The prompt for Q1 2019 is... DEATH!

What is meant by death? Here's a post from later in this thread with my thoughts on that, at least in regards to this prompt.

And since I'm a Trekkie, and this is vaguely relevant, I'll draw everyone's attention to the quote that's been in my signature for quite a while now:

Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe than time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important how we lived. After all, Number One, we're only mortal.
~Jean-Luc Picard
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Go write!
Go discuss!
Go advertise!
GO GO GO NOW!

-=- -=- -=- -=-​

And we're off! It's the Q1 2019 Competition, so let's get those New Years Resolutions to "write moar" off to a good start.

I'm leaving off Azkaban this time, with the idea that we might do a competition where all the second place choices from polls are options for the prompts. Besides, we haven't managed to pick it yet. We'll get there, just not this time.

Dicra picked one of these prompts. The others I pulled from the thread somewhere. The one in quotations is a first line prompt.

Word count limit: 17.5k max (no minimum)
Deadline: March 15th (my birthday)
Voting: March 15th - March 27th​

Send your stories to @Xiph0 once you're done. Authors will be kept anonymous between the two of us, and I will not know who you are until after the competition has ended.

Polish your story up before you send it if you have time. Don't put it in WbA (obviously) but feel free to find a beta who will keep quiet. Sometimes people might guess which story is yours. That's okay - just don't advertise. And if you're the one that figures out who one of the authors is? Keep your mouth shut and avoid biasing others.

Crossovers are allowed, however... (1) keep in mind people might not be familiar with the fandom you crossover with and therefore may not vote for it, and (2) the rule might change to 'no crossovers' for the next competition.

Voting Rules:
After you have read and reviewed ALL entries, post in this thread with your top three stories ranked. Preferably with links to your reviews. The only true requirement here is that you leave at least 200 words of useful review per story in order to vote.

I understand the linking can be obnoxious so just... it's not the honor system, b/c if you abuse it I will come down on you like a ton of bricks, but just... review, people. Play by the (simple) rules.

A guide on "how to review" in general is available here. Do NOT assume that just because someone else has already said something that you can't say it too. You can. And don't be scared to have a different viewpoint from everyone else as well.

One of the rewards for authors participating in this competition is the feedback, critique, and overall useful commentary on their work. Don't dial it in. If you don't know how to leave useful feedback then comment on the plot, pacing, characters, prompt usage, and anything else that comes to mind. You'll find that 200 words flies by.

If you rank a story as #1 it will get 3 points, #2 will get 2 points, and #3 will get 1 point. Highest score wins. There will always be a winner. There may or may not be a runner up, depending on the number of entries and how close they are.

Note: If you have no intention of even trying to write a story, please don't vote. The poll is meant for authors who want to participate whether they end up finishing a story or not. If you think you might write, vote. If you know you won't, don't. You have 4 days.

 

I voted for Death because I think I already have an idea that will work for "Death." We'll see if it will, needs some tweaking.

 

I'm pissed AF right now.

I found the first 500 words or so of an old idea I had but never wrote.

At first I was excited - those 500 words read well enough, yay!

But then I tried to find the outline that I remember having. And I can't find it. I remember bits and pieces of it but the actual outline? Nowhere. I remember just enough of what I wanted this story to be that I'm pissed I can't pick my own brain.

Aaaaah

 

Its cool if time travel wins, I have this cool little Hermione POV plotbunny I think I could bang out, its only at about 50,000 words right now, but I could get it finished by March.

 

Uhmmm... Word limit 17.5k for the competition just FYI. But rework the start so it feels like it could technically be its own thing?

But yes!

 

Just boarded a flight BTW. Can't/Won't update thread with prompt at the moment but it's going to be DEATH once I get home.

... Still pissed I can't find that damned outline. The first scene is good but I want my plans!

 

I would say it's so broad it could be as simple as someone dying. The other side of the train station. Avada Kedavra, getting ran over by the night bus on a mid Atlantic jump, you name it.

The 17 people that voted for it better fucking write something or there be 17 people reviewing.

 

Not really, no.

"Death" is a very broad prompt just like "Romance" was. It's going to be partially subjective whether readers feel that it's included or not, and it's up to reviewers whether the story fits the prompt or not.

If you want more stringent guidelines on the prompt then voters need to vote for one of the more specific prompts. A story that doesn't use the first line of a first line prompt didn't ... use the prompt. Stories that use the first line but as a one-off and/or joke that doesn't tie it into the story didn't use it well. This applies to other specific prompts, like the Dudley one, also.

But my understanding from early on in the prompt thread is that most writers want non-specific prompts like Azkaban or Death or Vampires rather than the uber-specific prompts that I tend to prefer. So no, I'm not going to explain exactly what is meant by Death.

I understand the desire for more specific guidelines given that no one wrote a full-on Romance for the Romance prompt, but frankly... I mean, I think it should have been obvious to all the authors that they were not writing romance. Maybe it wasn't. But if your basic plot/concept couldn't be revised into original fiction and found in the "Romance" section of the bookstore then it probably wasn't romance. It's like no one researched that at all. Not even using TVTropes or Wikipedia or even checking which popular movies have a 'romance' tag on them.

But since you've asked about Death as a prompt... personally I'd say that something as simple as someone dying would fit. But there's a continuum here as well in terms of how well the prompt is utilized. For example:

Someone dies in the story.
Technically used the prompt, fine.

Someone dies in the story and the death drives the plot in some way.
Better - not only does this use the prompt but it makes the prompt part of the fabric of the story.

Someone dies in the story, the death drives the plot in some way, and an HP specific aspect of Death and/or magic is explored.
Above and beyond - This would be a tie-breaker for me though, since a poor story that did this wouldn't beat out a good story that only made the death plot-relevant.

But that's just me. And there's other variations on the above. Maybe a death is just talked about. Maybe no one dies in the story but the concept and meaning of Death is explored in detail. Maybe there's a suicidal character thinking about Death constantly who ends up not dying. Maybe death is a constant companion in the story, always a hairsbreadth away and ever present in every paragraph, whether it occurs or not. Maybe all the characters visit the City of the Dead and what it means to be 'dead' is explored.

I don't know. But my understanding, again, is that writers who vote for these non-specific prompts want freedom to be creative, and I don't want to stifle that by putting rails on these prompts. The prompt is "Death" - I'd hope that if someone who read your story was describing what it was about to someone else that 'death' would factor into their description/summary.

Want more stringent guidelines? Vote for a more specific prompt.

If you'd like to debate and/or discuss how prompts should/shouldn't work further feel free to use the general competition thread (rather than this one specific to Q1 2019).

If you'd like to continue discussing what is meant by Death, continue that here. I think that might be a good conversation in general as it might spark ideas for people who plan to write.

 

Bump mother duckers!

Who...

1. Has an idea
2. Started writing
3. Has a brainstorming question or concept to share?

If you can't answer 1 or 2 then your answer is 3. Post, ditches.