avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersJanuary 31, 2013 - 2:56pm
Hey guys,
hows it goin? everything okay?
I haven't been in here much lately. Sorta kinda busy. But you know, I still love you. And your father and I still care about what you're doing. I know sometimes it seems like we don't have time for you, but that's just not true. We just choose not to spend our time on you.
Anyway - keep being awesome.
JEFFREY GRANT BARR
from Central OR is reading Nothing but fucking Shakespeare, for the rest of my lifeJanuary 31, 2013 - 3:01pm
*grows up to be a serial killer*
Jonathan Riley
from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland January 31, 2013 - 3:02pm
I knew it!
TomorrowHill
from Newfoundland, Canada is reading your mind. You like Castlevania, don't you?January 31, 2013 - 9:52pm
Whew, another one finally in the can. I'll just have to sleep on it tonight and make double-sure it's okay in the morning. How's it going on your end of the world, Leah?
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterFebruary 1, 2013 - 12:00am
It's kind of sad to see how the voting numbers have dropped this round.
Class Facilitator
Emma C
from Los Angeles is reading Black Spire by Delilah DawsonFebruary 1, 2013 - 12:05am
Agreed, Bek. Remember how exciting it all was in the beginning? Kind of going out with a whimper, now.
jyh
from VA is reading whatever he feels likeFebruary 1, 2013 - 12:13am
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterFebruary 1, 2013 - 12:13am
The last round I think saw a slight bump in voters. Last round it was about 30. This round it's 20. If I'm remembering right, the last round in WAR1 had like 18 voters. So it's looking like this WAR's pretty much running the same course.
It's a bit sad, seeing that the final battles are supposed to be more "epic". As a writer still in WAR, it definitely feels that way when I'm writing and constantly checking the polls to see how my story's fairing, but sometimes it's a bit sad to see that all this carnage is only being enjoyed by 20 people.
It's kind of like being in a really shitty cover band, but the people in the dive bar you're performing at are drunk and screaming about how you're like the greatest thing ever.
Matt
from New Zealand is reading This is how you lose her by Junot DiazFebruary 1, 2013 - 2:21am
I know what you mean. But as a point of pride, I'm sticking at this til the bitter end. Unless we can all agree to quit now and declare ourselves joint winners?
... Didn't think so.
OtisTheBulldog
from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot DiazFebruary 1, 2013 - 4:22am
really shitty cover band
Here's where you can cut down and practice your word economy. Cover Band already implies "really shitty." So if you're up against a word count, consider dropping these modifiers.
I think the drop is just the fatigue of it all. Today we start our 4th month of WAR. It's time consuming as a reader and writer. But I think a lot of people are just fatigued by it and over it at this point. It's hard to keep that momentum and excitment going for so long.
Renfield
from Hell is reading 20th Century GhostsFebruary 1, 2013 - 4:53am
Since I'm out of it I've been busy doing all the stuff I didn't get to while in the competition. I can still spare the half hour to read four stories myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if the people who went out earlier have their minds taken up by other writing activities by now. Still some of the best stories of the competition coming out now tho.
leah_beth
from New Jersey - now in Charleston, SC is reading five different books at once.February 1, 2013 - 5:59am
Chris - I submitted last night - I feel squirmy about it. Hahaha. Hope you love yours in the morning...or, well, really not. Or something.
Honestly, I can't wait to see what you did with the prompt. Really curious! :D
***
I think it's funny we're getting so many fewer votes now that it's so much easier to read the whole round. I didn't vote on a whole round in the beginning because I literally ran out of time. Now...it's easy to read four or eight stories, ya know?
I'll keep voting, regardless!
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersFebruary 1, 2013 - 6:58am
I actually read all the stories from this round, although I hold my vote for tie breaking situations.
My favorite two, Naked City and College Glaciers, are up against each other and I'm sorry that one or the other will be leaving us.
voodoo_em
from England is reading All the books by Ira LevinFebruary 1, 2013 - 7:12am
The last round I think saw a slight bump in voters. Last round it was about 30. This round it's 20. If I'm remembering right, the last round in WAR1 had like 18 voters. So it's looking like this WAR's pretty much running the same course.
