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Advice for Round 3

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MegtheCrane View Drop Down
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    Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 1:34pm
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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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (3) Thanks(3)   Quote MrLipto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 1:46pm
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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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote manifestlynot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 1:50pm
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.
Rhyming R1: Lionheart (Hist fic)
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haole View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote haole Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 2:14pm
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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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote charleycheval Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 3:07pm
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! Clap
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Random Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 3:35pm
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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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote ChillyToez Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 3:46pm
Originally posted by MrLipto MrLipto wrote:

When the prompts come, don't waste emotional energy dwelling on your luck or lack thereof.

--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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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Random Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 3:54pm
Originally posted by ChillyToez ChillyToez wrote:

Originally posted by MrLipto MrLipto wrote:

When the prompts come, don't waste emotional energy dwelling on your luck or lack thereof.

--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. 


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 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote ChillyToez Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 4:08pm
Originally posted by Random Random wrote:

What if my family is only vaguely aware that I write?  Of course that's down to SWMBO, but still...

I'm sure there must be some kind of bribery--does she drink wine or maybe needs a spa day?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote lisafox10800 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2019 at 4:18pm
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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My short story collection, Core Truths, is now available wherever books are sold.
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