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Your writing talent and the contest |
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angelagilbert 
NYC Midnight Addict 
Joined: 21 Jan 2017 Location: Maine Status: Offline Points: 824 |
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 Posted: 09 May 2018 at 9:24pm |
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What strikes me in this competition is that some of my favorite pieces don't place as highly with the judges as others. During last year's FFC, I placed very well in the first round, and I was so confident with my second round that I thought for sure I'd make it to the finals. I saw it as one of the best pieces I'd ever written, and I didn't place. So I figured that if that story wasn't enough to get me to the finals that there was no way a political satire from this round would get me to the finals, and it did. So it makes me wonder my own self feedback.
But who knows the other factors? Maybe a story does or doesn't resonate with a particular judge. Maybe the caliber of those you're placed with is just different from round to round. I am a 100% amateur writer, someone who just enjoys writing. I've thought about submitting some of my pieces from this contests for publication, but haven't yet followed through with that. I like the idea of seeing it as a game. I don't stake my talent and skill on just these contests. I've always known my writing is pretty good, and it's been great to see it score well against others who also fancy themselves writers. We are writers, and that is worth celebrating, no matter where we place. :)
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chrissie0707
NYC Midnight Black Belt 
Joined: 07 Feb 2018 Location: Indianapolis Status: Offline Points: 4005 |
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Posted: 09 May 2018 at 9:27pm |
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So much yes. 
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angelagilbert
NYC Midnight Addict
Joined: 21 Jan 2017 Location: Maine Status: Offline Points: 824 |
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Posted: 09 May 2018 at 9:34pm |
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True story- I actually AM a published poet; I have a dirty limerick published in a Maine Limerick book that I wrote in college. I was paid $5 and didn't have to take my Writers of Maine final. So yay me.
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steph9289
NYC Midnight Black Belt
Joined: 23 Jan 2016 Location: Brooklyn, NY Status: Offline Points: 8968 |
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Posted: 09 May 2018 at 9:36pm |
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Hahaha! Yay Maine! :)
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#amrevising
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MattrickBT
NYC Midnight Addict
Joined: 15 Jul 2017 Location: Oshawa Status: Offline Points: 1270 |
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Posted: 10 May 2018 at 12:34am |
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A fan fiction writer edged me out of the finals?
 Edited by MattrickBT - 10 May 2018 at 12:42am |
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chrissie0707
NYC Midnight Black Belt
Joined: 07 Feb 2018 Location: Indianapolis Status: Offline Points: 4005 |
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Posted: 10 May 2018 at 7:08am |
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Since you edited this, should I make sure everyone knows that you also said "I actually feel insulted now"? No one will ever see this edit, so I'm just putting this here for me, but this "fanfiction writer" will officially be a PUBLISHED WRITER (you know, the kind you ACTUALLY pretend to respect) by the end of this month. Edited by chrissie0707 - 06 Apr 2019 at 7:56pm |
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rossinny
NYC Midnight Black Belt
Joined: 30 Apr 2017 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 1972 |
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Posted: 10 May 2018 at 7:51am |
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Sorry that you've had to deal with these crass and moronic posts. I think (I hope), it's a young lad just desperate for attention. Congratulations on making it through to the final! |
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R2 Rhyming Story The Dying of the Light(Sci-Fi)
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Megaru_Blue
NYC Midnight Groupie 
Joined: 10 May 2018 Location: Denver, CO Status: Offline Points: 105 |
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Posted: 10 May 2018 at 10:55am |
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Hello, MattrickBT-- You don't seem like the sort of fellow to benefit at ALL from any sort of feedback, but I'm going to provide some anyway. Perhaps you'll read it, perhaps you won't; however, you've left me little choice but to speak up, given your frankly breathtaking arrogance and assholery. So first, let's talk about human decency: Hundreds of people, from all backgrounds, walks of life, and geographical locations, join this competition to have fun, receive feedback, grow in their writing, and maybe win some money. No matter your reasons for being here, no matter your skill level, this is a welcoming place. Or at least it should be. Have a little respect for your fellow writers, will you? Second, let's talk about competition: Competition is inherently a difficult thing. Someone wins, someone loses, and it never feels good for the loser. It's even harder when it's a competition for something like writing, which can be highly subjective by nature. So yeah, we all get that you're disappointed in your loss. But insulting folks who scored higher than you is juvenile and boorish. Third, let's talk about fan fiction: You know what the difference is between a published writer and a fan fiction writer? Subject matter. That is LITERALLY ALL. A fan fiction writer cannot publish their work for profit because the subject is "already taken," because they're playing in someone else's sandbox. That is not in any way a reflection of their talent, skill, or creativity. Some of the best fiction I've EVER read--and I'm a voracious reader--has been fan fiction. To wholesale insult literally MILLIONS of people who write fan fiction--many of whom are far better writers than you OR me--is honestly one of the most insanely stupid things I've ever seen. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Source: I am a fan fiction writer who is also a published author. Since you are apparently neither of those things, I fail to see where you get off acting like you know anything about either one. Fourth, let's talk about talent: Writing talent is subjective, we mentioned that above. But there are certain elements of a writer's style and skill that are universal; descriptiveness, creativity, inspiration, grammar usage, etc. Clearly, on those particulars, three people in your heat were better than you. That's still a respectable showing, but to be perfectly honest, you're ruining everyone's appreciation of your work with your horrific attitude and your nasty hostility toward the winners of this round. Perhaps instead of insulting everyone, you should take a look at your work and see where it can be improved--because no matter HOW good you are, there's ALWAYS room for improvement. tl;dr -- Be a decent human, stop being a sore loser, insulting millions of talented folks is a terrible idea, and spend more time looking at your work instead of trying to cut down those who beat you fair and square. Cheers.
