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Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 5, 2016 19:00:11 GMT
I've entered 4 times so far. Good luck.
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Tony Jones
Chancellery Guard
Professor Chronotis
Still rockin' along!
Likes: 2,132
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Post by Tony Jones on Jun 5, 2016 20:14:49 GMT
Just submitted my first entry 'Death To Life', based on the toys-to-life obsession. Love the title! Best of luck with the entry.
I've been working on my submission all afternoon (seems to comprise of vast quantities of bad-tempered Sixie - all Mel ever seems to say is "Doctor." or "Doctor?" or mainly, "Doctor!"). I'm writing my story out in full before attempting my synopsis and have just reached the 4300 word point. I'm starting to worry that I can't possibly fit this story into 5000 words...
Chriss C.
EDIT: First proper draft completed at 4746 words. That gives me another 250 words to play with after doing some research to make sure my Sixie/Mel interplay is balanced correctly (I love that I get to call watching the Terror of the Vervoids and the Ultimate Foe "research") and after that I need to ensure that my Short Trips format is in keeping with the style of other releases (again, listening to Short Trips isn't exactly as onerous as revising for my German GCSE). This suddenly seems achievable...
Chriss C.
You don't need to write the story yet, just the first 500 words !
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Post by chrisscorkscrew on Jun 6, 2016 7:35:33 GMT
Love the title! Best of luck with the entry.
I've been working on my submission all afternoon (seems to comprise of vast quantities of bad-tempered Sixie - all Mel ever seems to say is "Doctor." or "Doctor?" or mainly, "Doctor!"). I'm writing my story out in full before attempting my synopsis and have just reached the 4300 word point. I'm starting to worry that I can't possibly fit this story into 5000 words...
Chriss C.
EDIT: First proper draft completed at 4746 words. That gives me another 250 words to play with after doing some research to make sure my Sixie/Mel interplay is balanced correctly (I love that I get to call watching the Terror of the Vervoids and the Ultimate Foe "research") and after that I need to ensure that my Short Trips format is in keeping with the style of other releases (again, listening to Short Trips isn't exactly as onerous as revising for my German GCSE). This suddenly seems achievable...
Chriss C.
You don't need to write the story yet, just the first 500 words ! Hi Tony You are right that only 500 words (and a synopsis) are required. I'm intentionally writing the story out in full just for myself as I want to write it whilst the idea still feels fresh and interesting, and ensure that I pace it correctly so that the first 500 words includes the right amount of plot. If by some miracle I did win, I'd also feel a lot better knowing I had already managed to write the story I've been commissioned for and just needed to tweak it. Plus I actually want to write this story as I really like the premise and it would be a waste not to. Chriss C.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jun 6, 2016 15:59:52 GMT
Question.
What is the 'toys to life obsession.'?
I don't want to sound stupid.
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Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 6, 2016 19:26:54 GMT
Question. What is the 'toys to life obsession.'? I don't want to sound stupid. It's basically a new videogame genre where you place a toy figure onto an electronic 'toy pad' and the figure appears in the game.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jun 7, 2016 6:04:37 GMT
Like Disney infinity or the lego one?
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Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 7, 2016 7:57:52 GMT
Like Disney infinity or the lego one? Yes, Disney Infinity and LEGO Dimensions along with Skylanders are toys-to-life games.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jun 7, 2016 17:27:11 GMT
I've entered 4 times so far. Good luck. Cheers. One of my openings is almost identical to sporting life... Grrr. So.. that's out then
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Tony Jones
Chancellery Guard
Professor Chronotis
Still rockin' along!
Likes: 2,132
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Post by Tony Jones on Jun 7, 2016 19:02:26 GMT
Good luck. Cheers. One of my openings is almost identical to sporting life... Grrr. So.. that's out then But is the plot different?
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Post by elvwood on Jun 7, 2016 19:26:01 GMT
I've not heard any of the monthly Short Trips, just the collections and a handful of subscriber ones from my single non-early years main range sub. So mine may be doomed due to inadvertent duplication too...
