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Post by whiskeybrewer on May 8, 2017 14:41:16 GMT
When you've done the synopsis and the sample, do you guys go on with the rest of the story or leave it at that until later? Ill go on with the rest of the story, so that ill have a first draft done and dusted. There i can tweak and change as and when needed
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2017 15:30:27 GMT
I've got a great idea, I just don't know if 2 people chatting for half an hour would be good for the format
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Post by fingersmash on May 8, 2017 15:37:49 GMT
I have the ultimate problem. A great name, a great story idea, no idea on the plot.
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Post by chrisscorkscrew on May 8, 2017 15:41:49 GMT
When you've done the synopsis and the sample, do you guys go on with the rest of the story or leave it at that until later? Ill go on with the rest of the story, so that ill have a first draft done and dusted. There i can tweak and change as and when needed I'll argue for the other side for this. I wrote and supposedly perfected my story for 2016. I was very proud of it when I finished, actually I think it's the best thing I've ever written, but that made not winning that much harder and it hurt more than it should've done as I was too close to it.
I would recommend sticking with the synopsis and the sample, and maybe writing the story later on for your own amusement or to submit to another competition if it doesn't turn out to be your year.
Good luck!
Chriss C.
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Post by whiskeybrewer on May 8, 2017 16:32:01 GMT
Ill go on with the rest of the story, so that ill have a first draft done and dusted. There i can tweak and change as and when needed I'll argue for the other side for this. I wrote and supposedly perfected my story for 2016. I was very proud of it when I finished, actually I think it's the best thing I've ever written, but that made not winning that much harder and it hurt more than it should've done as I was too close to it.
I would recommend sticking with the synopsis and the sample, and maybe writing the story later on for your own amusement or to submit to another competition if it doesn't turn out to be your year.
Good luck!
Chriss C.
I can see that as well, but least if you dont win, you do have a ready made story for another project in the Whoniverse
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Post by number13 on May 8, 2017 20:49:36 GMT
I'm genuinely lost in admiration for people who feel able to originate an idea, structure a plot and produce a completed story to a high standard. I'm reasonably literate, know the Whoniverse in some detail and recognise good stories when I read or hear them - and I also know I couldn't write one if I lived as long as the Doctor!
This isn't a disguised plea for encouragement from a would-be writer, honestly! Creative writing isn't my thing; I'm happy to be part of the audience and relax with Who for pure entertainment, but I do admire those who create the art form I enjoy and it seems only right to say so once in a while.
Here's hoping that another DU member will hit the creative jackpot this year!
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2017 23:17:57 GMT
I'm reasonably literate, know the Whoniverse in some detail and recognise good stories when I read or hear them - and I also know I couldn't write one if I lived as long as the Doctor! ^^ This ^^ Good luck to everybody that enters the competition though.
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Post by SG. on May 9, 2017 1:12:41 GMT
Well, I think I'm going to have a crack at it this year. Maybe more than one.
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Post by elkawho on May 9, 2017 2:27:24 GMT
I'm genuinely lost in admiration for people who feel able to originate an idea, structure a plot and produce a completed story to a high standard. I'm reasonably literate, know the Whoniverse in some detail and recognise good stories when I read or hear them - and I also know I couldn't write one if I lived as long as the Doctor! This isn't a disguised plea for encouragement from a would-be writer, honestly! Creative writing isn't my thing; I'm happy to be part of the audience and relax with Who for pure entertainment, but I do admire those who create the art form I enjoy and it seems only right to say so once in a while. Here's hoping that another DU member will hit the creative jackpot this year! Me too. As Helen says to Garp on the day they meet, "I'm a reader, not a writer."
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2017 2:43:41 GMT
I'll argue for the other side for this. I wrote and supposedly perfected my story for 2016. I was very proud of it when I finished, actually I think it's the best thing I've ever written, but that made not winning that much harder and it hurt more than it should've done as I was too close to it.
I would recommend sticking with the synopsis and the sample, and maybe writing the story later on for your own amusement or to submit to another competition if it doesn't turn out to be your year.
Good luck!
Chriss C.