Except of course that WAR1 only had 32 contestants, therefore 18 was still more than half the original amount.
I appreciate that WARs long and all that, but we're down to about only a third now, just 20 out of 64 and thats pretty sad :(
I think it's funny we're getting so many fewer votes now that it's so much easier to read the whole round.
^ exactly what I was thinking.
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreFebruary 1, 2013 - 7:59am
We'll be down to eight survivors tonight.
Sound
from Azusa, CA is reading Greener Pastures by Michael WehuntFebruary 1, 2013 - 8:48am
WAY easier to read whole round. Read and voted in under half an hour. In the beginning it was like a four hour thing.
When to polls close? Afternoonish?
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersFebruary 1, 2013 - 8:50am
Night-ish.
7-ish?
I don't know. It depends on how my night goes. It will be before midnight - rest assured.
leah_beth
from New Jersey - now in Charleston, SC is reading five different books at once.February 1, 2013 - 9:45am
Question: who's doing Teleport Us? I want to, but I feel like it might be time to take a step back.
That said, if all my WAR pals are doing it...I'll do it...becuase if you do it, CLEARLY it's a good idea for me to do it too.
Right? That's logical....
Jonathan Riley
from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland February 1, 2013 - 9:50am
I'd love to. I have no idea what to write about or when I'll have time to write it, but If I figure those two things out, I'll have one up by the end of the month.
P.S.
I read a few WARII stories that already meet all the criterea, wonder if any will make an appearance. I'd love to read them again!!!
dufrescm
from Wisconsin is reading Do Androids Dream of Electric SheepFebruary 1, 2013 - 9:51am
I'm doing it. Already wrote my first draft of the story. It's space-noir-licious
dufrescm
from Wisconsin is reading Do Androids Dream of Electric SheepFebruary 1, 2013 - 10:01am
Although, I think Forbidden Fruit would also qualify...
voodoo_em
from England is reading All the books by Ira LevinFebruary 1, 2013 - 10:07am
@Leah ~ I'm attempting it, started 1st draft yesterday. Sci Fi is soooo not my forte, but hey, thats why it's called a challenge, right?
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterFebruary 1, 2013 - 10:12am
@Otis: Screw word economy. I've been confined to 1200 words for so long, I might as well take up the space when I can...in the forum.
leah_beth
from New Jersey - now in Charleston, SC is reading five different books at once.February 1, 2013 - 10:22am
Hahaha, ok, I'm glad people are in. I might have to go play over there too! :D
dufrescm
from Wisconsin is reading Do Androids Dream of Electric SheepFebruary 1, 2013 - 10:25am
Jump on in, the water's fine...just fine...
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterFebruary 1, 2013 - 10:42am
My husband said he was going to write a story for Transport Us, but I have a feeling that's all it's going to be.
dufrescm
from Wisconsin is reading Do Androids Dream of Electric SheepFebruary 1, 2013 - 10:49am
I see Match 2 is at a tie. What happens if the tie doesn't get broken? Has that happened before?
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersFebruary 1, 2013 - 10:53am
Ties are always broken.
But if anyone want to be a pal and vote on that one...go ahead.
Sound
from Azusa, CA is reading Greener Pastures by Michael WehuntFebruary 1, 2013 - 10:54am
I'm 2/3 through my Teleport Us submission. I'm giving myself a hard deadline of this weekend to finish it.
I think there was an option to edit it after it was submitted in the Scare Us, right?
OtisTheBulldog
from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot DiazFebruary 1, 2013 - 11:28am
I'm not doing Teleport Us but if you want to win - submit as soon as possible, at least if it's like the Scare Us. While my story had only positive scores, I only had like 8 or 9 of them because I of course waited til the last minute to submit. Meanwhile, people who submitted earlier had a lot more readers and earned a lot more points which earned them the guest critiques. The only way you're going to get a lot of readers is if a) it's good and stays on that "hot" list and b) you use the power of time.
I probably won't check out Teleport Us that frequently (I'll forget) but any WAR writers or other regulars who want to shoot me a message, I'll be sure to read your stories and vote on them.
Good luck. Nerds.
