Nuile the Paracosmic Tulpa

Congratulations to Legolover-361, winner of "Now Only Five" with his story, The Innocent, the Victim Good work all around! We'll see you back in the Library in two weeks. Can't live that long without an FFFC? Our current OTC competition just started with a dreadfully dreary theme.

And it's time to return for a new writing prompt . . . "Moving in" December Writing Prompt Use it as a theme for your story, use it as an opening line, use it in the middle, at the end, twist the words--it's up to you. Just incorporate it into your story, in one way or another. Let it inspire you. Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Theme #11: Unfortunate Event Deadline: 11:59 PM PST on Tuesday, December 17th. Any interpretation of the theme is valid, but your entry must be an OTC story and it must adhere to the rules posted above. Also, just for fun because achievements really aren't worth much, keep in mind the December Writing Prompt: "Moving in"

Member: Nuile Theme: Now Only Five Word Count: 562 Story: Stung Please don't make me the only entrant. That would be awkward. You know the feeling? Like in class you're the only one who raises your hand, or worse, the only one who doesn't? Or somebody tries to start a wave at a shuffleboard tournament and you're the only one who waves? Don't make me that person. If you don't quite make the deadline, don't worry, we'll forgive you this once if you're a couple hours or a couple days late. Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Footsteps cried out in the night, joining with the unending wailing of the wind and the steady sobbing of the sea. Varying hues of darkness painted the waters, shadows danced across the rocks in the moonlight, and a Matoran, cold, shivering, hurried over the slippery stone. I have to get off this island. He lost his footing and slid down a boulder and stumbled on again. We should never have come here. His breathing came in ragged gasps. The salty sting of the ocean air burned at his eyes and in his throat, the wind tried to squeeze all the breath out of him, and the rocks with their slimy surfaces tried to pull his feet out from under him and guide him down, down the cliff face, down into seething waters below. He stopped for a breathless moment, listening. Was that—? Laughter. Was it laughter? He ran faster. If only this Kakama was any good—oh, Karzahni! He stopped dead and fell to his knees, panting, tired, weak. He had a Mask of Power. He had a Kualsi. The Matoran was just sport! And as soon as he was tired of the game, the Matoran would be dead. “I am disappointed in you. I thought you had more spirit in you than that.” The Matoran looked up. A Toa of Iron stood over him, looking down at him with a cold, disdainful glare. Yet behind the Mask of Quick Travel there was a gleam of amusement in the glowing red eyes. “I trusted you,” the Matoran said, “we all trusted you! We were counting on you to protect us, so I helped you—and you’ve betrayed us!” The Toa laughed. “You wish to judge me? Do as you will, I cannot expect you to understand.” “The others will stop you! They’ll find out what you’re up to before—” “The others!” The Toa kicked the Matoran in the mask. He kneeled down, put his hand at his victim’s throat, and smiled. “Clearly I misjudged you. I thought you were more intelligent than the others. I thought it would make matters more exciting to turn your own wits against you. But you have disappointed me. You might be the biggest fool of them all.” With his hands tight around the Matoran’s neck, the Toa lifted his squirming prey into the air. The Matoran squealed in pain and fear. “You think the others will stop me?” said the Toa. “The others think I am dead. The others think I have paid for my crimes, and so I will—when I have seen to it, that you have all paid for yours.” His fingers tightened and the Matoran’s eyes grew larger. “You will be the next to pay. For crimes against the Great Spirit, I hold you guilty. How do you plead?” “Please—don’t—” “I thought as much.” The Toa ripped the Matoran’s mask from his face and hurled the Matoran over the edge and watched as his body plunged into the foam. He thought he heard a crunch as the next wave struck the cliffs, but drowned in the sobs of the sea it might have been anything. He might have imagined it. He had hardly heard the screams. With a sigh, the Toa turned his back on the sea. “Another gone. How disappointing,” he whispered to himself. “Now only five.”

Good to know some people actually read the whole post. =P Good catch! Fixed. Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Theme #11: Now Only Five Deadline: 11:59 PM PST on Monday, November 25th. Any interpretation of the theme is valid, but your entry must be a BIONICLE story and it must adhere to the rules posted above. Also, just for fun because achievements really aren't worth much, keep in mind the October - November Writing Prompt:"They'll see in time . . ."

