Temple of Dagon story tournament (Voting closed - JP wins!)

[JJ Burke]

i'm glad you found some value in my reviews. i'd rather not be so stiff about technicalities, but i figured judging a competition calls for some strict interpretations and a certain degree of heavy-handedness..

it's not really a position i like to occupy.. like i said in the beginning, i prefer collaboration over competition. if these stories came in one at a time, just as personal projects, i would be much more supportive, and receptive to the unique merits of each one.

looking back, some of it comes across kind of harsh and dismissive, but i didn't mean it like that. especially ee, you might feel a little punished for your efforts.. just remember i'm playing a role where i have to throw rocks at stuff just to see what's left standing. that's not really me

[Hodgson]

i'm glad you found some value in my reviews. i'd rather not be so stiff about technicalities, but i figured judging a competition calls for some strict interpretations and a certain degree of heavy-handedness..

it's not really a position i like to occupy.. like i said in the beginning, i prefer collaboration over competition. if these stories came in one at a time, just as personal projects, i would be much more supportive, and receptive to the unique merits of each one.

looking back, some of it comes across kind of harsh and dismissive, but i didn't mean it like that. especially ee, you might feel a little punished for your efforts.. just remember i'm playing a role where i have to throw rocks at stuff just to see what's left standing. that's not really me

No, it's fine, really. It didn't seem harsh or dismissive at all. They were contest stories, written to be judged. And I know mine needs work.

I have a novel, the first draft of which was completed in March of last year. I am now working on the 7th or 8th draft of it (I forget) and have invested about 20 months in it. The novel is only about 50,000 words long. So I've learned all about the necessity of revision. . . .

[Jesus Prime]

Perhaps next time, JJ could judge?

[JJ Burke]

it's not really a position i like to occupy..

[Jesus Prime]

That sounds dirty.

[odin2]

odin2's 'raven mocker'
overall: i liked the set-up with the old man and his family, and the story of the tsa-la-gi (is that how they pronounce ‘cherokee’?) was interesting too. how much of this comes from the real cherokee culture? i would have liked to know more about the civil war between the sorcerors and the warriors, but i guess that’s not central to the raven mocker legend.
theme: i think this entry comes closest to articulating the ‘local legend’ theme, although there isn’t any specific place mentioned. so i’m wondering if it’s more of a local legend or a cultural legend. but you have the element of trans-generational storytelling, which nobody else really used.. so i’m giving extra points for that.

Thank you for the comments.
Yes Tsa-la-gi is Cherokee, for 'Cherokee'
And almost all of it comes from the myths and legends of the Cherokee people.
Glad you liked it!

[Hodgson]

Tomorrow's the last day of voting. If the 2nd place tie isn't broken, shall we call it a finish or hold the voting open until the tie is broken?

[Jesus Prime]

I say have a run-off vote in another poll between all those tied.

[EG_Administration]

was finally able to get in my vote. gah! i swear Im drawn between two worlds of waking dreams.

[Hodgson]

Well, then here are the top 3. If EE will have a 1000 word runoff, we can fix the time for writing and voting.

Jesus Prime 50% [ 5 ]
Hodgson 20% [ 2 ]
Eternities End 20% [ 2 ]

[Jesus Prime]

I was thinking you just have another poll with only you two as options.

[Hodgson]

That sounds good. I'll open it up in another thread.