Signal boost: Something to read, something to write · 12:19am Jun 22nd, 2014
If you're in a creative mood, you've got about 18 12 8 hours to enter this weekend's Writeoff Association minific contest. (EDIT: Submissions now closed, but there are 23 stories there to read, appreciate, and review!) This round has a cap of 750 words, and you can submit an entry with as few as 400 — so if you've got a spare hour and a clever idea to fit the theme "Long Way Home", go check it out.
One thing I discovered upon entering last month's competition was how excellent the feedback was. The Writeoff Association FIMFiction group has threads for the competitions, and many excellent authors and reviewers post their impressions of the entries. Entrants aren't identified until after the judging is complete — and you're under no obligation to enter the competition with the same name you use on FIMFiction — so if you'd like some honest and constructive feedback on your writing, it's an awesome way to get it without people being blinded by your reputation. Check out the previous competition's review thread, including my own reviews of all ten stories, to get a sense of the quality of the discussion.
If you're more in the mood for something to read, take a look at Featherprop's ongoing adventure The Last Link. Try this on for a premise: In the far, frozen reaches of the Equestrian empire, where magic is squirrelly and the only connections between isolated communities are flying machines and the brave ponies who pilot them, there's a deadly epidemic starting. Now one bush pilot is in a race against time — as impassable weather clashes with the increasingly dangerous demands of the big-shot Canterlot doctor who's depending on him.
Don't be put off by the all-OC cast — they're well-characterized, with some great interactions and solid backstory. But the real draw here is the land itself: the Frostmane Territories, in all their rugged and merciless glory, and the struggle for survival between pony and nature. The worldbuilding that meshes the frontier atmosphere with the show we love is handled dextrously, and the author's flying knowledge shines through in an approachable way.
You don't have to take my word for it, either — the comments section has got favorable reviews from a cross-section of well-regarded authors. At 27 upvotes out of a mere 117 (!!) views, this story is a great chance to burnish your hipster credentials with an "I was reading it when".
Bumping that bad boy up on my reading list. Heck, I've worked with Featherprop before when he helped edit one of my fics, how did I miss reading this one as it came out?
Snap! Thank you for reminding me about the minific write off. Minifics are kind of my thing; considering I have at least 3 different anthologies of them I'm too lazy to link to.
I got two minifics in there already, it's fun
I'm now wondering if I should try for one or two more. I think I can fit time tomorrow to write at least one more, two if I don't hit any blocks while writing them, and I already have the ideas, but I'm not sure if writing that many fics to a single event is a good idea.
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Well, in the forum threads Roger said he's changing the medal rules so that each entrant can only get one prize, so I think the signal is there that multiple entries are well within the spirit of the rules.
Speaking in general terms about writeoffs and not about this one in particular, my general thought if I had the time for a larger number of entries would be to use the writeoff's review/feedback process to its largest benefit. I'd write one (or maybe two) fics that were more straightforward, and one (or maybe two) that took more chances, experimenting with the writing style, using some neat structural gimmick or a distinctive voice or something, and see how well the more daring entries were received and why. If you enter three or four fics that tell different stories but were done in the same way, you're going to get the same feedback on all of them.
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I'm not sure I'm at the point where I can write in a more experimental way, but varying the style is more or less what I intended to do, write stories as different between themselves as I could. My two current entries are even from different genres.
Well, I will try for one more story then. I have one more idea, at least, that should feel quite different from my previous ones. Thanks for the advice
Ooh~ a minific contest~
Thank you for telling us about it.
Hopefully I could make something in time.
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nyan~~