Workshop

Whens the next WS?....Cause i'd like to win it

Is the theme of the next Workshop known yet?

I'm okay with any theme......but, I wonder if we should do a Halloween inspired WS. Oct31 might be tight but I'm sure we can push the deadline ahead by a few weeks.

Mmmmm, I could sink my teeth into something Halloweeny...

Cool . i have a horror idea that i have been meening to write down in some form. a 2k short form is a good challenge for me and it would be a lot of fun.

Oh I hope this Halloween thing happens, as I am already thinking up a potent witch's brew of wicked written wizardry...

Do you need a theme other than it being "Halloween-related"?

Sure you do not want to cap it at say, 5000 words?

I suspect that people who can put out more than 5000 words and still have good enough writing quality to win the workshop aren't common, and any who choose to submit stories will be welcome. If they win, they deserve it.

Lack of a word count does seem a bit odd for a "mini" workshop, though.

Nothings worst than reading a good story and then having it end simply because of a pre-determined word count. In this instance, the time you have to write the story should create the supplement needed to keep the word count low.....We'll only have 30 days to get the story done vs. the 3 - 4 months we usually have.

Personally, i'm not a fan of writing with those restrictions....Nor am I a fan of reading stories with those restrictions. But, I may be in the minority.

d_k_c wrote: Nothings worst than reading a good story and then having it end simply because of a pre-determined word count. In this instance, the time you have to write the story should create the supplement needed to keep the word count low.....We'll only have 30 days to get the story done vs. the 3 - 4 months we usually have.

Personally, i'm not a fan of writing with those restrictions....Nor am I a fan of reading stories with those restrictions. But, I may be in the minority.

I'm with D_K_C on this one. I think it's OK to have a word count as guidance so as to set expectations, but significantly over/under should not be an issue.

In the end, its a function of what kind of challenges you want to give the author, and what drives an author to finish a story.

If this was a proving ground for professional journalists or article-writers, then word count is absolutely vital, and getting practice at delivering a good article on the word count is a very useful exercise.

But if interesting characterization and plot is the goal (as it is here), then word count should not be critiqued or limited.

But then, that's me. I have enough trouble with tightly themed contests to start with. In my view, the value of a contest is to get stories turned in by a date, which in turn drives the creative process and provides motivation and a little competition (which is usually a good thing). Only the reader should care what the story is about or how big (or small) it is.

I know in my case, I always have a half dozen (often more) stories in some state of completion. When one of those matches an upcoming contest theme, then it may motivate me to focus on finishing it. Otherwise, I whittle away very slowly on all of them, often not completing any one.

But the idea of starting a new story to match a theme (or size) is generally uninteresting to me. But then, I've been doing this since the 1980's, so I'm an old fart. Carry on.

Shadar

Its october 1.