[CONTEST OVER] JNC Original Light Novel Contest
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“Why do you call the character a villainess. She’s a villain, just call her a villain.”
“It’s a light novel, that’s just what th—“
“You aren’t Japanese or Korean. There isn’t a need for gender to be attached to those things. It’s like calling people actresses… blah, blah, blah!”Snarky teenagers are the absolute worst!
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@Rav-H-54sjuyv I can't say how they'll be judging, but I can offer reassurance that no writing, no matter how famous or how many eyes check it beforehand, will be free of errors. If they disqualified every story for a missing comma, they'd have no entries whatsoever. :)
I've discovered worse errors than misplaced commas in both of my submissions since submitting them. Nothing quite like hitting send and then casually flipping to a random page to spot a particularly egregious mistake.
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@cathfach, I would agree - it's a story competition, not a grammar competition. Still, it might be good to get confirmation from @admin.
Anyway, after some emergency plot hole fixing last night, my story is at third draft now, so I'm going to (at least try to) take the weekend off and come back to it on Monday with fresh eyes.
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@jazzyjeoff - I just found this thread in looking for the answer to that exact question. I'm going to put two books in and see what happens. I've had short stories published before so novels were a whole new ball game.
Great thread everyone and good luck. It looks like there is plenty of great new content ready to be published.
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Do we receive an email notification after succefully submitting the novel? I now fear I might have input my email wrongly.
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@GhostMechanic Nope, there's no email notification, only paranoia :P
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@Hylebos Thank you. I also later checked the Submission form page again and the option to autofill showed my correct email. So everything should be right.
But I really wished they had set up and automatic email to let us know everything was right. -
@GhostMechanic said in [SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!] JNC Original Light Novel Contest:
@Hylebos Thank you. I also later checked the Submission form page again and the option to autofill showed my correct email. So everything should be right.
But I really wished they had set up and automatic email to let us know everything was right.That sentiment has been expressed every time I've seen this come up so I think they're well aware for the next time they run one of these things.
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Well I was unable to finish my story on time. Partially due to life reasons, partially due to distractions, and also because I kept on getting sidetracked for ideas for other stories that I would keep on switching what I was working on. I have started on my 4th story concept and my goal for 2024 is to finish writing at least one of them.
Good luck to everyone who submitted and who will be submitting!
I really look forward to reading the stories that people have written! 😊
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@Rav-H-54sjuyv so far I have encountered a large number of typos and grammatical issues with every entry I've read. I'm trying my best to ignore them.
It does seem like the more there are the worse the entry is in other aspects though. But it's not a super clear correlation, one of the more error free stories so far also has by far the worst plot.
Either way typos and grammar issues are only a problem if they get in the way of our enjoyment of the work. Consistent grammar issues also overlap with general "writing ability" though so it's a fuzzy line.
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@admin said in [SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!] JNC Original Light Novel Contest:
...one of the more error free stories so far also has by far the worst plot.
I spent ten minutes earlier today arguing with one of my test readers about the position of a comma, so I'm glad I've not yet submitted my work otherwise I'd be afraid that was mine you were talking about!
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@admin Okay thanks for the clarification and yeah I guess that it is a fuzzy line. I was also wondering are there submissions where maybe theres a couple plot issues but if they don't break the story completely the submission will still be considered for winning? I really love the mediums of anime, manga, and light novels and would love to make it into my career one day, even if it is not common for someone from where I live. I wish I could've done better in this competition and I've been working for over six months but I definitely have run out of time. I really just wish that my submission could make it past the first round so that I could get some advice for my writing technique which is why I'm wondering that.
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@admin said in [SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!] JNC Original Light Novel Contest:
one of the more error free stories so far also has by far the worst plot.
My absolute worse fear right now, haha. As Angelus said, thank god I haven't submitted yet, lol.
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I'm actually kind of amazed that so many people have such high word counts. I was struggling to write before but January has been kind to me and I'm at 25k so far and should make the 35k minimum in time.
