Mako Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 I agree with most of that, but I don't know about taking off the Malifaux setting restriction. It's not that restrictive given the scope of the fluff, and puts us all in the same kind of situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePandaDirector Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 I agree with most of that, but I don't know about taking off the Malifaux setting restriction. It's not that restrictive given the scope of the fluff, and puts us all in the same kind of situation. I agree and I don't mind it remaining. It's just that some people may feel more comfortable with sci-fi, others with more contemporary settings, and some just completely original. Maybe a future Iron Quill could have each round being a different genre =] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted June 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 ...Now there's an intriguing idea... For now, I want to keep the Malifaux restriction in. As a courtesy to Wyrd for hosting the contest, lol. But I think there might have to be a round of 'freestyle'. I'll work on linking things in for the first post, that's a great idea, and I'll get in touch about future rounds and stickies. As for the WIP/deadline issue, I'm leaning towards some suggestions I got from Sholto (will be reposting in the first post): All stories can be edited as much as people would like. If a story is going to be modified to such an extent that it no longer matches the original story, please start a new thread. WIP will not be necessary in the title, but it is requested that any story that isn't completed have it at the top of the post. When the story is finished, please remove WIP from the post. Edits can be made up until the deadline, but any edits made on the deadline or afterwards will disqualify the entry from the competition. (As an editorial note- please don't make me do this.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thechosenone Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Coolness on the edits. On the genre/sub genre shifting, i'm all for keeping it Wyrd centric. It's there home after all. But, nothing would stop people from shifting the timeline with their work. What about an alternative future setting using wyrd themes or bronze age early history Wyrd. (Bronzepunk?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 What's the deadline again? :-P I should have mine up next week after some more tweaks, also got to finish my latest tutorial by next week too. Insomnia is proving handy, I can draft stuff instead of sleeping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted June 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 ...Mako. I'm not sure if I'm annoyed with you or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 You know you want to be really. Go on, indulge yourself! Muahahahahaha... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberGruber Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 I agree with all Panda's suggestions except for the removal of the Malifaux setting. That I think should stay as it gives the competition 'binding'. If the setting restriction is removed, the game would lose a lot of it's appeal for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePandaDirector Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 I agree with keeping the Malifaux setting though I do look forward to reading non-Malifaux stuff elsewhere on this forum. I'm glad I haven't started my story yet, because I had a brainwave last night partly due to the quality of the work already posted. I've got a reputation to maintain I agree with all Panda's suggestions except for the removal of the Malifaux setting. Therefore I expect to see a lot more pandas in your next story. I look forward to it =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberGruber Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 By somewhat bizarre coincidence, my Baby Kade's Teddy is painted up as a panda and I have a non-Malifaux story started with a character called Pandaros (which sadly doesn't really have anything to do with pandas but the name at least references them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePandaDirector Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 I've just realised that each section in my story has to be roughly 300 words or less. That's a bit of tight squeeze since I'm a bit like Ubergruber and Thechosenone when it comes to description =P Will try and have wip up by the end of the week. Anyone who wants their story referenced in mine should get there's up before then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberGruber Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 I've just realised that each section in my story has to be roughly 300 words or less. This may be blindingly obvious to you already, in which case just pretend I never mentioned it, but presumably what you actually mean is that the sections of your story will have to average (mean) 300 words. That would allow you to run on longer in some if you could do others more briefly and it may be that each section is not equal (even roughly equal) in its need for words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePandaDirector Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 This may be blindingly obvious to you already Indeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberGruber Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Did you overlook the bit where I said to pretend I never mentioned it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePandaDirector Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Word of advice. Don't try and do anything smart with name meanings - every baby name database has a different definition for everything - it just becomes a headache... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberGruber Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 (edited) A good etymology dictionary helps, I find. This one: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php is not bad for an online reference. I should perhaps clarify that Pandaros is not a name that references pandas in any way save the coincidental spelling as I fear the panda was a stranger to ancient Greece. I just thought the coincidence of letters worth a mention. Edited June 9, 2012 by UberGruber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePandaDirector Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 I'm just trying to make sure that everyone's name links to something, which should be fine since it's quite simple connections, but because there are different definitions (the origin of the name and sometimes the more contemporary interpretations) I have to search a word and find names that apparently mean that, then search those names to see if they actually mean that word which becomes harder when you're trying to find multiple names that mean the same thing... It's one past midnight now and I'm not tired, perhaps a flurry of work will get me an early night