Events
[Post stolen from Alberic of Krufton. Thanks! *sneaky*]
Think setting a word count goal isn't enough? Don't worry, here in the thread, we have bonus challenges for the enthusiastic writer.
What the heck is a Word War?
I'm glad you asked! A Word War is a spontaneous mini-challenge that anyone can do. In a nutshell, it's a race to write as many words as you can in a given amount of time. Anyone can call a word war whenever they want, but it's better to do them when more people are online and in the thread, so you can rope in more participants.
Word Wars typically run between five and twenty minutes, but it's all up to you!
How do you call a word war?
It's easy! You need to list two criteria; the duration you want to write for, and a starting time. Since people live all over the world and in different time zones, for simplicity's sake we usually only use the minutes and not the hours when naming a starting time.
For example, if you want to have a fifteen-minute war starting at (local time) 12:30, you would post:
"Anyone want to war at
:30 for 15?"
or "How about a
15 minute war at :30?"
Then it's just a matter of writing your butt off for the allotted time! At the end of the war, people post their final word count. There are no prizes, except for the satisfaction of busting out a few hundred words and getting that story written!
What the heck's a RET? Why are people panicking?
Aaah, the dreaded RET! RET stands for Random Excerpt Time, and it's an opportunity to show off your literary prowess! All you need to do when someone calls a RET is to find a snippet of a story of yours---any story at all, since it's a random prompt---and post away! Spoiler tags are appreciated, so you don't stretch the page too much, and 100-500 words is a good size to shoot for. (We want teasers, not the whole novel!)
When you post a RET, please make it legible! Basic WF etiquette applies, so:
> plain black text at default size (12)
> left-aligned, not centered
> insert an extra space between paragraphs! Gaia is awful about eating formatting.
It's customary for folks to read everyone else's RET and then give a comment or two for each entry. Critique, praise, questions, anything goes! This is a super informal event, so we don't need essays. It's nice to get feedback, isn't it?
What's this I hear about Prompt Wars?
Prompt Wars are almost the same as word wars, except instead of writing whatever, you have a word, phrase, or idea to incorporate into your scene! They can be as simple as "Your character finds a puppy" or "The weather takes a turn for the worse." The possibilities are endless!
Strip Wars
(Brainchild of Hrair Rabbit)
Normal wars not exciting enough? Strip Wars may interest you, then!
Rules are:
You must have on 5 items ONLY.
The winner of each round does not have to remove their clothing, everyone else does.
After the 5th prompt, the person with the most clothes wins!
If needed, a tie-breaker prompt will be made.
You have 3 min. for each prompt.
Challenges
Word War Challenge
You know all those word wars that you've participated in? Keep track of them! As satisfying as getting all those wars done can be, knowing that you've done more than the next guy can be icing on the cake!
[Anybody fancy making me a new spreadsheet?
whee ]
Who knows, by the end of the month, the top few Word WARriors could get prizes.
Anon Challenges
"What's this? There's an anonymous present in my inbox!"
Anon has struck again! Who is Anon? Honestly, nobody knows, but they're the resident issuer-of-challenges and giver-of-gifts, appearing mysteriously and disappearing just as soon. If Anon chooses you for a challenge, you'll get a gift, and a condition that must be met before opening it. These can be things like:
>Participate in five word wars
>Write 1,000 words
>Call three prompt wars, and get at least two people to participate
One never knows when Anon may strike, but if they do, don't panic! But please, Anon only does this out of the goodness of their shadowy heart, so don't post in the thread begging for handouts!
Anon Gifts Bribes are a privilege, not a right, and it's bad taste to pester folks for rewards. After all, writing is its own reward!
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