But with some people having word counts close to 100k (or over before editing) I'm starting to doubt if my story is really as well thought out as I initially believed (in terms of being a complete story, I mean). 35k really isn't a lot in the long run (I read somewhere it's around 70 pages), so if I have to add some padding somewhere to reach the minimum I start wondering if it was really a full-story at all.
Well, I have hope that it will at least be interesting enough for the judges. I'm not arrogant enough to think I'll win (though it would be nice!) but I do hope to make it to the stage where samples are posted for audience feedback.
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@QuixoticHorizon said in [SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!] JNC Original Light Novel Contest:
But with some people having word counts close to 100k (or over before editing) I'm starting to doubt if my story is really as well thought out as I initially believed (in terms of being a complete story, I mean). 35k really isn't a lot in the long run (I read somewhere it's around 70 pages), so if I have to add some padding somewhere to reach the minimum I start wondering if it was really a full-story at all.
I dunno, this is my first time writing longform fiction and I've decided that shit's weird.
I try to size my chapters around 2,300 minimum to 5,000 words maximum, I'm currently working on my second to last chapter (not chronological, I skipped some chapters in the third quartile of the book to make sure that my climax was written well before the deadline) and I was deeply concerned for the longest time about being able to add enough content to make it a satisfyingly sized chapter. I was going to stuff all sorts of anecdotes and other little things to pad it out, but now that I've written it out I'm at 2596 words and probably only two thirds of the way done so far.
I've come to realize that I'm terrible at estimating these things, and sometimes stuff that seems like they should be over real quickly just write themselves and suddenly you have to end up splitting your chapter into two.
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@QuixoticHorizon said in [SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!] JNC Original Light Novel Contest:
I'm actually kind of amazed that so many people have such high word counts. I was struggling to write before but January has been kind to me and I'm at 25k so far and should make the 35k minimum in time.
But with some people having word counts close to 100k (or over before editing) I'm starting to doubt if my story is really as well thought out as I initially believed (in terms of being a complete story, I mean). 35k really isn't a lot in the long run (I read somewhere it's around 70 pages), so if I have to add some padding somewhere to reach the minimum I start wondering if it was really a full-story at all.
Well, I have hope that it will at least be interesting enough for the judges. I'm not arrogant enough to think I'll win (though it would be nice!) but I do hope to make it to the stage where samples are posted for audience feedback.
Well, “Animal Farm” didn’t break 30K words—so if you are really about word counts, relax—you’ve already beaten George Orwell—how hard could the rest of us be?
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@jazzyjeoff That's very true. I'm sure I just need more self-confidence in myself and trust in how I write.
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@QuixoticHorizon Hi there. I wouldn’t worry about word count. Stories take as many or as few words as they need.
So long as you are engaging and easy to read, that is the important thing.
One of mine came in 82,500 words because I wanted to ensure I met the complete story component. I actually know exactly where I would break it into two parts if that is easier to publish (and what I’d call the second half rather than the more boring part 2) :)
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@admin For those whose stories are chosen to be published, will we be allowed to make any changes before then? If mine is chosen, I would like the opportunity to write an afterword and a short story for premium bonus content if possible.
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To my surprise, I've actually managed to fix up and polish one of my manuscripts to a point where don't feel outright ashamed of its quality. As long as I haven't accidentally messed up anything on my final editing pass, everything is ready for submission.
Except for one thing. I can't think of a good pen name. 😰
Do I just use 'WaterDweller'? Somehow that doesn't really feel fitting for an author of a work that combines fantasy, adventure, romance and yuri. But then, a pen name wouldn't really come into play unless I make it past the initial stages, so whatever I choose might be all moot anyway...
Edit: I managed to submit it. Now, to resist the temptation to go back and read through the final manuscript, since I'd no doubt immediately start spotting tonnes of glaring errors and plot holes that weren't previously visible to me. 😅
