I agree. I worry it will influence the voting. I don't know how to block the function in the short story contest or I probably would. Perhaps I should have said something.
Whoops. That was inadvertent. I was reading some of them on my phone. Didn't even realize I'd "liked" one until I saw the post in this thread. Fixed it.
Just found something else out about Word's word count. It counted my ellipses when I left a space after the word, and not when I didn't. clack... - one word clack ... - two words
Ok... goodness... here's the official word on word count: Whatever MS Word says, goes. Thus far none of these odd-ball situations have come into play. None of them. This is much about nothing. Write a good story, make sure MS Word says 1000 words. When I check against MS Word, if it says 1000, then 1000 it is. With a single exception - which was way more off than just one word, and was subsequently fixed by the original entrant - all the entries have shown 1000 words when I checked them for word count in MS Word. All of them. MS Word is the check; the check is MS Word.
Wasn't trying to make a big deal of it, I was just sharing something I found about the way Word counts ellipses.
Who cares? Me. You can tell because I asked about them. If I didn't care, I would not have asked. I'm special like that.
And it will be interesting to see what people judge more on: the writing or how well it fits the picture.
Yeah. I've run a few picture-based contests on other forums, and it seems like a mix, with people who really want the story to be accurate to the picture in one camp, and people who are willing to accept anything that is within the broad spirit of what is shown. I have my own approach to such things.
oddly restrictive position from a person with "absolutes are stupid" as their signature. This is a creative writing prompt base on a picture that is meant to be open to interpretation. It is not a thesis style essay asking you to "write about the tibetan numbered-paper ceremony." (not a real thing). The entire point of a prompt like this is to see how immersive and captivating of a concept the writer can build around a intentionally vague picture. The more detailed the picture, the more information that you have, the less creativity is available. If i pick a photo of MLK giving the "i have a dream speech" there is only so much creativity that can be created around the image. We all know what was going on and it will destroy the readers ability to believe anything beyond the idea that its a civil rights speech.
Just my opinion: I think one can be creative even with a well known image. Take the MLK giving his speech, there are infinite possibilities about a day in the life of anyone that might be at that speech. But if one were to write about being on the Capitol Lawn and the story had zero to do with MLK, black lives, the civil rights movement or anything else remotely related, I would think that story might fail the theme. On the other hand, if you picked out an item like the button on his coat and wrote a relevant story about the button, I would think that was creative and within the theme.
I don't care Whilst you further consider the "Absolutes are stupid" statement, you should notice that it is itself an absolute. Dun dun DUN. In other words, it's a paradox. Similar to, "Everything I say is a lie". From here, we can probably extrapolate that I appreciate irony, and subtle communication when it comes to signatures, seeing them as a form of entertainment, not dissimilar to writing itself, rather than the expression of a rigid raison d'etre. Curiously, the person running the competition had no issue at all telling me what they were, poppet. Fancy that! Thanks @Wreybies.
Submissions for the Summer Writing Contest will close tomorrow, July 31st, at midnight, Atlantic Seaboard time (GMT -4).
Imagine me saying that in a smoky gravely voice, just with the slightest hint of a smile playing on the corner of my lips. Very masculine. Or so I imagine that's how I look when I say it.
Ever read Storm Constantine's Wraeththu books? Like a sultry Colurastes pyralis come to bewitch me away into the desert.
I do like some Storm Constantine A friend of mine in the UK has the good fortune of having her as his editor.
