BD Write-Off Discussion Thread

[Willowfang]

This thread is for discussing the two horror write offs we have each year now. We will still have a separate thread for each write off for the more specific details.

Each year:

The Spring Horror Write Off Thread should go up the first Monday of March, the final details given on the first Monday of April, with six weeks to write your stories. Stories are then posted one at a time and voted on.

The Spring Horror Write Off is Theme/Genre based with a choice of two different ones to write about.

The Fall Horror Write Off Thread should go up the first Monday of August, the final details given on the first Monday of September, with six weeks to write your stories. Stories are then posted one at a time and voted on.

The Fall Horror Write Off is open to any theme/genre, or concept. Writers will be presented with up to three opening sentences that must be included in the first paragraph of their story.

Some general rules for both write offs are as follows:

1) Word limit is 5000. This should be more than enough for writers to include any and all desired dialogue and flavor text without having to squeeze and edit their ideas. Far lower word counts are just fine and have worked well in previous Write Offs

2) All stories should begin being written on the Monday on which the final details are given and not before. Pre-existing ideas from other stories are fine, but the piece itself should be a new composition.

3) The Writers will have 6 weeks to write their stories and they will then be posted one at a time and voted on in three subjective categories as follows:

Readability: Is it easy to read, does it sound like good grammar or how someone would actually speak? Did you have to go back and reread or stop to figure out what was going on? (Spelling and grammar count, but to say it hurts the story isn't always true.) It's up to you how readable it was.

Concept: Is it fresh or familiar. Is it a good take or rendition on the idea. Was it a great presentation, or too familiar? Character development fits here too (tho yeah, seems odd due to the heading of "concept") But how well presented are the characters? Are they fleshed out, do we understand or sympathize with them?

Atmosphere: Dread, horror, creepiness, ambiance, mood, immersion etc. How well does the story draw you in? Do you feel the danger, the distress of the world? Are you glad you're not in their shoes? Do you feel for the characters, the world, and/or the situation. If this were a movie, how happy were you watching it unfold? Does the atmosphere suck you in, or like a bad movie, are you checking your watch to see how much is left?

The scale for each catagory will be 1-5, Half points allowed

Stories will be posted Anonymously and can be PM'd or E-mailed to me (or who ever might be running future contests) by clicking that persons screen name in their posts and then clicking the appropriate option.

Once a contest starts, there are no deadlines to sign up per se, but the deadline to submit a story remains the same even if you join in late. People often seem to want to join it in progress, they'll be at a disadvantage of course, but still welcome.

Rules are subject to change as I see fit in order to maintain the spirit of the contest. We're here to have fun, have a good time, and share some horrific stories and ideas.

Throughout the years we can discuss ideas here on how to improve the rules, theme/genre and/or opening sentence ideas, answer questions, or anything else related to the contest.

Each contest will have it's own thread, and discussions should take place there that are specific to that Spring/Fall's Write Off.

=====
List of Spring theme/genre ideas: Atomic Horror, Below the Surface, Creature Feature, Eco-Horror, Historical, Holiday, Horror-Noir, Institution, Occult, Over The Top, Slasher, Spaceship/Space Station, Supernatural Menace, Zombie Outbreak

[Erebus Dirge]

Originally Posted by Willowfang

This thread is for discussing the two horror write offs we have each year now. We will still have a separate thread for each write off for the more specific details.

Each year:

The Spring Horror Write Off Thread should go up the first Monday of March, the final details given on the first Monday of April, with six weeks to write your stories. Stories are then posted one at a time and voted on.

The Spring Horror Write Off is Theme/Genre based with a choice of two different ones to write about.

The Fall Horror Write Off Thread should go up the first Monday of August, the final details given on the first Monday of September, with six weeks to write your stories. Stories are then posted one at a time and voted on.

The Fall Horror Write Off is open to any theme/genre, or concept. Writers will be presented with up to three opening sentences that must be included in the first paragraph of their story.

