The Friday Challenge — 11/25/2011

This week in The Friday Challenge:

Anne McCaffrey has gone between. Dragons the world over are keening. • Join the discussion...

The Drink Tank celebrates a milestone, with a contribution from one of our own. • Join the discussion...

Kersley Fitzgerald asks whether holidays are organic, relevant, undercooked, or well done. • Join the discussion...

Jack Calverley wins our Limbo! (a.k.a., "How Low Can You Go?") challenge, by being the last man standing. • Join the discussion...

All this and more, as the Tetrarchy gives thanks for your participation, and the inmates discuss the view from their respective places in the asylum.


Where There's a Will...

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As of this morning, we have received the following entries for our current challenge:

• “The First Age of Steame” by Jack Calverley
  

Yes, we are in the midst of our annual holiday slump, and participation is a little lower right now. We're looking at it as a way to catch our breath.

An enthusiastic “Huzzah” to all who have entered! The judges are considering your submissions, and a winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 27 November 2011.


The Tellurian Shower

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And now it is time for this week's Friday Challenge, courtesy of Jack Calverley:

We are always being told, “show, don't tell.” Well, now is your opportunity to show “show, don't tell.”

This week's challenge is to write a single scene, in two radically different ways: one telling, and one showing.

The two versions of the scene, taken together, should add up to no more than 2000 words, but the length of each version of the scene is entirely up to you. (e.g., You may show your scene in one sentence and tell it in fifty... or show it in fifty and tell it in one.)

Anyone can enter, except for Jack Calverley. You may enter as many times as you wish, but each entry must be independent of the others, and you may not build on anyone else's work.

Everyone is asked to vote, and to say a few words about what they liked, and why. Or to say a few words about what they disliked, as the case may be; by submitting an entry, you implicitly agree to accept criticism, because there will probably be some handed out, and no one is immune. When voting, please rank a work as either “0” (not so good), “1” (not as bad), “2” (could have been better) or “3” (pretty good stuff!). If you give either a “0” or “3” vote, feel free to argue in support of your reasoning.

Don't like the negativity? Feel free to think of the levels as “0” (Not bad for a first attempt), “1” (Right on!), “2” (Holy cow, I wanna buy this now...) or “3” (Sweet mother of God, how did you write something this awesome?!!). The point is to clearly differentiate, and rank according to your own preference.

For the purposes of this challenge, Jack Calverley will be serving as Ye Olde High Marker, Voluntarily Walking th' Plank.

As of now, we are playing by the loosely enforced and slightly modified rules of The Friday Challenge. All entries are due by 6 AM Eastern time on the morning of Friday, 2 December 2011. A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 4 December 2011.

Oh, there is one more thing... but it is the most important! Have fun. Always have fun.