The FOGATHON

I am not sure that this will actually get any interest, but FOG has been without a good writing contest for far too long. Also, I know that there are a number of members who are interested in writing their own books, but can't seem to muster up the motivation/dedication to see it through. I, unfortunately, am one of those. So here is a challenge that anyone can join, and should join if you have any interest in writing your own works outside of role-plays. Not to say that I am a professional and know what I am doing...I just know that sometimes you need some help, someone to grab your hand and pull you along, or at least to know that someone is struggling just as hard as you are.


The FOGATHON


Rules
None of my suggestions in terms of what to add to your story are required. Not even the word count is required. It is simply something designed to challenge you. You can follow along with my suggestions, or do more or do less...whatever you are comfortable with. This challenge is only designed to get you motivated to write.
You can start at any time you want, and just use the 30 day mark to differentiate the months. That way if you want to join late, you can. May's challenges will simply be "Month 1."
As far as rules go...well, there is only one. We can only go by the honor system here. If you complete a challenge, kudos to you. If not, just admit it. Go on to the next one. I certainly won't throw you out simply because you failed a challenge, or fell behind. Just keep going at your own pace, but putting in your best effort. This is for you, after all. Just add your points up for each month and post them so I can see them, and I will add them to your total score.
I will only put up one monthly challenge at a time, starting with the May Challenge. As the May Challenge nears completion, I will put up the June Challenge. So on and so forth all the way to the April Challenge of 2012, where each and every participant should be holding the completed manuscript of their first novel!
If you join late, feel free to follow along anyway. Just input your current month with the challenges in order as I have posted them. The only thing you are really missing out on is writing alongside the original participants.
Discussion in this thread is very much encouraged. I am sure I don't have to mention anything about negative attitudes, as I have never encountered such attitudes on this forum from its regular members
Last but not least: almost everyone here is involved in at least one role-play. Yes, doing this challenge may very well make your role-plays suffer. If you do not want that, then don't join. It is your choice. You must simply make the decision of what is more important to you: your role-plays, or your own books. This is an opportunity to write your first book alongside close friends with plenty of encouragement and support. You can pass the offer up if you choose, but you may be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

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May Challenge: Write a minimum of 15,000 words. This comes out to an easy 500 words per day. The secondary challenges for this month are a total of three chapters, with as close to 5,000 words in each as you can manage. It can be more, or it can be less, as long as the total word count for the month is not less than 15,000. The secondary challenges are broken down in the spoiler boxes below:

Spoiler:

• Total of 15,000 words minimum. [150 pts.]
  
• Chapter 1: 5,000 words minimum. [50 pts.]
  
• Chapter 2: 5,000 words minimum. [50 pts.]
  
• Chapter 3: 5,000 words minimum. [50 pts.]
  
• Start your story off with a bang! Kill off a major/semi-major character within the first three chapters. [15 pts.]
  
• Describe your character, location and basics of the world-type in the first sentence [50 pts.] or first two sentences [25 pts.]
  Ex. from Octavia Butler's Wild Seed: "Doro discovered the woman by accident when he went to see what was left of one of his seed villages." Doro, a village, and likely a fantasy setting.
  
  From Make A Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld
  
• Hatch your plot in the form of your significant situation. [10 pts.]
  
• Introduce your protagonist and provide a brief glance into his/her inner or outer struggles. [10 pts.]
  
• Introduce a significant situation that challenges your protagonist's status quo. [10 pts.]
  
• Provide a catalyst with whom the protagonist can interact. [10 pts.]
  

Ending minimum word count: 15,000 words, 3 Chapters.

June Challenge: June is the first month for editing. You start the month with three chapters, and you will end the month with three chapters. The objective for May is to add content to what you have already written.

Spoiler:

• One new major or semi-major character; it simply cannot be a background character that will never be mentioned again. This will challenge you to take your story somewhere new, to open new doors you may not have considered before. This may require a significant rewrite of some areas, or it may not. The level of change depends on you, however. [150 pts.]
  
• Detail a new aspect of the world you had not mentioned in your May Challenge. Could be something to do with the environment, or the local culture or government, language, etc. The point of this part of the challenge is to add depth to your world. To give it flavor. You could also just detail something you had glossed over. [25 pts.]
  
• Increase your total word count to 20,000 words by adding to any of your original three chapters. Add a new scene, add details, or add a new character for 150 points! Does not have to be isolated to one specific chapter; the words can be spread out anywhere in what you already have. [50 pts.]
  
  Minor things to keep in mind, from The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante.
  
• Retype the story (or a section of the story). The idea is that the simple act of going over the piece word by word will spark new ideas. [25 pts.]
  
• Highlight all forms of "to have" and "to be." By replacing them with more active verbs, you can often see where this piece lacks movement or energy. [10 pts.]
  