Some general rules for both write offs are as follows:

1) Word limit is 5000. This should be more than enough for writers to include any and all desired dialogue and flavor text without having to squeeze and edit their ideas. Far lower word counts are just fine and have worked well in previous Write Offs

2) All stories should begin being written on Monday on which the final details are given and not before. Pre-existing ideas from other stories are fine, but the piece itself should be a new composition.

3) The Writers will have 6 weeks to write their stories and they will then be posted one at a time and voted on in three subjective categories as follows:

Readability: Is it easy to read, does it sound like good grammar or how someone would actually speak? Did you have to go back and reread or stop to figure out what was going on? (Spelling and grammar count, but to say it hurts the story isn't always true.) It's up to you how readable it was.

Concept: Is it fresh or familiar. Is it a good take or rendition on the idea. Was it a great presentation, or too familiar? Character development fits here too (tho yeah, seems odd due to the heading of "concept") But how well presented are the characters? Are they fleshed out, do we understand or sympathize with them?

Atmosphere: Dread, horror, creepiness, ambiance, mood, immersion etc. How well does the story draw you in? Do you feel the danger, the distress of the world? Are you glad you're not in their shoes? Do you feel for the characters, the world, and/or the situation. If this were a movie, how happy were you watching it unfold? Does the atmosphere suck you in, or like a bad movie, are you checking your watch to see how much is left?

The scale for each catagory will be 1-5, Half points allowed

Stories will be posted Anonymously and can be PM'd or E-mails to me (or who ever might be running future contests) by clicking that persons screen name in their posts and then clicking the appropriate option.

Once a contest starts, there are no deadline to sign up per se, but the deadline to submit a story remains the same even if you join in late. People seem to always want to join it in progress, they'll be at a disadvantage of course, but still welcome.

Rules are subject to change as I see fit in order to maintain the spirit of the contest. We're here to have fun, have a good time, and share some horrific stories and ideas.

Throughout the years we can discuss ideas here on how to improve the rules, theme/genre and or opening sentence ideas, answer questions, or anything else related to the contest.

Each contest will have it's own thread and discussions should take place there than are specific to that Spring/Fall's Write Off.

Yeah that's a really good spec on Atmosphere, more broader allowing you to have a bit more writing space.

[Jack the Pin]

In Spring I sprang, in Fall I fell.

[Willowfang]

We're still a long way off from the Spring Write off, but wanted to get peeps thinking about about themes and genres.

We'll likely vote over a handful of choices and pick the too most popular.

Last time we used Zombie Outbreak and Atomic Horror and I'd like not to use them twice in a row. There's no reason of course that a story can't use multiple themes tho, like Zombies in Space if Outerspace was picked as a theme.

So if anyone has so ideas, post them, even if that don't seem like THE BEST IDEAS EVER!!!!, so long as it's writable, put them out there, talking about them could inspire other ideas and it's good to know something isn't popular then to just wonder it it would be or not.

Left overs from last year and a some new ones:

Below the Surface - Albeit ground or water. It's easy enough to look around or watch the skies, but how much more hidden and unprepared can we be against what we don't even know is there.
Movies such as Jaws, Tremors, Blood Beach, Them!, The Mole People, Journey to the Center of the Earth. Or even hollow Earth settings. Just what all lurks below?

Creature Feature: some beast like monster, movies like Boogens, Tremors, Jaws, King Kong, Godzilla.

Historical - something between about 2000 BC to 1899 AD

Holiday - Horrific events due to some holiday, either foreign or domestic. Arbor Day, Boxing Day, Memorial Day...

Hunter and The Hunted - A game of cat and mouse, who's after who and who's even the good guy? Cop and seriel killer, Helsing and Dracula, Ripley and an Alien, Dutch and a Predator.

Over the Top - ridiculous events and massive amounts of blood, guts, and gore. Such movies as Brain Dead/Dead Alive, Terror Vision, Troma Flims, Street Trash, etc... Maybe even The Thing is we embellish a bit.

Slasher - Serial Killers, supernatual like Freddy or Jason, or more human.

Spaceship/Space Station - Something out in space, albeit it human or alien

Supernatural Menace - Freddy or Jason again, or Ghosts, goblins, dragons, vampires, werewolves.

