Wow. I'm in!

/steals Random McNally writing table

Noooooooooooooooooo

That was my very favorite writing table! Now I shall have to submit my stories on stone tablets.

Curse you Marlona Sky!!!!

Ah crap, the writers are already gaming each other!

"The only Jovian in Jove space was sitting at his table, sipping on a glowing, blue concoction. Then there was a knock."

I wonder how many Scorpions Ishukone Watch were sold to sponsor this. It's a good contest, don't get me wrong. It just would be nice if there was a wider mix of sponsors from all over the Eve community.

I wonder how many Scorpions Ishukone Watch were sold to sponsor this. It's a good contest, don't get me wrong. It just would be nice if there was a wider mix of sponsors from all over the Eve community.

Wow. I'm in!

/steals Random McNally writing table

Considering throwing a couple plex into it. But the whole Somer fiasco going on right now may scare other sponsors away from sponsoring the same event. You could come up with another event that is separate and has more widespread sponsorship. I can think of a few people who would likely help sponsor a worthy cause.

The fiction contest is an entirely separate event, put together by an individual player (myself). Somer Blink is just one of the prize donors. I call all of the donors "sponsors," but their only input is to distribute prizes to the winners at the end.

If people want to donate prizes, here how it works:
-You can donate any ISK amount. 1bil ISK, 50mil ISK, any amount is good. Our writers are needy, they can be persuaded to accept any extra amount of ISK. The donation doesn't have to be in PLEX form. You could also donate a ship or ingame item. Figuring out how to award an item prize is a little trickier, but we can work it out.
-Donors and the amount donated are listed and linked on the contest announcement/rules page.
-Ideally donors would just transfer the prize directly to a winner at the end of the contest. But due to the risk of trolling (pledging a donation, but not delivering it in the end), we'd better have them deposit donations with a third party.

(BTW, for last year's contest, I asked Somer for about 1bil for prizes. When they saw that devs would be judging and it was a legit contest, they gave me the 1bil, plus 9bil more. No conditions, just an outright gift to the writer. Just mentioning that for the record).

Anyway, if you'd like to donate, just send me a mail and we'll work it out. o7

Call me silly, but I've got a couple of doubts on the cathegories, namely:

- Are 8,000 Suns stories allowed to deal with issues not belonging to the canon lore? FAI, would qualify a story about a farmer growing the biggest pumpkin in his planet? Farming is not adressed by the lore, so the story wouldn't break the lore, but also is not a story about the lore... Which leads to my second question:

- in the cathegory of "one day in life", are stories supposed to be feasible in EVE? FAI, would qualify a story about a character going into a bar and holding a drinks contest (which is impossible to happen in the game)? Or the story above, not within the lore, not breaking it, but also farmers and pumpkins are not feasible in the game?

(Maybe you wonder how a farmer growing pumpkins fits into EVE. Well, maybe he's feeding the neighbors to the plant... )

I don't like that conflict of interest stuff, but this sort of thing just doesn't happen without people taking initiative and pitching in. If its the acceptable norm for participants to contribute, ill pitch in as well.

1 plex to the cause

Though if it came down to it I would chose competing over donating

Is erotic-fan-fiction acceptable?

I have this piece about Fozzie and Rise that has been on my desk for so long.

(It's a BDSM fantasy that makes heavy use of the cage they used to keep T20 in.)

8,000 Suns - The story doesn't have to be about something that's already in lore, it just has to fit into the general backstory. As long as you don't contradict a fact that's stated in the canon, you should be OK. Using the biggest pumpkin on the planet example: We have Wheat, Spiced Wine, and Tobacco in the Item Database, which makes them a part of the official canon. So there are agricultural products (presumably originally from Terra) in the canon. Pumpkins aren't specifically mentioned in the lore (that I know of), but It's conceivable that people brought pumpkin seeds (along with wheat, grapes and tobacco) through the EVE Gate. I don't see that adding pumpkins would contradict the canon. You might want your story to give some little explanation of why there a pumpkins on that planet, or you might not. The story just has to convince the reader that it fits into the New Eden world.

