Ah well, just a little mistake. It's fine. i already got a good storyline going now, so it's cool... 
[Writing Tournament] Winners Announced - Congratulations!
I don't understand what you mean!
My brain is hurting!
Neyh!!!
...
Frieza.exe has crashed.
Install ChinaBlade.exe to reboot? Yes/No
My brain is hurting!
Neyh!!!
...
Frieza.exe has crashed.
Install ChinaBlade.exe to reboot? Yes/No
![[Image: GengarSig1ver1_zpsbc815ce3.png]](https://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p721/ThatDaftHetalian/GengarSig1ver1_zpsbc815ce3.png)
![[Image: 7678.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/513941232419078157/599118897811030027/7678.png)
This was actually a decent first round...barring all the text walls. Paragraphs are key. Insomniac is looking at story more, and I prefer execution. Your story had better be freaking amazing if you expect to advance with a wall of text. I already picked Ga before Noodoo because of the few awkward sentences. Note: Pay attention to the order I pick people in. Normally, I reference it in the comment. The order will change, but I keep a mental ranking of the remaining writers. I am in no way disillusioned about the favorites here, though. Shirayuki and Frieza? You've got a LOT of work ahead of you both. I picked Shirayuki for a reason. I think he can actually do something. And Insomnia picked Frieza/Chinablade for a reason as well. She thinks that you can shake up the tournament. Don't prove us wrong.
The favorites? Well, here you are. Don't walk into an ego trap and lose sight of what you're doing. That's an efficient way to lose. Try not to get caught up in that.
For the contestants not moving on, try again. Brush up on your writing ability, and try a bit harder. Don't procrastinate. Edit time and time again. And NEVER make excuses. This is one of the few things in which natural talent gives way to effort 100% of the time. So try harder. And then try even harder. You can get it eventually.
The favorites? Well, here you are. Don't walk into an ego trap and lose sight of what you're doing. That's an efficient way to lose. Try not to get caught up in that.
For the contestants not moving on, try again. Brush up on your writing ability, and try a bit harder. Don't procrastinate. Edit time and time again. And NEVER make excuses. This is one of the few things in which natural talent gives way to effort 100% of the time. So try harder. And then try even harder. You can get it eventually.
![[Image: gPp4aQW.png]](https://i.imgur.com/gPp4aQW.png)
(Aug. 15, 2012 3:05 AM)Temporal Wrote: The favorites? Well, here you are. Don't walk into an ego trap and lose sight of what you're doing. That's an efficient way to lose. Try not to get caught up in that.I don't think they're the ones at risk of being caught in an ego trap.
Quote:For the contestants not moving on, try again. Brush up on your writing ability, and try a bit harder. Don't procrastinate. Edit time and time again. And NEVER make excuses. This is one of the few things in which natural talent gives way to effort 100% of the time. So try harder. And then try even harder. You can get it eventually.
Use the time you're not wasting on silly competitions to improve as writers.
![[Image: UwZsp7A.png]](https://i.imgur.com/UwZsp7A.png)
(Aug. 15, 2012 5:38 PM)th!nk Wrote: Use the time you're not wasting on silly competitions to improve as writers.
It was a quick last minute tournament thrown together for amusement purposes. Sort of like a pilot. So people get the gist of things and hopefully we can have more serious tournaments in the future.
And I've decided that Beyblade will never be a theme in the future, the cliche just takes away from everything.
Themes in and of their own are an excuse for laziness or limited scope on the part of judges.
(Aug. 15, 2012 5:48 PM)th!nk Wrote: Themes in and of their own are an excuse for laziness or limited scope on the part of judges.
I appreciate your opinion, but every theme except for the second one was my idea :\
Once again, this was some sort of a test run. And I myself have never organized anything of the sort before. So yeah, I see where you can see the comic sans.
So please, let the un-professionalism slide for once.
It's not the choice of themes, it's the use of them at all. That restriction and the following condescending manner temporal in particular was judging others work, combined, honestly kinda sickens me.
(Aug. 15, 2012 5:48 PM)th!nk Wrote: Themes in and of their own are an excuse for laziness or limited scope on the part of judges.
I have to disagree. Many, many competitions use themes, not out of laziness, but to see exactly how the competitor can stretch the idea and go outside the norm. Seeing the way people use the theme can give the judges some insight on how the person writes, their limits, their weaknesses, and their strengths. All this so that they can improve. And that's what this tournament is all about: improvement. Practice. Even on other professional websites, I've seen themes used during certain competitions. Sure, not all the time, but who's to say we're always going to use themes?
