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The Dawn of a New Year - Q1 2021 DLP Competition

Discussion in 'Q1 2021' started by Ched, Jan 7, 2021.

?

WHAT YOU WANT?!

Poll closed Jan 12, 2021.
  1. Tom Riddle sorted into Gryffindor

    22.5%
  2. Master and Apprentice (or Mentor and Protege)

    52.5%
  3. Vampire

    15.0%
  4. "The inside of the coffin was rather pleasant. But it was time for me to go."

    5.0%
  5. "Wait, you mean everyone in magical Singapore uses brothels?"

    5.0%
  1. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER, ENTRY #3 - "Standing Up" by Shouldabeenadog!

    Entry #4 - Cornish Pasties - Was our Runner Up

    == == == ==

    “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
    —Stephen King

    2021 - the Dawn of a New Day Year! Have some nostalgia to get you going. Let's hope that 2021 progresses better than the Final Day typically did, yeah? But that'll only happen if you write! Don't let the moon deadline sneak up on you. /Zelda

    2021 Q1 Competition
    Topic - Master & Apprentice OR Mentor & Protege

    Word Count: 50 - 17,500 words
    Due Date: March 13th (Countdown)
    Voting: March 14th - March 28th

    Submit your stories to @Xiph0 via pm.
    You have until midnight on the 13th in his time zone, though often there are a few hours grace period (but don't rely on that).

    Xiph0 and I may know your identity but otherwise you'll be kept anonymous unless you choose to claim your story after the competition. Try not to advertise what you're writing too much until then, but a beta (or two) is fine.

    How-to-Vote
    1. Leave a 200+ word review for each story (in the story thread)
    2. Distribute 5 points between the stories as you see fit (in this thread)**
    3. Authors must vote but cannot vote for themselves
    **subject to change depending upon number of entries
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2021
  2. soczab

    soczab Professor

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    I'm a big tom riddle in gryffindor fan. I cant ever recall seeing that done and theres just so many obvious and interesting ways to take it.
     
  3. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    It's consistently second when it turns up on polls. I expect it'll happen sooner or later.
     
  4. Selethe

    Selethe normalphobe

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    We

    Love

    Vampires
     
  5. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    It was popular in the prompt thread, so here it is!

    Things that place second in polls (or that are close) will also tend to turn up again at some point.
     
  6. Inert

    Inert Headmaster

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    Very interested in the Mentor/Protege idea. Would be fun to explore.
     
  7. Crimson13

    Crimson13 Professor

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    There's one over at spacebattles called "There is nothing (to fear)" that I think is done well enough.
     
  8. darklordmike

    darklordmike Headmaster

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    So long as Fleur is the mentor and Harry is the protege, and the tutoring takes place in the Beauxbatons carriage.

    Speaking purely for myself, I'm sick of Dumbledore wank. The attempt to undermine all the bashing tropes usually results in a story where he's even more two-dimensional than canon, or straight-up Gandalf. It would be interesting to see other characters as mentors: Moody giving Harry brutal life lessons; Harry teaching Teddy about bravery through stories about his parents; Luna blowing Hermione's narrow mind; even Bellatrix capturing Harry and teaching him truths about magic in between torture sessions would be more interesting than Dumbledore making grand pronouncements about whatever the writer learned in their first year of college.

    I won't vote, since I probably won't have time to write. If I did, I'd probably rather read about magical brothels in Singapore than any of the others. Sounds ripe for some comic fun, and could go in any direction.

    Edit: sorry, @Inert , wasn't ranting at you. Just used your quote as a jumping-off point.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2021
  9. Inert

    Inert Headmaster

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    Was thinking Grindelwald.
     
  10. H_A_Greene

    H_A_Greene Unspeakable –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Mentor/Protege.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2021
  11. Lynn Skye

    Lynn Skye Banned

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    I always wanted to see an mentor/protege Harry and Grindelwald!

    What I thought: Somehow Grindelwald finds out about Harry Potter defeating Lord Voldemort, knowing that one day Voldemort would return, Grindelwald decides to take Harry and train him to defeat Voldemort.

    Grindewald would train Harry in dueling, politics, etiquette, how to be Lord Potter. (Note: Grindelwald rescues Harry from Dursley's, Harry is reported missing.)

