Writeoffs this weekend

In about 30 hours from the time of this post, a short-story Writeoff round is going to start! Authors will have three days to produce between 2000 and 8000 words based on a collectively voted prompt, and submit that story to the Writeoff site where your fellow authors (and the public) can read and rate it. Check out cool stories from some of the fandom's top writers! Compete for ponytastic Internet points and pixelated medal icons! And (much more importantly) get gobs of valuable feedback from a lot of smart readers about what works and what doesn't!

If you're willing to give and receive some constructive criticism, it can be a fantastic little writing-workshop-in-a-can. (If the endless parade of Featurebox hits that have started life in the Writeoffs isn't enough evidence for that, then you can read Cold in Gardez's eloquent case for the Writeoffs. I'm not going to reinvent that wheel here.)

Also, even if you have no interest in joining the competition, the discussion thread for the current round is thoroughly worth reading right now. Georg, Not_A_Hat and I are riffing back and forth on a comment in the thread's first post, and it has somehow turned into an open-participation story jam about Equestria's National Strategic Wheatgrass Reserve. Start here and skim down, and add on to the end! We've got a little over a day before the Writeoff itself starts and everyone's focus turns to the competition ...

Comments

[journcy]

And (much more importantly)

i.ytimg.com/vi/oHC1230OpOg/hqdefault.jpg

[Nadnerb]

[AndrewRogue]

So if I'm gathering this right, just submit something during the submission period and then do some constructive c and c after all the submissions are in?

[CoffeeMinion]

4243804 Yes indeed! All you gotta do is hit 2000+ words, and have a connection to the prompt, and be willing to endure constructive criticism of whatever you submit. Sharing constructive criticism of others' stories makes it even better!

[horizon]

4243305
I've made progress! I'm totally done with one chapter out of three -- have about two scenes to add and a little polishing to do later in the story. September ended up being sort of procrastinatey and OCtober's scheduling is miserable but I've made forward progress. The Writeoffs this weekend are gonna slow me down but I'll be back to it as soon as I finish up an entry.

(And please feel free to keep giving me the Trixie eye, because it's a useful reminder to keep myself on track.)

[horizon]

4243804
Yep! Go register an account over at writeoff.me, and when you use the "Fic Submission" link there after writing your 2000-8000 words, it will handle anonymity for you. (Just don't tell people which story is yours until your name shows up next to it in the Gallery page.) It does allow you to edit submitted stories, so getting in earlier rather than later is a good move to make sure you don't get caught out by the deadline.

The Writeoff Introduction page and FAQ page might help get you oriented, or feel free to ask questions either here or on this round's Writeoff thread (which is where reviews will get posted).

[Nadnerb]

4244734 Huzzah! Status update!

[AndrewRogue]

4244758
4244659

Thanks! Gonna try to sneak something in (I've been in a writing rut lately), but not sure I'll be able to with company being around all weekend.

[GaPJaxie]

I'm in.