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In Over Your Head · FiM Minific ·
Organised by RogerDodger
Word limit 400–750
Show rules for this event
#1 · 21
· · >>PinoyPony
Yeah! I beat Roger!

Now that that gloating moment is over, time for the official motto:

Don't forget to please refrain from saying anything that might compromise your anonymity. Doing so is grounds for disqualification. It's recommended you do dummy reviews of your own stories should it otherwise be easy to deduce which you wrote.

Good luck to all!
#2 · 15
· · >>Everyday
Also, please make all your stories about butts. This is profoundly important.
#3 · 2
·
>>Morning Sun

Indeed.
#4 · 1
· · >>Monokeras >>The_Letter_J
Anyways... I'll make this message quick. It might compromise some anonymity... but...

I apologize in advance for not being myself the rest of this round. I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled, so I'll probably not be in the best place. My mood will be more on the callous and snarky side... I mean, if you got your teeth yanked, you'd probably be cranky too...

Regardless, it'll take more than wisdom teeth to make me sit this one out.
Good luck to Everyone! Let's get writing! :twilightsmile:

>>Monokeras
Yeah, I don't think he'll be too happy about that...
#5 · 3
·
>>PinoyPony
Yeah, I don't think he'll be too happy about that...

Well, traditions have to be shaken up from time to time.

I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled

Welcome to a less wise, crazier self.
#6 · 1
·
I might actually manage to enter this round! I really really might! I'm excited! *fingers crossed*
#7 · 2
·
Hopefully I shall be less unalive this round and actually participate more in the discussion. Last round ended up coinciding with Everfree Northwest, but hopefully I'll be back on the horse!

Er, pony.
#8 · 3
·
Well, I'm not graduating this weekend, so I should be able to join in. :P
#9 ·
·
Something, something, totes gonna join.
Something, something, real confident about this one.
Something, something... *falls over*
#10 · 8
·
The stars have aligned, and all possible distractions and catastrophes have been nipped in the bud. Even that really serious one about the world ending, or something.

So yeah, looking forward to my first ever writeoff event. Good luck everyone!
#11 · 2
·
Ow, my still-broken wrist. :raritydespair:

What the hell. Let the games begin! :derpytongue2:
#12 ·
·
Hotsauce.
#13 · 2
· · >>PinoyPony
>>PinoyPony
Are they going to give you painkillers that will make you all wonky and loopy? If so, you should definitely write a story while under their effects.
#14 · 6
· · >>Monokeras >>Dubs_Rewatcher >>Ceffyl_Dwr
I'm either participating in the Writeoff or having a baby this weekend. Let's find out which!!

(No... like, seriously.)

(I guess both are possible if LO aims for Sunday night!)
#15 · 4
·
Whoever submitted that prompt, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, I don't know whether to facehoof or applaud you
#16 ·
·
>>The_Letter_J
Yeseree, Indeed!

So, if you ever read a fic and ask yourself "What kind of psychopath wrote this? Looks like someone was on drugs when they wrote this..." --- It's probably me. :pinkiecrazy;

Know this day as a mark of a Discordant Pinoypony... no seriously, I think I switched to the complete opposite personality type. Anyways, Let this be a notch in time, a very interesting and rare notch in time.
#17 · 2
· · >>CoffeeMinion
>>CoffeeMinion
No kid'? :P
#18 · 3
· · >>CoffeeMinion
>>CoffeeMinion
CoffeeMinion finally gets a minion of his own to boss around, eh? Oh, how the tables have turned!

Congrats!
#19 · 5
· · >>Monokeras >>CoffeeMinion >>horizon >>CoffeeMinion
>>CoffeeMinion
Oh, hearty congratulations to you!! Got one ready to drop off the production line myself, over the next two weeks or so. :sleeplesstrixie:
#20 · 3
· · >>Ceffyl_Dwr
>>Ceffyl_Dwr
'grats.
Actually that’s pretty cool. And besides, I've not that nagging sensation to be alone any more.
A friend’s advice: have as much sleep as you can BEFORE, because it’s going to be tough after :) :)
#21 · 3
· · >>dunerat >>horizon
>>Monokeras Indeed. :-P

>>Dubs_Rewatcher This is actually not the first! Though I find that the attempts at bossing-around usually go more in the opposite direction...

>>Ceffyl_Dwr Thanks and congratulations to you also!
#22 · 2
· · >>horizon >>CoffeeMinion
>>CoffeeMinion
It is patently obvious that the write off is more important.
#23 · 9
· · >>CoffeeMinion >>Ceffyl_Dwr
For the first round in I-can't-remember-how-long, I actually have the weekend free and am not at a convention. This feels profoundly weird. I can actually submit something without setting my schedule on fire.