    Harry only goes to Hogwarts when his name came out of the cup.

    -Grindelwald reveals himself as Harry's mentor, he takes Harry to Hogwarts and threatens saying that if something happens to his pupil, everyone would suffer his wrath again.

    Note 2: Harry has the same views as his mentor.

    Harry / Daphne, or Harry / Susan

    Now the main question, "But wouldn't Grindelwald be immediately arrested for appearing at Hogwarts?" My solution: Somehow Grindelwald was forgiven for his crimes, secretly an agreement was made between the magical government of Germany and Grindelwald, if he was honestly sorry, and swore an oath for his life, vowing to keep society free from darkness, he would have his probation. (If you think of anything better, let me know.)


    (I'm sorry if there are any grammatical errors, English is not my first language.)
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2021
  12. H_A_Greene

    H_A_Greene Unspeakable –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Putting aside the rest of your post for the moment, you should never go into a story with bashing as one of your concepts. Nothing truly meaningful will ever emerge. By all means allow and introduce character flaws, but otherwise all that you are doing is a disservice to those characters and lowering the overall quality of your story to appeal toward the lowest common denominator of readers. Strive to present better than that.
     
  13. Lynn Skye

    Lynn Skye Banned

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    Lol, really! Thanks for the tip, I'll change that. Makes sense.
     
  14. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    I actually hope we DON'T see too much of the 'harmful mentor' trope. I tend to think of a 'mentor' as a trusted advisor, not someone who brutally beats you down (Moody) or gets off on torturing you (Bellatrix). Similarly Luna and Hermione are peers, and I tend to think of a 'mentor' as being someone at least a little older. Of your examples only the Harry and Teddy one strikes me as being in the 'spirit' of the prompt.

    All would meet the criteria of course, but most of that really isn't what I want to read for this (personally).

    Dumbledore is both the obvious one and the most overdone, on that I agree. But the nature of fanfic and competitions and whatnot in general is that if it's been done a lot already, you have to do it BETTER to get attention drawn to it. So if we have a winning Dumbledore entry it'll probably be damned good.

    A mediocre entry about Harry and Teddy, Aberforth and Luna, Newt Scamander and Charlie Weasley, or Flamel and Harry are likely to do better because they're more unique and we won't feel like we've read them a million times. A mediocre Dumbledore entry will probably fall behind - you'd need an excellent Dumbledore entry to compete, I think.

    Hope you enjoyed my two cents!

    And I think whatever 'bashing' comment existed got edited but yeah, don't do that. Bad form. Leads to poor stories. You can have characters be shitty without 'bashing' them.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2021
  15. Snowy

    Snowy First Year

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    I started writing a fanfic where Harry has Grindelwald as his mentor.

    It happens at the beginning of the 5th year.

    I already know how to introduce Grindelwald into history,

    The only thing I'm having a hard time doing is explaining how Harry got his skills, without stretching the story too much. (Nothing exceptional, or Harry being Merlin's reincarnation. If you want to compare someone, compare Harry to Tom Riddle at age 15.)
    Harry started to study hard in the fourth year, to prepare for the tournament, and has since started to make great progress in his studies. That's it, I don't want to do twenty chapters showing Harry training, of course, as he will mentor Grindelwald, he will learn more things, like strategy, dark magic, politics and etc.

    Does anyone have any suggestions? All will be appreciated!
     
  16. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    So, if you want suggestions on something you've already written go post it in "Work by Author."

    If you're talking about this competition, then you are supposed to stay mostly anonymous until AFTER the voting has concluded. So don't advertise what you're writing for the competition in public.
     
  17. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    Okay, so, conversation! GO GO GO CONVERSE!

    Mentors, eh? Help me make some lists here by categorizing HP adults in the series. Yes you're going to disagree with me here and argue and that's fine - let's spark ideas for people. Some of y'all gonna be butthurt that I put James and Sirius in the 'other' category but ffs James died in his early 20s and Sirius spent a shit ton of time in Azkaban - you can make them powerful and badass, but one died damn young and the other never recovered.