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jun 7, 2016 22:43:13 GMT
I am! Thrown out a few, let's see how Ian feels about them. Tried to do a mix up of scary and funny.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jun 8, 2016 4:57:15 GMT
Cheers. One of my openings is almost identical to sporting life... Grrr. So.. that's out then But is the plot different? It's very very different
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Post by chrisscorkscrew on Jun 8, 2016 7:39:21 GMT
I've not heard any of the monthly Short Trips, just the collections and a handful of subscriber ones from my single non-early years main range sub. So mine may be doomed due to inadvertent duplication too... I'm in the same boat. I've downloaded the 2015 series and will try to listen to a few of them before the deadline, but am a bit wary as I love my idea and would hate to realise it is isn't as original as I think it is. Chriss C.
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Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 8, 2016 8:43:24 GMT
The thing is, no idea is truly original. If there's anything I have learnt during writing for film & TV lectures at university it's that all ideas have been done somewhere, it's how you tell them that matters.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jun 8, 2016 13:07:03 GMT
Yeah... but it's always a good idea to strive for...
Never mind.
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Post by chrisscorkscrew on Jun 8, 2016 20:52:37 GMT
The thing is, no idea is truly original. If there's anything I have learnt during writing for film & TV lectures at university it's that all ideas have been done somewhere, it's how you tell them that matters. You mean that my singing potatoes trapped in a lift with the Doctor idea has been done before...?
Chriss C.
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Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 8, 2016 22:08:40 GMT
The thing is, no idea is truly original. If there's anything I have learnt during writing for film & TV lectures at university it's that all ideas have been done somewhere, it's how you tell them that matters. You mean that my singing potatoes trapped in a lift with the Doctor idea has been done before...?
Chriss C.
Okay, maybe not that one.
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jun 11, 2016 9:55:56 GMT
I would like to say to those entering in these final weeks that first, good luck, but second, just be smart. It's easy to let the fanboy go to your head, and thus you become a writer second. Competitions like this are likely not looking for continuity fill ins (since you can't use old monsters, I can well imagine there will instead be a lot of loose 'before the Doctor did this, he did this' affairs) but what you can bring to the table as a creative and how you use your imagination.
I know a guy who is writing a story that is basically 1 grieving over Susan's departure (even though that was the entire point with 7 in Nightshade) and even though I discussed it with him, he remained adamant. Naturally I wished him well, but that's the kind of thing that likely won't get very far in the judging for fairly obvious reasons.
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Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 11, 2016 12:59:42 GMT
I know a guy who is writing a story that is basically 1 grieving over Susan's departure (even though that was the entire point with 7 in Nightshade) and even though I discussed it with him, he remained adamant. Naturally I wished him well, but that's the kind of thing that likely won't get very far in the judging for fairly obvious reasons. It is a good idea though. I imagine the 1st Doctor would have grieved after Susan left.
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Post by chrisscorkscrew on Jun 11, 2016 15:38:24 GMT
I would like to say to those entering in these final weeks that first, good luck, but second, just be smart. It's easy to let the fanboy go to your head, and thus you become a writer second. Competitions like this are likely not looking for continuity fill ins (since you can't use old monsters, I can well imagine there will instead be a lot of loose 'before the Doctor did this, he did this' affairs) but what you can bring to the table as a creative and how you use your imagination. I know a guy who is writing a story that is basically 1 grieving over Susan's departure (even though that was the entire point with 7 in Nightshade) and even though I discussed it with him, he remained adamant. Naturally I wished him well, but that's the kind of thing that likely won't get very far in the judging for fairly obvious reasons. I totally get what you mean. It's catnip for fans to fill those gaps in continuity and I think that's great to a point, but with this competition it's also a good idea to appeal to new or casual listeners with an interesting or exciting story which requires no previous knowledge - essentially writing something which anyone can pick up and enjoy.
Having said that... my story. Erm... Well, I suppose anyone can enjoy it - it's got a decent plot (sez me) and builds to what I think is an exciting finale, but I'll admit that there are elements that are designed to appeal to people with a knowledge of Classic Who, and who would get more out of the story than a casual listener.
Will that stop me? Nope. I'm writing this story for me; and also a little bit for Paul Spragg. It's the story I want to write, the story that's been bubbling around in my head since 2014, and if nothing comes of it, at least I'll have written something that brings me joy. A part of me also thinks that this is a Classic Who short story competition for Classic Who fans, so maybe something that really 'fits' with the Doctor Who universe and continuum would stand a chance.
Chriss C.
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