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That Winter Feeling · Original Short Story ·
Organised by RogerDodger
Word limit 2000–8000
Show rules for this event
#1 · 10
· · >>Dubs_Rewatcher >>HopeForTheFew >>georg
Hi and welcome to this new WriteOff, which won’t be the last one of 2016, but close.
At least, results will be disclosed around Christmas, so rejoice. The winner might win a Santa’s surprise visit, who knows?

In any case, this round is all about Original Fiction and Short Stories which means that you will have to dig into your mind, try your imagination and cobble out at least 2,000 words – but at most 8,000 – to write out a (success) story happening in any universe you deem exciting enough to get and capture the other readers’ attention. This is a challenge we all hope you’ll feel game to take up.

Ponyverse will be accepted but certainly spurned on. You’ve been warned. If you want to write ponies, hold your horses and wait for the next round.

Christmas-themed stories are accepted. You can even feature magical reindeers that glow in the night (such as those living near Chernobyl).

Writing period extends from Friday 9 12:00 GMT to Monday 12 12:05 GMT. Feel free to submit at the last minute, which is Horizon™ self-admitted speciality, but beware of Internet vagaries, especially DDoS attacks directed against the world-famous WriteOff server you’re currently connected on.

As usual, any direct or indirect disclosure of your identity during the review phase will subject you to the harshest punishment: your story will be disqualified and your name put on the target list for the next rotten-tomatoes-throw party, sponsored by RogerDoger ® and sons, Inc.

Ars gratia artis atque in scripto veritas. Fortuna imperatrix mundi, cave canem et vicinum tuum. Vale!
#2 · 1
· · >>Trick_Question
Figures one of these would turn up at the same time as my parents come to visit.
#3 · 15
· · >>CoffeeMinion >>Ritsuko
>>archonix
"I can't talk now, Mom and Dad, I have to write a story about ponies and then figure out how to turn them into humans."
#4 · 7
· · >>JudgeDeadd >>horizon
If anyone is having trouble coming up with a prompt, please consult this list of names for all 326 endings for the video game Shadow the Hedgehog.

Any one of those will do.
#5 · 2
·
>>Trick_Question
The struggle is real!! :-p
#6 · 6
· · >>horizon
>>Chinchillax
The March to a Darker World
Purification via Ruination
The Last Soldier’s Grim Fate
Seduced By Taste of Blood
...etc.

ow the edge
#7 · 9
· · >>Astrarian >>billymorph >>Monokeras >>QuillScratch >>horizon
>>Chinchillax
>>JudgeDeadd
I think we ought to all write stories about Shadow the Hedgehog — especially the authors who have absolutely no idea who Shadow is and are too lazy to google them.

I'm picturing a furry version of Enoby from My Immortal now:




Hi my name is Shadow Darkness BloodMoon Hedge'hog and I have long ebony black spines (that's how I got my name) with blacker tips and white fur like skull earrings and all my FUR-iends tell me I look like Death from Neil Gaiman (AN: if u don't think she's the hottest Endless get da hell out of here!) I'm an herbivore but I have sharp white teeth and breasts. I'm also a cop, and I patrol a city called Zootopia where I'm the top traffic enforcer (I'm seventeen). I'm a goth (in case you couldn't tell) and I wear mostly Hot Topic clothes on the job. For example today I was wearing a black corset and fishnet stockings with matching lace all around it and a black miniskirt and a black badge. I was wearing black eyeliner, white foundation, and blood red lipstick like I'd just bitten my own neck. I was walking in the rain writing parking tickets. A lot of foxes stared at me. I gave them the middle finger.
#8 · 4
· · >>Trick_Question
>>horizon
This is a work of art, especially when plugged into Gizoogle.
#9 · 1
·
>>Trick_Question
Why not a vice versus?
Turn your Parents into Horses?
#10 · 2
·
>>horizon Eh, save for the colour choice that's pretty close. Shadow suffers from red and black hedgehog syndrome...
#11 · 3
· · >>Chryssi >>Ritsuko
And so I make my grand return!