• Highlight all "-ing" verbs. Then, check each sentence for awkward syntax or unnecessary verbiage. Again, this is usually a sign of a deeper problem, such as imprecise rendering of a key image or action.
  
• Highlight all abstractions or generalities. Question whether the section has been adequately grounded in concrete sensory detail. [10 pts.]
  
• Examine all imagery (any object, person, or place described using one or more of the senses). Is it precise enough? Does it push the reader toward an inevitable (and complex) emotional response? If not, focus and intensify. [25 pts.]
  
• Highlight all metaphors and similes. Make sure they add something to the story. Also make sure you're not over-relying on them. Telling us what something is like before telling us what is is often a sign you're having difficulty rendering something complex (an emotion or interaction) precisely on the page. [10 pts.]
  
• Read out loud and listen to the rhythm of the language. If you stumble, highlight the sentence. [10 pts.]

Ending minimum word count: 20,000 words, 3 Chapters.

July Challenge: The objective for this month is to push yourself. The word requirement has been increased to 25,000 words, for another 5 chapters. This is half of the requirement for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and it is during the summer. Time should be aplenty. The daily word requirement comes out to 833.3..... words per day; 850 words to be safe. By the end of July, your minimum word count should be 45,000 words. The requirements for chapters are the same as May: approximately 5,000 words per chapter.

Spoiler:

• Total of 25,000 words minimum. [300 pts.]
  
• Chapter 4: 5,000 words minimum. [50 pts.]
  
• Chapter 5: 5,000 words minimum. [50 pts.]
  
• Chapter 6: 5,000 words minimum. [50 pts.]
  
• Chapter 7: 5,000 words minimum. [50 pts.]
  
• Chapter 8: 5,000 words minimum. [50 pts.]
  
• Add elements of a completely different genre into your story (i.e.: a fantasy story might introduce elements of science fiction, or a historical fiction story introduce elements of fantasy). [25 pts.]
  
• Write a section based off an inspirational song (my own story, for example, as a whole is based off of a song, but it could be anything from plot to simple character interaction). The degree is based on your own song preference. [25 pts.]
  
• Write a scene from the point of view of an animal or inanimate object. [10 pts.]
  
• Use flashbacks to add depth to a scene, or a chapter. [15 pts.]
  

Ending minimum word count: 45,000 words, 8 Chapters.

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Participants
Silvone Elestahr [190 pts.]
Kalon Ordona II [60 pts.]
Tartra [0 pts.]
HawktheThird [0 pts.]
Artorius [0 pts.]
Miss Dagger [0 pts.]
Slenderella [0 pts.]
Cindrella [0 pts.]
Hello Danger [0 pts.]
RavishingRen [0 pts.]

I've been trying to increase my progress rate on my own novels as well, so count me in! Are we allowed to start now, or just finish before the end of May?

You can start now I suppose...however you want to do it. It was designed to be done from May 1 to May 31. You won't really be able to start the other ones early though, since I won't have them up so early. But yeah, if you want to start now go ahead.

Oh, and thanks for signing up!

Maybe I'll prepare now and do the writing in May. ^_^ That should work better, yeah. Plus it gives us April to do some ruppin' (that's RPing. xD).

OH! Do we post our work here? Or do we just say we've done it (honestly)? Plagiarists are generally caught and executed, , so we probably needn't worry about that very much. *shrug* What was your thought on that?

I don't really want to post the work from my novel up here, and I wouldn't expect anyone else to. So just do your best to be honest about it

Might as well. I need something to get my ass in gear anyway. I'm in.

Start your story off with a bang! Kill off a major/semi-major character within the first three chapters. [15 pts.]
Describe your character, location and basics of the world-type in the first sentence [50 pts.] or first two sentences [25 pts.]
Ex. from Octavia Butler's Wild Seed: "Doro discovered the woman by accident when he went to see what was left of one of his seed villages." Doro, a village, and likely a fantasy setting.

From Make A Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld
Hatch your plot in the form of your significant situation. [10 pts.]
Introduce your protagonist and provide a brief glance into his/her inner or outer struggles. [10 pts.]
Introduce a significant situation that challenges your protagonist's status quo. [10 pts.]
Provide a catalyst with whom the protagonist can interact. [10 pts.]

None of these apply because I'm beyond the first chapter already. I'm doing the word count stuff.

That's fine. You should be able to do June's. It is mostly editing stuff. Glad to see another participant!

Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions for challenges or changes, feel free to let me know. I would prefer this to be enjoyable and challenging for everyone, so I might need multiple perspectives

I'm thinking about joining. It depends if I've gotten far enough in my preparation work to start writing by then, and May will be full of tests and assignments and stuff. Definitely thinking about it though.

Well, I would be glad to have you aboard! Just let me know when you make up your mind for sure, and I will add you to the list.

Hell, I'll get in on this. I'm getting too lazy anyways.