Congratulations to Zox, winner of "Fall" with his story, Running for a Shooting Star! We couldn't come to an agreement for an honorable mention; we barely agreed on a victor. Thank you for great stories, everyone. Keep up the excellent writing! Our next competition starts this Monday, November 18th, over in the Library. Keep your eyes peeled!

Congratulations to Baltarc, winner of "Rise" with his story, The Kal! Honorable mention goes to Click's "As the Sand Rises" Pahrak, Baltarc, Click, excellent job; this must have been the closest FFFC we've had yet. Picking one story above the others was tough! Thank you for entering so regularly, and for giving us your best for our tenth theme. Congratulations! Our next competition starts this Monday, November 18th. Keep your eyes peeled!

Attention previous entrants: Unfortunately I have no way of tracking down the entries lost during the downtime, so I'll have to ask you to post your stories and submission forms again. Preferably by the deadline, but if you miss by a few days we'll forgive you. Thanks! Theme #10: Rise Deadline: 11:59 PM PST on Monday, November 4th. Any interpretation of the theme is valid, but your entry must be a BIONICLE story and it must adhere to the rules posted above. Also, if you are an Ambage member, keep in mind the October Writing Prompt (to get more achievements):"They'll see in time . . ." And don't forget to enter the Library competition, Fall!

Attention previous entrants: Unfortunately I have no way of tracking down the entries lost during the downtime, so I'll have to ask you to post your stories and submission forms again. Preferably by the deadline, but if you miss by a few days we'll forgive you. Thanks! Theme #10: Fall Deadline: 11:59 PM PST on Monday, November 4th. Any interpretation of the theme is valid, but your entry must be a COT story and it must adhere to the rules posted above. Also, if you are an Ambage member, keep in mind the October Writing Prompt (to get more achievements):"They'll see in time . . ." And don't forget to enter the Library competition, Rise!

What I enjoy most about these anecdotes of yours, is that as a human being, you're a more intricate and far more fascinating character than any you could write. I've seen you write fiction--and this is something I have often done as well--through which you try to allegorize your experiences and your psyche in general, to little success. But here you're not writing about characters pretending to be you, here you're writing about yourself, about your own feelings, about your own dreams and desires and your own heart. Because you're genuinely writing from the depths of your own soul, it is more powerful and more real than your fiction. Far from being a limitation, I think it's an excellent opportunity for you to expand. Lessons learned through this medium could be invaluable, translated to creative writing. I encourage you to take advantage of this exercise. In fact, it's putting ideas in my own head for ways to explore improvement in my writing. Anyway, to comment on the entry itself, you are a disturbed man. But I can sympathize. I've had disturbed dreams before, dreams that were all too real and hurt me in a lasting way. The subconscious is a dark, enigmatic place. It has the power to bring joy and solace, or great pain. Dreams can be dangerous things--and yet, it could be difficult to live without them. Sleep would not be the same. I'm gonna pretend to be cool and end with a quote, too. "Let hopes pass Let dreams pass Let them die" Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

When I meet my future wife and find a life, I'll put so much space between you BZP chumps and me, it will boggle your minds! It's not an "attitude," it's a fact! Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

I'm late on this, but such things transcend time, don't they? Felicitations and best blessings to the happy couple! Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Well, now we're waiting on the monster contest. Once that's over, the FFFCs will be starting again. Keep your eyes open, and in the meantime, don't forget to keep up with the monster contest. Voting will probably be starting soon. Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Kraggh, you disappoint me. I expected that to be longer. Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

He may be an incurable egotist, an insufferable introvert, an opinionated orator, an impatient imp, an insipid author, an impractical plotter, a pestilential pedant, a mordant misogynist, and he’s certainly a vainglorious degenerate, a loathsome air-polluting blowhard, a miserable gossip-mongering aberration of nature, a depravity to all of discrimination, a scientific proof that evolution can go in reverse, a plot-less melodrama of uneventful life, a myopic dull-witted mean-spirited poltroon, and a malingering evangelical crusader of sub-mediocrity, but it remains that if you take the time to look deeper and ignore all this, Jean Valjean is almost a half-decent guy. So let's wish him a good day, and help him celebrate the passing of another year, bringing him that much closer to his death! (Oh, and his sister’s a self-righteous caviler and a grotesque visual experience.) My prayers for a blessed birthday, Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Any damage there was to be done, was done long ago. =) Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