![[Image: 1zp3yoi.png]](https://i43.tinypic.com/1zp3yoi.png)
Writing is a gateway to the imagination, though. When you set themes, they can sometimes stifle creativity. The extent of a writer's capacity is only truly seen when they're writing a story that they feel passionate about. If someone told George Orwell to forget about his visions of dystopia and instead focus on a young adult romance novel, I guarantee you it wouldn't be anywhere near the caliber of 1984.
The young writers on here should really be writing stories that challenge their imaginations. Some people may believe that placing a theme forces a writer to adapt and explore that particular setting, therefore challenging the writer's abilities to a higher degree, but I'd have to disagree. I think it's much harder when you're only bound your imagination because the possibilities are limitless. This is how you'll see the absolute best stories that the writers in this competition, including you, can create.
If a theme absolutely has to be set, then it shouldn't be something as stifling as 'Passing down Beyblade knowledge/Beyblade legends/Beyblades from generation to generation'. A couple of people got disqualified for minor issues (rendering their stories meaningless, even though they worked hard on them) and some others were marked down for being 'cliche'. That isn't really fair when the theme itself is cliche.
Long story short, I agree with th!nk. I'm looking forward to the rest of the stories though.
The young writers on here should really be writing stories that challenge their imaginations. Some people may believe that placing a theme forces a writer to adapt and explore that particular setting, therefore challenging the writer's abilities to a higher degree, but I'd have to disagree. I think it's much harder when you're only bound your imagination because the possibilities are limitless. This is how you'll see the absolute best stories that the writers in this competition, including you, can create.
If a theme absolutely has to be set, then it shouldn't be something as stifling as 'Passing down Beyblade knowledge/Beyblade legends/Beyblades from generation to generation'. A couple of people got disqualified for minor issues (rendering their stories meaningless, even though they worked hard on them) and some others were marked down for being 'cliche'. That isn't really fair when the theme itself is cliche.
Long story short, I agree with th!nk. I'm looking forward to the rest of the stories though.
Just sent my sotry in...
Phew.
Phew.
Themes add structure. They set some sort of restriction, which gives easier judging criteria. This is a beyblade website, so I decided a nice theme would be Beyblade related. The real competitions go on in PenPad forums, not here. And probably never here. Hope that settles it. Once again, the real writing competitions go on at PenPad forums. Not here, the Beyblade site.
ChinaBlade, yes I received it, thank you.
ChinaBlade, yes I received it, thank you.
(Aug. 15, 2012 7:16 PM)Zain Wrote: Writing is a gateway to the imagination, though. When you set themes, they can sometimes stifle creativity. The extent of a writer's capacity is only truly seen when they're writing a story that they feel passionate about. If someone told George Orwell to forget about his visions of dystopia and instead focus on a young adult romance novel, I guarantee you it wouldn't be anywhere near the caliber of 1984.This is definitely true. But, challenging yourself is good, too. Sure, it won't be your best work, it's practice, and practice makes perfect. The themes might skew the writing a bit, but like I said, the competition isn't about winning. It's about getting better, or at least I like to view it that way. You can still write for the given themes and send it to the judges for some tips. The only prize from winning is knowing you've improved. Hell, the only prize for advancing is knowing you improved. If you didn't advance, just keep practicing.
Quote:The young writers on here should really be writing stories that challenge their imaginations. Some people may believe that placing a theme forces a writer to adapt and explore that particular setting, therefore challenging the writer's abilities to a higher degree, but I'd have to disagree. I think it's much harder when you're only bound your imagination because the possibilities are limitless. This is how you'll see the absolute best stories that the writers in this competition, including you, can create.I believe that with anything, the possibilities are limitless. Things can be interpreted differently, as everyone thinks in a different way. Quotes from John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, "Some infinities are bigger than other infinities." I see the same thing here.
Quote:If a theme absolutely has to be set, then it shouldn't be something as stifling as 'Passing down Beyblade knowledge/Beyblade legends/Beyblades from generation to generation'. A couple of people got disqualified for minor issues (rendering their stories meaningless, even though they worked hard on them) and some others were marked down for being 'cliche'. That isn't really fair when the theme itself is cliche.Even with this competition being solely for practice, this still is a competition. Competitions are won by standing out positively. Whether it be through flawless execution, or an idea out of the norm, it's standing out. So, what greater way to challenge someone than through a cliched theme. It makes the writer think, how can you make a cliche not cliched; how can you make the expected unexpected?
So yeah, I agree with you on some of your points, but I don't believe themes necessarily limit a competitor.
Ugh... I'm sorry to say this but... I may have to drop out...
People are being mean to me and making me feel like complete carp....
And they're making me feel like everything I do is bad...
So I think I may stop writing...
