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Character Interpretation

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VeeRob3299 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VeeRob3299 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Character Interpretation
    Posted: 26 Jul 2021 at 8:15am

Hi, the Short Story final round contestants (I am not a contestant) were given the following prompts:


Genre:  Open

Subject:  A honeymoon

Character:  A poacher


My question is, how loosely can a "Character" prompt be interpreted? For instance, "A poacher", could mean someone who illegally hunts animals or someone cooking food (eggs, seafood, desserts) via poaching methods.  Both quite different.


Are participants free to 'interpret' and use these prompts freely?


I'm a newbie here, and trying to learn.  So I would appreciate any constructive thoughts.


Thanks 

V.

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Popsicle Crows View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Popsicle Crows Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jul 2021 at 3:46pm
Yes, you absolutely can but I think you have to use 'reasonable person' theory. In both examples you mentioned, I think there would be no trouble at all with the judges.

I think where we have to be careful is when we stray from what the prompt is for. For example, my prompt 'a cleaner' is a character so I couldn't make it a bottle of Windex otherwise it becomes an object.

BUT .. if the bottle of Windex get written as a character, "Hey buddy, I'm right here! Clean your windows!" AND the Windex bottle does and says things like a true character, we could use it. I don't think they would accept it if a guy simply hallucinates and the bottle of cleaner has one line. Not really a character that way, just a talking object.

You'll see some tips about this sort of stuff on the email that you get when you get your assignment prompts and also on the FAQ from the contest page. Genre has some interesting advice too. It helped me to make my sci-fi completely devoid of science :-)
Now I wait to see how closely the judges adhere to their own examples.

Interpretation of the prompts is a big part of the fun for me.
Hope that helps!
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VeeRob3299 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VeeRob3299 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jul 2021 at 4:36pm
Originally posted by Popsicle Crows Popsicle Crows wrote:

Yes, you absolutely can but I think you have to use 'reasonable person' theory. In both examples you mentioned, I think there would be no trouble at all with the judges.

I think where we have to be careful is when we stray from what the prompt is for. For example, my prompt 'a cleaner' is a character so I couldn't make it a bottle of Windex otherwise it becomes an object.

BUT .. if the bottle of Windex get written as a character, "Hey buddy, I'm right here! Clean your windows!" AND the Windex bottle does and says things like a true character, we could use it. I don't think they would accept it if a guy simply hallucinates and the bottle of cleaner has one line. Not really a character that way, just a talking object.

You'll see some tips about this sort of stuff on the email that you get when you get your assignment prompts and also on the FAQ from the contest page. Genre has some interesting advice too. It helped me to make my sci-fi completely devoid of science :-)
Now I wait to see how closely the judges adhere to their own examples.

Interpretation of the prompts is a big part of the fun for me.
Hope that helps!

Thanks for the great feedback.  We think the same way.  It definitely helps.  Good luck!
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taaaylor View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote taaaylor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jul 2021 at 5:01pm
Both are perfectly acceptable and both were posted on the forums :) Regannoelle did a fantastic story about an egg poacher. I also read another story from someone on here where the poacher was a nickname given to a femme fatale character

Anything that fits the prompt is totally acceptable, no matter how flexible you get as long as it's clearly based on the prompt
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