Cool! I will add you to the list.

So at the end of May, just add the points and let you know? I'd be happy to email you a word doc with proof or something.

And thanks for putting this up by the way, I'm sure a lot of us are in need of some motivation.

You don't have to send me anything. I wouldn't have time to read everyone's anyway. Like I said at the top, the only way it can really run is on the honor system. Since this challenge is for your benefit, essentially, you only benefit from it if you do it properly. Cheating on it will only be cheating yourself. So, if you add up all of your points and it equals the total available points, I will simply assume you are doing your best. If you are cheating and just putting down points...well, that isn't my problem

You could always put it up in the Written Works part of FOG. If Silvone says the next challenge is going to be about editing, it might help to get some feedback, too.

That is a good idea, Tartra Just remember FOG's privacy policy:

By becoming a member of FOG: Footsteps of Ghosts, you agree to our privacy policy. Our privacy policy is this: Any information here on FOG is the property of FOG, and any theft of such property will result in an immediate and permanent ban.

I'm not sure how written works comes into play here. You may want to contact moderators/administrator to clarify. And always remember, anything you put up on the internet is at risk.

Count me in! I know I'm a newbie and fairly young, maybe not a great writer as a few of you other guys, but I'll try and hang in there. I'd love to make some buddies along the way too!

Great! I'll add your name to the list.

If anyone would like, you can create a profile post for your story that I can link to the top. You can use it to update your progress on your novel or post excerpts or whatever you want to do. I will make one soon, as a rough outline for others to follow if you all so wish.

Sounds like a nice idea, Silvone. I'm in by the way. I'll just say otherwise if I notice I'm not ready.

Great idea, Silvone!

That is a good idea.

Glad you all like it! I'll try to have mine up today, but feel free to make yours however you like. I will add your name to the list now, Miss Dagger.

Silvone’s Fogathon Profile

Title: Currently untitled

Description of Story: The story is a twist on this song, by James Blunt.

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Word count progress/points
May 31: 0 words / 0 pts.
June 30: 0 words / 0 pts.
July 31: 0 words / 0 pts.
August 31: 0 words / 0 pts.
September 30: 0 words / 0 pts.
October 31: 0 words / 0 pts.
November 30: 0 words / 0 pts.
December 31: 0 words / 0 pts.
January 31: 0 words / 0 pts.
February 29: 0 words / 0 pts.
March 31: 0 words / 0 pts.
April 30: 0 words / 0 pts.



Excerpt:

The surface of the water was noticeably closer, and the light seemed different. It did not look like sunlight at all, but separate spots of bright light all across the surface of the lake. Almost like fire. The pressure, at least, seemed to be lifting as they swam upward, but it was not getting easier to hold her breath. Despite the increasing light, Alys noticed her vision was narrowing until it seemed she was seeing through a tunnel. Dark spots danced across her eyes, almost blotting out the lights above. Heizym tugged her harder... or she had slowed down. She wasn't sure which. She felt like crying, but she knew that to do so would be instant death for her. She did not wish that she had turned back at the end of the tunnel, but she certainly regretted ever entering the ruins. She hated the dark... and the water... and dying... With a small internal scream, Alys opened her mouth to search for the air that her lungs so desperately needed. Water filled her mouth, but she felt air through her nose. She felt wind on her wet face and drenched hair. She choked on the mouthful of water as it streamed into her lungs. Heizym held her closely, keeping her afloat.

I'm in like a dirty shoe. Whatever that means. I already have the most basic stuff for my story down, but I will hold off until May. It's not typed anyways. I'll make a post in the writing section when I start and update is 500 word chunks.

One question. How to we fulfill this part of the challenge?

Hatch your plot in the form of your significant situation.

That basically means that your plot should happen with something that will grab the reader, a significant situation that will get the story moving. As opposed to holding off until two or three chapters later. The easiest place to lose a reader is in the first chapter, in the first page or so. The best way to keep a reader is to grab their attention before they need to turn the page. This isn't always possible without having a name for yourself to begin with, but it is best to have your ideas out in the beginning so that the reader knows what they are getting into. And they want action, so your overall plot should be a significant situation in some way.


I hope that helped. If not, let me know and I will try to clarify a little better. Or someone else can offer their opinion of what they think it means.

I think my story accomplishes that. It's kinda of a thing that varies from person to person, what will grab their interest. I suppose you can be the judge when the story goes online.

Well, I won't be requiring that you post it for me to read. But if you do post it, I will do my best to keep up with it if you want. We can all do our best to judge and offer advice one each others work

I think it will benefit me as a writer if other people can comment.

EDIT: Oooh. Just a random idea. Maybe if everyone who submits a story can be assigned a reading buddy, that way everyone won't feel obligated to review everyone else work, and people still get feed back.

Not a bad idea, since if we all submit stuff for critiques it might tax our writing time to read it all. xD