Example of a lore violation: Your story says that Jamyl Sarum became Empress of the Amarr Empire because she won a pumpkin-growing contest. Here you're directly contradicting facts that are stated in the canon, and the judges will consider that a violation and deduct points. You could say that in the Day in the Life category and not be penalized for a lore violation, though. (But your story might get low scores, just for not having a very good premise).

Day in the Life - Their aren't any rules for stories in this category, really. You can write anything you want, as long as it's a story and it's somehow related to EVE. The story doesn't have to be about player characters or things that could happen in the game. It can be a regular fiction story about something happening in the New Eden backstory world, as in the 8,000 Suns category. I suppose you might put that kind of story in this category if you weren't sure that it didn't have a serious lore violation. The drinking contest and biggest pumpkin in the world stories could go in this category, no problem.

Edit: For an idea how much you can do and still not violate the lore, check out last year's winning entries here. The stories have a lot of original ideas, and aren't bound by what's just mentioned in the prime fiction.

I could write a story about goonswarms sacrifice and how they are offering their cynogoats to their true god harry forever...

but that would not be fiction...

I don't recall a comedy category.

Actually do have a comedy category this year Herzog. Kind of interested to see what happens with that one. I can think of a plenty of comedy tales of my own from the past 12 months of playing.

Can I submit marathon chat logs complete with teamspeak recordings? This would qualify either in a comedy category or crocodile tears sad category depending on your outlook (let's call it general). I have about 50 of these and it's an ever expanding library.

Can I compete to win and be a prize sponsor? To show that I am not trying to bribe an official, I could give the judges each an equal amount of isk to award as prizes or keep for themselves.

*edit* oh wait, you said fiction. Well if I can demonstrate where there is an ounce of fiction, can it qualify? These are more like comedic documentaries of the psychology of the internet spaceman gambler.

"It was a dark and stormy night." Scratch that. It's always dark in space, and there aren't any storms . . .

Sounds like those could be pretty entertaining. Maybe you convert the logs into a story? Like, dialogue between two characters in some physical place? Or tell it as a narrative, inserting selected sections of the log? If you enter something in pure chat log format, I suspect you'd have 0% chance of winning anything. (BTW, if the content would be really embarrassing to a real player, it would be good to change the name. We're trying to have a pleasant, no-drama experience here).

You can make a comparatively small donation (say, the equivalent of 10 PLEX or less) and still compete in the contest. Thanks for the offer of fair and equal bribes for the judges. Unfortunately two of the judges are devs who have access to infinite ISK, ships, mods and implants. It would be hard to come up with an amount that might tempt them.

By the way, Chribba has agreed to hold incoming donations for us. Donations will go directly to him, and at the end of the contest, he'll transfer the PLEX, ISK, or whatever directly to the winners.

Does the prize include a secret ship?

Noooooooooooooooooo

That was my very favorite writing table! Now I shall have to submit my stories on stone tablets.

Curse you Marlona Sky!!!!

I think I'm going to join in the contest this year.

I've always wanted to write an EVE story.

5000 word maximum. My stories can breach triple that. Anyway I have 3 written. How do I submit?

Excellent! Here's how to submit:
-Post them somewhere on the internet that the readers and judges can access. (A blog site, the forums EVE Fiction section, etc.)
-Send me an EVE mail with the link and your statement that the story hasn't been posted elsewhere before. Also let me know which of the three categories the story should be entered into.

A short question, is it also allowed to do a comic?

If yes, i will try to take part in the Humor section. Hope i have enough time to bring my pencil on the paper :)

When donating prizes to Chribba for holding, are there any special instructions that we need to follow to make sure they go for the prize pool? Would be a good idea (and potentiallly settle any unease) if Chribba were to post on this thread acknowledging that he is acting as a third party for the prizes.

(Now I only have to say Chribba once more to summon him.)

Now that Marlona has taken my favorite writing desk and Kyle has taken my crayons....

Whatever shall I do......