Probably. Maybe.

There's only so much a single frog can do.
#12 · 9
·
>>Monokeras
You can even feature magical reindeers that glow in the night (such as those living near Chernobyl).

I think I had a dream like this once.
#13 · 1
·
>>Frogmyre And my (not so) grand return as well!

I’ve never done an original short story before—let’s see how (badly) this goes. But first, to think of a prompt.
#14 · 1
· · >>GroaningGreyAgony >>devas
>>horizon
Can we write about Sonic the hedgehog?
#15 · 2
· · >>Ritsuko
>>Monokeras
Can we defenestrate people who write about Seneca Herzog? Or at least cause them to break out in hairy taupe and purple spots?
#16 · 1
·
>>Monokeras
Sure.

As long as you give it your best, who cares what the subject is about?
#17 · 4
· · >>billymorph >>horizon
I move that we all write clopfics for one round.
#18 · 8
· · >>horizon
>>horizon

This fanfic needs more Sonic. Here, let me fix that for you:




"Bastard!" I shouted angrily. I regretted saying it when I looked up cause I was looking into the pale blue face of a gothic boy with spiky blue spines with red streaks in them. He was wearing so much eyeliner that I was going down his face and he was wearing black lipstick. He didn't have sneakers anymore and now he was wearing black boots with chains just like Knuckles' and there was a scar on his forehead now which he didn't hide under foundation because it was a pentagram. He had a manly stubble on his chin. He had a sexy West Coast accent. He looked exactly like Dean Butterworth. He was so sexy that my body went all hot when I saw him kind of like an erection only I'm not sure if horizon wrote me as a boy or a girl so I may or may not have gotten one you sicko.

"I'm so sorry." he said in a shy voice.

"That's all right. What's your name?" I questioned.

"My name's Sonic, although most people call me Vampire these days." he grumbled.

"Why?" I exclaimed.

"Because I love the taste of Mobian blood." he giggled.
#19 · 2
· · >>Ritsuko
>>Remedyfortheheart As this is original fic I think we'd just be writing regular porn.

Don't let me stop you though :P
#20 · 1
·
>>Frogmyre
the best start for the Single Frog may be to dealing with the Single issue and get another Frog by your side?
>>GroaningGreyAgony
Of course you can, assuming you identify your purpetrator and can prove it within reasonbable doubts
>>billymorph
I am all with you, right there.
>>billymorph
No Fan-Fare, but aside from that ..
#21 · 2
· · >>KwirkyJ
You can even feature magical reindeers that glow in the night....

Oh, no. I couldn't...
#22 ·
·
>>georg
Has somebody been watching that 2006 thriller The Last Winter?
#23 · 8
·
Oh, I missed prompt submission...

I guess I should have submitted more promptly.

:V
#24 · 1
· · >>GroaningGreyAgony >>Posh
>>Remedyfortheheart
I've kinda been curious for a while to have a Writeoff round with the T rating removed from the rules.

It would probably be a trainwreck, but I want to at least try it once.
#25 · 2
·
>>horizon
Perhaps we could collaborate on one, each writing a chapter, and submit it to a major publisher to see what happens.
Unshorn Came the Stranger could be the title.
#26 · 7
· · >>QuillScratch
>>horizon You know what we should have? A My Immortal-themed writeoff.

If only so that I can put you in your place.

