Writer of the Month #1 Guidelines

Hello ladies and gentlemen of Roleplayer Guild, and welcome to the revival of the Writer of the Month contest. It's been a few months since the fall and return of the site, and now that things are feeling steady and stable once more we've decided the time is right for the contest to return. For those of you who spectated or participated in WOTM in the past, things will be somewhat different moving forward. We're lacking some convenient features that we took for granted on the old Guild, and we've changed some things to better suit the nature of the contest, but at the core it's still the same contest with the same goals run by the same people. More things will probably change as RPG sees further development, such as not hosting the contest on the Off-Topic board once we have a Contests section, but hopefully those things won't be too much of a disruption when they occur. Oh, and to those of you who are totally new to the Writer of the Month contest, hi there, feel free to submit an entry or watch from the sidelines and vote once the voting threads go up. "The more the merrier" most certainly applies to WOTM.

There's one final thing to note before getting on with the Guidelines for this first month of the revived contest. If anyone has questions about the contest, be it about your idea for an entry or about the rules or whatever else might come to mind, don't hesitate to post it in this thread or send a message to either the WOTM account (the conveniently named account that is posting this thread) or one of the contest managers: Brovo, Kaga, or Jorick. Odds are you'll see a quicker PM response if you send it to one of us directly, since we tend to only get on the WOTM account to check for new submissions or to post contest threads. And now, without further ado, on to the Guidelines.

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Theme: Historical
Explained: A story set in a notable period of history (Crusades, Renaissance, Great Depression, etc)

Components:
● One or more characters of the story are well-known historical figures.
● The protagonist is a civilian in a time or place of war.
● The story involves or focuses on a real, major event from history, either as it truly happened or as a fictional version of the event.
● The story involves a character traveling back in time to a historical period.
● The story is written in the form of diary or journal entries.

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Flash Fiction Entry Rules
● Components: 1 required, use of more allowed.
● Word Minimum: 0
● Word Maximum: 1,500
● The PM Title Must Be: WOTM #1 Entry: Flash Fiction

Short Story Entry Rules
● Components: 2 required, use of more allowed.
● Word Minimum: 1,000 (100 if poem)
● Word Maximum: 3,500
● The PM Title Must Be: WOTM #1 Entry: Short Story

General Rules
● Submissions Due By: March 25, 2014, 11:59 PM PST
● Send all entries via PM to the WOTM account.
● All Submission PMs Must Include: Your entry (provided titles will be used as hider titles) and a list of which components you used.
● No resubmitting entries or sending in multiple entries.
● If you have any questions about the contest or the current theme, feel free to ask in the thread. However, if it pertains to your ideas for an entry which would compromise the anonymity of your entry, please instead direct the question via PM to the WOTM account or one of the managers.
● Your entry must be something made specifically for this contest, not something you've written in the past that happens to fit the components.
● Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If plagiarism is proven, you will be publicly disqualified and banned from all future WOTM contests. Fan fiction is not necessarily plagiarism and is allowed, but you must note in your entry PM that it is fan fiction and what existing piece of fiction it is based on.
● All site-wide rules (no trolling, no flaming, no spamming, etc.) apply to WOTM threads as well, and any transgressors will be reported and dealt with accordingly.

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This contest brought to you by the Writer of the Month Contest Managers: Brovo, Kaga, and Jorick

I'll be watching all of you eagerly, for, see, like in the old days where no entry escaped the wrath of the critical top hat reviewer, I'll be reviewing every single entry that gets accepted in this WOTM. Tell your friends, tell your family, then do your best, because I will do my best to pick apart every single tiny flaw I can find for the benefit of the author in becoming a better writer.

... Best of luck, ladies and gentlemen of WOTM. Consider it a reward if I don't find a critical plot hole or otherwise.

