[CONTEST OVER] JNC Original Light Novel Contest
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@Zepfur My own word processor doesn't count hyphens as blank spaces for the purpose of counting words, and neither does google docs, so both "L-Like so" and "blue-eyed prince" are counted as two words.
After my earlier question in October I ended up writing my own word counting script (based off the regex Parity found with some modifications so that emdashes are not treated the same as hyphens) so I could have control over what does and what doesn't get counted as words (it's really nice to be able to ignore bulleted lines so I can just drop notes wherever I want without worrying about cross-contamination).
I do count chapter titles as part of that word count, including the "chapter" and its number as separate words, but I feel as though if the chapter titles are enough to put you over 100k then you're probably cutting it too close as it is.
Think of the spirit of what the word count is supposed to do. It's a forcing function to make authors think about how long their submission is before they submit so they don't accidentally disqualify themselves, and it's something the contest judges can use to evenly distribute work and estimate how much they have left to process. My own manuscript is 88,048 words long at the moment, 142 words of that come from chapter titles, and I have 324 hyphens in my manuscript, so that's not even enough to have a major impact on how the judges would handle my work. As long as you aren't-doing-something-super-obscene-with-the-hyphens-that-will-probably-cause-the-judges-to-frown then I think you're just fine as long as it's mostly accurate to the thousands column.
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I am finally there. Well, almost finally. I got my last lot of feedback from my two readers a few days back and have been making some changes based on those, so with that and a few more changes I needed in order to avoid a small retcon now I've planned the second volume a bit more, about 1,500 words got revised or rewritten. I won't hear what my readers think of my changes until Monday morning, but unless I get some very negative comments, I'm not planning on making more big changes. I can always revert to the previous version if they really, really don't like the revisions.
@Hylebos seeing I have my own custom ePub reformatter, I put my word counting in there because then I get separate totals for front/body/back matter and footnotes/endnotes. But really, if anyone is that worried about going over some arbitrary word count limit, the paranoid in me would advise them to cut a hundred words or so just in case. I'm only at around 70k anyway so I don't have to worry about it.
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@Hylebos Thanks! That's a relief to hear! Though I should mention I don't have chapter titles, ftr, just numbers, I was more referring to the title (and potentially subtitle) of the book itself when I said I haven't been counting titles. Sorry, I should have been clearer.
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@hirei is there any contest like this in the future? I'm late. 😅
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Right, so the synopsis - I'm really glad I was able to start it today and not tomorrow!
I understand all the Freytag’s Pyramid stuff so I can easily write a 500 word synopsis, but important parts of it just wouldn't make any sense as the synopsis reader would lack the necessary background information. I can include that, of course, but it pushes the word count way beyond what it should be for a synopsis. On the other hand, I can't keep on saying "because reasons" all over the place, so any suggestions?
After reading something captivating, book lovers simply need to talk about it with someone.
—Tearmoon Empire -
@Angelus I cut a ton of context out of my synopsis, I figure they'll gain it back as soon as I read they read the prologue but I had to boil the setting down to its essentials to get it to flow, too hard to carry it otherwise.
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@Angelus a synopsis is like an elevator pitch; if you only have a minute or two to describe your story to someone, what would you say to them
They don’t need all the context, just the bare bones will do, maybe with a little flourish that clues them into the tone of the story
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@Angelus It was mentioned earlier in the topic that we can write the synopsis in whatever way we think will appeal to the judges most. I didn't want to put major spoilers in mine and ruin the story, so I wrote it more like an Amazon blurb instead of a true synopsis.
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@Hylebos, I simply deleted the things that didn't seem to make sense! OK, some significant points have gone now, but at least what's left introduces the overarching plot and the main characters and it reads well. It's still at 850 words, but I'm confident I can get it down to around 600 words tomorrow.
@Lily-Garden, @Alfaerin, a blurb is a blurb, a pitch is a pitch and a synopsis is a synopsis, they are all very different things which is why they have different names :) I've found it frustrating right from the start how vague the competition rules are, and this is no exception.
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@Angelus said in [SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!] JNC Original Light Novel Contest:
@Lily-Garden, @Alfaerin, a blurb is a blurb, a pitch is a pitch and a synopsis is a synopsis, they are all very different things which is why they have different names :) I've found it frustrating right from the start how vague the competition rules are, and this is no exception.
They may differ in length, style, and purpose, but all three words involve condensing a written work down to its key points. You may find the amount of flexibility frustrating, but it's in J-Novel's best interests to give writers as much creative freedom as they reasonably can.
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@Angelus I know what you mean. I cut my detailed synopsis back for both books back to around the 500-600 word mark.
They wound up being a hybrid of blurb, pitch and detailed synopsis. Effectively setting up the premise, introducing the characters and giving a overview of the plot (there’s a mystery, someone is kidnapped, our heroes have a kind of school reunion and it all culminates in them being locked in a room with a bomb).
It was more thematic than linear but important thing (in my mind anyway) was to show I had a defined ending. Our heroes survive (spoiler) and the villains are caught and brought to justice. Well, except one who escapes because, well, potential sequel.
Fingers crossed this is what they wanted. I almost went with a blurb style but that would have left too much unanswered about whether there was a completed plot or not.
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I'm too lazy to scroll upwards but if i may ask, is there going to be a similar contest someday in the future? (Also me coping if they will be extending the deadline)
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@atashisamasora If this contest is reasonably successful then it's likely, is what they've said before.
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@atashisamasora Definitely not extending deadline unless the website explodes in the final day.
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Just wondering, but is there a confirmation via mail if the work is submitted?
If yes, I did not receive one.(and I swear, writing a synopsis was the worst part for me)
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@Ade There's no confirmation via e-mail, just the confirmation after you submit the work. Plenty of people have asked about this, so if and when another contest is held I imagine JNC will add one.
On another note, is anyone else writing short stories to accompany their light novels? I have two planned and started writing one, but boy did it turn out much heavier than I originally intended.
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@Alfaerin I have a short story planned, but don't intend to start writing it until there's at least some sign that my submission even stands a chance. 😅
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@admin said in [SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!] JNC Original Light Novel Contest:
@atashisamasora Definitely not extending deadline unless the website explodes in the final day.
I had planned on submitting last Thursday but ended up spending the past four days rereading it over and over and over. But after reading your “unless the website explodes” thing had me sufficiently panicked that I sent the damn thing off just now!
Cheers!
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@Alfaerin, I already have 3 other volumes planned for my novel, but I've also been thinking about a 5th volume that could be a short story collection with a common thread running through them.
@jazzyjeoff, for you own sanity, if you haven't already stopped rereading your story, stop right now otherwise you may regret it if you find something you wished you'd done differently :)
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It’s funny, I quit this a little while when I decided that there was absolutely no way I could hit the original 50K word minimum—but then they dropped it to 35K and I went back to work. My final word-count broke 47K!
But stopping and restarting was for the best, it helped me sharpen my focus and my story has a much better ending as a result.