[img]http://pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw10525-1387643319165.gif[/img]

>>CoffeeMinion >>dunerat
Personally I'm rooting for an early Saturday birth so that Minion Jr. can start their life right, by becoming the Writeoffs' youngest-ever co-author.

(And congratulations, Minion and >>Ceffyl_Dwr!)
#24 · 4
·
>>dunerat
Mais bien sur! :-P

>>horizon
Thanks! Though trying to Writeoff with a little one in-hand might put me a little bit In Over My Head.

(ba-dum TSS!)
#25 · 2
·
>>Monokeras Hah, this one is mini-Dwr #2, so I'm now well versed at finding time to sleep at inappropriate moments, such as in the middle of a conversa—

>>horizon Thank you!! Good luck with your free weekend of writing!
#26 · 3
·
Great. My first thought is my thalassophobia. Thanks guys.
#27 · 6
·
That moment when the prompt fits the fic you've been planning for the past two months.
#28 · 6
· · >>Monokeras
So I writeoffed.

Wish me luck, y'all.
#29 · 1
·
>>Syeekoh
Luck.
#30 · 2
·
At last, I have returned! Let us see if I haven't improved, or at least not gotten worse.
#31 · 3
·
Smashed out a minific on my phone while everyone was drinking and going to bed. Now I'm the last person standing because I knew if I didn't complete it in one sitting I wouldn't get another chance!

Anyway, all submitted now. Once again, I'm just pleased to participate because I really didn't think I'd have time this round. Yay.

Good luck to all!
#32 · 2
·
I did it! I finally did it. I submitted something.

Oh god...I submitted something...
#33 · 1
·
ARRRGHHHHHH!

I thought I was done... But somehow, in my editing, I cut out 100 word section in the middle...

And then reused those words on the end... O.o

GAH!
#34 · 3
·
remember when I said I better quit the minific rounds?

well it gets me writing, so I guess I never kept that promise.
#35 · 1
·
Blegh. Managed to whip something up before I hit the sack, although I had nowhere near as much time as I liked. Turns out attending a brother's swim meet really kills productivity in the afternoon. Well, good luck to everyone who got an entry in.
#36 · 2
·
Hmmmmmmm.... Done and submitted.. .But now that I look at it, it occurs to me to ask if it's 'pony' enough.

I could have put in a few bits with more ponyish stuff, but I cut them to squeeze in a drop more plot stuff... But perhaps I should swap them back? :/

Crud. It's too late to be fiddling around with this. I guess I'll just have to leave it and hope for the best.
#37 · 2
· · >>Everyday >>TitaniumDragon
Well, I have 3 ideas. All work. And I can't quite seem to figure out the first words on any of them.
#38 ·
·
Come on, story #1. Curse your bones; stop being an idea and get bloody written.

COMMENCE THRASH METAL BOMBARDMENT!
#39 · 3
·
Done. It's probably terrible, compared to all you guys' submissions, but done.
#40 ·
·
Like quite a few, I didn't think I'd have time as well. Helped throw a surprise birthday party today. The thing went off without a hitch, it was pretty awesome.

I didn't think I was gonna be joining this time until I ended up talking to my editor/buddy IJR and together in 90-100 minutes we managed to write out an entry. I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised at myself for this one.

It's submitted and done, and good luck to everyone else.

Keep writing!
#41 · 7
·
>>Morning Sun

Sounds like you may be...
In Over Your Head.
#42 · 2
·
First write-off entry in a long time; let's see how people react to me.
#43 · 3
·
Welp... I submitted my fic
And it's absolute crap.

Meh, I guess that's what you get for Ibuprofen running through your veins like hemoglobin. It'll probably be spotted quickly and eliminated. At least I can say I tried.
#44 · 3
·
Bah. It's submitted. I fear for its response, though it felt good to write a speedfic again.
#45 · 4
· · >>TitaniumDragon
Blargh. Wanted to put something in for this one, but a combination of work, other obligations, and a general lack of inspiration is not leaving me in a good spot. I have a few hundred words down, but it's becoming really clear that this idea needs another couple of thousand to really work. Oh well. Good luck to any other late-night writers out there!
#46 ·
·
>>Bachiavellian
I've got one idea. :| I'm going to see if I can't brainstorm more. Got one thingy sort of headed there though.
#47 ·
·
I wrote some stuff this time around. Set it on fire or something before it spreads.
#48 ·
·
Do we just do one of the prompts we voted on?
#49 · 3
·
I started mine when there were 7 hours left and just submitted. Lol.
#50 · 1
· · >>horizon
I've got one story done. It's over 100 words too long. Gotta find a way to cut down.
#51 ·
·
Hacking and slashing yields success! ...I think. I feel bad doing it.