    Adults Implied/Confirmed Powerful/Important (i.e. the more 'obvious' mentors for learning magic / becoming badass)
    • Tom Riddle / Voldemort
    • Albus Dumbledore
    • Gellert Grindelwald
    • Severus Snape
    • Rufus Scrimgeour
    • Bellatrix Lestrange
    • Alastor Moody
    • Kingsley Shacklebolt
    • Filius Flitwick
    • Fenrir Greyback
    • Barty Crouch Jr.
    • Newt Scamander
    • Nicolas Flamel
    • Amelia Bones
    • Merlin
    • Founders

    Other Adults who could be slotted in as mentors without significant difficulty
    • Sirius Black
    • Remus Lupin
    • Lily Potter
    • James Potter
    • Lucius Malfoy
    • Narcissa Malfoy
    • Minerva McGonagall
    • Gilderoy Lockhart
    • Frank Longbottom
    • Alice Longbottom
    • Cornelius Fudge
    • Ludo Bagman
    • Perennelle Flamel
    • Elphias Doge
    • Aberforth Dumbledore
    • Garrick Ollivander
    • Rubeus Hagrid
    • Rolanda Hooch
    • Crouch Sr.

    Younger crowd who could mentor even younger crowd

    • Harry Potter
    • Nymphadora Tonks
    • Hermione Granger
    • Bill Weasley
    • Charlie Weasley
    • Cedric Diggory
    • Neville Longbottom
    • Oliver Wood
    • Fleur Delacour
    • Viktor Krum
    • Gred and Forge

    I've got two great IDEAS for this competition myself, but neither of them has anything resembling a fucking PLOT. Both are just a sense of "oh it would be cool if I had MENTOR and MENTEE and they did X and Y in an AU like Z!" and then nothing regarding a conclusion to said interesting scenario. Sigh.
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2021
  18. H_A_Greene

    H_A_Greene Unspeakable –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    @Ched
    Tbh the only names on the first list that stands out in a good way to me are Greyback, Crouch, and Scamander. The rest feel too overplayed/used.

    A few interesting candidates on the second list depending on the situation.

    Third is iffy but doable overall.

    Thanks for putting that together. Food for thought.

    I do already have my story roughly plotted and the two roles slotted. Writing it is where things are gonna be interesting.
     
  19. Snowy

    Snowy First Year

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    Wow. I just created a plot in my head in less than ten seconds.

    @Ched Take a look at this: Dumbledore hires Newt Scamander to teach at Hogwarts after Hagrid is fired when Malfoy gets hurt in his class. Harry ends up being sent to detention and forced to help Professor Newt with some things. In this, Harry starts talking to Newt and discovers a new passion: magical creatures.

    Newt sees that Harry is a hardworking and promising student, so he decides that he will be teaching Harry extra classes. Dumbledore ends up talking to Newt and admits Harry's role in the war against Voldemort, which could take place in a few years. Newt then tells Dumbledore to let him take young Harry as his pupil and train him. Dumbledore ends up agreeing and says that time out of Britain would be beneficial for Harry.

    Newt calls Harry into his office and tells Harry about the conversation he had with Dumbledore and they both decided it would be a good opportunity for Harry to travel the world honing his skills and training, as they both knew that Voldemort would come back sometime and Harry would need to be ready to the battle.

    Harry sees an opportunity to train and become stronger, and also to stay away from his hateful relatives for a while. So you readily agree.

    Newt tells Harry that the training would take about two years. They would travel the world training and already taking the opportunity to meet the wonderful magical creatures.

    Note: I loved this draft that I wrote in less than two minutes. I will definitely focus here, as I think it would look fantastic!
     
  20. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    Yes, but.

    The ones that are overplayed are done so for a reason. There's a happy medium for each author/reader I think between reading something very new/original and reading something they are already invested in. (or not? talking off the top of my head)

    Dumbledore and Harry are done to death - because it's the one that people wanted the most.
    Fenrir mentoring a Neville he took the night his parents were tortured is a lot more interesting and original. But if the author hasn't got big enough chops it's going to "fall flatter than a flip flap" as my dad says.

    Going too familiar is risky. You have to pull off a fantastic piece to compete with what's out there.
    Going too out there is risky too. You have to be good enough to get your readers invested but once you pass that minimum bar you're competing with an empty field.

    Or maybe that's just me.

    But I do love coming up with ideas!!
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2021