It's MY thing, Orange Horse Man.
#27 · 2
· · >>Posh
>>Posh
Can we generalise this to well-known(-ish) badfics? Because I call dibs on writing in the style of Harrys Brom. That fic is my JAM.
#28 · 2
·
And prompt is live. I repeat, prompt is live. We are go for write.
#29 · 9
·
Huh, not the prompt I wanted to win but I suppose I can Let It Go :D



*Crickets*



I'll... see myself out.
#30 ·
· · >>billymorph
>>Monokeras
I just joined this site in order to enter this competition, and I have a few questions. There is an option to turn me anonymous in the "submit story" area of this site, should I make myself anonymous? Is there a place where I can write a description?
#31 · 1
· · >>HopeForTheFew
>>HopeForTheFew In order: yes, you can but most people are happy to have their names on the fic (you'll be anonymous for the duration of the voting regardless) and no.
#32 ·
· · >>Not_A_Hat
>>billymorph
So I'll leave my name open then, and I assume there is a writing platform on this site? Thanks mate.
#33 · 5
· · >>HopeForTheFew >>Dubs_Rewatcher
>>HopeForTheFew
For writing on the site, we basically just have the text box under the 'Fic Submission' button. It works, but I find it easier to write in a separate program and copy/paste, personally.

For formatting, the site accepts BBcode. There's a style guide here, and if you're curious you can test formatting in one of these forum posts, too; basically whatever works here will work in a story.

You can edit a story after submission, up until the contest starts, although I don't remember how off the top of my head. So if you want to check how a story looks on the site, that's totally doable.

If you've got more questions, you can also drop into the Discord chat (link in the black bar up top) and ask around; it's usually more immediate than forum posts, and the people are mostly friendly.
#34 ·
·
>>Not_A_Hat
Fair enough mate, and thank you, I appreciate it.

Normally I'll just use a site's writing platform, but, for this case I believe I'll switch over to Google Docs, it should do the job with some proper editing.

Cheers!
#35 · 1
· · >>QuillScratch
>>QuillScratch You can just danube on out of here with that bromine.
#36 ·
· · >>Posh
>>Posh
Suddenly, Quill on fire!
#37 · 1
·
>>QuillScratch At least the fireprompts are gone.
#38 ·
·
I'll have to bow out yet another time.
My office mail server has crashed, I'm doomed to spend all my weekend setting up a new one :( Unless a miracle happens, no way for me to get enough time to write :/

Good luck folks!
#39 · 2
· · >>Not_A_Hat
>>Not_A_Hat
mostly friendly

mostly


Screw you Hat
#40 · 2
· · >>Posh
First attempt: "That Winters Feeling" (discarded)

I just spent several hours researching the death of Jonathan Winters in order to write a story in "New York Post Opinion Column" format where, ten years later, the funeral director's daughter reveals they cannibalized parts of Winters' body, and it made them act like him and laugh.

Then I wondered what the fuck was wrong with me and came to my senses. :V
Post by Trick_Question , deleted
#42 · 4
· · >>Trick_Question >>Chinchillax >>GroaningGreyAgony
I'm kind of regretting voting for this prompt. I figured it would be easy to come up with some sort of seasonally themed story, but now that I'm trying to nail down an actual idea and premise, I'm drawing a pretty hard blank. :(
#43 ·
· · >>The_Letter_J
>>horizon
Think about something you want to write that has nothing to do with the prompt, then modify it significantly to fit the prompt in some roundabout way.

I find the prompt is more useful as a modifier than an initial muse. It makes me do things with my story I would never have thought to do otherwise, which leads to creative stuff.
#44 · 2
·
The prompt’s “That Winter Feeling.”
Write of that winter feeling!
Evoke that winter feeling
With your prose,
prose,
prose…
Hurry up and go!
#45 · 1
· · >>Trick_Question
>>horizon
You could just write a story you wanted to write anyway, but set the time period during winter.
Post by Trick_Question , deleted
#47 · 3
· · >>Trick_Question
>>Trick_Question
then modify it significantly slightly to fit the prompt in some roundabout way.

FTFY.
#48 · 1
·
>>Trick_Question The only thing wrong with you is that you didn't pursue this concept to conclusion.

You must revisit it sometime.
#49 · 3
·
>>horizon
I’m drawing a pretty hard blank.


