Advice for Round 3 |
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MegtheCrane
NYC Midnight Newbie Joined: 16 Jul 2019 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 82 |
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Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 1:34pm |
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I'm a newbie to NYC Midnight's FF challenge, but extremely grateful to be moving on to the next round (Challenge 3, here we come! Weekend plans ... sorry to disappoint). It's great to have this forum because I feel like the advice I've seen from FF veterans is always incredibly helpful.
That being said, is there any advice/tips/general knowledge we should know from anyone who has competed in Challenge 3? Are the group sizes the same? Same variety of genres? Maybe it's the anxiety in me, but I can't help but view this challenge as a fire breathing dragon from hell ... any advice would be MORE than appreciated. Just worried I'm going to psych myself out come Friday night. Best of luck to all!
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MrLipto
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 21 Jul 2017 Status: Offline Points: 1351 |
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Groups, I think, are random 25 people.
Same possible genres. Maybe go the genre description page and familiarize yourself with the expectations. This veteran suggests you divorce yourself from any hope or dread regarding the prompts. Fate and Life and Death and Time do not care what you do or do not want. You get what you get. When the prompts come, don't waste emotional energy dwelling on your luck or lack thereof. Instead, use this time to read. Read classics, read short stories, read poems. Seriously, you kept all those damn books on the shelves, just grab them and open to the middle and start reading. Fill your head with phrases and images. This way, when the prompt arrives, you get a pen and a piece of paper and just turn on the tap and let the idea flow out of your buttery brain. Oh, supposedly we're also going to get judge feedback from C2 stories. Read that, feel what you feel, consider the suggestions, and move on.
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manifestlynot
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 02 Jan 2018 Status: Offline Points: 4480 |
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Love the advice to read during this time!
Honestly, just enjoy yourself (if possible!). The third round is cool because there are only ten groups or so, and you can read many interpretations of each prompt. I got Mystery for round 3 last year and did a garbage job, but I just considered it my entry ticket to read so many good pieces on the forum.
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Rhyming R1: Lionheart (Hist fic)
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haole
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 18 Sep 2014 Location: Ohio Status: Offline Points: 915 |
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I agree, just enjoy yourself. Clear your head and wait for the prompts to inspire you. The third round is also the coolest round when it comes to forum feedback and participation, because at least 90% of the feedback you'll receive are from other writers who also advanced, some of the best of the best, some of the most insightful and supportive forumites this site has to offer. If you make the finals, great! But there's no point in setting expectations because the competition is fierce, and some of the absolute best, most talented writers on this site are not going to advance. It's about your idea and your execution of it, which levels that playing field considerably. So there's no point in overthinking it or worrying about it. Just have fun with it.
Edited by haole - 07 Nov 2019 at 2:15pm |
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charleycheval
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 24 Jul 2016 Status: Offline Points: 858 |
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I treat challenge 3 as a bonus. The chance that I advance is slim to none, but it is another great opportunity to write something else and receive feedback and mingle more with people on this board! Just believe in yourself. Your writing got you this far, just do it again!
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MF100 Butter Fingers
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Random
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 17 Nov 2017 Location: C. of Letters Status: Offline Points: 5401 |
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Remember this is a new game. Nothing up to this point matters; the only difference is there are fewer people and the competition is stiffer. Take a breath, do what you to to get yourself relaxed and into a good mood, and tell the story you want to tell. The only variable you control is your own performance, so just roll with it. |
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ChillyToez
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 06 May 2019 Location: North Pole Status: Offline Points: 2438 |
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--OR-- Give yourself a finite amount of time - fifteen minutes or so - to WTF/pout/shout/complain to all your writer friends & the family that is still speaking to you at this point. Get it out of your system, then let it go and do the thing.
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Random
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 17 Nov 2017 Location: C. of Letters Status: Offline Points: 5401 |
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What if my family is only vaguely aware that I write? Of course that's down to SWMBO, but still...
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ChillyToez
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 06 May 2019 Location: North Pole Status: Offline Points: 2438 |
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I'm sure there must be some kind of bribery--does she drink wine or maybe needs a spa day?
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lisafox10800
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 18 Jul 2016 Location: NJ Status: Offline Points: 9440 |
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Do exactly what you did in the first two rounds. This one is no different.
The things you can control still apply (like your writing process, time management, selection of reliable beta readers). As do the things you can't (who is in your heat, your prompts, the judges assigned to your group).
Still swimming, just in a different pool. And remember this is supposed to be FUN. Play for the love of the game. Good luck! :) |
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lisafoxiswriting.com
My short story collection, Core Truths, is now available wherever books are sold. |
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