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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 5, 2019 1:27:02 GMT
Once again, congrats to last year's winner Harry (hope you drop by sometime) but hey, new Year, new oppotunities. With a few months grace, it never hurts to just have something slowly cook in your mind. Doesn't matter if this is your first or fourteenth go, it's always good to work the creative muscles.
Like with last year's, this thread is all about offering writing advice and answering questions you may have about how to go about an ST. Past winners and runners up, feel free to chip in with any nuggets you have.
Here's some guidelines from the man Ian himself, if you need a refresher
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 necessarily sappy or a happy happy ending, but something to do with overcoming or perservering.
4) Ideally, not a comedy or too 'jokey'. 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 or clumsy.
6) Death and bereavement, while effective, were a really common theme in submissions, and made reading them more emotionally taxing, given the contest's tragic origins.
7) Ian prefers smaller to larger amounts of submissions per writer. Try to restrain down to 1, 2 max, and save the others that don't fit the above for a future Temporal Logbook or other Who opportunity.
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 5, 2019 1:27:52 GMT
I do feel it's so vital yet never stressed enough, but readability matters. A lot. Not just merely proof reading/reading aloud so nothing is unintelligible or clumsy, but also dynamism. Your story is being read aloud by Nick: how do you use words to keep a listener hooked? 'The' and 'and' can become sentence fillers really quickly, so be mindful of that too.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 8:34:36 GMT
Currently devising a Ten/Rose story, which is vastly different to what I've submitted in 2017 and 2018. Sort of like Heaven Sent, in a way, but this one will leave the fans to wonder how the main events came to be.
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Jan 5, 2019 13:03:50 GMT
Going to complete the story i couldnt submit in time for last years.
Its a story thats still stuck with me and its growing in places little by little. Which has to be a good sign
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 6, 2019 15:30:41 GMT
I recommended him last year, but I cannot stress how much great advice you can get from C. Robert Cargill (Sinister, Doctor Strange, used to work at Spill.com) over on Twitter. Follow him on there, he regularly hands out tips: In addition, he now does a podcast called Write Along, which is exactly what it sounds like, discussing different writing methods. writealongpodcast.com/ |
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Post by fantasticalice on Jan 12, 2019 21:15:42 GMT
I think maybe I should come back to "Bruce D", metal singer and companion of the 4th and 7th Doctor aka Breeg Paschendale.
I think I overegged the pudding in my submission which involved a old Bruce after his travels were done and he had begged to be dropped off in a future world with spaceships.
The idea I used was after a solo 7th Doctor had found a depressed, borderline sucidal Bruce in the 2020s he had taken Bruce along to help cheer him up. And finally he asked to return to a different century where he could own his own, small spaceship to travel for the rest of his days.
I think my mistake was making it a adventure with a freshly regenerated Ninth Doctor who was likewise depressed.
Selim's Landbound tale was full of beautiful allegory and two old ship captains sharing their souls(one being Doctor Who of course)
Also, although it doesn't violate canon, with further thought I think I was putting out a story about Rose and 9 without realising it. Not that 9 couldn't be horrifically depressed and have an old companion help him smile again but that's basically what Rose did in so many ways.
Also.... I think I had waaay too much exposition for a short trip. A story of Young Bruce travelling with the fourth Doctor and Romana or a aging seventh Doctor helping an old companion find meaning and a new life I think is more along the theme.
Or to put it simply a story about aging is more compelling than a story about a angry 9th Doctor and a man out of time. AT least for a short trip I think. I am excited about this oppurtunity but I fear my ideas are really big and I think the people who write SHort Trips(especially our winners!) have tapped into a rare type of talent that not everyone possesses.
Btw, is there a fanfic thread anywhere on this forum? Because i think it would be great!
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 15, 2019 18:59:36 GMT
A thread on fantasy writing
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 20:23:18 GMT
Just got round to listen to the wining entry, which was great as always.
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 20, 2019 11:10:11 GMT
A thread on rewriting and why sometimes it can feel flat:
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Post by selimpensfiction on Jan 20, 2019 17:49:17 GMT
So true! I had a scene in a recent (original) story in which a woman gets out of a cab, navigates through a busy sidewalk, and enters a bar. Then stuff happens. After some reflection, I cut the first bit (it didn’t really serve any purpose) and began with her walking into the bar.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2019 9:41:38 GMT
[...] Btw, is there a fanfic thread anywhere on this forum? Because i think it would be great! We do, we have a very lovely Writers and Creatives' Room here on the Community Board. |
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Tony Jones
Chancellery Guard
Professor Chronotis
Still rockin' along!
Likes: 2,130
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Post by Tony Jones on Jan 29, 2019 14:39:36 GMT
Is there any chance the thread title can have the spelling corrected this year, please?! 😁🔍 As ye speak so shall it be done... |
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Feb 13, 2019 17:36:32 GMT
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Feb 14, 2019 16:52:07 GMT
Is this happening again?
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Feb 22, 2019 15:09:14 GMT
Has someone said it wasn't? |
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Post by mark687 on Feb 22, 2019 15:41:17 GMT
Probably will be but won't be confirmed till May at the earliest I suspect so if you to want to enter you've time to polish an entry or 2.
Regards
mark687
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Feb 22, 2019 16:05:21 GMT
I'm working on an unofficial dr who short right now... so I'm not sure I'll be able to pull it off.
My entrys often do ok but I've never been asked in... so to speak
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Feb 24, 2019 23:51:37 GMT
A thread on writing emotion into your scenes from author/screenwriter Tony Tost:
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Mar 20, 2019 12:43:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2019 6:44:30 GMT
And the initial developer of Andromeda, bless him. One of the big influences on my writing when I was starting out. Man knows how to make an engaging story. |
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