And I don't think there's any name that references pandas, or rather it would reference bamboo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberGruber Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Sure. I tend to choose names because I like the sound of them in relation to the character as I envisage them in my head (and sometimes go back and change the name to something that sounds better to me if the character happens to evolve so as to make a change mor epleasing), but I do sometimes like to work in a theme for names, be it referencing a character trait in some way, keeping a sort of familial link (I have another story where there is a Hurst son of Holt, both words having something to do with wood), or, as in the case of the Saffron Hill Gang, some kind of connection to Dickens' characters, be it more (Old Joe, Artless) or less (Stick, 'Sno) obvious. Mind you, even there I couldn't find a suitable doggy alternative to Bill Sikes (so I reference it with Old Joe's 'Sic 'em!' Spell...). I hope to use the SHG as a link between my stories in this competition, so I can expand on them a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePandaDirector Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 2000 words and counting! I should reach the 3000 marks soon but whether the story will end there or not has yet to be determined, I might have underestimated my capacity for a large word count =P Good news there's gonna be plenty for you to tear apart, I can already see plenty flaws, but I'm impatient to hand it over to you guys =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberGruber Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Use of Mystery Ingredient 0-5 Technical Skills 0-5 Creativity 0-5 General Enjoyment 0-5 These scores are not used to determine the winner of each round, but are so that the authors can get some detailed feedback on various parts of their story I'm increasingly uncomfortable with this bit of the procedure I'm afraid, that is to say assigning numbers to each part and, to a lesser degree, the (to me) rather broad categories. What is the difference between Creativity and Technical Skill when it comes to constructing a plot, for instance? Were the scores part of the judging (ie they played a part in determining the winner rather than just for feedback) then I'd still be slightly uncomfortable, but it would, to me, give them some meaning. As it is though, while I'm more than happy to give comments, even with my reservations about the four categories), I'm reluctant to assign a value to something that I can't define to my own satisfaction. If other people are happy enough with the scores, then please just disregard this (but expect universal 5s from me, though the accompanying comments will reflect my thoughts as best as I can express them). Let me emphasise, I've no problem with choosing and ranking my four favourite stories out of the submissions (ie the 'proper' scoring that will determine the winner), and I'm more than happy to give feedback to every author who submits. I'm just not happy with the 0-5 marking for feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sholto Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 @Ubergruber - I think any scoring system is going to be subject to these kinds of issues. Everyone has their own take on how (if at all) the component parts of writing can be broken down for individual assessment. I doubt any two people on this forum would come up with the same list of components, or even the same method of evaluation, for that matter. If you were to ask me (as any sane man would avoid doing) I would ramble at length about how Critters.org did things, before eventually sequeing into a story about my cats and ultimately just petering out as I forget what I was... I think the method we have here works well enough for what it is trying to do, which is give objective guidance on certain story elements. There is nothing to stop your comments or critique focusing in a completely different direction, of course, or avoiding the scoring entirely in favour of doing your own thing. If you want to assess and score the plot out of 5, I don't see why you can't do that. Writers are generally happy just to get some feedback! I suppose Creativity is the hardest one to quantify. It could mean a lot of different things, from creative use of the topic to creative use of the Malifaux world to pure creative flights of fancy to creating believable and interesting characters, and so on. I think you just have to pick one that works for you and score the stories accordingly. There is nothing to stop you saying, "for this story I am scoring Creativity highly due to the insanely complicated plot that somehow gets resolved in only 3000 words", but then scoring Creativity on different grounds on another story. Defining the categories and assigning scores is not so much the issue for me. I am just not keen on assigning scores in general (see Critters.org). That is more because while I can tell someone in words that their characters are stock and uninteresting but without making them want to either never write again or hunt me down and kill me (or both), it is very hard to do that with just the number "2" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberGruber Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Sure, like you I don't quite see what purpose assigning numerical values has in this instance given that your 3 may well be my 5 and, more importantly, where the purpose is to give the author useful feedback. Merely choosing one's personal 4 favourites and ranking them is straightforward (and the subjectivity is natural to the process) is an excellent way of helping determine the winner of the competition round, but I'm very uncertain that there's much merit to assigning a subjective numerical value to broad categories for the purposes of feedback where such scoring can, as you say, surely do nothing other than give an immediate positive or negative effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted June 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Would it work better if we dropped the scores associated with, and made it a requirement for some level of feedback on various areas? Similar, in a broad way, to the ones that were being scored? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberGruber Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 I'd certainly prefer that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilus Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 2000 words and counting! I should reach the 3000 marks soon but whether the story will end there or not has yet to be determined, I might have underestimated my capacity for a large word count =P I have a note book I have been using to write my story. Right now if you opened that notebook you would see the following Iron Quill Entry Hang over Chess piece Malifaux Monkeys!? Thats all I got. so 2998 more words to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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