Warhammer 40k Short Story Competition 5 [THE RETURN!]

[Shoota Fodder]

Voting is now open!
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthre...post1045358944

Now if anyone remembers, a few years back I held several short story competitions on this very forum to help showcase the work of our writers here and to give those of us that needed it a little bolt of inspiration. Now the fact is that I've noticed the 40k forums here slowly declining. It's sad but it is a fact. There was a time when DoW was just released, this section was created and then quickly turned into a shambles of hate and spam. Few of us remain from those dark days, in fact, I arrived at the tail end around the release of Winter Assault. But I still see life here.

So, without further adieu, I bring you our fifth short story competition!

Things will be simpler, things will be more basic and rules will be less lax. This is because I want everyone to get involved, even if you don't commonly write anything!

So: What's this about?

• Everyone writes a short story.
• Type it up and format it in a way that wont mess up the forum.
• Once written, e-mail the short story to me with a title.
• I will then compile them after an allotted time into a single post with a poll and the rest of the forum will vote on you're short story.

Simples!

Rules

You're story must:

• Be between 1,000 and 10,000 words. People need to actually be able to read them so nothing too long or people won't vote!
• You're shorts must be you're own work.
• Can be on any topic in the WH40k universe.

That is all! E-mail you're entries to (edit: PM me for my e-mail) and have all entries in by the 20th of April. I may extend this if there are several requests for it. It is also recommended that you write a new story for this rather than just sending out one you wrote ages ago, we're trying to stimulate creativity here.

That is all, enjoy yourself, and I hope to read your fanfics.

- Shoota

[Elerium]

Hmm, I think I'll work on an Inquisition story then me thinks! (Had several ideas broiling for a while now, just need to get them on paper or well, a computer screen)

[Shoota Fodder]

Good stuff, I myself am considering a little 'Platoon' style Imperial Guard short. And I know that is the case with many people, including myself.

Edit: Word count increased btw.

[Exetus]

I'm always good for a short yarn!

[0rph3u5]

Oh ... I' going to participate with something of a Thousand Sons story...

[ph03nIXx]

Will be in this too, I think... finally some incentive to sit down and write up that extended fluff piece on my company captain...

[Shoota Fodder]

Excellent! If anyone has any questions then feel free to ask in the thread.

[Shoota Fodder]

So are you all still prepared for this? Only a week or so left!

[ph03nIXx]

Still in this - being out looking for work takes up more time than I thought, but I think I am still on schedule... will sit down the next days to finish it...

[OhJohnNo]

Ooh, cool. I still have 8 days, maybe I'll be able to cook something up. Hopefully it'll actually get votes this time!

[0rph3u5]

Still in ... got a paper to write right now but I've set aside most of the coming weekend for my shortstory...

[Shoota Fodder]

I was asking mainly because I haven't started yet. Needed to give myself a confidence boost by finding out how everyone else was doing.

[Flagg]

Nice.

For the longest time I thought a story set in the 40 K universe has so much potential.

[Exetus]

Going "outside the wire" for a few days, but I've gotten a good start, so I should be on time as well provided the bad guys don't blow me up! =)

[OhJohnNo]

Actually no inspiration coming to me at the moment. Maybe I'm too preoccupied with this crossover thing I'm currently planning. So don't feel too bad Shoota

[Thonbru]

Well i hope you dont mind a first story from Thonbru, hope i dont get the Wooden Spoon

[ph03nIXx]

@Shoota

LooL good to know... we'll, you aren't very far behind, I got 10 lines by now ;-)

[Zallis]

Eh? I only noticed this yesterday, wrote for about two hours, and I've got some 1700 words down. For shame, guys. Pedal to the metal! Rears into gear! Go go go! Paint your fingers and keyboard red if you have to. Write faster! At this rate I'll be able to submit another short story before you guys finish!

As an aside, what format won't mess up the forum? I've been using a word document, but I know it's a pain in the ass to scan over the post and italicize or bold things on the forum.

[Shoota Fodder]

That's true Zallis. In previous editions, I've got people to do everything from use google docs, to e-mailing to PM-ing it in chunks (since there is a PM character count). But it never makes a difference because at the end of the day it still needs to be copied into a post. I'm not sure exactly how else it could be done. I am open to suggestions however.

@Thonbru: Always happy to have you aboard old friend, where you been hiding? And why wouldn't you want a wooden spoon? Everyone loves a wooden spoon.

Anyway, lets do this guys, you've given me drive and determination now!

[Zallis]

FIRST!!!!!!!!

I'll get it to you tomorrow, after I've had a chance to look over it for editing and whatnot. It's HELLA LONG, though. Longer than all my paper snad business reports put together, but written in the tenth of the time because this is so damn fun!

[Thonbru]

@Shoota ive not been hiding, you've just not been looking in the right places

[Zallis]

Actually, thinking about it more, couldn't you just open up another thread for the submissions some time around the deadline? It seems a bit unfair to make you sort through all our things and try and format them as we want them. It's probably much easier for us to do itby ourselves.

