Fanfiction Challenge

[-Jade-]

I think that is a great idea. I guess it will just make sure that the reviews are of real use to the authors - i.e. by covering compliments and contrustive critiscism / improvements. Also people who want to write short reviews could just answer the four questions, and more detailed reviewers could incorporate the four aspects into their overall review.

[Nicom]

Okay,

1. How can I be the third highest poster on this thread.. when I haven't posted in AGES!?

2. You guys talk too much.

3. Is there a challenge set up then.. because I'm getting confused. I was just bored and curious, wondering what the next challenge involved so I thought I'd check it out - I can't find it! Lol. Geez, this thread gets out of control when Nicole's not around...

I don't necissarily need the rules for the next challenge, I just thought I'd pop my head back in.

Also, I thought I'd just talk a little bit about this whole J/M and unconventional pairings talk...

Now, recently sevenpudd's has began reading my fic.. which confused me slightly at first. Since then I found out why, and all I have to say is 'Well Done!' To be honest, I wouldn't sit and read a fic about... Ric and Belle. It'd bore me... I'd get distracted.

And I also am going to admit that I'm one of them people who won't read unconventional pairings. Not because I'm boring, or that I'm too much of a "J&M LUVER!!1!!" ...it's because I'm not a very creative person. I just can't sit down with a Jack and Matilda fic and believe it.(sorry to be so precise.. I'm just giving an example - it was brilliantly written!) I haven't SEEN their love. I haven't seen what it's like between them; so I can't imagine it. It's very rare that I can actually imagine stuff from reading. I'm not a book person. I don't like to read books because I don't really do the "imagining it in your head" thing. Fic's are great in that way, I know what characters look and act like - I just get thoughts, storylines and dialogue from fics! So when I have to get feelings and an atmosphere from a fic about characters interactions that I haven't seen before - I can't take it in seriously. Unless a BRILLIANT writer writes. Someone that REALLY interests me, and paints the picture well. That's where, and I promise I'm not sucking up, sevenpudd's shines for me. I've proof read a certain fic of hers that involved Henry and Cassie - don't ask me the name - and it was great! I felt myself rooting for them to get together, and I've NEVER felt that way in the show! That's good writing. That's good stuff.

[Pierced Musie]

FANFICTION CHALLENGE # 4

Thanks to I Love Music for letting me bounce ideas off her.

Okay guys I'm leaving this challenge pretty open to hopefully encourage more people to enter. These are the only restrictions:

1. You must include an interaction of any sort between a past and a present character. The past character can be somebody who left recently or somebody who left years ago. I like the idea of an unconventional pairing so I’d either like to see characters placed together who weren’t on the show at the same time, or, who were but had nothing to do with each other.

Remember it doesn’t necessarily have to be characters in a romantic pairing. It can be two characters who hate each other, two characters who are friends etc.

Suggestions: See this link but I'm sure everyone on here is capable of coming up with something on their own.

Be as creative as you like in the pairings but the idea is to make the pairing in your story realistic and not unconventional at all if everybody understands what I mean by that.

2. The fic has to have a strong emotional theme. Don't be content with the obvious like sad or romantic. Go for sad or romantic if you want, but remember emotions can also include anger, happiness, laughter, loneliness, hate, disappointment, nostalgia, triumph, terror, contentment, hope...the list is endless.

It doesn't matter if you choose only one emotion or if you choose several. The only restriction is that there IS emotion! Make the reader laugh or make them cry, it's YOUR choice!

Hint: For those who think this sounds difficult, they key is in description. Don't be content with just saying something, instead try and describe it. If the reader can see it then they are more likely to feel it. Litery devices are really good too. Comparing something to something else is a good way of creating emotion.

Examples: Instead of 'she stood up and stretched' go for something like 'she stood up and stretched out her long, perfectly tanned legs'

Instead of 'Sally began to cry' go for something like 'Sally could hardly contain the avalanche of tears that threatened to spill down her drawn, weary face'

'She kissed him and he knew he loved her' go for something like 'as she kissed him he felt his stomach lurch like something inside it was somersaulting, his lips tingled with her touch and in that instant he knew that he loved her.'

I know they're not the best descriptions because I'm rushing but hopefully those people who think they can't create emotion can get an idea of some ways to do it. I'm sure if anyone wanted advice there's lots of writers on here who would be willing to offer tips.

3. WORD COUNT. Sorry Nicole and other ramblers but it’s to be one shots only and I’m imposing a pretty strict 1,500 minimum to 2000 words maximum. The reason for this is that in my opinion too short a story doesn’t leave enough time to really create emotion (hence the minimum length) but too long a story can overwhelm it (hence the maximum) if that makes sense.

