Hey there writers... so I don't frequent this room much anymore but I cooked up a fun little contest and thought it might be fun to put in Creative Minds. After a chat with Virg and EE to get the all-clear, here it is!
So here's the inspiration: http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Random
This is a wiki that includes lots of superpowers from a variety of video games, TV shows, comic books, movies and more. Clicking the link above will give you a random power from their database that could range from the ridiculously weak (Gliding) to the impossibly powerful (Omnipotence). After being introduced to this, I clicked on the link a few times to see what kinds of powers were available and I found myself with a few tabs of random powers. I thought they were a weird mix of powers and wondered how they might form a super team... and thus the idea for this contest was born.
The Contest
Judging
Judges:
1. M3D
2. Xiivi
maybe one more judge... stay tuned!
Judging Criteria
STANDARD WWYP RULES APPLY -
No plagiarism, submit your entry by the deadline, adhere to the guidelines and word limits and HAVE FUN!
Some advice and important things to consider:
Sample PM
Character Bio Template
Codename:
Real Name:
Powers: (please provide link so other participants can read up)
Equipment: (if any)
Appearance: 1 paragraph max
Character Backstory: 2 paragraph max
Note- Depending on your setting, you may want to add a field or two. This is acceptable as long as you don't go overboard!
Intentionally Bad Example Character Bio
Codename: PainMed
Real Name: Dr. Edward Medicine
Powers: http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Biological_Manipulation
PainMed can manipulate biological life with the touch of his hands or very weakly at a small distance. This gives him a healing touch that can mend even life-threatening wounds, dull pain and even inflict pain on others.
Equipment: PainMed wears a scrubs-green colored form-fitting suit that is woven with protective materials. He also wears a white doctor's coat shaped to flow a bit further behind like a trench coat or cape
Appearance: PainMed is a white male in his late 30s. His hair is black but peppered with gray. He is medium height and in good condition from training as a professional superhero for the last twenty years. However, he is not particularly handsome. He has a narrow chin and a sharp nose. If he didn't have broad shoulders and good definition in his muscles one might have described him as hawkish.
Character Backstory: Before Dr. Edward Medicine was a doctor, he dreamed of being a doctor. He played doctor as a child (and sometimes as a teen, but that's a little different) and when he graduated from high school, he left home for college to study pre-med. Little did he know that his eventual professor, Professor Poisonfree, would not only perform experiments on him, but would someday become his arch nemesis. Abducted the last day of classes his first semester, Edward was subjected to an experimental treatment by the evil professor. When Edward struggled to escape, he triggered an explosion that left both he and Professor Poisonfree unconscious, but imbued with new powers!
After the arrest of Professor Poisonfree and the discovery of his biological manipulation powers, Edward went on to finish medical school at the top of his class while moonlighting as a superhero to pay his tuition. After graduation, he was offered a position as a healer with Benevolent Heroes, a pro-active and socially-minded super team that could use his unique skills. At first reluctant to join the team, Dr. Medicine changed his mind when Professor Poisonfree escaped from prison and began a series of noxious gas attacks. Despite the fact that he was struggling to escape, he felt responsible for giving Professor Poisonfree his poison immunity powers in the explosion in the lab. So joining the team as PainMed, he set out to protect the innocent and he has done just that for the nearly 20 years!
Entry
Just sign /in to this thread and you'll receive your PM when the contest starts.
Sign-ups close on Wednesday, Oct 6th at noon eastern!
Contest Deadline
Since this is meant to be a short, fun, "popcorn" writing contest, we're going to limit the time to two weeks. The entry deadline will be Wednesday, Oct 20th by noon eastern.
How Does This Help Me Become a Better Writer?
This is quite unlike normal writing contests like WWYP in that you aren't writing a huge story. EE described this as a kind of "Conceptualize with Your Power" contest. So if its not pure writing... how does it help you become a better writer? A couple of ways:
That's it! Good luck! Have fun! Sign up and tell your friends!
Entrants
1. Tom
2. Tiger Woods
3. EE
4. Clownbot
5. Namaste
6. Getocoolaid
7. Zook
8. Xatres
9. GoldShadow
10. SkylerOcon
11. Lord Megatron
12. Kawaiiugus
13. Crimson King
14. KrazyGlue
15. <3
So here's the inspiration: http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Random
This is a wiki that includes lots of superpowers from a variety of video games, TV shows, comic books, movies and more. Clicking the link above will give you a random power from their database that could range from the ridiculously weak (Gliding) to the impossibly powerful (Omnipotence). After being introduced to this, I clicked on the link a few times to see what kinds of powers were available and I found myself with a few tabs of random powers. I thought they were a weird mix of powers and wondered how they might form a super team... and thus the idea for this contest was born.
The Contest
- Each person that signs up will be sent a PM with a random set of five super powers that they must use to forge a super team. This super team must have a name!
- Each participant will also be given a sixth power that belongs to the "Big Bad," the main villain of their super team. (Think Magneto to the X-Men or Skeletor to He-Man)
- Participants must create a very brief character bio based on each power they are given, based on the template below.
- Participants must create a justification for their super team using 1000 words or less. This can be in the form of a short story, pure exposition, an epic poem or whatever style the writer wishes to use. This justification should somehow include the Big Bad.
Judging
Judges:
1. M3D
2. Xiivi
maybe one more judge... stay tuned!
Judging Criteria
- Team Construction - Did you find an effective way to mash your five random powers together into a superteam? Was the setting, justification and theme creative and engaging?
- Creativity - Do you have any original ideas? Did create an interesting new character based on traditional heroic themes? Or did you just copy a hero we all know and love and slap a new name on him/her?