[Shoota Fodder]

Very true, but what's to stop the stories getting hidden under standard comments from people just here to read, particularly if someone doesn't post there story until close to the deadline while someone else posted it as soon as the thread went up. And I'm also not sure how polls work in this forum, can they be added into threads after they have been created?

[Zallis]

Well, I've figured out that we could format it forum style in the document, and then you can just copy and paste it here without having to do much more

It seems nothing can be really done about the spacing and indenting paragraphs, though, unless you do it on the forum text box. Still, it should save you some time now, and we can't say "I didn't win only because shoota formatted my thing wrong! if we just do it ourselves.

And if I remember correctly, you can't add a poll after the forum has been created.

[Shoota Fodder]

Ah okay, well I guess that's that then. E-mail me you're stuff, and format it relevant to the way the forum works. Also, indenting of paragraphs has always been funny on here, perhaps just take a new line instead?

[ph03nIXx]

if you are wary of formating problems, just take a txt-file and then put it in here. Experience with both forums software and content management systems tells me that that is the best solution.

[Shoota Fodder]

Btw, anyone who wants to e-mail me there story, then PM me for the address. I had it in the first post but my e-mails been getting a lot of spam since I put it up so I've removed it.

[ph03nIXx]

Just to be on the sure side: As I am a little busy workwise, I guess my short story will arrive on laaaate wednesday, just so you know.

[OhJohnNo]

Yeah I'm not gonna get this done. Oh well, I'll enjoy seeing the output of other people.

[Exetus]

I think I'm out... ops took too much of my time and I don't think I can finish the majority of my story today... I was hoping to regain my crown! =P

[Argonaut]

oh man, I always want to enter these things and never spot the thread in time. Can I submit my story tomorrow? Or is the deadline tonight (as in, before april 12th)?

[Shoota Fodder]

You can submit tomorrow, I normally give it an extra day to let all the different timezones arrive anyway.

----------

Update!

I'm going to go a head and update the deadline for the 20th. I know it's out of the blue, but my e-mail account is going schizo, and as such, has been blocked by windows. I'm going to see about unlocking it as quick as I can but it could take a few days, so I guess that gives you all some time to finish! I may have to create a new e-mail account if this does not fix it.

[Argonaut]

Hoo Ray! I might even get an entry in this time!

[ph03nIXx]

fits me perfectly ;-)

[0rph3u5]

well ... would have finished today, but more time more polish

[Zallis]

Did you get my email shoota? I can send you another one whenever I get home, if you didn't get it.

Also, can we submit more than one entry? It's entirely possible that I'll get bored of studying some time in the next week and end up writing something else. More productive than gaming, at any rate.

[Shoota Fodder]

Yea I got it Zallis, although yours was the only one I received before my account got blocked (so if anyone else has sent it now then there's a chance I won't get it). Feel free to make any changed or update it if you feel like it before the deadline!

I'll try and get all this sorted as soon as possible and I apologise. When everything is good, I'll post in this thread about it and you can PM me as before for the new e-mail address.

[Zallis]

Cheers!

[Exetus]

Excellent! Now that the date is the 20th, I should be able to wrap this up in time! It appears that the Machine God favors me this day!

[OhJohnNo]

Actually have an idea now. Attempting this. Mostly improv.

[Shoota Fodder]

Okay, my e-mail is all back to normal now! Closing date is still the 20th. Feel free to PM me for my address, and if you've sent me it already and I have not confirmed that it's been received, then I would send it again. As I said, I had problems with my e-mail a week back so you're mail may have been lost somewhere in the vast tubes of the internetz!

[Cable]

Only just seen this so I might have a bash with 2 days to go

[Exetus]

Three cheers (sarcasm) for the Taliban Spring Offensive! Too much going on... I'm out. =/

[OhJohnNo]

Yeah I suddenly ran out of ideas at about the 500 word mark while improvising, not gonna be able to make this. Ah well, no matter!

[Shoota Fodder]

No worries guys. I'm struggling myself.

[Elerium]

Blarghagh- I haven't started on this yet on account of personal commitments, feeling sick for a few days and other junk so I guess I'll just say "it'll be done when its done" which hopefully will not take a millennium .

[Argonaut]

What's the max word count for ap ost on the forums? This will be my first entry so how do people make sure it's formatted properly when Shoota cuts-pastes it?

[Exetus]

It's probably best to PM him for his e-mail and then send him a word document with your story formatted with the appropriate codes for the forum
formatting.

[Argonaut]

Ok, sent. On a slightly different note, the short story competitions and writing workshops should be part of the new look forums and would be a good way of generating interest. I'llhave to say (and this is not a criticism) you'd probably get more interest if the competitions were better advertised, but I suppose this is something for the content creator role advertise here http://forums.relicnews.com/showthre...s-apply-within!

[ph03nIXx]

I'll be a little late to the party as I will get home tomorrow afternoon (GMT+1), story needs another spell check and sits on my desktop at home... so will get in laaaaaaaate.