quote:"But the stories must be strong and realistic, with believable people (who needn't be human) doing believable things–no matter how fantastic the background might be." – Analog SF submission guidelines
Yes, my friends, the title of this challenge is a pun (I couldn't help myself).
The task is to write a story where the POV character is not a human being. Be it holy angel or hot alien, house pet or house plant--as long as the character is not Homo sapiens consider the challenge criterion met. That being said, the less humanoid your character, the better you may fare in the judging. Hopefully this will prove to be a delightful departure rather than a *brutal undertaking*.
Need a little challenge to get 2011 rolling? Check out the details here and enter by Jan 31, 2011
[This message has been edited by Ethereon (edited December 22, 2010).]
posted
Could this challenge also cover stories with no POV character? (I have one in mind that only implies characters, but is largely pure idea).
Posts: 789 | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
I'm interested, though I'll have to see how the next couple weeks go. This could help me finish one of the stories that I've neglected for months--or even better, this might spark new ideas.
Brendan, I hope Ethereon agrees the contest is for any POV that's not human. I'm curious about what you'll do.
posted
Idea as "main character"? Sounds interesting Brendan. Enter by all means.
If anyone else has a story with no POV character I think it would fit the challenge as long as it's not strictly about human charcters.
Posts: 291 | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
Thanks for the input izanobu. The idea behind the 2500 word limit was to encourage people to crank out something short and sweet to start the new year with a bang.
How do other interested parties feel about the present word limit? Barrier? Relief? Challenge?
posted
Thought I'd update this thread with discussion the challenges forum:
quote:Snapper: Just caught this challenge. A question or two...
Must the POV be consistently non-human? Can there be more than one POV? Can the plot be centered around the non-human part of the story with a perspective or two done from a person?
Is there a definition on 'human'? Such as the MC was human once and is now partially or totally something else?
A lot of time to think of something for this challenge....
quote:DRaney: I guess I could use a marker for what is considered 'human' as well, (snapper). Also, is this open to SF and Fantasy? I am definitely interested is joining this group.
@Snapper: If you can work more than one POV into the story and some of them are human, no problem. I haven't included a definition of what constitutes "human" vs "non-human" because that is very tricky to define! In fact, exploring that question is the meat of many existing and potential stories.
If your character was once a human and has since become a ghost, vampire, AI, or whatever else you can think of, I believe such a story would work for this challenge. However, I imagine the more substantial the differences (mental and emotional, not just physical) between our POV characters and humans, the more we might push ourselves by the exercise.
@PB&Jenny: Awesome. Glad to have you aboard!
@DRaney: Glad to hear you're interested in entering. There are no genre restrictions. Speculate it up!
posted
Happy New Year folks! Assemble your aliens. Gather your goblins. Muster your monsters if you must, and enter the Inhuman Challenge! Posts: 291 | Registered: Jun 2010
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I think I'm more interested in characters who retain their humanity in the face of whatever, rather than inhuman but likeable characters...
Posts: 8809 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Oops, I totally spaced out on that one. Of course spending the weekend at the coast with my wife probably had something to do with that.
Decided to change the location of one of my characters to Pismo Beach Cailf. Only thing is I need to decide one which MC. One is located in Boulder Col. Another one is here, where I live. There is the novel I have finished and am in the process of going over. I never said where it was located. But I don't know it may not feel right. Another Novel I'm working on has the same problem. No stated city but the MC is a guy and I don't think it would fit...maybe. But I need a place with a large stadium.
Of course I could start another new one.
Well enough rambling...I need to go check the challenge thread.
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