Let me give this some consideration and consult with the other judges. We definitely don't want to discourage people doing creative works, whatever the format. But at the same time, we have to consider how the judging would work, fairness to your entry and all of the other entries, and any possible complications. I'll get back to you soon.

Thanks Random, good question.
Steps:
-EVE Mail Chribba letting him know you're contracting/transferring a donation, and that it's for this contest. Please CC me.
-Contract/transfer the donation.
-After Chribba has the donation, he sends an EVE Mail confirmation to the donor and myself. Chribba's efficient, so far all three steps have happened really easily. And quickly, too.

If any potential donors are interested in seeing them, I can forward copies of the Chribba confirmation mails. I don't think he or the donors will mind if I share them.

Thanks Random, good question.
Steps:
-EVE Mail Chribba letting him know you're contracting/transferring a donation, and that it's for this contest. Please CC me.
-Contract/transfer the donation.
-After Chribba has the donation, he sends an EVE Mail confirmation to the donor and myself. Chribba's efficient, so far all three steps have happened really easily. And quickly, too.

If any potential donors are interested in seeing them, I can forward copies of the Chribba confirmation mails. I don't think he or the donors will mind if I share them.

I'm so definitely in. I've been writing good England ever since I was a children.

Oh... It's Somer...

Nah.

write it in your own language? maybe just maybe someone will understand it. does it matter? just do it

maybe someone will care enough to actually learn.

lol, only someone who is a native English speaker would write that, so writing it in their own language wont be a problem under the rules.

My bet is they are either from Great Britain, Australia or New Zealand, where the saying "I speak good england" is sometimes used.

it would take me a year at least to come up with a good eve fiction story, i get into so much detail its a reason it would take me a year lol

When he opened the door, he could not believe who was standing there before him. Every Jovian child knew the stories. But could it really be James 315 standing there?

to be continued...

By the way, we have two stories (in English) written by native German speakers and two by a native Spanish speaker. How's that for guts and fearless fiction writing?

Question:
What is the rule on profanity ?
I have a part of my story where there are insults flying around.
Considering that most of us (playing EVE) are adults, but that there are possibly still kids reading our stories should I:

1. Remove the insults and try to find a better way to convey the story
2. Censor the insults. Replace them with *
3. Keep the insults the way they are

I don't know the answer, but as the rules don't mention it and the contest it's not organized by CCP themselves, I guessed that the stories were not bound by PG-13, neither by themes nor language.

Anyway, be careful with insults; they rarely are missed and too often they are regretted...

Question:
What is the rule on profanity ?
I have a part of my story where there are insults flying around.
Considering that most of us (playing EVE) are adults, but that there are possibly still kids reading our stories should I:

1. Remove the insults and try to find a better way to convey the story
2. Censor the insults. Replace them with *
3. Keep the insults the way they are

The only rules should be: do NOT write wall of text! I saw to many of those entries and it sux.

Apologies for my wall of text, if you read my edit on my first post it does state I tried breaking it up with indents and such but Eve-O forums doesnt let me.

That being said... Books are usually massive walls are texts... It is in sence a short story competition, so walls of texts are kinda to be expected no?

Anywho, last day to get your stories in!!! Lets have the ante upped! The more in this competition the better the challange

Captain Vollel Yyx had led a full life, or at least as full a life as possible for a Caldari Navy Officer. He had worked his way up the ranks, eventually making it to Captain Rank 2 only a few months ago. This new appointment came with the command of his own vessel and an extensive array of new technology and training. He could name every ship he had ever served on, from frigates to cruisers, which was to be expected of every naval officer. And after sixty two years of service, that was a lot of vessels.
Yyx stood on the balcony of his quarters looking out onto the hanger where his ship sat. A Condor. It was perfect; newly built for him to fly in training and in the very mission he was about to undertake. There was no crew compliment to accompany the ship however, there was no need for them. Not any more.
One ship. One crew member.
Before now, these ships used to have a full crew compliment right down to the engineers. No more. The Captain of the ship would take on the role of everyone through an invention kept classified to the masses and only given to the Caldari. Only those involved with this new invention knew of the background to this amazing technology; by that, it was meant that they only knew where it had come from. They did not fully understand how the technology worked, nor were they told.
GÇ£Captain,GÇ¥ A relatively short but stocky man spoke from behind him, GÇ£Orders just come in. I am to escort you to your ship.GÇ¥ He sprung up a salute to which the Captain returned.
GÇ£Lead onGǪ thenGǪ Lieutenant.GÇ¥ YyxGÇÖs voice came out cracked with a pang of nervousness. He immediately cleared his throat. This time it came out crisp and clear, with a sense of command. GÇ£Lead onGÇ¥.

