12 réponses à ce sujet

[Jessica Merizan]

Read David Gaider's thoughts on the Dragon Age Asunder Writing Competition Here!

[DA_GamerGal]

I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank David Gaider for putting his thoughts to pen. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his blog and his list of "Do and Don't." It was very much appreciated!

By the way, as far as you being "tempted to immediately email the entrant and tell them “You were doing so well, it was brilliant, and then you…” ", I think most entrants would have LOVED to get such and email from you. I know I would. I might actually pay good money to get such an email!

[blackwolf_majik]

Is it possible to get feedback on our particular entries if there was any? Even if it's just notes and scribbles?
Reviews and constructive criticism go a long way to making us better!

[cptmeatman]

I agree, though I know it would be a tall order, many people who entered the contest would love feedback on their submissions, myself included. Learning about their "and then you..." moment could help out a lot of people. I'm not even a very active fanfiction writer but I'm always looking to improve my own original writing. I'll admit, all of my questions that I would have had for Mr. Gaider should I have won would be about improving my skills for s future in the game writing industry. And I'd shoot big and ask him for a job, I can hope after all.

[ColorMeSuprised]

Thank you for your thoughts and your short list about do's and don't's. We have been speculating a lot what would end up on that list.

But DG really killed me with this:

3. DO pay attention to flow. In creative writing, flow is more important than language. Some writers will abuse a thesaurus so badly you half-expect to find it wandering dazed alongside the highway, dress in tatters and lipstick smeared across its face.[...] Slaughter your word-babies mercilessly, for that pain will put you in the habit of not over-populating your prose to begin with.

[Blighted_Angel]

I didn't enter this contest, since by the time I heard about it, it was already too late. However, I read the list of do's and don't's, and I have to say, I would literally pay money to receive personal constructive criticism from David Gaider himself. I've been writing my whole life, and I'm always looking to improve.

In fact, I literally just joined this social network for the sole purpose of saying that. If I had been one of the entrants, I would have been on the edge of my seat. "You were doing so well, and then you...."

Me: "What? What is it, what did I do? Tell me! I wish to learn from you!" xD

[Saberchic]

Very cool article. I think this is the best way to address the inevitable questions of why so-and-so's writing didn't get picked, etc.

On the request for feedback: I think the article is the best they can do. Asking that the judges deliver specific feedback for each entry is too much to ask for. If the judges offer their services outside of their normal jobs, that's one thing. You can pay them whatever agreed upon fee for critiquing your work. But having to get feedback on tons of entries in a contest is a monumental task, and it should not be asked of them.

[Makon06]

Saberchic wrote...

Very cool article. I think this is the best way to address the inevitable questions of why so-and-so's writing didn't get picked, etc.

On the request for feedback: I think the article is the best they can do. Asking that the judges deliver specific feedback for each entry is too much to ask for. If the judges offer their services outside of their normal jobs, that's one thing. You can pay them whatever agreed upon fee for critiquing your work. But having to get feedback on tons of entries in a contest is a monumental task, and it should not be asked of them.

I agree entirely. To ask anyone to provide individual feedback on our entries would take far too much time and effort on the part of the Bioware team that they could better spend in their other duties.

To that end, I think David's companion slip helped point out a number of flaws with my own submission. The thing that helps me the most is that it isn't some random individual giving tips. David has a number of achievements, including being a published author, so he knows what advice to give based on what he saw from the entries.

[BlazePT]

Thanks for the tips, David! I really loved the one about the flow, many Portuguese writers (I'm Portuguese) abuse the words like cops and donnuts and it's...argh. Yes, argh.
I didn't make the list but I was really happy having my story being read by all of you.

[J4N3_M3]

blackwolf_majik wrote...

Is it possible to get feedback on our particular entries if there was any? Even if it's just notes and scribbles?
Reviews and constructive criticism go a long way to making us better!

yeah this. there's nothing i haven't heard about my writig so nothing can be too cruel. 

[Am1vf]

I haven't written any fanfiction nor do I intend to ,let's just say that my own "sandbox" is big enough and in much more need of being written, but this is good advice to any wannabe writer such as myself. So lots of thanks to David Gaider for taking the time to share his wisdom.

[Icinix]

Good read - I've been debating for a little while to try my hand at some fan fiction so the list of the do and do nots is awesome.

Cheers!

[Shadow of Light Dragon]

I think some of the list is more aimed at short fiction than general fan fiction.

Not everyone who writes fan fiction is in it for self-improvement, though. Nothing wrong with happily playing in the pool instead of trying to be an Olympic swimmer. For some people it's just for fun.