JEFFREY GRANT BARR
from Central OR is reading Nothing but fucking Shakespeare, for the rest of my lifeFebruary 1, 2013 - 11:31am
My only qualm with the teleport us thingamawhosit is that it's public, so it counts as published, yeah? I'm too slow a writer to put effort into stories I can only submit as a reprint. Are there some benefits to it? I didn't do anything for the horror contest, so I'm not aware of how it works.
OtisTheBulldog
from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot DiazFebruary 1, 2013 - 11:39am
Last time the top prizes were critiques by a bunch of authors including Chuck Palahniuk. There were some other prizes too, like mugs, t-shirts & books. I won a book for being one of the top reviewers.
Last time Avery sent out the prizes, which seems fine. She has my address. I got the book, but then a while later other things started showing up in my mail, like expired coupons, half eaten bags of skittles, and a VHS copy of Three Men & a Baby, but only the scene with the ghost in the curtains.
Jonathan Riley
from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland February 1, 2013 - 11:40am
I'm glad you mentioned that Jeff. I actually plan to send out my story from "Scare Us" when I have time to revise it. I never would had listed it as a reprint because that didn't occur to me. I guess also, I'd like to ask anyone who may know, If I make a considerable amount of edits and rewrites, will it constitute as the same story?
Sound
from Azusa, CA is reading Greener Pastures by Michael WehuntFebruary 1, 2013 - 11:55am
That kind of blows. Maybe I won't participate after all...
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersFebruary 1, 2013 - 11:57am
These are interesting points and I would direct any questions you have about it to the official discussion thread so they can be together. And possibly someone will answer them.
JEFFREY GRANT BARR
from Central OR is reading Nothing but fucking Shakespeare, for the rest of my lifeFebruary 1, 2013 - 12:07pm
You're not the boss of me! Nyah!
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersFebruary 1, 2013 - 12:35pm
I am so glad I'm not the boss of you. That sounds like a pain in the ass.
sean of the dead
from Madisonville, KY is reading Peckerwood, by Jed AyresFebruary 1, 2013 - 2:16pm
a VHS copy of Three Men & a Baby, but only the scene with the ghost in the curtains.
Goddamnit!!! That was MINE...I've been looking for it forever. Be very careful with that videotape, a week after you watch it, you will grow a creepy pervert moustache and have an unexplainable urge to write the re-make of Police Academy.
@Leah - PLEASE join the Sci-Fi challenge. I'll be over there shortly, I have my general idea, but have not yet start writing. You did amazing last time (scare us), so it'd be awesome to "compete" with you again.
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersFebruary 1, 2013 - 2:17pm
Hey, you know that's just a prop cardboard cutout of Ted Danson, right?
Matt
from New Zealand is reading This is how you lose her by Junot DiazFebruary 1, 2013 - 2:19pm
aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnndddddd................................story submitted! Good luck everyone (except you, Ian).
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreFebruary 1, 2013 - 2:23pm
Hey, Ian, take care of this fuckin' guy up here ^^ for me, willya?
Matt
from New Zealand is reading This is how you lose her by Junot DiazFebruary 1, 2013 - 2:24pm
Still bitter, Gordon?
leah_beth
from New Jersey - now in Charleston, SC is reading five different books at once.February 1, 2013 - 2:28pm
Sean - I have my idea. Just need to...um...write it, I guess. :)
TomorrowHill
from Newfoundland, Canada is reading your mind. You like Castlevania, don't you?February 1, 2013 - 3:00pm
In like Flynn.
Good luck to the remaining crew. Remember to pour a 40 over your keyboard to show love for the fallen warriors.
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreFebruary 1, 2013 - 3:00pm
Just trying to maintain the spirit of WAR. It was getting kinda wimpy there for a bit.
Ian
from Texas is reading Low Down Death Right Easy by J. David OsborneFebruary 1, 2013 - 4:10pm
And done. Like Pontius Pilate, I'm giving it over to the mob. Which is to say, my story is your messiah. Don't crucify it.
Good luck to all.
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersFebruary 1, 2013 - 4:13pm
Did you send it yet?
Did you send it?
Huh huh huh????
I'll post them up real quick when I get them. Then I'll take down the others later. Which means prompts will be late too.
