Happy October, guys!

Writing Contest

I'm still good for judging! Looking at our method for judging, it looks pretty good. I've never judged anything that way, but I know of things that are judged that way and it looks good to me

QOTDS–

1) What's one song that best fits your main character?
2) Do you find it easiest to write characters that are introverts, extraverts, or ambiverts? Why?
3) How did you get the idea for your current writing project?
4) What is one object your character couldn't live without?
5) If you had to get rid of one important character from your current work in progress, who would it be and why?
6) You can meet your characters, but you only have 10 minutes to talk to them- what do you say and why?
7) If you could get writing advice from one author, who would it be?
8) What is the weirdest thing you've ever written?
9) If you could cast anyone on earth as your villain, who and why?
10) Have you ever posted any writing on Scratch- why or why not?
11) Have you ever tried writing with something besides a pen/pencil or a computer? What was it?
12) What is the funniest thing you've ever written?
13) Have you ever written something that made you cry?
14) What would a cover of your current work in progress look like?
15) Do you share your writing with your friends? Why/why not?

When should we start judging by the way? I'm ready whenever!

aotws

1. Create a collage of photos that either belong to a certain aesthetic or is appealing to you. Once you’re done, post your creation in the studio comments. Find someone else’s collage and create a character/story based off of it. Also make sure to share your finished product with the original creator!
2. Find your favorite song and write something based on the lyrics, try to use implied parts of the song in your work or even put some of the lyrics into it. Post your story in the comments and see if people can guess what song it’s based off of!

AOTWs! :]

1. Write a “character-building” question and let others answer it! This can be anything from “What's your character's favorite color?” to “What's their most interesting physical feature?”. Feel free to ask more than one, too!
   
2. Write a “Mad Libs” and let the other writers fill it in in the replies!
   
3. Write a dialogue scene between two characters, with each person adding a new line of dialogue.
   

chocolatefrogs13 wrote:

I’m so sorry I didn’t submit anything last month, since I’m starting school it’s been a little stressful. I promise I’ll do the article this month.

No worries ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ In the future, make sure to give a heads up if you don't think that you'll be able to finish an article on time so that a backup can be prepared (⁠◠⁠ᴥ⁠◕⁠ʋ⁠)

PoppyWriter wrote:

Great QOTDs!

gh0stwriter wrote:

Fun AOTWs!

WriterDerp wrote:

Awesome AOTWs!

Thanks guys! (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)


Note: posting writing contest stuff in a minute or two :O

Important — Writing Contest Stuff (so judges, please read!
Okay guys, here are the participants and their entries! As mentioned before, just state your top 3 favorites (and why you like them)! There are 14 entries, so the sooner all the judges get reading, the better :O

Note: entries in brown are NOT stand-alone pieces. I know it already says it in the list, but just making it extra clear anyway XD I don't think this will have much of an impact on judging, but just in case~
—————————————————————————————————-

• @BrightDreams — Life and Death — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/887450172/
  
  
• @Mrs_Malfoy12 — Infinite (Chapter 1) — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/886773760/
  
  
• @Pixelated_Pickax — Lovecraftian — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/887885540/
  
  
• @AprilLavender — Flying to Freedom — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/889579349
  
  
• @GadgetAxe — Lifeblood — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/887907666/
  
  
• @frikadella678 — The End Of The World As We Know It (Chapter 1) — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/887492657
  
  
• @Haiku_Boy20 — The Poet Masters (Part 1) — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/892087277
  
  
• @silkworm9 — “God Is Dead” — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/891420279/
  
  
• @Cotton-Candy_TheBuns — The Bird Hopped Through — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/896489577
  
  
• @123443213 — “Poems” — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/894289890/
  
  
• @mini_mouse27 — morning bird + night owl — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/899169187
  
  
• @-Mr-Mustachio- — Snow — https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/713798/?page=1#post-7541964
  
  
• @NightRipple — Night Ripple — https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/714861/
  
  
• @attaankvb — Unknown (Part 1) — https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/890265094/

I've already looked through all of them, so here are my votes
1. Infinite (Chapter One) - It pulled me in immediately and the story idea is amazing!
2. Lovecraftian - As a Minecrafter, I love the concept and it was very intriguing!
3. “God is Dead” - The concept is interesting and I really enjoyed it

Also I'll get to working on the article but I don't know what it should be about… any suggestions?

