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Post by nucleusofswarm on Feb 4, 2022 14:48:30 GMT
Congrats to last year's winner Joe, and to Ben on moving to full price releases.
You all know the drill: this thread is all about offering writing advice, bouncing ideas and answering questions you may have about writing a Short Trip. Nothing wrong with at least thinking about what you'd like to do, a few months ahead. Past winners and runners up, as always, are welcome to share what you know.
Former producer Ian Atkins threw up some suggestions for what is looked for, and time has borne that these still hold water in the winners thus far (also, they're just good story pointers in general): 1) Story must be emotionally moving. Preferably with some type of extra 'kick' at the end to really hit it home i.e. the daughter in Forever Fallen. 2) Intimate over epic, and character driven. A chance to really get inside someone's head, and it doesn't have to be the Doctor or companion. 3) Optimistic. Not sappy, but something to do with overcoming. 4) Ideally, not a comedy. The implication being it's not appropriate for a memorial competition, and the writer comes off as not taking the opportunity seriously. 5) Proof read/read aloud so nothing is unintelligible. 6) Death, while effective, were a really common theme in submissions, and made reading them more emotionally taxing, given the contest's origins. 7) Try to restrain down to 1, 2 max. submissions per writer.
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Feb 4, 2022 14:50:56 GMT
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Feb 6, 2022 21:25:37 GMT
A motivator if you didn't write last time, didn't get far or maybe worry about your ability not being good enough. Hear it from the creator of In the Flesh.
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Mar 1, 2022 23:53:00 GMT
Time to do my annual shill for the amazing advice of C. Robert Cargill (Sea of Rust, Doctor Strange, Black Phone) over on Twitter. Follow him on there, he regularly hands out detailed tips for free, like this quick structure primer:
Or why you can relax and play around, still getting a great result:
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Mar 31, 2022 23:01:56 GMT
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Apr 3, 2022 23:26:20 GMT
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Apr 17, 2022 11:42:56 GMT
More character advice:
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2022 11:51:08 GMT
When’s the deadline?
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Post by mark687 on Apr 17, 2022 11:55:54 GMT
Traditionally the entry period opens 8th of May and runs till the end of June. Regards mark687
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Post by Tim Bradley on Apr 18, 2022 7:02:52 GMT
Usually it's the 30th of June. Tim
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Apr 24, 2022 23:50:04 GMT
A different way to think about structure and conflict in your story:
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Post by sherlock on May 8, 2022 13:03:04 GMT
It’s open!
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Post by Ricky on May 8, 2022 16:53:06 GMT
I've always had plans to send an idea, but never really found I had one that I felt was interesting enough, or fit the more 'personal' feel that the competition prefers.
Until now! I've spent all afternoon jotting down ideas for a really nice, intimate story that I think (and hope!) will appeal.
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Post by selimpensfiction on May 8, 2022 22:06:46 GMT
Good luck, all. Get those creative juices flowing! The best advice I can give is to listen to the previous winners and remember than they don’t seem to be looking for light-hearted or universe-ending stakes. The winning stories tend to involve the Doctor’s impact on one or a few individuals. Happy writing!
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on May 9, 2022 8:34:16 GMT
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Post by mark687 on May 10, 2022 22:25:20 GMT
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Post by nucleusofswarm on May 10, 2022 22:38:53 GMT
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jun 3, 2022 0:19:27 GMT
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Post by Ian McArdell on Jun 10, 2022 17:33:58 GMT
Here's a question for you... the T&Cs allow for the use of all classic companions - would that cover Benton or the Brigadier? For the latter, I'm guessing not as the Haisman Estate has asserted its rights over the character... but what about the good Sergeant? I know Candy Jar are using him now, with a nod to the estate of Derek Sherwin.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2022 17:44:01 GMT
I completely forgot about this. I’ve been busy with other things. I’m pleased I’ve still got 20 days.
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