You don't care.
Ian
from Texas is reading Low Down Death Right Easy by J. David OsborneFebruary 1, 2013 - 4:25pm
Did you not get it? I sent it. I'll send it again. How about now? AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
*has stroke*
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersFebruary 1, 2013 - 4:27pm
...oh....i got it
Class Facilitator
Emma C
from Los Angeles is reading Black Spire by Delilah DawsonFebruary 1, 2013 - 4:33pm
I am so jealous of these new prompts. I love both Tori and Aimee.
Hey guys,
hows it goin? everything okay?
I haven't been in here much lately. Sorta kinda busy. But you know, I still love you. And your father and I still care about what you're doing. I know sometimes it seems like we don't have time for you, but that's just not true. We just choose not to spend our time on you.
Anyway - keep being awesome.
*grows up to be a serial killer*
I knew it!
Whew, another one finally in the can. I'll just have to sleep on it tonight and make double-sure it's okay in the morning. How's it going on your end of the world, Leah?
It's kind of sad to see how the voting numbers have dropped this round.
Agreed, Bek. Remember how exciting it all was in the beginning? Kind of going out with a whimper, now.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/attrition
The last round I think saw a slight bump in voters. Last round it was about 30. This round it's 20. If I'm remembering right, the last round in WAR1 had like 18 voters. So it's looking like this WAR's pretty much running the same course.
It's a bit sad, seeing that the final battles are supposed to be more "epic". As a writer still in WAR, it definitely feels that way when I'm writing and constantly checking the polls to see how my story's fairing, but sometimes it's a bit sad to see that all this carnage is only being enjoyed by 20 people.
It's kind of like being in a really shitty cover band, but the people in the dive bar you're performing at are drunk and screaming about how you're like the greatest thing ever.
I know what you mean. But as a point of pride, I'm sticking at this til the bitter end. Unless we can all agree to quit now and declare ourselves joint winners?
... Didn't think so.
Here's where you can cut down and practice your word economy. Cover Band already implies "really shitty." So if you're up against a word count, consider dropping these modifiers.
I think the drop is just the fatigue of it all. Today we start our 4th month of WAR. It's time consuming as a reader and writer. But I think a lot of people are just fatigued by it and over it at this point. It's hard to keep that momentum and excitment going for so long.
Since I'm out of it I've been busy doing all the stuff I didn't get to while in the competition. I can still spare the half hour to read four stories myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if the people who went out earlier have their minds taken up by other writing activities by now. Still some of the best stories of the competition coming out now tho.
Chris - I submitted last night - I feel squirmy about it. Hahaha. Hope you love yours in the morning...or, well, really not. Or something.
Honestly, I can't wait to see what you did with the prompt. Really curious! :D
***
I think it's funny we're getting so many fewer votes now that it's so much easier to read the whole round. I didn't vote on a whole round in the beginning because I literally ran out of time. Now...it's easy to read four or eight stories, ya know?
I'll keep voting, regardless!
I actually read all the stories from this round, although I hold my vote for tie breaking situations.
My favorite two, Naked City and College Glaciers, are up against each other and I'm sorry that one or the other will be leaving us.
Except of course that WAR1 only had 32 contestants, therefore 18 was still more than half the original amount.
I appreciate that WARs long and all that, but we're down to about only a third now, just 20 out of 64 and thats pretty sad :(
^ exactly what I was thinking.
We'll be down to eight survivors tonight.
WAY easier to read whole round. Read and voted in under half an hour. In the beginning it was like a four hour thing.
When to polls close? Afternoonish?
Night-ish.
7-ish?
I don't know. It depends on how my night goes. It will be before midnight - rest assured.
Question: who's doing Teleport Us? I want to, but I feel like it might be time to take a step back.
That said, if all my WAR pals are doing it...I'll do it...becuase if you do it, CLEARLY it's a good idea for me to do it too.
Right? That's logical....
I'd love to. I have no idea what to write about or when I'll have time to write it, but If I figure those two things out, I'll have one up by the end of the month.
P.S.
I read a few WARII stories that already meet all the criterea, wonder if any will make an appearance. I'd love to read them again!!!