They're the only restrictions I'm imposing, for everything else you can do as you please. Any setting, any genre, any theme any time, etc, etc.

I hope the strict word count doesn’t prevent too many people from entering, it is pretty open and I’m going to give a bit more than a three week deadline to allow ramblers and word count haters a bit extra time for editing. If you really want to enter and have something cooking but can't meet the deadline let me know. I'm willing to make minor adjustments in order for more people to enter.

As it stands, the deadline is the 30th September UK time.

If anybody would like me to proof read their entry please PM it to me in advance of the deadline and I’ll get it back to you for editing. If anybody would like opinions, advice, suggestions etc please say so on the top of the PM and I’ll do my best to help you out, bear in mind I’m not perfect though!

Any questions or if you're unsure of anything PM me or post them in this thread, thanks.

There you go then. I hope people don't think I've left put too many restrictions on it or left it too open because I'm really looking forward to reading lots of entries.

Good luck.xx

[Skykat]

Thanks Tainted Muse.

Can I do anything to convince you to enter Nicole?

[Nicom]

Thanks Tainted Muse.

Can I do anything to convince you to enter Nicole?

Yea thanks Tainted Muse.

Can I just say, I was reading it all under my breath,and as I read "3. WORD COUNT. Sorry Nicole and other ramblers " I let out a loud, short laugh. It made me chuckle.

Um... god I'm not sure. When I first glanced at your post "Can I do anything to convince you to enter Nicole?" my instant reply was going to be "Only if you can send chocolate through the post.." but... I'm not sure if I'll enter now.

I wasn't going to enter because I'm lazy. But I might yet. It's just a couple of things that worry me. Yes, word count being one. lol. But.. I'm up for the challenge... I guess I could try, there is no harm in trying. If you don't get an entry from me by 30th September you know that I either rambled too much, or ran out of time.

Can I just ask, are you sure no rules have been altered or anything? I know that it's happened before.. so I don't want to write something that follows them above to find out it's wrong. Cheesed off would be an understatement.

[Skykat]

Nope the rules are exactly the same.

Jess requested a 10% boundary either side of the word count which was granted. Don't know if that helps a little.

I've made it pretty clear that I'm not being very strict on the pairings, as long as you think it fits the category then that suits me.

In fact I'm not really being very strict on anything, as long as the pairing is different, I'm happy and I'm willing to give leeway on a lot of things. PM me if you need any more info, have any questions.

If all else fails...

[-Jade-]

You know what? That might just work, knowing Nicole's greediness.

[Nicom]

Lol!!

Yummy..

Shu'up Jackandmartha!!! *glares*

[sevenpuddings]

Before I have to rush and get ready for evil work.

Ideally, a rough draft of guidelines for reviewing.

-

Review Guidelines

Please remember that while reviewing, there is more than simply the character/pairing to be taken into consideration. Here are some questions you might consider when reviewing each story.

1. Was the interaction between the chosen characters believable?

2. Were there any lines or moments that stood out to you? Why did they stand out? Did the author use descriptive language or emotive language to draw you into the story?

3. Overall, was the story appealing to you? Why/Why not?

4. What do you feel could be improved by the author? Do you have any suggestions for them?

[Skykat]

Before I have to rush and get ready for evil work.

Ideally, a rough draft of guidelines for reviewing.

-

Review Guidelines

Please remember that while reviewing, there is more than simply the character/pairing to be taken into consideration. Here are some questions you might consider when reviewing each story.

1. Was the interaction between the chosen characters believable?

2. Were there any lines or moments that stood out to you? Why did they stand out?

Did the author use descriptive language or emotive language to draw you into the story?

3. Overall, was the story appealing to you? Why/Why not?

4. What do you feel could be improved by the author? Do you have any suggestions for them?

I think they're good Jess. The only thing I'd say is that number one is relevent for this challenge but might not be relevent for every challenge set but maybe number 1 could be flexible ie. so that the hoster can adapt it to ask for comments on the key aspect of the challenge ie, the pairing in this one, the prompt in the last one. etc.

Also I'd be tempted to separate section 2 and give the review 5 parts (I've separated them above so you can see what I mean). Just because I think description and emotion are really important aspects of a story and might get lost if grouped in with the rest of section 2 if that makes any sense.

Other than that I think they make a great basic outline, simple but they should hopefully allow for fair and helpful reviews. Great work.xx