The Unquiet - Ghost stories, haunted houses, hauntings of fetches, doppelgangers, revenants, dybbuks, poltergiests - spirits with unfinished business and with an axe to grind or other things that go bump in the night.

Things that should not be - stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. Leaving behind more traditional monsters, using either existing creatures/gods from the mythos or using ones of your own invention that have that distinctive "feel". Stories should be tales of madness and despair, witnessing things so alien and perverse in their existence that it threatens sanity. Capturing the essence and spirit of the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. No rules against making a more humorous attempt at satirizing the sub-genre.

[ChainsawMikeSVE]

.....I can't wait

[The Bear Jew]

I like how The World Horror Convention and Killercon does an annual Grossout story contest, where every writer tries to outdo everyone else in terms of extreme gore, depravity or insane sex. I'd be up for that!

For an example, here's my friend Shane doing his story "Sunday Soup"....

[Willowfang]

Originally Posted by The Bear Jew

I like how The World Horror Convention and Killercon does an annual Grossout story contest, where every writer tries to outdo everyone else in terms of extreme gore, depravity or insane sex. I'd be up for that!

For an example, here's my friend Shane doing his story "Sunday Soup"....

*sigh*

But still, here we go:

Over the Top - ridiculous events and massive amounts of blood, guts, and gore. Such movies as Brain Dead/Dead Alive, Terror Vision, Troma Flims, Street Trash, etc... Maybe even The Thing is we embellish a bit.

[The Bear Jew]

Originally Posted by Willowfang

*sigh*

But still, here we go:

Over the Top - ridiculous events and massive amounts of blood, guts, and gore. Such movies as Brain Dead/Dead Alive, Terror Vision, Troma Flims, Street Trash, etc... Maybe even The Thing is we embellish a bit.

I have the strangest idea that you hate that idea Willow....

[Willowfang]

Originally Posted by The Bear Jew

I have the strangest idea that you hate that idea Willow....

Not the idea, just the example. But even it was too irreverent and silly to be very shocking.

Could be fun to do a Dead Alive style story tho with Nickolodeon levels of goop and gore.

[Erebus Dirge]

Originally Posted by Willowfang

We're still a long way off from the Spring Write off, but wanted to get peeps thinking about about themes and genres.

We'll likely vote over a handful of choices and pick the too most popular.

Last time we used Zombie Outbreak and Atomic Horror and I'd like not to use them twice in a row. There's no reason of course that a story can't use multiple themes tho, like Zombies in Space if Outerspace was picked as a theme.

So if anyone has so ideas, post them, even if that don't seem like THE BEST IDEAS EVER!!!!, so long as it's writable, put them out there, talking about them could inspire other ideas and it's good to know something isn't popular then to just wonder it it would be or not.

Left overs from last year and a some new ones:

Creature Feature: some beast like monster, movies like Boogens, Tremors, Jaws, King Kong, Godzilla.

Historical - something between about 2000 BC to 1899 AD

Holiday - Horrific events due to some holiday, either foreign or domestic. Arbor Day, Boxing Day, Memorial Day...

Slasher - Serial Killers, supernatual like Freddy or Jason, or more human.

Spaceship/Space Station - Something out in space, albeit it human or alien

Supernatural Menace - Freddy or Jason again, or Ghosts, goblins, dragons, vampires, werewolves

I like all of those it's really hard to choose just one. But something occurred to me ,that might be an interesting idea, relating to Spring it's self, with the world going through a re-birth. How about some Eco-Horror? This could cover natural disasters and how people lose their humanity in order to survive. Or Mother nature going nuts and fighting back against her abusers. To a group of environmental extremists who will kill humans in order to protect animals and the planet,poisoning CEO's of oil companies with their own toxins etc.
Or how about self aware lab animals. cat,dogs, and rabbits that get pissed off an turn on their torturer's/captors subjecting them to the painful testing that them and so many others have under gone. You could maybe be call it something like Green and Red - Tales of Spring Time Eco-Horror. It would also be a good way to honor Robch's Last Man Alive all about fucked up flesh eating bugs wiping mankind out.