Apologies from the Guildmasters...

We're all still active here, whether we're posting or not. But Ariyana and I do have to apologize for the lack in updates. We're both busy trying to get our writing careers off the ground, find day jobs, and I'm personally planning a wedding.

The good news is this: both Ariyana and I have stuff published out in the world now, and I'd like to say that ALL of the challenges are still open, with the exception of the "submit something to a publisher this month" challenge in June. But, if you have started to work on your own writing careers, drop by and give us a shout!

Fanfiction, original fiction, and poetry shall always be constantly being produced. August is a little busy for the two Guildmasters here, but we'll try our best to get out--and actually do--a challenge for September. Until then, make sure your inkwells are full, and your quills as sharp as your wit!


Patricia
Department of Backstory





Viva la Quill

Challenge Twenty-Five: June's Challenge

Okay, so I know that nobody's been real active on this site recently. Which, believe me, I get. I mean, I haven't been here in a while either. The challenges have gone nearly neglected with several birthday challenges left to be done. But I have fallen off the challenge wagon myself.

So, here's what I'm going to do. First, I'm going to issue a new challenges (details to follow in a moment) and secondly, I'm reopening all old challenges. That's right! Even the ones that were met! So folks, look back through our archives and pick a challenge. When finished, post here to tell is what challenge you did and if you posted it somewhere, leave us a link.

Now, as for June's challenge... this one is a whopper, in its own way. Now is a time for action. If you recall in a previous post, I mentioned duotrope.com and its deadline calendar. Here's the challenge: pick a deadline, write a story to meet it, and submit. That's it! Now, Ariyana and I have both already submitted stuff this month. So, and I'm sure she won't mind since we both have several deadlines we'll be meeting this month, we won't considered this challenged finished on our parts until we submit another.

The deadline? The 30th of this month. Once you've submitted, comment here and tell us all about your experience!

Good luck, everyone!


Patricia
Department of Backstory



Viva la Quill

Ariyana's Birthday Challenge

What? Two Guild updates in one day? Indeed, my friends. Indeed.

My 23rd birthday is April 3rd, this upcoming Saturday, so I guess it's about time for me to set my own birthday challenge. I'm going to give you guys a few different things to choose from, so free free to take whatever plot bunny you like and run wild with it.

In the category of Fanfiction:

• Winchesters in Castlevania/Dracula's castle.
  

Ok, so if you don't know what Castlevania is, than you could just set this in Dracula's castle and work with your own monsters. But you really have to know Supernatural for this one. I want the Winchester boys to find themselves in the bowels of Castlevania. There's plenty of material in the show for you to use to explain why/how they got there. I want to see my giant, shotgun toting cuties kicking butt and taking species name. Does Dracula have an evil plan for Sam? Is Dean having to fight his way through to get to his brother? Or vice versa? Is John there? Is there a kinky succubus scene? It's all up to you. . .

• Hermione and the Movement for Wraith Rights

Harry Potter/ Stargate: Atlantis crossover. I have a hard time finding fun SGA/HP xovers to read, so I'd love to see one written by one of you guys. My bunny for this one is that Hermione somehow finds out about the wraith and tries to find a way to help fight them without eliminating them. My only requirement would be for Todd the Wraith to appear, either as a special guest star or the main wraith character. Any pairings or subplots you want here. It could be a chapter story or a little "first encounter" drabble.

In the category of Original Fiction:

• Mythology
  

Pick any mythology that you like (Greek, Sumerian, Egyptian, Native American) and write a story where one of the myths is mirrored in a modern day world. Perhaps someone realizes the connection and the story goes supernatural, or maybe the story itself is made up original characters who are playing out the ancient stories of Athena and Poseidon or Seth and Osiris. If you don't want to write a story, you could write a poem comparing events in a life to events in a myth. Have fun--the sky's the limit.

In the category of Art Manipulations:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the Universal Monsters.
  