Favorites

Night Ripple- (@Night Ripple)- Such an atmospheric story, I got chills reading it. This piece has such wonderful imagery that just sucks you into the story immediately and makes you want to read more.

God Is Dead- (@silkworm9)- A super interesting idea, and so wonderfully portrayed. This piece did a great job of showing the tone of the story and situation, and was just really brilliantly told.

Lifeblood- (@GadgetAxe)- A very engaging idea, one that I instantly liked. I thought it was well written, and it managed to do an amazing amount of worldbuilding even in just a few pages. Great job!

If you need me to help with anything besides this, I'd be willing! I'm pretty free for the next couple days, so I'm good if I need to help with organizing the judge's picks, or with starting the NNWM support studio we talked about, or anything else!

Here's my article for the magazine:
How to make an unforgettable first line:

When writing, you need a brilliant first line - sure, you have an amazing story, with stunning characters and a genius plot, but if you can’t hook your readers in, who’s going to read it? It may just be me, but I have a very short attention span, and unless a book has a killer first line, I’m not diving into it. So, how do you create the perfect first line?

First, what can we do with a first line?

Like I said before, we want to make sure people will actually read our stories, but it’s not just that. A first line is a brilliant way to set the stage. We can tell readers what they’re in for by using a line that reflects the atmosphere of the book - like in Percy Jackson. The first line in the series is “Look, I didn’t want to be a halfblood.”. We can infer that being a halfblood is rather chaotic as the narrator didn’t want to be one. Assuming a half blood means you’re half human and half something else (in this case a god), we know that this is a fantasy book. Furthermore, wording isn’t too complicated, so this could mean it isn’t too hard to read.

It’s also a good idea to introduce a main character in the first line, utilising it as an introduction. An example is “Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.”. This line is very simple, yet if I told it to anyone, (hopefully) everyone would immediately know where it’s from (it’s the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in case anyone didn’t know). The line immediately introduces the four main characters, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. The next line, “This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids.”, finishes a simple yet rather beautiful introduction. It also plagues us with the question - what happened?

You also need to convince the reader that the ride will be worth it. We want one that practically screams out to them, like “I think I might be a murder.”. This line came from the book S.T.A.G.S by M.A Bennett, and I believe it was a brilliant read - all thanks to this line hooking me in and making sure I, as a reader, knew that it would be no ordinary story. Sentences like this can make us want to read on - what murder? Why does she think she’s a murderer? Who was murdered, and how was she involved?

These are the types of sentences we want to produce - lines that open a brilliant show.

Well, now we know what we need in a first line, but how about how to write a good one? Here are a few tips:

Paint a picture with your words.
Describe where you are (in the book, not in real life), and use excellent vocabulary
while you’re at it. Replace words like bright with words like lustre, and make sure to use metaphors, similes or personification too.
Get to the good stuff - don’t stall.
You can shock the readers into reading more - they will have too many questions to not read on. Short, snappy yet shocking (I didn't mean to make that alliteration, but oh well) sentences are a great way to get the reader addicted to your story.
Raise questions.
This kind of links to before, but it’s a good idea to make readers wonder what happened and what will happen. Sentences like “It was the day my grandmother exploded.” (which is a real line, “The Crow Road” by Iain Banks) either makes the reader wonder what you were thinking or what will happen next - ideally the second one, but both should be good enough.
Tug on the heartstrings.
Everyone knows that authors love to make readers cry - why not include it in the first line? Readers may want to read on in order to find out what happened. Perhaps mention a dying lover or start at the end, when one of them dies and flashback to life when they were alive.
Play with words.
If you’re writing comedy, you can make the readers laugh by using funny yet smart puns. It’ll make them laugh, then read on.
Subtly foreshadow the ending.
Once readers have finished reading, they may realise that you’ve dropped hints from the very beginning. If your reader is like me, they’ll reread it to pick up on everything and admire the wits of the author at the same time.

Remember, a brilliant first line may take a few tries - don’t give up! Keep experimenting, receive feedback and fix it up until it’s just right.
In a nutshell, you need to capture a reader's heart and mind - hopefully my tips will help! A first line is an invitation to your world, and if you craft it brilliantly, hopefully everyone will accept.