Blank… white… snow! See, you’re most of the way there.
#50 · 1
·
>>Dubs_Rewatcher Eat a snickers, Dubs, you're surly when you're tired. :V :V :V :B
#51 ·
·
>>Monokeras You know, when you run that latin phrase through Google Translate, you get:

The grace of his art, and in the writing, the art of the truth. Fortune, Empress of the world, beware of the dog and your neighbor. Goodbye!
#52 · 3
· · >>Chryssi
People seem to be struggling with inspiration, so here are a few interesting things I pulled together.

Images:

Hades and Persephone

Lamposts on Ice

Poems:

Woods in Winter - William Longfellow

Winter Evening - Georg Trakl

Winter Stars - Sara Teasdale

Mythology:

Snow Maiden - Russian

Jack Frost - Various

Fimbulwinter - Norse

I'd add a prose section, but then people would spend time reading it instead of writing. :P

Maybe this'll spark some thoughts for you guys. Or maybe it'll just distract you for a while...
#53 · 1
·
>>Not_A_Hat Knowing me, it’ll probably end up distracting me instead. :p
#54 · 2
·
Well things are looking up. Might be able to cobble some words finally! i even got an idea!
Post by Trick_Question , deleted
#56 · 2
· · >>TheCyanRecluse >>horizon
Inspiration? Check!
Time? Check!
Motivation? ....

Has anyone seen my motivation? I seem to have lost it.
#57 · 2
· · >>horizon
>>007Ben
Tell me if you find yours. Mine might be hanging out in the same place!
#58 · 3
· · >>TheCyanRecluse
>>TheCyanRecluse >>007Ben
It's awfully rude of all of our motivations to go to a party without inviting their plus-ones; i.e., us. :(

We'll show them. We'll sit here staring at our computer screens and not writing.
#59 ·
· · >>Bachiavellian >>Trick_Question
So, uh, lets say a story is set in the same universe with the same charachters with the same names, does that count as giving yourself away or do you just make it really easy for the guessers?
#60 ·
· · >>Trick_Question
>>enamis
There's actually a rule specifically against it.

Participants—
may not submit works explicitly connected to another work of theirs


Honestly, though, I've never seen any bans based on this rule. As long as it's not blatant, you should be okay, but I would still suggest changing the names and some in-universe details to make it conform with the "Original" requirement.
#61 ·
· · >>Monokeras
>>enamis
>>Bachiavellian

I think the only reason this rule exists is to preserve anonymity. I suspect it's a redundancy to remind writers not to be stupid. If nopony can tell that you're writing something connected to another work that ponies know is yours, then you should be fine.

You might want to ask Roger to be sure, however.
#62 · 2
·
Done! DONE! :P
#63 ·
·
>>Trick_Question
That rule was explicitely added in the wake of the minific round where someone (FishOnFire?) wrote a 2,100 word fiction (s)he submitted in three chunks (Also Aristophanes?).
#64 · 2
·
Inspiration has once again arrived fashionably late. Let's see if I can bang something together before the end of the day.
Post by Trick_Question , deleted
#66 · 1
·
I got drunk at a Christmas party and ended up seeing a midnight show of Rocky Horror then sitting at IHOP until 2 AM. So, we'll see how the hangover plays out into story time.

I knew I should have worked on it more yesterday.
#67 ·
·
>>horizon
Yeah! Screw those guys! They're jerks anyway!

Seriously though... I have about 5 hours or potential writing time left... And I haven't typed a WORD yet. I've got SEVEN basic ideas for potential stories... And absolutely ZERO motivation to actually churn any of them out.