Basicially what it sounds like, draw or manipulate pictures/comics/movie stills of Buffy or her crew meeting a Universal monster. If you're manipulating, they should probably be in black and white or in a tonal color, depending on the movie you're using. I think it would be great to work on a series of these manipulations/renderings for all the monsters :D


Ok, so that's your mission, if you choose to accept one. Enjoy! Can't wait to see what you turn out. Make sure you link the story/art/poem in the comments (however, if you don't want to post your original story online for publishing reasons, just email me a copy so that I can read and enjoy). Have fun!

Script Frenzy Begins Tomorrow!

For those of you adore the wacky insanity that is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), you might enjoy their sister event SCRIPT FRENZY! And, boy, is 'frenzy' and appropriate word choice for this event. Here's the basic run-down as copy and pasted from their site, scriptfrenzy.org:

The Challenge	Write 100 pages of original scripted material in the 30 days of April. (Screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all welcome.)
When	April 1-30
Cost	Free. We run on donations.
Who	Everyone (worldwide) is welcome. No experience required.
Prizes	Happiness. Creative juices. Pride. Laughter. Bragging rights. A brand-new script.
How	Sign up! Prepare with our Writer's Resources. Get ready to start writing on April 1.

Now, even if you're not going to be a part of the event itself, it might be valuable for you future script writers to check out the site because there are great resources to be found, especially in the forum. I'm signed up, but due to the number of Spring deadlines I need to work on (and my lack of scripting knowledge), I'm not sure if I'll be able to fully participate. However, I do plan on starting a graphic novel script in April for the event (because I've been wanting to try my hand at it for a long time now). Wish me luck--better yet, join me!

http://scriptfrenzy.org/

The Wonders of Duotrope

Just thought I'd share this little bit of joy with you fellow wannabe published writers out there. I came across a wonderful place one day while I was researching trying to get short stories published. Though an associated content article, I found duotrope.com... which, get this, lists a whole frickin' bunch of publishers out there for poetry, flash fiction, short storys, and upwards... and how or whether they pay.

And what's even better? Slinky discovered an awesome feature to the site that is at its top called "Deadline Calender" that lists all sorts of deadlines for submissions and whether what the publisher is looking for is themed or not.

Folks, this makes submitting a little bit easier. In fact, Slinky and I have both submitted stories already. It doesn't make publishing any easier, but at least you don't have to worry over what market to send your Sci-fi story to... it's easily found. And writing to try and meet deadlines is a great way to up your production, and maybe your pocket.

Challenge Twenty-Four

Okay, folks! A new challenge for you to work on. Just a reminder, we also have both birthday challenges still open, plus our Women's History challenge. Now, this challenge is called the "What if" challenge. The rules are like this:

• Pick one of the following "what if" scenarios and write a one-shot (or chapter length, if inspiration should strike you) that plays out the scene.
• The scenarios are as follows:

From Harry Potter: What if Lupin had apologized to Snape (for all the bullying) the night before Snape killed Dumbledore?

From Supernatural: What if the Impala had an all 4 tire blowout in the middle of nowhere?

From Vampire Hunter D: What if D got to speak with his mother again?

From Batman (either Nolanverse or The Animated Series): What if the Joker saved Batman?

From Darkwing Duck: What if the villains made Morgana's wedding guest list?

• The due date for this challenge is April 10, 2010

Have fun!