Ahhhhh!!! So sorry! Here is my list:

1. The Bird Hopped Through
   I don't know why but this one was just so sweet!!! I don't care if it doesn't win but this is my personal pick! It's so sweet and so cute and the symbolism of the bird representing a smile just makes me smile!
   
   
2. Night Ripple
   Honestly, the fact that is was his username is what did it for me. It had nothing to do with his username but that's actually the reason it places so high for me.
   
   
3. Infinite
   Just the idea of having a set lifespan controlled by leaders was an incredible idea! I do think that the idea of a rebel leader happened super quickly and should have been dragged on for a bit longer. Also, maybe I didn't read it completely or understand it, but why does the speak only have five years left? How does the government set the lifespan? These sorts of questions should be answered quickly, in my opinion.
   

I personally request that if we do another writing contest that we have some requirement for a sans-serif or serif font requirement. I physically had a hard time reading around 1/4 of the entries. (couldn't even read morning bird + night owl. sorry!!!) Or maybe they can have their cool fonts but a transcript of the text in the instructions? I don't know but I think I have some sort of reading deficiency and reading some of those fonts was nearly impossible for me, especially considering many of them were made as images outside of Scratch, meaning I couldn't even edit the project and change the font!

QOTD:
1. Do you have any fidget toys you play with when writing?
2. Is there an “idea person” in your life (ie. The person who comes up with the best ideas) who gives you ideas for writing? If so, who is it?
3. Do you have your own personal cliche? What is it? (I'll go first: always including twins, triplets, etc.)
4. Be honest. About how many different name generators have you used?
5. Do you ever use planners (character, world building, plot making, etc.)? If so, which ones?
6. Your best friend is interested in writing for the first time but doesn't know how to start. What advice would you give SPECIFICALLY to them? (eg. Don't write like Jorge and you'll be fine. )
7. “A cluttered desk is the sign of a genius” Does clutter on your desk help you write or not?
8. Have you ever tried turning your writing into art? How did that go?
9. Have you ever written a spooky story? What was it about?
10. What locations do you pick for your stories? Is there any reason for it?
11. Hiding English Letters Like this that Occupy random places seems silly. THERE is a good reason for it. How come U say? My my! A lot of Nonsense from your mouth! (see what I did there?) Create a sentence that has random words to create a code like the one I just made.(code is the first letter of every capital letter)
12. Have you ever written something very similar to another book/story by accident? If so, what was it?
13. What trick do you use to help you write? (my example: Ask one word questions like this: What? Where? Why? When? How?
14. Do you have a time period you write in? (modern day, middle ages, etc.)
15. How do you world build?

My article:

As you’re writing, you’ll probably need time to drop in parts of your character’s backstory. Some writers weave this in through the other characters and settings. Other writers use this little-understood science called flashbacks: A scene in your story that happened in the past. But there are several mistakes that writers often make, so today we’re going to go through these mistakes.
The first thing writers often do is write a flashback without a trigger. Memories don’t just appear out of nowhere, they have to be triggered by something in the present. Triggers could be something like the smell of lavender that reminds the main character of the perfume her mother wore to a dinner party or a chance-meeting of an ex-significant other that reminds the main character of a snowboarding trip they went on together. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be significant and mean something to your character. Make sure there’s some sort of external force that pushes the character’s consciousness into the past. The fact that the flashback can be triggered so easily shows the reader that it’s important.
You also need a trigger to return back to the present. Just like you need a reason to pull the character into the past, you also need a reason to pull your character out. For example, say you have a flashback of your main character and his girlfriend fighting and it ends with the girlfriend slamming the door. You could have a slamming door in reality mirror the slamming door in the past. The reader has to understand why the character was jarred out of the story, and this will help re-orient the reader as to where you are in the story.
The next mistake writers make is writing flashbacks that don’t advance the story. The flashback has to mean enough to the character that either the character acts on it and changes the direction of the plot, or the flashback is related directly to something in the present (or you could use it to foreshadow something in the story, but we won’t talk about that). If the flashback isn’t directly affecting the plot, it is unnecessary.
Finally, there are some writers that write long flashbacks every few pages. Don’t do this, as this could take the reader out of the story. Use brief flashbacks and only use them when there is no other effective way to give the reader the information.
Writing flashbacks can be tough. But as long as they have clear triggers, they advance the story, and they are brief and needed, they will work pretty well with your story!