Captain Vollel Yyx had led a full life, or at least as full a life as possible for a Caldari Navy Officer. He had worked his way up the ranks, eventually making it to Captain Rank 2 only a few months ago. This new appointment came with the command of his own vessel and an extensive array of new technology and training. He could name every ship he had ever served on, from frigates to cruisers, which was to be expected of every naval officer. And after sixty two years of service, that was a lot of vessels.

Yyx stood on the balcony of his quarters looking out onto the hanger where his ship sat. A Condor. It was perfect; newly built for him to fly in training and in the very mission he was about to undertake. There was no crew compliment to accompany the ship however, there was no need for them. Not any more.

One ship. One crew member.

Before now, these ships used to have a full crew compliment right down to the engineers. No more. The Captain of the ship would take on the role of everyone through an invention kept classified to the masses and only given to the Caldari. Only those involved with this new invention knew of the background to this amazing technology; by that, it was meant that they only knew where it had come from. They did not fully understand how the technology worked, nor were they told.

GÇ£Captain,GÇ¥ A relatively short but stocky man spoke from behind him, GÇ£Orders just come in. I am to escort you to your ship.GÇ¥ He sprung up a salute to which the Captain returned.

GÇ£Lead onGǪ thenGǪ Lieutenant.GÇ¥ YyxGÇÖs voice came out cracked with a pang of nervousness. He immediately cleared his throat. This time it came out crisp and clear, with a sense of command. GÇ£Lead onGÇ¥.

This is a wall of text:



This is a readable text:

Pretty sure books don't have a line between every single paragraph.

And if you cant read 20 lines that don't have a lines space between nearly every sentence then you need help in my opinion

Edit: I started off initially with a gap between everything like you just put in the "readable" part, and it actually nearly doubled my pages and made it look terrible.

In MS word, where I originally wrote it, everything was indented and it was edited much better, next time I am going to be using a site I can indent on however.

Second Edit: For reference: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (page picked at random)

I'm not going to discuss blatancies. Actually, it is in my selfish interest that your submission is a PITA to read.

44 entries so far-- let's see how many come in during the final 24 hours.

PITA? Go on you're gonna have to explain what PITA stands for... I googled it but all it said was "do you mean PETA?"...

Edit: Actually never mind, found it... Pain in the ass...

But not being funny but if you can't read 5000 words on a full screen monitor without a lines gap in between nearly every other sentence, you must have real issues reading a book... ?

I feel like a bit of a **** saying that, but that's kinda how it comes across

I will just say that, as indentation is not a web standard, internet texts use blank lines to provide paragraph breaks. A text without, or with too few, paragraph breaks it's called a "wall of text" in internet slang.

What's funny is that you keenly provide paragraph breaks on your posts, but can't be bothered to do the same with your story...

There we go, submission period done! We got a fair load of last minute entries-- well done there writers. We seem to have an interface interaction fail cascade on the contest entries page. In other words, the links to the 8000 Suns category entries got deleted. :/ It's OK, we can rebuild them. Stronker. Faster. Better than before.

Watch the contest page for updates on judging, etc., etc. Well done all!

How's the recovery going? I saw some of the links come back.

Do you need anything from the entrants?

Any time frame on when the winners will be announced?

"I hate waiting!" - Inigo Montoya.

Aw ****, i missed something fun

Judging is ongoing, we've got about 1/3 of the scores in so far. The aim is to finish this week, if people's time will allow. After that we'll probably have to do a tie-breaker round of judging, but that should be pretty quick.