banner ad. i haven't written fiction in probably 5 years at this point and this sounds fun. i do soul crushing non-fiction writing now about stuff i hate and an industry i abhor - and fun is in short supply these days. count me in. i'll even use my space key, unless it slows me down too much :twisted:

# ? Sep 22, 2021 04:34

Chili: Jan 23, 2004; college kids ain't shit; Fun Shoe

Eat This Glob posted:

shoutout to whoever sprung for the banner ad. i haven't written fiction in probably 5 years at this point and this sounds fun. i do soul crushing non-fiction writing now about stuff i hate and an industry i abhor - and fun is in short supply these days. count me in. i'll even use my space key, unless it slows me down too much

Glad it worked, and glad you're here!

# ? Sep 22, 2021 13:00

sebmojo: Oct 23, 2010; Legit Cyberpunk

Chili posted:

You're in, if there's a way to clarify the sign up deadline, let me know. Want it to be clear. And the discord link expires every week; I'm about to go update it.

I put it in the thread title.

# ? Sep 24, 2021 05:58

Chili: Jan 23, 2004; college kids ain't shit; Fun Shoe

Glad to see we have a good pool of entrants thus far! And equally happy that people are hopping into the discord. If you saw this thread some time ago but didn't want to make a commitment to something that was so far away, we're closer now!

# ? Sep 28, 2021 14:22

ChthonicMasturbatr: Sep 29, 2021; born on a mountain
live in a cave
hugging and tugging
is all that i crave

I just barely ascended from lurkerdom, but I'd love to take a whack at it.

# ? Sep 29, 2021 14:57

dpkg chopra: Jun 9, 2007; Fast Food Fight; Grimey Drawer

I clicked on the banner ad and now I'm signing up for this? Even though I haven't written anything other than contracts and legal briefs since I was a teenager?

Sign me the heck up.

# ? Oct 5, 2021 20:07

Chili: Jan 23, 2004; college kids ain't shit; Fun Shoe

Ur Getting Fatter posted:

I clicked on the banner ad and now I'm signing up for this? Even though I haven't written anything other than contracts and legal briefs since I was a teenager?

Sign me the heck up.

Hell yes! You are who I wanted to sign up for this!

# ? Oct 5, 2021 22:40