So sorry I didn't post this already, I typed out my favorites and went to do something then thought that I had posted it lol ʕ⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴥ⁠ꈍ⁠ʔ

Late, but I'll share my ranking anyway:
1. The Bird Hopped Through - I loved the structure and simplicity of this! I really liked how each season was represented by some of the little things in life; things that happen, but we don't tend to think about as much. The repetition of the same line at the end of each stanza made also made this a memorable entry for me

2. Night Ripple - The thing I loved most about this entry was how distinctive it was — the tone and plot went in an entirely different direction to most of the other entries, which instantly made it more intriguing to me. I also just found the concept really interesting!

3. Unknown - Despite being less articulate than most of the other entries, I found myself more invested in the plot of this one than some of the others. In short, I personally just found this an enjoyable read.
——————————————————————————————————
That brings the results to:

1st: Night Ripple (@NightRipple) — 7 points
2nd: The Bird Hopped Through (@Cotton-Candy_TheBuns) — 6 points
3rd: Infinite (@Mrs_Malfoy12) AND “God Is Dead” (@silkworm9)— 4 points

Honorable mentions:
Lifeblood (@GadgetAxe)
Lovecraftian (@Pixelated_Pickax)
Unknown (@attaankvb)

Hey guys, I'm honestly not sure what happened this past month, but we've all been ghosting this thread.

I'm not sure about you guys, but I know that I was daunted by the fact that no one was using it, and breaking the silence sounded scary. But it's been almost a month now, and while SWOW is still doing pretty great, I noticed the AOTW and QOTD haven't changed for a while, and we didn't get any roles for November.

I assume this means that Jori is busy with something in real life, which is fine! It just means that the rest of us need to be able to pick up the slack. Does anyone know what's going on? We should make a game plan for December. The rest of us managers can still manage, after all.

I think replacing the AOTW would be hard, but we could definitely post QOTDs in the comments, and that'd work. And for roles, we could pick our roles and / or split up the responsibilities equally.

I don't really know, I don't have all the answers, I'm just trying to open the conversation. It'd be great if we could all discuss it together. :00

WriterDerp wrote:

(#1233)
-snip-

I totally agree. I personally think that if Jori is comfortable with it and is still busy should transfer the studio host position to someone else temporarily in order to make sure the QOTD and AOTW are updated.

WriterDerp wrote:

Important Things

I second this. What roles should we have? I personally would say we ditch the AOTW for a bit as it's hard to update without the studio description (and I'm assuming Jori won't be able to transfer the host position for a while given how long she's been gone), and we might also need to think about who should work on the magazine.

As a side note: We REALLY need a system in place for when other managers are unavailable in the future. Half the time when Jori is gone it's a mad scramble to figure out what happens next; we need to figure out (at least when Jori gets back) who gets what role, what do to with the QotD/AotW, the magazine, ect.

I'm definitely available to work!! I'm still active pretty much every day

I've been meaning to say something here too, but I've just never really plucked up the courage to do so- so thanks so much, Derp!

I agree that we should definitely try to do the qotd in the comments. I'm available to write those if needed!

Really, you can just go ahead and assign me to anything. I'll be happy to do it! ^^

Dawn-Bellastrom wrote:

(#1235)
(and I'm assuming Jori won't be able to transfer the host position for a while given how long she's been gone), and we might also need to think about who should work on the magazine.)

Jori logs on ever so often to change the QOTD. Maybe we can catch her attention?

Unity_and_Cq wrote:

Dawn-Bellastrom wrote:

(#1235)
(and I'm assuming Jori won't be able to transfer the host position for a while given how long she's been gone), and we might also need to think about who should work on the magazine.)

Jori logs on ever so often to change the QOTD. Maybe we can catch her attention?

Does anyone know when she comes on exactly, or do we just depend on luck?

(ignore this post)

Dawn-Bellastrom wrote:

Does anyone know when she comes on exactly, or do we just depend on luck?

I think it's a luck sort of thing
Should I contact her on her profile?