Eh.... I can't take it..
mith:
People are being mean to me and making me feel like complete carp....
And they're making me feel like everything I do is bad...
So I think I may stop writing...
Eh.... I can't take it..
mith:
(Aug. 15, 2012 9:46 PM)Frieza Wrote: Ugh... I'm sorry to say this but... I may have to drop out...
People are being mean to me and making me feel like complete carp....
And they're making me feel like everything I do is bad...
So I think I may stop writing...
Eh.... I can't take it..
Any comments are not directed at the competitors :\
Rather at the whole structure of this tournament
(Aug. 15, 2012 9:49 PM)Insomniac Wrote:(Aug. 15, 2012 9:46 PM)Frieza Wrote: Ugh... I'm sorry to say this but... I may have to drop out...
People are being mean to me and making me feel like complete carp....
And they're making me feel like everything I do is bad...
So I think I may stop writing...
Eh.... I can't take it..
Any comments are not directed at the competitors :\
Rather at the whole structure of this tournament
What?...
No...
I don't understand what you mean
(Aug. 15, 2012 6:00 PM)th!nk Wrote: It's not the choice of themes, it's the use of them at all. That restriction and the following condescending manner temporal in particular was judging others work, combined, honestly kinda sickens me.
I don't understand. Are you saying that a judge system is flawed, or that my judging is flawed specifically. If that's the case, I'm somewhat hurt. It's not like there were a load of masterpieces. I said what was wrong with the ones that were not picked. They were walls of text, something you yourself testified against before. It's not like I'm picking favorites for the hell of it. You can read each entry yourself and tell us if you see an issue with the choices.
Also: It is still slightly better than the vote system. Anyone could ask people to vote for them that way. And the impartial part dies after the first round, anyway.
Also: When was I condescending, minus the "Walls of Text" parts? I was pointing out the truth. Had there been more quality entries, the ranking would change. That's a given in ANY competition. I would honestly like to know the problem. PM me about it, or post it here. I honestly don't care which. I just don't want to be a detriment to the idea in general.
(Aug. 15, 2012 9:52 PM)Frieza Wrote: What?...
No...
I don't understand what you mean
Th!nk is saying that the tournament is not really professional and really debating the fact that there should be any themes, because it limits the writers (which can be true). But then again, themes are a challenge that the writers must face.
Furthermore, he is saying Beyblade themes automatically entitle the stories to be full of cliche. And cliche simply crushes any story (good or bad).
He is not saying that the entries suck. He is just saying that next time, do a better job *at the tournament execution.
(Aug. 15, 2012 9:54 PM)Insomniac Wrote:(Aug. 15, 2012 9:52 PM)Frieza Wrote: What?...
No...
I don't understand what you mean
Th!nk is saying that the tournament is not really professional and really debating the fact that there should be any themes, because it limits the writers (which can be true). But then again, themes are a challenge that the writers must face.
Furthermore, he is saying Beyblade themes automatically entitle the stories to be full of cliche. And cliche simply crushes any story (good or bad).
He is not saying that the entries suck. He is just saying that next time, do a better job.
It's not him...
The bullies are back...
(Aug. 15, 2012 5:38 PM)th!nk Wrote:(Aug. 15, 2012 3:05 AM)Temporal Wrote: The favorites? Well, here you are. Don't walk into an ego trap and lose sight of what you're doing. That's an efficient way to lose. Try not to get caught up in that.I don't think they're the ones at risk of being caught in an ego trap.
Quote:For the contestants not moving on, try again. Brush up on your writing ability, and try a bit harder. Don't procrastinate. Edit time and time again. And NEVER make excuses. This is one of the few things in which natural talent gives way to effort 100% of the time. So try harder. And then try even harder. You can get it eventually.
Use the time you're not wasting on silly competitions to improve as writers.
One: Was that you saying I have a large ego? Again, I do not understand. I'd like to know why you feel that way, if so.
Two: Erm... That's somewhat disheartening to the people who advance. It's like saying that it's better to lose because it's all pointless anyway. Technically, you could call a Beyblade tournament with no prize "silly". Is a prize necessary to make a win worthwhile? I don't like to think so.
(Aug. 15, 2012 9:58 PM)Frieza Wrote: Ugh! Okay.
People one a site (not telling which) kept making fun of me and I've lost the will to write!
You shouldn't doubt your abilities because of what of what other people say. You've got potential. And your story threads are proof of that. How many people have loved your stories? Many! And you've done a great service to the WBO's creations section. I mean, I could sit here all day comparing your masterpieces with the other pieces of carp that are LOADED with grammar and spelling issues.
Long story short, don't listen to what other people say.