I can see that as well, but least if you dont win, you do have a ready made story for another project in the Whoniverse Exactly right, the competition isn't the end of your story's life, nor should it be. The sting of rejection from a publisher is a genuine hurdle for writers, but there will be other opportunities to submit. If you feel the story needs to be shared (and sometimes you do get a tale with a mind of its own), self-publish your work. I have read, listened and watched more than a dozen pieces of fanfiction that I would consider to be just as worthwhile as an officially licenced story. Philip Lawrence who wrote the excellent Question Marks for Recorded Time and Other Stories and the fairly recent The Fifth Traveller started off doing Doctor Who Action Figure Theatre, you can find many of his previous stories there. Many of those who would end up in novels or at Big Finish itself started off on a fan production in the eighties and early nineties called Audio Visuals. People like Gary Russell, Jim Mortimore, Andy Lane, Nigel Fairs, Nick Briggs... It's disheartening to get turned down, absolutely, but it should never be the end. And this is advice that I would give to any writer -- if you believe your story is worth telling and you aren't of the chosen, there are always other avenues to try out. There is no such thing as there being "no audience" for a story.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on May 9, 2017 7:07:22 GMT
Just working on one of my stories and after a LOT of notes... I've just realised it's background has a lot in common with SMILE.
And I'd not noticed.
Grrr. Next idea then
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Post by TinDogPodcast on May 9, 2017 7:08:03 GMT
I have the ultimate problem. A great name, a great story idea, no idea on the plot. We can help with that I'd you want
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Post by TinDogPodcast on May 9, 2017 7:10:04 GMT
I've got a great idea, I just don't know if 2 people chatting for half an hour would be good for the format There are short trips like that.
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Post by omega on May 9, 2017 7:12:46 GMT
I've got a great idea, I just don't know if 2 people chatting for half an hour would be good for the format There are short trips like that. There's one Dark Shadows short story where a character is talking to herself, and it's brilliant. Trust me, it makes perfect sense in context, as much as anything makes sense in Dark Shadows. Two people in discussion in pretty much how the Companion Chronicles started, with the companion telling the main story to a secondary character in a framing sequence. The Sara Kingdom trilogy for example. And that's sustained stories for at least one hour (two in the case of The Suffering).
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Tony Jones
Chancellery Guard
Professor Chronotis
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Post by Tony Jones on May 9, 2017 7:55:53 GMT
On the topic of writing the whole story, I'd advise against it for the following reasons: - It will take time and isn't needed to win the competition
- As others have said, if you don't win you will feel the time was wasted (until you dust it off and move on to a fan fic project)
- Whoever wins will almost certainly have to make changes to the outline to get the story past the BBC. You will have to do a level of re-write (I sometimes have more versions of the outline than the story).
The reasons why you might are:
- You might need the practice
- When you get to the end you might realise the outline needs to change and you might have a better result by revisiting the outline and the first page
- You might enjoy the experience.
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Post by theotherjosh on May 9, 2017 10:45:20 GMT
I think Tony is right, there are pros and cons to completing the story or not. The decision ultimately comes down to who you are and how you write.
I happened to have my submission written out almost completely by the time I sent in the summary, but that's because I'm a very slow and extremely deliberate writer. In the RR Podcast, Ian talked about how he wanted to respect the contributions of a writer who spent an afternoon writing a story instead of spending that afternoon doing something else, and that's just something I could never do. I could not sit down at a computer with nothing written, invest a few hours and walk away with a completed story. Nope. Not in a million years. I tend to get the basic idea, write a little of it down, let that idea ferment over the course of days or hours, then add to what I've written. That's just how I'm put together.
But as they say on the internet, your mileage may vary. Figure out what works best for you and do it that way.
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Post by fingersmash on May 9, 2017 13:06:46 GMT
I have the ultimate problem. A great name, a great story idea, no idea on the plot. We can help with that I'd you want Paris, Je t'Aime. A companion being pulled through the emotional wringer on a visit to Paris with the Doctor. No aliens, just a moral conundrum and a bittersweet ending.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on May 9, 2017 14:28:03 GMT
Ok.. you have it all...
Which companion? Tegan? Just before she leaves?
Ace? Post hex?
Oh and the monster can be a creature that feeds on dispare and lives in absinthe?
Fingermash
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Post by doctorkernow on May 9, 2017 17:52:00 GMT
Hello again.
Quick question. What are the guidelines re companions? I didn't realise you could use companions last year and created two characters who helped the Doctor one in each story I sent in. Any thoughts?
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Post by elkawho on May 10, 2017 1:01:15 GMT
We can help with that I'd you want Paris, Je t'Aime. A companion being pulled through the emotional wringer on a visit to Paris with the Doctor. No aliens, just a moral conundrum and a bittersweet ending. I actually think it sounds intriguing. Moral conundrums can be fascinating.
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