IDK. Perhaps I've got one more.
#52 · 3
·
Woo! Not sure if I've got any more in me, but I'm definitely in this round.
#53 · 3
·
>>Morning Sun
To be fair, there's nothing that says you have to start writing from the first words...
#54 · 1
·
And #2 finished!

I'll claim the last-place spot now, thank you very much. (not throwing the contest or anything. Just joshing around) Best of luck to all of you, to all of us!
#55 · 4
· · >>TitaniumDragon >>horizon
>>Not_Worthy2
over 100 words too long

Pfft, amateur. I'm currently cutting one of this round's entries down from 1250. (And in the past we've had some crazy authors end up with a short-story-length work they've tried to trim from 2000 to 750.)

At least the uncut version will be publishable as-is on FIMFic. :-p
#56 · 3
·
>>horizon
The Tenth Anniversary of the Death of Jonagold Apple was like that for me; I just cut the entire first scene for the writeoff, though IIRC I still had to lop off some bits.

I'm actually doing pretty well this writeoff though in terms of managing length; I think that stories generally turn out better if they're not being severely cut down and are instead something that fits naturally in 750 words.

Though of course, sometimes you can just write something more efficiently. I know there was one writeoff entry I think I wrote three times, and only the third one was short enough to fit the word limit.
#57 · 1
·
Okay my two customary entries are in.

Now, let's see how much people will hate them both.
#58 · 3
·
I've only put in one entry, and I'm not sure if I made the right decisions with the available real estate. Still, we'll see what happens.
#59 · 3
·
Goodnight folks! Hope everyone manages to squeak their entries in.
#60 · 2
·
That was a surprisingly tough prompt to generate ideas for. Still, managed to sneak a single entry in. Good luck with the rest of you last minute-ers!
#61 · 1
·
Right, all wrapped up for me. Didn't have many ideas for this one, but at least I got a couple solid entries in. Best of luck for those doing last minute edits :D
#62 · 2
·
Talk about your last-minute entries!

Er, wait. Don't talk about them because that's against the rules. But I had one of those this time. :V
#63 · 4
·
Ooooooh. I know I've been gone for a bit, and therefor am probably really late here, but I love this new commenting system with the stories and all that. Well done, guys.

Now we just need to be able to preview them so anal nutbars like myself can go over every word five times before posting.
#64 ·
· · >>Trick_Question
I wonder who all submitted for this round.
#65 ·
·
>>Socks
You can find out by looking at the drop-down under Author Guessing.
#66 ·
· · >>Trick_Question
Stories at the top of the gallery seen to be getting far more reviews than those at the bottom.
#67 · 2
·
>>Cold in Gardez
That's in part because I started with 1 and am progressing sequentially. :V

I can only do that b/c I know I'll get through all of them this time.
#68 · 3
·
Missed this one. Had a couple of ideas too the second the prompt was read. Hm. Should I continue with reviews?
#69 · 2
·
Way to go, everyone, for collectively giving every story at least one review by t+30h. ^.^ Special props to FanOfMostEverything, Trick Question, and Haze for (by my quick eyeball count) their contribution as most prolific reviewers thus far.

I'll do a few more while I'm at work, but in the meantime, have some 1990s alt-rock that this prompt has gotten lodged firmly into my brain:

Nova Mob, "Over My Head"
#70 · 1
·
...and that's all of them!

Now I just have to rank every single one of them. :facehoof:

Once again, I don't think I'll be participating in author guessing now that who voted for which authors is open information. I'm concerned guessing somepony-or-other might be taken as an insult, and I really don't want that to happen. Maybe I'll change my mind, I dunno.

I have two stories in this time and I have no idea whether they'll make the cut or not. I'd be a little surprised if the slightly-more-well-reviewed one didn't make the cut, but that would be the only surprise. Tiny little things accidentally left in or left out of a story can become major flaws in review, and competition is always tough.
#71 ·
· · >>Monokeras >>CoffeeMinion
Real quick, if anyone finds this comment amidst the mess...

When it is appropriate to abstain your vote?
For instance, say (hypothetically) that you do not want to vote for a fic because you feel your bias would make it unfair for the author and the reviewers, therefore, is it justified to sit it out for sake of keeping things fair?