Like in the old days where no entry escaped the wrath of the critical top hat reviewer... Except those... that there wasn't enough time to get to? XD

I feel rather safe, frankly. Hahahaha. But then again, feel free to hit as hard as you can~! I'll enjoy seeing your reviewing art in action again~ Maybe, just maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe, will I finally be able to experience it on an entry of my own? You stopped right before my entry last time! XD

PlatinumSkink said
Like in the old days where no entry escaped the wrath of the critical top hat reviewer... Except those... that there wasn't enough time to get to? XDI feel rather safe, frankly. Hahahaha. But then again, feel free to hit as hard as you can~! I'll enjoy seeing your reviewing art in action again~ Maybe, just maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe, will I finally be able to experience it on an entry of my own? You stopped right before my entry last time! XD

Perhaps, Skink, perhaps. xD

I am SOOOO glad to see this back up! I was JUST about to participate in the next WOTM when the guild fell D: I do have to say though, not sure if I want to participate in this one because I'm not very familiar with historical events, so I'm a bit nervous to throw myself out there for the first time with this theme :o

LoneSilverWolf said
I am SOOOO glad to see this back up! I was JUST about to participate in the next WOTM when the guild fell D: I do have to say though, not sure if I want to participate in this one because I'm not very familiar with historical events, so I'm a bit nervous to throw myself out there for the first time with this theme :o

If you're concerned with keeping your facts straight, I think a quick Google search of a particular event would provide you with enough research material to center an entry around.

Possibly. I just don't want to butcher a historic event xD

LoneSilverWolf said
Possibly. I just don't want to butcher a historic event xD

Seeing as how one of the components pretty much encourages re-writing history, I doubt you'll come across many issues.

Fascinating… I think I actually have an idea for this too. Perhaps I will participate in this finally.

I have honestly never participated in one of these, but because the theme is historical I'm strongly considering entering :D.

DO IT JANNAH!!! I have faith in your writing, I've seen it and RPd with you extensively. I'd slate you to win this thing if you entered xD

LoneSilverWolf said
DO IT JANNAH!!! I have faith in your writing, I've seen it and RPd with you extensively. I'd slate you to win this thing if you entered xD

I'll take that as a massive compliment :D. I'll have to think about this for a bit if I enter.

I'm not trying to be an ass here, but I think this question could be good for the group.

Guidelines Excerpt said
Explained: A story set in a notable period of history (Crusades, Renaissance, Great Depression, etc)

Components:
● One or more characters of the story are well-known historical figures.
● The protagonist is a civilian in a time or place of war.
● The story involves or focuses on a real, major event from history, either as it truly happened or as a fictional version of the event.

Not everyone here is from America or the Euro-ancestral nations for the matter. That said, notable periods of history and well-known figures could vary pretty significantly. For example, if one wanted to place a story set during the Soviet-Afgan War, this period is very significant to many, but not really common knowledge in America. There are numerous other situations like this, so I just wanted to get some clarification. This is absolutely not a criticism. I love the changes and this theme, and am happy to see the WOTM back and strong!

Glad to see the WOTM back up!

Hope I get enough inspiration to participate in as many WOTMs as possible.

ShonHarris said
I'm not trying to be an ass here, but I think this question could be good for the group.Not everyone here is from America or the Euro-ancestral nations for the matter. That said, notable periods of history and well-known figures could vary pretty significantly. For example, if one wanted to place a story set during the Soviet-Afgan War, this period is very significant to many, but not really common knowledge in America. There are numerous other situations like this, so I just wanted to get some clarification. This is absolutely a criticism. I love the changes and this theme, and am happy to see the WOTM back and strong!

Something with the Soviet-Afghan war could involve Bin Laden. He was active at that time and funded by the US. There's also people like Brezhnev. Certainly historical figures could be mentioned in passing rather than actually being characters? There's countless possibilities tbh for any period.

ShonHarris said
I'm not trying to be an ass here, but I think this question could be good for the group.Not everyone here is from America or the Euro-ancestral nations for the matter. That said, notable periods of history and well-known figures could vary pretty significantly. For example, if one wanted to place a story set during the Soviet-Afgan War, this period is very significant to many, but not really common knowledge in America. There are numerous other situations like this, so I just wanted to get some clarification. This is absolutely a criticism. I love the changes and this theme, and am happy to see the WOTM back and strong!