Patricia's Birthday Challenge

Okay, I am so behind on Kimmi's challenge. Good thing she didn't give us a deadline. Good news, though... I've at least gotten it started! A whole paragraph + 2 lines of dialogue! But it's coming. That being said... let's add another challenge to the mix. Mine. :)

Here's what I've cooked for all you:

1. I've had the Joker on my mind recently. No, he's not always there... but he's moved there recently. So, one of your choices is this: I would like a Joker fic where he finally gets a win on Batman. Now, he doesn't have to kill him. But he can. It can be comedy, or it can be angst/drama... or whatever. I don't want slash. Just, surprise me. The Joker version I have in mind is that of the 1992's Animated Series. However, I'll accept Nolanverse Dark Knight Joker as well, for I love them both. None of this "The Batman" or Brave and the Bold crap.
2. I LOVE crossovers! So, here's the deal. I'm gonna list here a few of my fave male characters from different fandoms and a few fave female characters from different fandoms. You choose the pairing, but the two must not be from the same 'verse. And the pairing doesn't have to be romantic, or even friendship. It could just be random meeting. And the newer the crossover to me, the better :). ('Verses in paraenthesis) Here's a few males: Snape (HP), Andrew (Buffy/Angel), Darth Vader, Alucard (Castlevania), Joker ('cause, why not?), House (House, MD... duh, right?). Here's a few females (verse repeats due to lack of females in some: Dawn (Buffy), Tonks (HP), Harley Quinn, Leia (Star Wars), Poison Ivy, Hermione.
3. And lastly, for those of you are graphically inclined, I would like a rendering of either Jade Snape from the RPG World's Clash or Mia from Girls' Night Out.

So, hope that wasn't too much for anybody. And if anyone chooses to draw the picture(s), I'd be more than happy to help with any description problems that may occur. Like Kimmi's, I'm giving no deadline... well, maybe have it done before my next B-day, huh? LOL

A Question for Guild Members...

Hi, Quillers! This is just a quick little post to ask all of you a question. I know that we are a writing group, but I was wondering...

Many of our members also do art. Some draw, some do photo manipulations, some do crafts, some do all of the above and/or more. So, I thought that I could start one of those new-fangled group thingies (ie, groups, LOL) at deviantart for any GFQ related art. And I know the day is coming where that will exist. Soon... mwahahahahaha...

So, post a comment because I'd love to know!

PatriciaLouise

Viva la Quill

Challenge Twenty-Three: Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month and The Guild of the Fantastic Quill will be celebrating with a challenge. Your challenge is to include a female historical/famous figure in either a poem or a story. You can even include your chosen famous woman in your fanfiction if you'd prefer. While she doesn't have to be an actual character, she and some explanation as to her significance to the world at large must be mentioned and relevant to the piece. Have fun, learn something new, and don't forget to comment and tell us about your chosen famous woman and your story/poem. You have the entire month of March to complete this challenge.

On another subject, I'd like to remind everyone that we're still doing birthday wishes. (I, for one, am already behind on Kimmi's wish, but she will receive it...someday, hee.)

Kimmi's Birthday Wish!

Okay, so I've been MIA in the blogosphere for a while. But thats because my poor little brain can only focus on one thing at a time and the one thing I've been focusing on is my student teaching. I'll get to writing and posting again once I'm certain I know what I'm doing, lol.

Okey! My birthday is next week! And from you, my talented writer friends I have two ideas!

1. House/Glee xover: New Directions go on the road! But as you may (or may not know) Quinn is pregnant. More or less, Quinn goes into labor and who's the lucky doctor that's at the clinic? Why our lovely Dr. House! Does he have a musical bone in his body? Or will he smack each and every one of the gleeks in the shins with his walking stick until they stop singing "Don't Stop Believing" ? Lol well that's up to you, isn't it?

2. There's trouble a-brewing in the Supernatural universe. A musically inclined demon sees how the techno-eastern beats of Bollywood seem to torture the Winchester boys and through some feat of magical do the boys are trapped in an upbeat Om Shanti Om style Bollywood musical! Ghosts, beautiful girls, romance, and awesome dance numbers, what more could a fan ask for?

Okay. So if that doesn't stretch your writing muscles... well I don't know what will. Lol. Give it a shot my friends!

Challenge Twenty-Two: Valentine's 2010

Well, since poetry seems to be what everyone associates with Valentine's, this challenge is a poetry one!