Or am I acting like a complete idiot and don't know the first things about abstaining?
#72 · 1
·
>>PinoyPony
I don’t think there’s an official rationale behind abstention. You can abstain for whatever reason you like, you don’t have to come out with a justification. Some people abstain because, for example, they think a fic is good but for whatever reason they're not in the audience for it, so rather than dock it, they just shirk.
#73 ·
·
>>PinoyPony
I'd say the criteria you mention sound reasonable.

Every so often I use it for stories that are hard turn-offs for reasons that have nothing to do with technical merit or thematic consistency.
#74 · 5
·
I finished reading and voting on every fic!

review for each entry I haven't commented on yet: "it was okay"
#75 · 2
·
I've rated all of the stories. It was hard.

My top tier, in order:

Too Close for Comfort
Threads
Under the Bed
The Lighthouse and the Sea

Secondary shipping-related tier, just below:

I'm Sure You Have Some Questions
Rainbow Dash And Her Secret Place (sic)
Her Royal Coffee With Sugar
#76 · 4
· · >>Ceffyl_Dwr
As of this post, here's the stories that don't have five reviews yet:

11 Winter's Crown (txt, epub) 3 3 671


3 The Friendship Express (txt, epub) 4 4 747
5 The Pony Lord (txt, epub) 4 4 747
9 Head Over Your In (txt, epub) 4 4 750
33 Mt. Maud (txt, epub) 4 4 515
41 Temporis Viator (txt, epub) 4 8 679
47 Shooting for the Moon (txt, epub) 4 4 717
58 A Year In Review (txt, epub) 4 4 597


Does anyone who's read those want to chip in, so all of our authors can get a bigger variety of feedback before prelims end?
#77 · 1
·
>>horizon
Think I've given feedback on all of those, with the exception of Winter's Crown. I'll head over there now.
#78 · 2
· · >>Ceffyl_Dwr
Irony: when you're certain the fic you wrote that you enjoy more is the one that won't make the cut.

Priceless: having received feedback that will rectify said fic and turn it into a great story.
#79 · 1
·
>>Trick_Question
My eggs are in a single basket. Have no idea whether said basket will keep them intact... But the advice on how to make it stronger and more secure has been welcome.

Be interesting to see how this finals lark works, though. I'm quite excited.
#80 · 3
·
With fewer than twenty-four hours to go, it seems prudent to point out the least reviewed stories. As of posting this comment, the following stories each have only four comments:

33. Mt. Maud

47. Shooting for the Moon

58. A Year in Review


There are another fifteen stories with five comments each.
#81 · 7
· · >>Haze >>FanOfMostEverything
Hey, you know something we haven't done in a while?

WRITEOFF MASH-UPS
In Over Your Head edition

Might as well get us started ...


Soggy Interrogation, 3:57 AM: After Shining Armor misses their reading date for the second time in a row, Twilight resorts to waterboarding.

Temporis Aviary: Starlight finds Twilight in her basement, working on an ultrasound amplifier to drive Ponyville's plague of pigeons away. Twilight's a little too proud of having amplified output to 100% of input.

Just A Simple Skirmish: After a close call with Twilight almost finding her secret stash, Celestia hires humans to guard it. Twilight never had a chance.

Everypony Battles Existential Sad At Sunrise: Starlight Glimmer is sad. She can't live up to Twilight Sparkle's friendship standards. Well, she couldn't, anyway, until she realized that no Twilight means no crisis of doubt. Problem solved!

Testing the Threads: Twilight casts a spell to reveal everyone's feelings toward each other, only to discover that Rainbow Dash has no idea how to feel about anyone she knows, and has been faking friendship all this time by being awesome at ponies.
#82 ·
·
Georg’s first Round Micro Reviews for In Over Your Head: Scores are letter grades for Plot, Technical Work, and Characterization mushed together, with an E for stories I find particularly Enjoyable. I have them 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.) It’s the last minute, so I better get started, and grade harder than I normally do.
#83 · 1
·
>>horizon
I would read all of these.

someone, write and submit them to fimfic. parody now, ask permission later. the original authors can't yell at you for at least 6 hours because of anonymity.
#84 · 5
· · >>The_Letter_J
>>horizon

Threads Over Your In: Twilight should really just stop casting spells for a while.

I'm Sure You Have Some Astronomy Questions: Twilight finds the perfect way to answer Spike's question through her friends' antics. Spike regrets everything.

Applejack Tries to Use Clockwork: ...and discovers that the Fonzie Method doesn't work well on delicate crystalline structures.

The New Errata of Sweet Apple Acres: The Apple siblings try to move on with their lives after their grandmother sacrifices herself to kill Tirek.