Maybe I should just throw my ideas out here, for use by somebody else who has energy and motivation, but lacks an idea? Cause, sadly enough, I don't think I'm going to get an entry in this time. :/
#68 · 1
· · >>Ratlab >>TheCyanRecluse
Sorry, guys, but I haven't had a proper winter in over a decade (lived in a desert-y area), so I have no idea what to type. I'm going to have to sit this one out.
#69 ·
· · >>TheCyanRecluse >>Ratlab
>>Not_Worthy2

Then what does an improper winter feel like? Nothing says your winter has to be stereotypical.
#70 · 1
· · >>Ratlab
>>Not_Worthy2
>>Ratlab

Yeah. It doesn't have to be a LITERAL winter. Personally, I was going to go with a 'winter of the heart' sorta thing. Or a cold hearted person.
#71 · 2
·
>>Ratlab >>TheCyanRecluse

Or it could be an office party on a Star Destroyer where they have some roast Ewok to celebrate having disrupted a strange ritual on Kashyyyk.
#72 · 3
·
Inspiration? Check!
Motivation? Check!
Time? ... Ahhhh! It was just here a minute ago!
#73 · 1
·
Really wish I had come up with this idea twelve hours sooner; I'm not going to be able to do it justice as it is. Oh well. See you guys in the next one, I suppose. :P
#74 ·
·
Well, I think I'm bowing out. I knew this would be a tricky weekend with three play performances and a Christmas party, but... I got more of 'that winter feeling' than I wanted with a snow-storm as well, which added a few extra hours to our trip.
#75 · 2
·
I can safely say that I enjoyed that experience immensely.
#76 ·
·
Well, this is bad. I forget that this started three days earlier and now only have less than twelve hours to create something completely original and present it in an interesting way. I'm not entering this one. Darn.
#77 ·
·
I’m out. I can’t finish what I have in time without ruining it, or myself. Good luck to everyone else!
#78 · 3
· · >>Monokeras >>Haze >>horizon >>AndrewRogue >>Trick_Question
Starting a pool now. How many fics will we get:

- About the holidays?
- About children reuniting with parents whom they have become emotionally distant from?
- Thinly veiled Hearthswarming Eve retellings?
- About someone's first snow?
- About a family member who dies of cancer/AIDS/some other terminal illness around the holidays?

Add your own guesses!
#79 ·
·
>>Cold in Gardez
Do you think there'll be more than ten stories this round?
Looks like many people threw in the towel… :/
#80 · 5
·
"Okay, managed to bang a story out just in time to give this writeoff thing a shot, pretty sure everything is formatted correctly, should be no problems, let's go ahead and submit so I can get some sleep-"

Title*

...

*headdesk*
#81 · 2
·
>>Cold in Gardez
I'm gonna combine all of the above.

also includes Elsa and Anna
#82 · 4
·
Ergh. I no longer feel quite so bad about my own writer's block this weekend, seeing the attrition rate in the thread. Original Fiction is a challenge to begin with, and this prompt isn't doing us any favors.

The good news is that I've got about 105 minutes to go and I think I can wrap this up in another scene and a half. I should limp something in just under the wire.

... I am becoming increasingly more grateful as I age that I normally avoid caffeine, so that I can slug a can of soda when I desperately need to make that final 12-hour push.
#83 · 4
·
>>Cold in Gardez
I'm going to guess four stories which meet at least one of those descriptions.

Six if you count weird sci-fi or fantasy variations of the basic theme.

My gut says that seems low, but I have faith that Writeoff authors will go farther afield. (And also that submissions will be light.)
#84 · 2
·
*limps across the finish line*

It ain't pretty, but it's in.

>>Cold in Gardez

2.
#85 · 5
· · >>Monokeras
Alright, 25 whole minutes left to write a second story! :V
#86 · 1
·
>>horizon
Horizon you’re clearly the best!
Post by Trick_Question , deleted
#88 ·
· · >>Fahrenheit
Oh Fahrenheit is in? That's nice!
#89 · 1
· · >>Monokeras
>>Monokeras You're nice :)
#90 ·
·
Well dang, I wasn't able to scrape together a story for this round. Oh well, I'll still be sure to take a peek at what everybody else has made.
#91 · 5
·
Hi everybody!