- Writing Quality - Was your writing clear? Was your justification well-written?
- Enjoyment - Did you engage the readers? Can I imagine your super team in pen and ink on the comic book page or brought to life on the silver screen? Did your entry make the judges smile?
STANDARD WWYP RULES APPLY -
No plagiarism, submit your entry by the deadline, adhere to the guidelines and word limits and HAVE FUN!
Some advice and important things to consider:
- Super Powers doesn't necessarily mean SPANDEX! - people with special abilities could come together for a variety of reasons. They might be military. They could be a band of adventurers in an unexplored land. The Fellowship of the Ring was a kind of "super team" too, so don't get jammed up thinking about the spandex. Feel free to be creative with the setting.
- Use genre tropes and subvert genre tropes - Go to http://tvtropes.org/ and do some exploring. Tropes are used because they work. People expect them and people like them. People also love to see them subverted. They love watching the obvious get turned on its head. So have some fun with these. Work them to your advantage or subvert them to catch the readers off guard.
- Don't Go Overboard - Stories about heroes are only interesting when the hero can be threatened somehow. Make sure not to make your heroes so overpowered (especially in comparison to their Big Bad) that they cannot ever possibly lose.
- Power Variations - Some of the links you will be provided will include variations on your power. For instance:
http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Biological_Manipulation
This entry includes three different variations. Try to be creative about how you apply these. Pick just one if you think it gives the character an interesting limitation. Use all of them if you think the character needs them all to shine alongside the rest of your team. Just think carefully about how to use the variations to your advantage.
Sample PM
Character Bio Template
Codename:
Real Name:
Powers: (please provide link so other participants can read up)
Equipment: (if any)
Appearance: 1 paragraph max
Character Backstory: 2 paragraph max
Note- Depending on your setting, you may want to add a field or two. This is acceptable as long as you don't go overboard!
Intentionally Bad Example Character Bio
Codename: PainMed
Real Name: Dr. Edward Medicine
Powers: http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Biological_Manipulation
PainMed can manipulate biological life with the touch of his hands or very weakly at a small distance. This gives him a healing touch that can mend even life-threatening wounds, dull pain and even inflict pain on others.
Equipment: PainMed wears a scrubs-green colored form-fitting suit that is woven with protective materials. He also wears a white doctor's coat shaped to flow a bit further behind like a trench coat or cape
Appearance: PainMed is a white male in his late 30s. His hair is black but peppered with gray. He is medium height and in good condition from training as a professional superhero for the last twenty years. However, he is not particularly handsome. He has a narrow chin and a sharp nose. If he didn't have broad shoulders and good definition in his muscles one might have described him as hawkish.
Character Backstory: Before Dr. Edward Medicine was a doctor, he dreamed of being a doctor. He played doctor as a child (and sometimes as a teen, but that's a little different) and when he graduated from high school, he left home for college to study pre-med. Little did he know that his eventual professor, Professor Poisonfree, would not only perform experiments on him, but would someday become his arch nemesis. Abducted the last day of classes his first semester, Edward was subjected to an experimental treatment by the evil professor. When Edward struggled to escape, he triggered an explosion that left both he and Professor Poisonfree unconscious, but imbued with new powers!
After the arrest of Professor Poisonfree and the discovery of his biological manipulation powers, Edward went on to finish medical school at the top of his class while moonlighting as a superhero to pay his tuition. After graduation, he was offered a position as a healer with Benevolent Heroes, a pro-active and socially-minded super team that could use his unique skills. At first reluctant to join the team, Dr. Medicine changed his mind when Professor Poisonfree escaped from prison and began a series of noxious gas attacks. Despite the fact that he was struggling to escape, he felt responsible for giving Professor Poisonfree his poison immunity powers in the explosion in the lab. So joining the team as PainMed, he set out to protect the innocent and he has done just that for the nearly 20 years!
Entry
Just sign /in to this thread and you'll receive your PM when the contest starts.
Sign-ups close on Wednesday, Oct 6th at noon eastern!
Contest Deadline
Since this is meant to be a short, fun, "popcorn" writing contest, we're going to limit the time to two weeks. The entry deadline will be Wednesday, Oct 20th by noon eastern.
How Does This Help Me Become a Better Writer?
This is quite unlike normal writing contests like WWYP in that you aren't writing a huge story. EE described this as a kind of "Conceptualize with Your Power" contest. So if its not pure writing... how does it help you become a better writer? A couple of ways:
- Adaptive Thinking - You don't get to pick your superpowers or your villain and if you become a professional writer someday, you won't always get to pick you assignments either! This contest helps you learn to adapt to assignments that might otherwise stump you!
- Creativity - This one should be obvious. Exercise your creativity and come up with characters, settings, etc that you've never thought of before. The more you create, the better you get at creating!
- Understanding Genre Tropes - As I mentioned above, genre tropes are used and reused because they work. Grasping these tropes, learning to identify them, use them and subvert them will make you a more effective reader and a better writer for sure.
- Creative Planning - The act of writing doesn't always mean just sitting down and letting the words flow out. Learning to plan out your stories first, mapping the character relations, major story points and other details helps you be a more effective writer. Consider this a first step in creating a story about these characters, even if you don't actually go on to write one. Although, I'd encourage you to give it a try after the contest. You might be surprised how much you like the characters when you are done.
That's it! Good luck! Have fun! Sign up and tell your friends!
Entrants
1. Tom
2. Tiger Woods
3. EE
4. Clownbot
5. Namaste
6. Getocoolaid
7. Zook
8. Xatres
9. GoldShadow
10. SkylerOcon
11. Lord Megatron
12. Kawaiiugus
13. Crimson King
14. KrazyGlue
15. <3
