Fall Ceramic Dm™ - Winner!

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Besides, Ive already consigned myself to the fact that if someone who can write like Rangerwickett can lose the first round, I don't stand a chance.

My first two Ceramic DMs, I made it to the third round. The third time I competed, when I thought I was on a roll, I got knocked out in the first round (unanimously, I think) after writing what I thought was one of my better stories.

Every competition, every round, is a new chance.

 

[RangerWickett]

Tolen Mar, you pay me a great compliment (*stiff aristocratic scorn* almost as great as the insult paid to me by yangnome!). However, I see now that the four years I spent in college were wasted. I'm going to go ask for my money back, since I was beaten by a flumph. Harrumph!

*aristocratic* Harrumph!

Seriously, thank you, but Sialia has shown something clear. Stories need to affect the emotions of the reader. You have to make the reader care about the characters, or else the story is inherently hollow.

I learn from my losses. Slowly, but I do learn.

Now, if you pardon me, I've got to go get a velvet glove so I can challenge yangnome to a duel. My dark elf imaginary friend will my second.

 

[spacemonkey]

Wow - color me surprised! (pleasantly, I might add..)

I'm still pretty new to this Ceramic DM thing, but I felt that maybe I just didn't do that great a job.. course that was me at 2 am after rushing all evening to put a story together. Reading it afterwords, I though it wasn't so bad (and the 'glaring problems' not so glaring when I wasn't just finished dissecting them for hours on end).

then I read MarauderX's story, and figured I was probably beat. Overall, I think it was a bit more inventive than mine, which ended up being a fairly straightforward spy jaunt. That's not bad per-se, but I would have liked it to be somewhat more intricate. Hard to do in this sort of format though, as I quickly found out

Some general thoughts on my story, and the process of writing a Ceramic DM entry from a first timer (for those interested):

* this is not easy. I don't even think I got the hardest set of pictures, and it was still tough to pull something together. Not that I expected it to be easy, but things are always different once you get down into the trenches. I had fun though.

* I found this to be good writing practice. I went with a style that isn't what I would call my 'standard', and that has probably helped me stretch a bit as a writer. My dialog was mentioned as being pretty good, which I'm glad of. Usually it isn't my strong suit, and I was trying to get some practice on that. Seems that it turned out decent this time, but I'm sure I have a good ways to go.

* I definitely wasn't going for a mystery. (though I did consider that initially, it quickly dawned on me that I simply didn't have enough time to do that right). I was thinking that Kate would have spotted Dawson's scheme sooner, but she was broken up over Nate's condition - it was clouding her usually sharp senses a bit. If I had noticed, I would have played that up a little, but it got lost in the time-crunch. Kate's lack of emotion was mentioned, but Nate wasn't dead - just paralyzed (and dying..). I didn't really go over that too much in the story, and maybe I should have, but he was out of action for the duration, and I figured it didn't matter too much.

* The splinter/present bugged me as I was writing, but I couldn't really think of what else to do with it. I knew I wanted revenge link there, but couldn't think of another object to use (though shrapnel may have been good, if Nate had been the soldiery type). It seemed a little forced to me. I didn't really consider the size too much, just that it was long-ish (and pointy I guess I just decided that I liked it in there for the final scene, and left it.

* I agree with both judges on picture use. The blackbird was hard to work in, while at the same time it pretty much defined what sort of story I was writing (I probably would have gone another route if it had been different). The storefront was a little 'it's there because it is one of the assigned pictures'. Maybe if it had been the scene of the raid where Kate got the splinter in the first place, and if Dawson had been involved in that too or something, it may have tied it in better. Ah, the things we think of after the fact.


I want to thank MarauderX for giving me some good competition. From what I've seen of the other entries, I look forward to being thrashed by some talented writing in Round 2.

 

[Sialia]

Wow. I really thought I was beat there.

Wow.

Thank you, and thanks to my competitors for a really tight match. I liked both of your stories very much.

I was sure somebody was going to say, "but Sialia, why didn't you give us the cool story about the Ratrider?"

I guess there were a lot of reasons why, but one was that I had already posted the pictures for that one a long while back (back when I had an art gallery), and I didn't want folks to think I was turning in an old story instead of a new one.

For those who missed the pictures the first time around, I thought I'd include them here. The first and last are by me, and the really good middle one is by Kip the Bold because I wanted so badly to see this character illustrated and both of my pictures weren't working the way I wanted them too. After I saw his, I went back and fixed mine up a bit, and they're better now, although I still like his best.

One of the things I like best about these boards is the amount I learn from the many talents here. BSF has always helped me to hear my own voice as others hear it, which is really hard to do, and invaluable. Maldur has given me a lot of insight too--I think his brief judgements are really one of the strengths of this competion--it's like pitching a movie concept to a producer--you either get it right, or you don't. Complemented by two detail judges like Rodrigo and BSF to tell you exactly what you did, Maldur's gut response tells you clearly whether the big picture is there, or it isn't.

I think RangerWickett and Yangnome have given me back an interest in fiction at a time I thought I had lost it.

I'm very curious to see what comes next.

 

[yangnome]

Seriously, thank you, but Sialia has shown something clear. Stories need to affect the emotions of the reader. You have to make the reader care about the characters, or else the story is inherently hollow.

Very true. Now I need to figure out how to apply this to my NaNo novel, or rather how to make the mc important to the audience.

 

[tadk]

I love those Ratrider images

way totally cool....they so remind of me the Thomas image that Harlan Ellison wrote. Not exactly the same but so similar to me. What it evokes.

 

[Sialia]

I don't know that one--send me better citation? or link?

 

[Tolen Mar]

Time for a good 'ole page 3 bump.

 

[MarauderX]

I want to thank MarauderX for giving me some good competition. From what I've seen of the other entries, I look forward to being thrashed by some talented writing in Round 2.

You're welcome, and good work, you've earned it. Obviously I still have big problems with picture use and character backdrop, something to work on next month.

Thanks to the judges - the comments are always helpful.

I suppose if there were time to edit it would have been clearer, and make sure to do some in the next rounds. Good luck spacemonkey!

 

[maxfieldjadenfox]

Time for a good 'ole page 3 bump.

OK. I've seen this term multiple times and not to sound entirely ignorant, but could somebody 'splain me what it means?