• Write a 50-100 word poem on the theme of love or Valentine's Day.
• You must use at least 3 of the following prompt words: courtly love, cards, red, pink, paper, St. Valentine, fertility, champagne, flowers, chocolates, hearts, bird, lace, leather, white
• Deadline: Feburary 14, 2010

As usual, post the link to your complete poem in the comments under this post. Have fun, everyone!!

Announcing: Birthday Challenges!!

A new, fun feature to the Guild! Each member can now post "Birthday Challenges." Allow me to explain:

On your birthday, post a challenge entitled, for example, "Kim's Birthday Challenge." You can add a one, the year, or your age if you want as I'm sure we're all hoping this'll become a regular thing. Then, set a challenge that YOU would like to see especially geared towards you...using a favorite character, a favorite theme, whatever you want. Kind of like asking for a birthday gift from the Guild members ;).

You can post post a one-shot fanfic challenge, a one-shot original fiction challenge, a fanart challege, or a poetry challenge. So long as you give the Guild at least two options. Then, set a deadline. Easy as pie.

The known GFQ birtdays that are upcoming are:

Kimmi's: Feb. 4
Patricia's: March 8
Hillary's: March 18
Slinky's: April 3
Savannah's: May 15

If anyone else would like to post a Birthday challenge whose birthdate is not listed here, please comment with your birtdate on this post. Happy Challenging, and Birthday!

Challenge Twenty-One: Finish the Damned Fanfic

Forgive the language, but isn't it about time you finished that fan fiction story you've been working on for (dare I say) years?

If you haven't already guessed, this challenge is aimed towards writers of fanfiction. January is here, 2010 has arrived, and yet there are fanfiction stories strewn over the pages of the net, awaiting conclusion. I, for one, have many the unfinished gems (*cough*) awaiting their intended epilogues. So, let's say goodbye to at least one fanfiction chapter story this month.

Challenge: Complete one chapter story this month. It doesn't matter whether you started it last week or three years ago, any ff chapter story qualifies.

Deadline: Feb. 1st

Bonus Points: Bonus points go to anyone who finishes a fanfiction story that requires at least five more chapters.

Comment with a link to the story you finish (even if you haven't posted the finished chapters yet).

Good luck and viva la quill!

Challenge Twenty: Blueprint Your '10 Novel

So, 2010 is finally here. . . Feels quite a bit like 2009, doesn't it? Oh, well. Perhaps when we're all Timelords, we'll be able to see New Years in a different light. For those of you who aren't completely bogged down with over-ambitious New Years Resolutions, I'd like to present you with Writing Challenge #20, The Blueprint Challenge.

This challenge is intended for original fiction, specifically novels, novellas, and serials. Deep down, ever aspiring writer has several "novel" (punpun) ideas floating about. These ideas are sometimes confined to the mind and sometimes jotted down on a scrap of paper. But the point is, they're simply ideas. So, let's take one of those ideas and mold it into a full story.

This challenge will not have a specific deadline, though I'd like to see a response at the beginning of the year (some time in the month of Jan.). The challenge intended to get your creative little minds focused on the "busy work" of writing. Essentially, though, this is the fun part: coming up with several little plotlines, characters, motifs, etc. and forming a novel around them.

Challenge:
Create a blueprint of your novel. Focus on chapters, subplots, character development. Pretend you're building a house. Start with the base and work your way up. Create the frame. The writing part (the filler) will come later. Come up with your own process.

If you accept this challenge, post a comment below. You don't have to tell us about your novel idea, but I'd like to know if you'll be outlining/blueprinting a story to write in 2010. Also, after you've finished your blueprint, return to this post and comment on your process.

Bonus Points:

Bonus Points, those invisible little gold coins for the competitor inside, go to the participants who not only comment but also post a blog entry explaining how they formulated their blueprint. This entry should be intended to help those who are still struggling with outlining. You don't necessarily have to give away the plot of your story, just explain how you were able to mold your ideas into a workable blueprint for a novel.

GOOD LUCK!