I actually had the same want for a clarification because I was thinking of writing a piece taking place during the Bakumatsu in Japan.

ShonHarris said
I'm not trying to be an ass here, but I think this question could be good for the group.Not everyone here is from America or the Euro-ancestral nations for the matter. That said, notable periods of history and well-known figures could vary pretty significantly. For example, if one wanted to place a story set during the Soviet-Afgan War, this period is very significant to many, but not really common knowledge in America. There are numerous other situations like this, so I just wanted to get some clarification. This is absolutely a criticism. I love the changes and this theme, and am happy to see the WOTM back and strong!

Well notable could mean many things to many different people. It might mean things that are well known across the globe, not just by American standards. Something like World War 1, World War 2, the Crusades, several of Rome's impressive battles...there's a LOT of well known historic moments that most of the *world* is familiar with. While I can't speak for those who put the WOTM together, I imagine this is probably what they were shooting for. That's my guess, anyway.

LoneSilverWolf said
Well notable could mean many things to many different people. It might mean things that are well known across the globe, not just by American standards. Something like World War 1, World War 2, the Crusades, several of Rome's impressive battles...there's a LOT of well known historic moments that most of the *world* is familiar with. While I can't speak for those who put the WOTM together, I imagine this is probably what they were shooting for. That's my guess, anyway.

Not to mention events that might not have been all that notable on a worldwide scale, but were life-changing on a local scale (think major national natural disasters (Stupid spell check), civil uprisings) and are still remembered to this very day. Do those count too?

Wasn't trying to open up a can of worms or ask for ideas. I just want to make sure I understand the level of flexibility here. Wouldn't want to write something up just to have it lie just out of bounds after all.

ShonHarris said
I'm not trying to be an ass here, but I think this question could be good for the group.

Not everyone here is from America or the Euro-ancestral nations for the matter. That said, notable periods of history and well-known figures could vary pretty significantly. For example, if one wanted to place a story set during the Soviet-Afgan War, this period is very significant to many, but not really common knowledge in America. There are numerous other situations like this, so I just wanted to get some clarification. This is absolutely not a criticism. I love the changes and this theme, and am happy to see the WOTM back and strong!

That's a fine question to ask. It was left purposely vague for the sake of not limiting it to periods notable to the United States or Europe (although the given examples might give that impression, whoops). The word "notable" was used rather than "significant" or "important" for similar reasons, that it needn't be a world-shaking event or period being discussed. Given our past extreme flexibility in letting people interpret themes and components within reasonable boundaries, I'm confident that there would be no problem with something set during the Soviet-Afghan war. If it's something worthy of a paragraph or more in a history textbook focusing on that region of the world, I would say you've absolutely crossed the threshold for what makes something notable. The well-known figure part could be interpreted the same way, if they're well-known (which I would say means you'd expect most people to recognize the name and maybe be able to give a brief outline of what they're known for) in that region of the world then they should count for that component.

This stuff goes for all themes and components now and in the future: if you could make a reasonable case for why your interpretation is logical, then we're almost certain to allow it. I can't think of a single entry we ever denied in the past due to a disagreement with interpretation of a theme or component, and we've gotten some things that were miles outside the box.

Neobullseye said
Not to mention events that might not have been all that notable on a worldwide scale, but were life-changing on a local scale (think major natural disasters (Stupid spell check), civil uprisings) and are still remembered to this very day. Do those count too?

Things get a little tenuous when you get down to a local level like that, but there's still a case to be made. It's all about how you define "notable" really, and since we welcome creative interpretations I think most things could be fine. Getting down to a local level like talking about the time some house burned down and everyone was talking about it for weeks, well, that'd probably be pushing the bounds of credibility when it comes to the definition of notable historical events. Something that a local historian would want to write down for posterity, such as a major natural disaster or a civil uprising, ought to be just fine.