I Don't Do Her Royal Coffee With a Thany-Mendored Spling: We've replaced Twilight Sparkle's usual barista/coltfriend with Discord chaos crystals. Let's see if she notices the difference.
#85 · 6
·
>>FanOfMostEverything
I'm Sure You Have Some Astronomy Questions: Twilight finds the perfect way to answer Spike's question through her friends' antics. Spike regrets everything.


He shouldn't have asked her to explain the three-body problem.
#86 · 3
· · >>Trick_Question >>Trick_Question
This is curious. I've read three stories from my finalist set so far, and each one of them was vastly better than anything I read in my original set. It's making me think I just got a weak group on the first go.
#87 ·
·
>>PaulAsaran
It happens. :twilightsmile:

Reviewing every entry is a bitch but that's the big upside: you don't miss the best stories. Sometimes if I can't do the entire lot I'll try to do all the finalists at least.
#88 ·
·
>>PaulAsaran
Also there's no way in hell that got next-to-last place. The quality of the writing was excellent, it just felt (to me) like the story was a little flat.
#89 · 10
· · >>Mordred >>CoffeeMinion >>PinoyPony
Achievement unlocked: Finalist. (Reach the finals one time.)

I know words on the Internet don't always transfer emotion correctly, but I'm super excited to have gotten this far! Honestly didn't see this coming based on the reviews I got.
#90 · 9
· · >>CoffeeMinion >>PinoyPony
>>007Ben As a fellow first time finalist, I concur. Good luck to all.
#91 · 5
· · >>PinoyPony
>>007Ben
>>Mordred
Congrats to you guys and others!

This is only my (some small number)th time making it. I'm shocked that it happened, and I'll probably end up at the bottom of the finalist pile, but it's gonna be a wild ride while it lasts. :-p

Still no baby, though. I better plow through my finalist reviews while I can...
#92 · 4
·
Let's start a spam! =P
Heh, Just kidding around...

>>007Ben
>>Mordred
Congrats to you two!
Same thing happened to me! Woo! First time in the finals!
May I gloat with you guys? Please?

I'm thrilled to be in the finals, I can say I have made it!
However, In all honesty, I feel a little out of place in the finals.
I've intruded on the prestigious space of professional writers, when clearly, I am an amateur masquerading as a professional.
...Can't really complain about making it into the final rounds... many writers would give anything to trade me places.

>>CoffeeMinion
Hey, don't say that about your own story.
Heck, I'd even say you would get at least a decent score.
Even if life is a bit hectic, it's usually in that time of trial that the writer pulls out their best stories when they don't mean it...

All in all, Congrats to all who made it to finals! Good Luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
#93 · 5
·
Congratulations to everypony who made it into the finals. I'm super chuffed to be joining you at the first time of asking. I appreciate, and am thankful for, all of the feedback so far; regardless of where I ultimately end up in the listings, I've gained some valuable insight in how to improve my work.

Good luck! Particularly to those of us waiting for positive baby-news too. Tick tock...
#94 ·
·
WOW did a lot of my prelim slate drop off in the finals. Oh well; some interesting-sounding stories were added...
#95 · 6
·
With less than a day left in the voting, it's time for another low-review PSA.

The following finalists each have the fewest comments at six each:

38. Clockwork
40. Once, I Had Wings
47. Shooting for the Moon
49. Astronomy
63. Field Trip


Furthermore, A Look Into the Soul (#14) and I'm Sure You Have Some Questions (#55) have seven comments each, and while Errata (#54) has eight, one has been deleted and two others are by the same person.
#96 · 1
·
Georg’s second Round Micro Reviews for the new stories on my slate In Over Your Head: 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.) It’s the last minute (again), so I need to get reading. (Darned real world)
#97 · 6
· · >>Ceffyl_Dwr
Hey >>Ceffyl_Dwr, just had mine today. :pinkiehappy:

Best wishes for you and yours!
#98 ·
· · >>Dubs_Rewatcher
Welp, time to hay the hit...

One last thing, if anybody is up this late...
I had my first go at guessing, would it be bad if some were wild on just on a hunch? Some of my guesses are based on author preferences, introvert/extrovert analysis, and a variety of other factors (if that makes anyone feel better, yes, lots of these are just speculations).

What I am asking really is that "Is it against the rules/deviant to take wild guesses because it counts as spam?"
Lemme know, so I don't do anything stupid in the future. :twilightsmile:
#99 · 1
·
>>CoffeeMinion
Woo! Hearty congratulations to you and your family. Chuffed for you.

And thanks. Still waiting, but I don't think it'll be very long now.
#100 · 1
·
>>PinoyPony
The first round we had guessing, I put Cold in Gardez down as writing every fic. I think you're fine. ;)