Contest: Rare Story Prompts · 8:10pm Apr 11th, 2018
Good evening to all my lovely readers on this passable spring evening. Hope to find you full of vim and vigor.
I'm not sure I have the follower count to pull this off, but I would like to propose a short contest series, if there is enough interest, specifically concerning story types which are both difficult to pull off and rare in the fandom.
If there is any interest, I will set up a group and we'll get this show on the road.
To give you a taste of what I have in mind, here is the proposed first prompt:
Second person HiE, with a FEMALE point of view character.
Max length: ten thousand words.
As most people reading this likely know, the above from a male point of view are dirt common on site, and most of them are garbage Anon fics. Even amongst that rare female point of view fraction that does exist, most are just fetish porn. Hell, female protagonists are far outnumbered even in bog standard HiE's.
As such, this poses a double challenge for the author, as they will be writing an inherently challenging piece whilst treading fairly new ground.
Judging will be two people, me and someone else (volunteers welcome), and the prize will be a review of any fic of the winners choosing, to be written by me.
Before anything else, though, I would like to know if there is any interest in this sort of contest. Specifically, this prompt or prompts like it. On the topic of interest, I don't often ask this, but signal boosts would be welcome.
Well then, my good ladies and gentlemen, what are your thoughts?
Edit: several people have stated interest, but the second person perspective appears to be a sticking point. Thus a possible alternative first prompt:
First or second person HiE, with a FEMALE point of view character.
Thoughts?
I doubt I'll be able to work with that particular prompt, but the concept certainly intrigues me.
4838091
Perhaps you might come aboard for a different rare story prompt further down the line?
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Ideally. Here's hoping this one goes well. I'll provide a signal boost when I get home.
It is an interesting challenge, no doubt. My personal issue is that if I start taking part in another contest without working on my ongoing stories I may be the subject of just ire and disappointment.
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Thanks a lot, I appreciate it
Couldn't promise anything for the initial prompt, swamped as I am by finishing off an ongoing story and prepping for another contest entry, but I'd definitely be interested in joining any such group and gandering at future prompts.
The concept doth interest me, o fellow Brit, tho' as others have said my existing commitments may hinder me.
Prompt suggestion: "Fall Of Reverse Gender Roles Anon-A-Miss"
But seriously, I'm a fan of redeeming dead tropes. Establishing oases in the desert, as it were. I've actually already written something that comes extremely close to the existing prompt [link goes to story listing for a NSFW story].
I can't promise that I'd actually be able to enter due to time constraints, but I'm certainly at least intrigued.
Hm. I could do with being more experimental, and this sounds like a noble cause (in terms of creativity, at least).
I could give it a try, but there's always the risk I might drop out if I can't quite make it work. Had a vague idea for something like this anyway, where the protagonist actually comes from a sci-fi fictional world (of the comedic, mad science kind to justify the tech needed to traverse universes) but who grew up on pony stories there and wants in on the pony world.
Only... does it have to be second-person? That's my main sticking point.
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I have so far managed not to figure out what this Anon-A-Miss craze is about. And please do not enlighten me, because I hope to continue to evade it for some time to come.
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Nothing is set in stone at present, and if the main problem for people is this particular prompt, then it can be altered.
My main concept here is to challenge authors with prompts for rare story genres and types, that have little if any representation on site. I want people treading new ground, if at all possible. If I can get it off the ground, it could lead to a number of unique and creative stories that would not otherwise come into being.
Would definitely be interested in other prompts for this contest, but I seriously dislike second-person stories, with the exception of the occasional "Choose Your Own Adventure", which there is no way I could write within the limitations noted. Would be happy to judge anything else as well.
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Well, I already do something similar for character tags with low story counts, so sure, count me in. Definitely, I can raise a metaphorical glass to that.
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My sentiments exactly, judging from what little I've heard.
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The second person thing does seem to be a sticking point here.
...is second-person HiEquestria Girls permitted
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One would be forgiven for thinking not, given the ratios involved; which is why I want to see it done.
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I think it's just the conjunction of those two genres that's causing the problem, as it's too overly specific. Also, I suspect the Female HiE proposal is just more surprising in a "my word why didn't I think of that" sense than the second-person proposal could be. Either on its own would make a good amount of work for a writer venturing outside of their comfort zone.
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(I'll take that as a yes. It sounds like a fun project and I'm just better at EQG anyway.)
As for general thoughts, I like the contest series idea. I'm always for people varying their subject matter round these parts--or at the very least, if you're going to go back to the same wells over and over again, to do it with style.
...Fimfiction regularly fails at style, I've found.
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Second person seems to be the sticking point for a lot of people. On the other hand, there does seem to be interest in the concept of rare story prompts.