I'm doing it. Already wrote my first draft of the story. It's space-noir-licious
Although, I think Forbidden Fruit would also qualify...
@Leah ~ I'm attempting it, started 1st draft yesterday. Sci Fi is soooo not my forte, but hey, thats why it's called a challenge, right?
@Otis: Screw word economy. I've been confined to 1200 words for so long, I might as well take up the space when I can...in the forum.
Hahaha, ok, I'm glad people are in. I might have to go play over there too! :D
Jump on in, the water's fine...just fine...
My husband said he was going to write a story for Transport Us, but I have a feeling that's all it's going to be.
I see Match 2 is at a tie. What happens if the tie doesn't get broken? Has that happened before?
Ties are always broken.
But if anyone want to be a pal and vote on that one...go ahead.
I'm 2/3 through my Teleport Us submission. I'm giving myself a hard deadline of this weekend to finish it.
I think there was an option to edit it after it was submitted in the Scare Us, right?
I'm not doing Teleport Us but if you want to win - submit as soon as possible, at least if it's like the Scare Us. While my story had only positive scores, I only had like 8 or 9 of them because I of course waited til the last minute to submit. Meanwhile, people who submitted earlier had a lot more readers and earned a lot more points which earned them the guest critiques. The only way you're going to get a lot of readers is if a) it's good and stays on that "hot" list and b) you use the power of time.
I probably won't check out Teleport Us that frequently (I'll forget) but any WAR writers or other regulars who want to shoot me a message, I'll be sure to read your stories and vote on them.
Good luck. Nerds.
My only qualm with the teleport us thingamawhosit is that it's public, so it counts as published, yeah? I'm too slow a writer to put effort into stories I can only submit as a reprint. Are there some benefits to it? I didn't do anything for the horror contest, so I'm not aware of how it works.
Last time the top prizes were critiques by a bunch of authors including Chuck Palahniuk. There were some other prizes too, like mugs, t-shirts & books. I won a book for being one of the top reviewers.
Last time Avery sent out the prizes, which seems fine. She has my address. I got the book, but then a while later other things started showing up in my mail, like expired coupons, half eaten bags of skittles, and a VHS copy of Three Men & a Baby, but only the scene with the ghost in the curtains.
I'm glad you mentioned that Jeff. I actually plan to send out my story from "Scare Us" when I have time to revise it. I never would had listed it as a reprint because that didn't occur to me. I guess also, I'd like to ask anyone who may know, If I make a considerable amount of edits and rewrites, will it constitute as the same story?
That kind of blows. Maybe I won't participate after all...
These are interesting points and I would direct any questions you have about it to the official discussion thread so they can be together. And possibly someone will answer them.
You're not the boss of me! Nyah!
I am so glad I'm not the boss of you. That sounds like a pain in the ass.
Goddamnit!!! That was MINE...I've been looking for it forever. Be very careful with that videotape, a week after you watch it, you will grow a creepy pervert moustache and have an unexplainable urge to write the re-make of Police Academy.
@Leah - PLEASE join the Sci-Fi challenge. I'll be over there shortly, I have my general idea, but have not yet start writing. You did amazing last time (scare us), so it'd be awesome to "compete" with you again.
Hey, you know that's just a prop cardboard cutout of Ted Danson, right?
aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnndddddd................................story submitted! Good luck everyone (except you, Ian).
Hey, Ian, take care of this fuckin' guy up here ^^ for me, willya?
Still bitter, Gordon?
Sean - I have my idea. Just need to...um...write it, I guess. :)
In like Flynn.
Good luck to the remaining crew. Remember to pour a 40 over your keyboard to show love for the fallen warriors.
Just trying to maintain the spirit of WAR. It was getting kinda wimpy there for a bit.
And done. Like Pontius Pilate, I'm giving it over to the mob. Which is to say, my story is your messiah. Don't crucify it.
Good luck to all.
Did you send it yet?
Did you send it?
Huh huh huh????
I'll post them up real quick when I get them. Then I'll take down the others later. Which means prompts will be late too.
You don't care.
Did you not get it? I sent it. I'll send it again. How about now? AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
*has stroke*
...oh....i got it
I am so jealous of these new prompts. I love both Tori and Aimee.