- Oct 16, 2010
- 4,477
- 1,760
It's me again. Hate me, love me, I'm inseparable from your life. Well, at least inseparable from your activity in and involvement with the forum, but you wouldn't have the heart to tell me that the forum is not your life, right?
For this round, on top of continuing the trend of accepting both poems and short stories, there's no word limit. Feel free to write as long as you want. While I'm not going to say no to long poems if you're inclined to write one, please be advised that brevity is part of what makes poetry poetic and that excessive lengths can diminish the point of writing a poem in the first place.
As usual, all participants will get this award...
...but the winner will get this!
For this round, on top of continuing the trend of accepting both poems and short stories, there's no word limit. Feel free to write as long as you want. While I'm not going to say no to long poems if you're inclined to write one, please be advised that brevity is part of what makes poetry poetic and that excessive lengths can diminish the point of writing a poem in the first place.
As usual, all participants will get this award...
...but the winner will get this!
I suppose it's more appropriate to call these "criteria", but referring to them as "rules" may help ensure that people pay attention to them. At least, I hope so. Anyway, the rules for WOW are pretty simple:
- Your entry can be EITHER a short story OR a poem.
- There is NO word limit. Write your story for as long or short as you deem necessary.
- No racism, religious topics, overly obscene depictions, animal/child abuse or other inflammatory topics.
- You can pick any title you like for your entry as long as it conforms with #3.
- Please post your finished entry wrapped within spoilers in this thread.
The theme for this month's Weavers of Words shall be...
This cute little toy with a potential payload of up to 4.75 megatons is codenamed "Peacekeeper".
"FAITH IN HUMANITY"? IS THAT EDIBLE?
"I expect nothing of man, and disown the race. The only folly is expecting what is never attained; man is most contemptible when compared with his own pretensions. It is better to laugh at man from outside the universe, than to weep for him within."
―H.P. Lovecraft
The themes we've had so far have always had a positive slant to them. The only exception is the first round, with the theme of "an imaginary journey", which is pretty neutral. The second had a theme of "wish"; the third "blessings"; and the fourth "friendship". It's probably easier and more common to write a story with a positive outlook, especially if you're fond of allegories, but I think doing a 180° turn every now and then isn't bad either.
There's likely going to be additional challenge with this theme: it's one that has a high likelihood of conjuring up images of hot-button issues and controversial topics, the very kind that we're not allowing for reasons that I hope are obvious enough. But that's why we have restrictions. Telling people not to write about controversial topics when the theme is "blessings" is almost meaningless. Telling people not to write about the very real and omnipresent issues in real life that do make people hate each other when the topic is about hatred of humanity confers a challenge.
You have to keep your entry from becoming a rant, an expository essay, an opinion piece, or anything similar. If it's a short story, it has to be a fiction (even if it's not entirely fictional) in nature and not reflect too much on real-world controversial issues (yes, I'm aware the image I use here probably makes you think otherwise, but that's an example by irony). Are you up to the challenge?
Anyway, to clarify:
Personally, I find some fun in writing something unexpected and seemingly contrary to, but still conforms with, a certain theme or premise. If you're inclined to write something with a positive feel to it, you can. For example, you can write about someone's struggle for self-determination amidst a society that has marginalised them, or someone who came to be hateful and distrustful due to a bitter past (see an example) but gradually grows to see the beauty in life. Let's see how far your imaginative talents can take you. Best of luck to all participants!
Please submit your entry before the deadline. If you're unsure about certain aspects of your draft entry, feel free to ask around in the discussion thread. You can have only ONE post in the entry submission thread, but you're not restricted from discussing the WOW as much as you want in the discussion thread. The deadline may be extended on our discretion if circumstances necessitate it, but it won't be shortened for no reason, so rest assured and don't rush. Take your time to make a masterpiece!
This cute little toy with a potential payload of up to 4.75 megatons is codenamed "Peacekeeper".
"FAITH IN HUMANITY"? IS THAT EDIBLE?
"I expect nothing of man, and disown the race. The only folly is expecting what is never attained; man is most contemptible when compared with his own pretensions. It is better to laugh at man from outside the universe, than to weep for him within."
―H.P. Lovecraft
The themes we've had so far have always had a positive slant to them. The only exception is the first round, with the theme of "an imaginary journey", which is pretty neutral. The second had a theme of "wish"; the third "blessings"; and the fourth "friendship". It's probably easier and more common to write a story with a positive outlook, especially if you're fond of allegories, but I think doing a 180° turn every now and then isn't bad either.
There's likely going to be additional challenge with this theme: it's one that has a high likelihood of conjuring up images of hot-button issues and controversial topics, the very kind that we're not allowing for reasons that I hope are obvious enough. But that's why we have restrictions. Telling people not to write about controversial topics when the theme is "blessings" is almost meaningless. Telling people not to write about the very real and omnipresent issues in real life that do make people hate each other when the topic is about hatred of humanity confers a challenge.
You have to keep your entry from becoming a rant, an expository essay, an opinion piece, or anything similar. If it's a short story, it has to be a fiction (even if it's not entirely fictional) in nature and not reflect too much on real-world controversial issues (yes, I'm aware the image I use here probably makes you think otherwise, but that's an example by irony). Are you up to the challenge?
Anyway, to clarify:
The theme for WOW #5 is MISANTHROPY.
You DON'T have to actually write a dark or negative story to conform with the theme!
You DON'T have to actually write a dark or negative story to conform with the theme!
Personally, I find some fun in writing something unexpected and seemingly contrary to, but still conforms with, a certain theme or premise. If you're inclined to write something with a positive feel to it, you can. For example, you can write about someone's struggle for self-determination amidst a society that has marginalised them, or someone who came to be hateful and distrustful due to a bitter past (see an example) but gradually grows to see the beauty in life. Let's see how far your imaginative talents can take you. Best of luck to all participants!
The deadline is on 31 JULY 2016.
You MAY edit your entry submission post as many times as you please before the deadline.
You MAY edit your entry submission post as many times as you please before the deadline.
Please submit your entry before the deadline. If you're unsure about certain aspects of your draft entry, feel free to ask around in the discussion thread. You can have only ONE post in the entry submission thread, but you're not restricted from discussing the WOW as much as you want in the discussion thread. The deadline may be extended on our discretion if circumstances necessitate it, but it won't be shortened for no reason, so rest assured and don't rush. Take your time to make a masterpiece!
This thread is only for ENTRIES!
For discussions, questions and comments, please go to this thread instead.
For discussions, questions and comments, please go to this thread instead.