I think I will alter it to just female perspective (it's the first one, after all), but we'll give it a day or so to see what other people think. I will make an edit to that effect.
Edit: apologies for the double post.
I’d do it. After all, I write female protagonists way more than males. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever actually written a story where the protagonist was male. I should fix that.
There are only two proper uses for second person in fiction writing: choose your own adventure stories and character backgrounds for pregenerated characters in RPGs. I've written plenty of the latter, but my only foray into second person writing here was one chapter for an anthology and editing others' works. I'll pass on this prompt, but would be interested in seeing future prompts.
This is tempting, though I know Admiral Biscuit has a series of stories that are just this, and quite good. :D
If not for that 10k word limit, I would drop everything and write a story I've been planning for years. :B
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We may be altering the prompt to include first person, based on feedback so far. Watch this space.
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So a woman cosplaying as evil She-Hulk gets sent to Equestria, where mares are in charge but fighting off caribou?
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Adding the first-person conditional is a definite improvement. I'd still prefer third-person, but I can at least reasonably deal with a first-person perspective, so it's not a major problem.
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First person is interesting because a fic lives or dies on how well the author writes and understands the view point character; thus covering the challenge aspect of the contest. It could be very cool.
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Looking at my current WIP, the three most stand-out male characters are:
Yeah, I might be a bit imbalanced in that regard as well.
This is very tempting indeed. I'd prefer first person, but I'm pretty interested!
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First person is likely going to be on the cards. I'll keep people posted.
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Cool! Thanks!
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I mean, if you're gonna do it, make it hard, right?
Interestingly, that was the chapter title of my second person female protagonist clopfic (with a pony [not set in Equestria, though])
Just kidding, that wasn't really the chapter title.
I could really do either, depending on when the contest is. I'll write whatever. But . . . I've got some other projects to get done before I could enter another contest, or else some of my followers are going to come after me with torches and pitchforks.
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You forgot about trolling other second person stories as a use for that narrative device. That's my favorite way to use it.
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MAN YOU'RE RIGHT HOW COULD I FORGET DISPLACED
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Agreed, although I'd expand that definition to include any game where you're playing a character with an undefined personality, not just RPGs.
Of course, I'm among those that can't even read most second person stories because I always get to a point where the story goes "You did this," And I'm like "Um... no. No, I didn't. I wouldn't do that." In the case of the kind of fanfic we often discuss on this blog it's usually because I'm not that much of an asshole/psychopath.
All that said... a first-person female human in Equestria story. Hmmm...
>Female Second Person HiE
Awesome! I'd been planning something like this for awhile! I can't wait to-
>most of them are garbage Anon fics
Oh. Well. Okay. So much for that.
Are we talking second person as this site likes to write it, or are we talking something that isn't a poorly disguised first-person wish-fulfilment fantasy?
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The latter, ideally. Additionally, first person fics will be accepted. The new, and current prompt:
This sounds like a cool idea. May or may not participate. The second person makes it more challenging, but I think it’d be great to see stories that do it right.
I have an idea, but it'd really only be doable in first-person (or third, I guess), not second. Also, what would be the timeline for such a contest?
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The prompt has changed: first person is now permitted. As for timelines, I was thinking two weeks to a month per prompt, with the former being more likely. I will make a second blog with final details in the next few days, along with a link to the new group. Watch this space.
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Glad to have you aboard
As for the open-ended-ness, that's quite deliberate; I fully expect authors to subvert the prompt. We get a nice selection of cool fics that way.
The way the prompt is currently worded, there’s a big loophole: it doesn’t specify if the human needs to be the viewpoint character. So I could write a story from Twilight Sparkle’s perspective, reacting to the dumb antics of my male author-insert in Equestria, and technically qualify for this contest. Which seems counter to the spirit of the prompt, unless I’m misunderstanding the purpose?
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The prompt was deliberately written with loopholes, in order to see what people might do with them, in the manner of F*ck this Prompt over at Rage.
The situation you outline would be allowed, but, unless there was more to it, it would indeed be against the spirit. In short, you could enter with that, but you might have to do a little more if you wanted to win. It would all depend on how it was written.
Hmmm.
I'm in(terested).
I'm intrigued. I can’t commit to anything, but I’m definitely intrigued!
Are you in need of a judge?
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Yes I am. Would you like the job?
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Quite possibly. I'm fully booked for writing, but open for reading. I haven't judged a contest before, so I shall follow your lead on how it works, sempai.
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I can certainly walk you through the process. See how you feel in a day or so, and get back to me. I'll be finalising the details on the contest imminently; a new group will be set up tomorrow, and I'll blog again on the matter then.