So… I threw myself under the bus into the writeoff ring for the first time since summer 2015. You can blame/thank Horizon for that. Reviews will follow…
#92 · 1
·
>>Fahrenheit
You’re welcome :)
#93 ·
·
Georg’s first Round Micro Reviews for the new stories on my slate That Winter Feeling Scores are letter grades for Plot, Technical Work, and Characterization mushed together, with an E for stories I find particularly Enjoyable. Ranked by how I like them, not necessarily how perfect they are on the score. (and posted all at once, from top to bottom so they line up on the chat.) Also, posted on Thursday, because I can’t seem to do these any earlier.
#94 ·
· · >>The_Letter_J
Wow. Everyone is already hibernating? :P
#95 · 2
·
>>Monokeras
I came here to sleep and read My Immortal parodies, and I'm all out of My Immortal parodies.
#96 · 1
· · >>libertydude
Hey folks — we're coming up on the end of prelims (assuming that we have enough entries for a finalist round), and there's still stories with only two reviews. I can't fix that, because I've already read half of 'em. Anyone feel like stepping up and giving these authors some feedback?

5. Winter Weather Advisory
10. Cold
14. Belly of the Least
16. The Collision of Seasons

Yay, everyone's up to three!

There's also still a handful of stories with reviews from only three people:

5. Winter Weather Advisory
6. Like the Old World
14. Belly of the Least
16. The Collision of Seasons
2. The Job
8. Prologue to Winter
10. Cold
12. Competing Against Immortals

Think we can get everyone up to four reviews in the next day and a half?
#97 · 2
·
>>horizon
I decided to chip in for some of those, since they were on my ballot. Even though I didn't do a story, it's still nice to give some feedback to stories that may need it.
#98 · 2
· · >>horizon
Well whaddaya know, I'm not even in this Writeoff and I did a slate.

Not that I miss you guys or anything.

B-baka.
#99 · 2
· · >>CoffeeMinion
>>CoffeeMinion
Then you ought to reward yourself by doing some mash-ups, too!


Competing Against The Saxophonist - Turns out that Artificial Intelligences do better than humans at dating, too.

Prologue to Cold - When the old hunter touches his first snowflake and starts to scream in blind panic, the history teacher realizes that inviting him along on the class' Christmas field trip was a bad idea.

Guard the Least - This unit is prepared to use its missiles to defend the megafauna who calls himself the Ersatzwolf. He just wants to be a good dog.

Hiemjah - Chairman Barr just wanted Officer Oakwood to locate the mobsters who attacked the library. Turned out that there was someone on the force even more psychotic than Chairman Barr. (Too bad casters use energy bolts, not bullets.)

On the day before the Old World - The black dragon that runs the dairy farm keeps getting annoyed by his skeleton wife's desire to sell the place and leave, but finally gives in when she helps him discover The True Meaning Of Christmas.

Winter Weather PLZ NO FLAMES - During a winter camping trip, a man discovers that his girlfriend Sara and his parents are secretly gothic furry fans. They show him their Shadow fanfics. That's when he runs away screaming.

The Flame, The Fox, The Saxophonist, And The Collision Of Seasons - The good news is that Ruiha has recruited a bunch of guys to bring the adventuring party's size back up to five! The bad news is that two of them kill each other two minutes in, the other one spends all his time trying to hit on Ruiha, and Yseult still ends up having to do all the work.
#100 · 3
·
>>horizon
Yes sir, ma'am sir!

Belly of Everybody's Fool: Can Sahdow's goffik pet dog Make Zootopia Great Again through the power of randomly biting people? Will XXXbloodyrists666XXX ever get the mods to ban preps who keep comparing her editing skillz to hitting a story with a sack of drowning cats? IS THIS MAHSUP LONG ENOUGH YET ROGUER?! IS IT?

Prologue to the Winter Job, Chapter 47: Slippery Jimmy diGriz totally wants to steal the Dragon Cloak of Winnebago for his good (and fashionable) buddy Roy, but he ends up in the yurt of some old dude who lights a candle made of wacky tabbacky, and he ends up hallucinating about hot yaoi hedgehogs going at it...