Short Story Competition: Season Two!

[Vanion Shadowcast]

Quick References:
The "Gunsmoke and Ashes" Setting and Timeline
The Duel of Guns Website
Gunsmoke and Ashes IC folder


Season Two of Duel of Guns has been off to a slow start. But, the roleplay has been great, and I believe that the setting and its characters have a lot of potential for some great writing and development. The more we invest into these characters and show the strengths of Duel of Guns, the more other players can see what they're missing out on.

So this week, I'd like to run a contest to expand the lore of the setting and help everyone get to know what makes the characters of our setting 'tick' just a little more.


THE RULES

1) Write a short story in the Gunsmoke and Ashes IC folder; this story can be background for your character, a character you've yet to play, or even for an NPC! It just needs to take place in the Gunsmoke and Ashes setting, at any point along its timeline.

2) The story can be one post, or it can be several, so long as it is finished by 9:30pm EST on Thursday, May 7th (before the start of next week's DoG shift). Keeping that in mind, find a story that you know that you can write in that time period.

3) The story can be written in any style, so long as it has a beginning, middle and end. You can write about current day, or you can write about something that happened earlier in our alternate Timeline.


THE REWARDS

1) Participation. Everyone who participates, meets all of the simple criteria above, and manages a reasonable understanding of the Setting criteria, will receive a Participation Achievement Icon. These participants as well as a single, one-time usage of the Desperado-rank-only Chaff Ammo for one of their DoG characters; characters not already on the standings will be placed on the standings with a 0-0 record.

2) The Three Winning Stories. A unique writing "Achievement" icon for your character, specific to Duel of Guns. I will also host the winning stories on front page of the Duel of Guns website, along with a picture of your central character. I will also work with you to include any relevant information on the permanent Gunsmoke and Ashes History Timeline.


THE JUDGING CRITERIA

I will judge the posted stories on the following criteria, but will not share my score unless the author asks me to; in other words, I will name the winners, but not the specifics of order or scores, publicly. This is about developing lore and having fun writing, not competition! That said, it is a little bit of a competition, so below are the four things that I'm looking at when I judge the stories this week.


1) Understanding of the Setting and Timeline. I'm always happy to answer any questions about these. If you read, it should be an easy 20 points!

2) Content. How engaging is the story? How much does it impact me, as the reader?

3) Narrative Structure. Does the story's POV and tense stay consistent? Is it easy to follow and understand in the way that it has been written? Are grammar and spelling enough of an issue that it distracts from the narrative?

4) Originality. Am I reading a fresh take on a Post Apocalyptic world? It can be hard to create something unique in a setting that has become wildly popular over the past decade. But even if the concept of the character isn't original, are there elements of the story that surprise, or stand out as unique?



Good luck writing; I can't wait to see what folks come up with! If you have any questions at all, just PM me (or hunt me down on AIM: InsertProfoundSN).

[Vanion Shadowcast]

Reminder! You only have until 9:30pm EST tonight to submit your short stories.

[Vanion Shadowcast]

A big thank you to BangBang Kapow, War, Xanth and Gren for submitting stories to the contest! We didn't receive enough entries to warrant a true contest, much like last year, so all four entrants will receive the unique Achievement for the contest! I'll have the Achievements in your inventories as soon as I'm able to get them out! I'll also be updating the front of the DoG website to display all four stories.

Check out their stories below, and write one of your own! Half-way into our first season, it's a great time to let us know more about who your characters are.

What's a Goblin Gotta Do To Get a Drink Around Here?
Blammity Jane and BangBang Kapow prove that goblins are, without a doubt, the best. And that the shine they distill down in Dust Town will make you go deaf.

I Make All Things New
Xanth, the scourge of Rhy'Din librarians, lives yet in post-Apocalyptic Rhy'Din. And it looks like he's still up to his library-scourging ways.

The Lost World
A bitter-sweet accounting of the life of the peaceful ranger, Gren Blockman, after Rhy'Din was ripped from the Nexus and plunged towards its harrowing fate.

May We Meet Again
The mysterious War, a leader of the rebellion against the Rhy'Din Defense League, is plagued by nightmares and memories of the night that the world went to Hell.

[Vanion Shadowcast]

The website's been updating to include the four submit stories on its front page. Thank you again to all who submitted!