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wateringcan
NYC Midnight Regular 
Joined: 23 Jan 2018 Status: Offline Points: 329 |
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Posted: 10 May 2018 at 11:06am |
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Whenever I think of questions like this I think of something Jon Ronson (my favourite non-fic writer) said about how he chooses the stories he writes - he tries not to go up against journalistic competition because he says he's a "slow" writer compared with others and they would simply pip him to the chase. Some people can write quickly and others can't, it does not mean the first is a better writer than the second. Some people are great in one genre and bad at another, it doesn't mean they're a bad writer. Some people are great in one medium and struggle with another, it doesn't mean they're a bad writer.
Overall, I think everyone who does well in any part of NYC should be extremely proud of themselves. It's a tough competition and I think it brings out really high calibre work. But I don't think those who don't place should consider themselves untalented. One competition - one round of a competition - can't define you. Also just to add for anyone who gets worried about what it "says about them" if they don't feel they did well at something (whether subjectively or because of external feedback): Another fav of mine Graham Linehan said in an interview once "the well of inspiration is as deep as you think it is", which I think is a really good point. Trying is the opposite of creativity. If you already doubt your abilities and worry a lot you will "try", which doesn't allow your mind to relax and serve you with those moments of inspiration. I've noticed this myself because I'm am rarely (never?) happy with what I write for competition (when I want it to be "good"), but when I just sit down because I feel like writing and just write in a stream of consciousness way without planning ahead or "trying to make it good" - just for the joy of it, basically - I end up with ideas that are far more imaginative and that I really enjoy. So it's worth bearing in mind - if you're really worried about whether or not you're creative or talented, then you may find that your work becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The solution is to simply try to never consider any kind of "inherent ability" as a factor.
Edited by wateringcan - 10 May 2018 at 11:19am |
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JESimpson
NYC Midnight Groupie
Joined: 06 Feb 2018 Status: Offline Points: 130 |
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Posted: 10 May 2018 at 2:17pm |
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I'm a published author of both fiction and non-fiction, but of neither for a looooong time. (First novel -- a mystery -- and a story published in 1992; a clutch of tech books and online columns which I finally bailed from in 2002.) Since then, I've been trying my damnedest to get some real, honest-to-gods fiction published. Lightning (very small-scale, but still) struck that one time, 26 years ago, but since then... nothing.
So I've grown rather desperate. Maybe I'm "just" a writer, but a crap storyteller? (That's what I've concluded on my own.) I hate that possibility. This year's NYC Midnight short-story challenge has been my first. And it has already -- prematurely -- boosted my confidence in my storytelling. (I'm moving to Round 3 this weekend.) That alone, for me, has justified the entry fee. That alone has been an immeasurable benefit. I don't think I'm a better writer than I was before the challenge started, and I can't believe I've somehow magically jacked up my skill at creating and telling a story. No, I just now believe I can write well enough. (That "prematurely" qualifier? I don't care about that right now.) So what's different? It's the constraints, particularly the limited time and word counts -- a freaking pain in the bazonga at the time of writing, true, but I think they're ultimately what make it work for me. My process for the challenge has had to be different: I don't have time to write, to consider how I've said what I just said, to map out the plot with charts, to do character sketches, all that. No. I have time only to burp out N words, and then to spend the next 75-90% (or however much) of the allotted time editing the thing. Raking the story over the coals; figuring out how to say something in fewer words; stripping out all non-functional prose; reading critically (with mixed success) for plot holes, inconsistent character names, all that stuff -- and of course fixing as much as I can. And then I just close my eyes, hold my breath, and click Send. It's terrifying. But it's also -- again, for me, so far -- very gratifying. |
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My Round 2 Story: Closure
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angelagilbert wrote: