Ceramic DM Winter 07 (Final Judgment Posted)

[Piratecat]

Thank you so much to Berandor, who made me work my butt off. I think I wrote a story that people either really liked or were "eh" on. I was on the former side. This may be the piece I'm proudest of from all the things I've written either in or out of Ceramic DM, which probably says something telling about me. I did exactly what I set out to do - so if you think the story failed on some level, at least we know it's a failing of the author and not an eccentricity of the time limit or the prose.

I specifically tried to make the story seem more like a live documentary than anything else, written by a reporter whose job it is to keep his personality separate from the story. More of his personality seeped in, but what you're seeing there is very deliberate. This story evolved from a conversation I had here at work with the co-worker who had grown up in the "cult-like" church I mentioned earlier. "If only 144K people get into heaven," I pondered, "can you increase your odds by killing the others?" That seed grew into this, and I think it works much better this way. As one of the judges said, usually these stories have a secret society trying to protect the messiah. I realized that there were enough plausible reasons to instead kill him off for the story to work.

Some excellent criticism, however, and I agree with quite a lot of it. Thank you - it's making me think, and re-evaluate some characterization that was inconsistent. Also, thank you to anyone who read the thing more than once, and thus picked up some of the layered sub-text. Finally, a shout out to everyone who just saw me write "layered sub-text" and thought "Do you think he meant to sound like a pretentious wanker?" - 'cause I totally did.

 

[tadk]

More from me

Not for the judges unless you want to know why i wrote what i did before you judge me

[SBLOCK]

Hi all
Thank you so much for the comments on this and all my other CDM stories.
I admit I find CDM to be darn tough on me. I just do not see stories in the pictures. So I go a different route and fit the pictures into story lines, linked together with other stuff I have written, use them to expand my own speculative writing world using the CDM as a point of work.

So yes there is an underlying theme, of The World, which is sort of a modern day, inpsired by Unknown Armies, Over the Edge, and similar RPGs as well as Urban Fantasy and Conspiracy.

So there is a theme, this story semi fits into the general mood generation part of the setting, where man has been made useless by technology and the actions of the beings from other worlds/dimensions slowly taking over, for no apparent reason at all. So hopelessness, despair, uselessness, the waste of life, the grind of the modern age wearing people out are the main themes for this particular entry.Other times it is the intersection of this world and other worlds especially with The Fox Goddess and The Dark Fae Queen of Barbedwire and the Remnant Stories. So that is the underlying element to pretty much all my CDM stories, and a huge chunk of my writing for the last 8 to 10 years.
Thanks for indulging me in reading any of this.
Ta ta
Later Days and Stranger Ways,
Strange is as Strange is (Motto to The World)


[/SBLOCK]

 

[Piratecat]

It would be totally déclassé of me to bump this just for the sake of higher visibility. So instead, I'm doing it for the Gipper.

 

[Gulla]

Uhm, a little thought on a Sunday afternoon:

How are the pairing for the next round done? If BSF can survive CarpeDavid, will it be "open for all" or do you pair BSF up with someone else so Piratecat cannot meet his first round foe until the finals?

And some comments on the judgement. I really think that this match between Berandor and Piratecat is the best ever in CDM, but then older events often pale a bit. Anyway I feel you could both have won, and that the only real difference is in what type of story each one preferes. And with the two nice training matches so far, we expect Piratecat to keep on improving. You are only rising the bar, you know

Håkon
looking forward to new judgements and new stories.

 

[mythago]

I think next round, we all gang up on Piratecat.

 

[Piratecat]

Seconded!

Hey, waittaminnit...

 

[tadk]

All in Favor

All in Favor of ganging up on Piratecat Say Aye



*Aye*

 

[Berandor]

And some comments on the judgement. I really think that this match between Berandor and Piratecat is the best ever in CDM,

I agree

but then older events often pale a bit. Anyway I feel you could both have won, and that the only real difference is in what type of story each one preferes.

I prefer mine

Now, to be more serious for once, I appreciate the thought, but I think I remember other very close matches with mythago and Macbeth, or with carpedavid and ... someone, or how about the time Sialia won? I'd be happy if a year from now this would be a match spoken of in concert with these other ones (and more I'd recognize if I read the older contests). Though next time, I think my star-struckness will have paled enough for me to im-pale PC on Lady Death

And with the two nice training matches so far, we expect Piratecat to keep on improving. You are only rising the bar, you know

Yeah... if PC wins this, it'll be because of BSF's and my sparring. Absolutely

 

[yangnome]

Still waiting on judgements from both OB and Herremann.

Next round pairups will be decided randomly. There is no safeguard preventing a second BSF/PC matchup prior to the finals.

 

[Daulnay]

You know, I'm angry enough that I'm just going to say I'm incapable of making a polite reply just at the moment.

I'm Mythago's partner. From Monday through Friday last week, her work demanded so much that she was gone before 7 am every day, back after midnight every night. Sometimes hours after midnight. Her 3 children did not see her all week, and I barely did. The last 3 nights, she got less than 4 hours each night. By Friday, her eyes were haunted with black circles, and she collapsed Friday night for 10 hours of straight sleep. Somehow, she stole a few minutes here and there to write a story anyway. She undertook the obligation of this competition seriously, you can understand now why she's upset her opponent did not.