With a brushing-off of dust and creaking of rusty hinges (has it really been little more than a month?) my review is complete: Jon Osterman's Ozymandias. Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

I heard a rumor that somebody here requested an SSCC review. So, I thought I'd oblige. (Orders have nothing to do with it. Threats might. But forget about that. I digress.)Starting with style—because I always do—your prose is beautiful and flows pleasantly. The all-important descriptions are subtle, elegant, and strong. And you even avoided any typographical errors. Granted, this was a short piece, but I will always applaud a grammatically sound story, of any length. Well done. Also, that’s a beautiful passage you chose for an epigraph, and it fits the story perfectly (or, perhaps more accurately, the story fits it perfectly). Who cares if it’s long? It’s a nice accent. The quote you end on is another excellent choice; ah, Shelley!Story. The theme is a personal favorite and something I’d read all day long. In fact, I would have liked to read more—and I mean both positively and negatively. Yes, you left me hungry for more; but yes, you left me hungry. Beautiful as it was, there’s nothing to sink my teeth into. It wasn’t filling. It consists chiefly of descriptions, abstract ideas and not much else. You set the scene, you present your character, and then—what? The second scene was vague. Ozymandias did something—what? Kovacs and Dreiberg—who are they? Suddenly I don’t know what’s going on, and I can’t possibly guess. It gives me the feeling that I’m missing something the writer’s not telling me, which can be bothersome.Now, I think vagueness was your intention. I can understand leaving the story open to the mind of the reader. (Pulling names out of thin air is a bad way of doing this, but anyway—) But that’s a risky business. It could make your reader think or yawn, it all depends on how you control their mind with your writing.Now, here’s an interesting point. At first, I wanted to know what Ozymandias did to “conquer the evils that beset man.” What did he do? What was his solution to prevent the supposed atomic armageddon? As a critic, I was thinking, “These questions should be answer.” But then I looked as a reader, and I said, “I don’t really care. It’s good enough.” And then I was content. So you contented the reader, but here’s the thing. The reader wasn’t elated, he was just contented, because he “didn’t really care.” See what I’m saying?That can be the problem with this sort of vagueness. I’ll grant you, it is an achievement just to palliate the reader, but far better to stick your neck out and elate them. Personally, from the standpoint of a critic and a writer, when dealing with abstract ideas I try to make them tangible and practical; otherwise I’m just playing with fancies that will mean nothing to the reader. What would have made this story stand out was giving it an original twist.Instead, you told nothing new. In your elegant style, yes, in a philosophical strain, yes, you told a hackneyed story without adding anything to the plot. I could rewrite Jane and Dick into a novel with melodic prose and beautiful descriptions, but unless I add to the plot it’s going to be a bomb.(Oh, notice what I did there? I made an abstract idea better by grounding it—in this case, with an example. Just putting that in there.)So, in the end? Reader Nuile is satisfied and content. Critic Nuile says Good job, it’s a nice piece but insubstantial. All things considered this was an enjoyable meal, if not a filling and memorable one. Thank you for writing, sharing, and for choosing the SSCC! Keep writing, Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

I read this, and I wasn't sure. I read this and then I understood where you were going, and I wanted to take a ride on that train of thought. I'm not saying I agree with every word of this; partly because I don't believe in a perfect world. In my opinion that would be thoroughly imperfect. But I will say this: What you have described here is a world that would be far better than our own. You painted a picture of what the world really should be. It's an ideal we all should strive for. I wish we could all live in a world like that. Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Ooh! ooh! Pick me, pick me! I'll read-- Oh, wait. I did. (PM this writer and ask about the book. You won't regret it.) Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

This is positively beautiful. If only you could write fiction half as poetic. I think non-fiction is your calling. And he sticks the landing! I have to give you credit, that was dexterous. Aunts and grandmothers are the first to make a comment that renders the situation awkward, and I bow to your recovery. Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

I told you to come? I did? Impostor! Who are you? Who sent you? Who are you working for!? . . . Oh, wait, I remember you. Short-term memory loss. Pestering and prompting, that's why I'm here. =D Welcome to the Ambage, Kristy! Glad to have you! Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith