Announcing the Classic-Castle Story Telling Contest

Discussion of Castle Themed stories
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Formendacil
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Post by Formendacil »

eNiGMa wrote:Okay, I know someone has asked about violence, but what about language? If one of our characters was to utter a profanity in the heat of a moment, what words wouldn't he be allowed to say in this contest?


hmm.... Since everyone else is saying how far they are, I'm just gonna say here that I just finished the outline for my first story. Lookin' good....
I think you can probably take a leaf out of Fry_Slayer's book. (Though "Holy Brick" is probably trademarked now, so you'll have to think of your own parody... :P )

As with anything on Classic-Castle, profanity is frowned on, although substitutions therefore (like "Megablox") is perfectly acceptable.

That is, however, just my moderatorly opinion, and is not an official word on the contest. I would, however, put down money that Lenny says much the same thing. :wink:

~Michael A. Joosten - Moderator~
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Post by eNiGMa »

Formendacil wrote:As with anything on Classic-Castle, profanity is frowned on, although substitutions therefore (like "Megablox") is perfectly acceptable.
A very good point, and one I shall continue to follow. Of course, "Megablocks" would sound silly in this story, so I'll have to find a different substitute. :)
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Re: Announcing the Classic-Castle Story Telling Contest

Post by footsteps »

Glencaer,

You've been PM'd. :)

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Post by Glencaer »

When you say you want a beginning, a middle, and an end of the story, does that mean you only want part of the story, or can we enter the whole thing if it fits in the twenty pages?
"Beginning, middle, and an end" = I want an entire story, not a small part of a larger story. Your story can fit within a larger whole, but it must be able to stand on its own.
Also, you said that it can be twenty pages of just text, so does that mean the story can be around fifty pages including the pictures?
Please keep your story a reasonable length!
Just for clarification's sake, does that mean each person can theoretically enter four times-- two entries for each of the two categories?
Yes, exactly.
1. Does our story have to be good vs. evil, or can it man vs. man, man vs. fate, man vs. society, etc.?
Feel free to use whatever conflict you want. Remember: be creative!
2. I'll probably have some really long and really short paragraphs, and I'm sure others will have the same problem. So, can you give us a different limit such as 1 picture for every 10 sentences or something like that? I think that'd be easier to meet than just 1 picture per paragraph.
If I broke it down by sentance, then some sentances are long and some are short. I think you have a rough idea of what a standard paragraph looks like. But another rough ratio is one picture per 200-250 words, thereabouts.

This isn't a firm rule: I won't be counting words or sentances or anything like that. I just want to make sure there is a picture of LEGO every so often - an illustrated short story!
3. Are different scales allowed to be used? For instance, if I need a really big army or a huge castle, I'd just build it in mini-scale, or maybe I'd like a close-up of a special sword and it'd be well above minifig scale. Would this be allowed?
Whatever special effects you want to use, that is up to you. Heck, if you wanted the whole story to be with miniland scale figures or little micro figs, that is fine. Be creative! Make a good story!
I made some MOCs and took some pictures, I then edited the pictures in Photo-Shop to make them look like drawings...
Let me see the pics, and I'll let you know.
I was wondering if we need to have a backdrop, my models are sitting on a table in my garage, and i have no physical backdrop, and i have no idea how ot even start to digitaly add one, so is it important to have a backdrop, or is it ok to just have models and scenery.
The only required element is the use of LEGO pieces. If you want no backdrop, lots of backdrops, whatever, that is up to you and your creative mind!
If one of our characters was to utter a profanity in the heat of a moment, what words wouldn't he be allowed to say in this contest?
Since you asked, try to keep it clean. I'm not going to spell out words, but think about this: Is this story something you would mind reading to your mother or little brother? If no, then re-think the terminology. Remember: be creative!

I'm excited to see so many people interested in this! I'm looking forward to reading the great stories you guys create and sending off some super-awesome prizes!

-Lenny
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Post by R_The_Falcon »

Thanks for answering all our questions, but I have (hopefully) just one more question.

Are electric Lego pieces (fiber optics, lights, etc.) allowed, and are they encouraged? (As in bonus points for a fire with an actually Lego light under it, or whatever.)
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Post by venvorskar »

Does everything in your story have be your own idea; or can you write something like a fan-fiction, using characters/situations from other stories? (But still creating the storyline and dialouge itself)
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Post by ottoatm »

venvorskar wrote:Does everything in your story have be your own idea; or can you write something like a fan-fiction, using characters/situations from other stories? (But still creating the storyline and dialouge itself)
I'm not sure whether the admins will like this idea or not for the contest, but as a general rule, I'd say that if ever do this, you should of course ask the creator of the characters and get their permission.

(I do of course realize that the characters coming from stories like "Star Wars" or "Harry Potter" is impossible to do :wink:).
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Post by Glencaer »

R_The_Falcon wrote:Are electric Lego pieces (fiber optics, lights, etc.) allowed, and are they encouraged? (As in bonus points for a fire with an actually Lego light under it, or whatever.)
If it is an official LEGO piece, you can use it. However, no bonus points for using any particular piece (electric or otherwise), this is about how creatively you use the parts you have, not whether you have a particular part.

On a side note, the image I made for the contest uses an official LEGO light. ;)
Does everything in your story have be your own idea; or can you write something like a fan-fiction, using characters/situations from other stories?
Interesting question. I am not going to disallow fan fiction, but remember the principle issue here is creativity! So, you can use fan fiction, but be careful to include as much or your own creative juices as possible.

Ottoam is correct: try to get permission to use someone else's creative ideas (most especially if that person isn't incredibly famous) and always give proper credit.

-Lenny
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Post by R_The_Falcon »

I should've put this in my previous post, but I forgot. :oops: Anyway, I was wondering if we officially changed the time limit of the contest from 2 months to 3 months, making the contest end on September 25th and not August 25th. To be honest I don't mind the 2 month time limit, but more time equals better mocs and story. :wink:
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Post by Azaghal »

My apologies if this has been addressed before, but what are the rules pertaining to things already published? I ask this because I made a 3-panel comic a while ago, but I only ever put one panel of it online. If I wanted to expand/polish and enter it, would that be OK?
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Post by Glencaer »

R_The_Falcon wrote:To be honest I don't mind the 2 month time limit, but more time equals better mocs and story. :wink:
The announcement has been editted with the new deadline.
My apologies if this has been addressed before, but what are the rules pertaining to things already published? I ask this because I made a 3-panel comic a while ago, but I only ever put one panel of it online. If I wanted to expand/polish and enter it, would that be OK?
Generally, we want new stories and MOCs. Send me a PM of the frame that is already posted and I'll make a decision about your particular case.

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Post by venvorskar »

Glencaer wrote:I am not going to disallow fan fiction, but remember the principle issue here is creativity! So, you can use fan fiction, but be careful to include as much or your own creative juices as possible.
I see; that's not a problem, I just was wondering. I also have a few more questions:

1. What determines the length of a page? Do you mean 20 MS Word pages, or something else?

2. How should you write it? Should you include a lot of discription, or should you try to show what everything is like in the pics? It's just that I can't see being able to make a very complete story in only 20 pages if you need to include discriptions. :?

3. Is there an example of a short story anywhere (published or Lego) that demonstrates what ours should look like?

-Thanks,
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Post by Sir Dillon »

A few more questions:

Is there a rule about text size, like making it smaller so it fits into the guidelines? I'm guessing this is frowned upon, but wanted to make sure.

Also, this is more of a question for anybody, but where would be a good place for people to host their story? Like so that the story would be able to have the pictures right in it, kind of like Sava's?

Thanks.
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Post by ottoatm »

Sir Dillon wrote:Also, this is more of a question for anybody, but where would be a good place for people to host their story? Like so that the story would be able to have the pictures right in it, kind of like Sava's?
I would suggest www.50webs.com. That is where I host my current storysite. As you can see, they allow me to have a lot of pictures, and no advertisements, although as I look now I'm not sure they are still offering free hosting. Before this I used Freewebs, which was also free with no ads, but they allow very little space for a webpage, so I had to move it.

Other than that, I'd say your best bet is geocites or tripod, but then you will have those pesky ads.
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Post by Glencaer »

venvorskar wrote:1. What determines the length of a page? Do you mean 20 MS Word pages, or something else?
20 pages of 12 point Times New Roman Font, 1 inch margins. Or the equivalent thereof. Like I've said before, I'm not being picky about this. Keep the length reasonable.
2. How should you write it? Should you include a lot of discription, or should you try to show what everything is like in the pics? It's just that I can't see being able to make a very complete story in only 20 pages if you need to include discriptions. :?
How to write the story is up to you. Include everything the story needs to be a good story.
3. Is there an example of a short story anywhere (published or Lego) that demonstrates what ours should look like?
Chronicles of Ikros is a good source for how it should look. Check your local library for illustrated short stories. Do them like that, except LEGO.
Is there a rule about text size, like making it smaller so it fits into the guidelines? I'm guessing this is frowned upon, but wanted to make sure.
NO! Do not do this! I don't want to open an entry with some story that is 20 pages of size 8 text, but goes to 30 some pages at 12 pt font.

You can create a cohesive story within 20 pages or less. I just know you can ;)
Also, this is more of a question for anybody, but where would be a good place for people to host their story? Like so that the story would be able to have the pictures right in it, kind of like Sava's?
Ottoatm's responce is perfect. If those options don't work, I don't know of any others. I pay for my website.

You can write your story into html with deeplinks to illustrations on Brickshelf, and then send me the html as your entry. Heck, if I like the story, I might even host it on my site or talk to the admins about hosting it on CC.

-Lenny
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