Morning all, the quietest New Years Eve of all has passed, but glad to leave 2020 behind.
Enjoy, keep safe; and I will see you when you join me in 2021.
Now where is my whip, James ...
Kimmi, with one of my first stories here I was told "There is a reason virtually all best (and not so best) sellers are written in past, third person. It gives the most latitude to the writer and makes it much easier on the reader."
So I did for a little while, but right from my first competition story (I have only published competition stories and flash and micro in the last two years, which says a lot about my perfectionism and procrastination as I have around 200,000 words of uncompleted stories on my hard drive) two years ago, almost all of my stories have been first person as I find it easier to inhabit the main character. But as WW says the trade off is that it leaves me wondering if I am giving each version of Annie a distinct voice in each story.
But I do like to play around with language form and style; my Myths and Legends story (We Women will Ride) was me asking myself the question as to whether 2nd person was a style best suited to telling the reader what message they should take from a past act of heroism. Noone has said to me they didn't like it and the story finished 10th. I don't know if it would have done better in 1st person, but there again in 1st person it would have been a different story. I have only written one 3rd person (non-flash and micro) competition story - Ice and Icing - which has the highest score of any of my stories. But it didn't make the top 10, so, rightly or wrongly, I have not gone near 3rd person again, thinking 1st person is more successful for me.
As for tense, I love present tense but am sparing with it. The first time I changed tense in a story was Oxford Street where the ending is present tense, the past tense having set that ending. As the story was so successful I have been totally comfortable sometimes changing tense in my stories, my latest, The Temptation of Coffee, is mostly present tense but the opening section is past tense.
But for most of my stories the narrative arc is fantasy over a longer time period - bonking the devil and getting pregnant with the anti-christ in The End Begins, restarting the universe using time travel dildos in Starting Over, the steps to winning an Olympic equestrian medal in Yellow, blue etc., the ecosexual language in Zucchini with a two week gap between 'scenes' - and past tense seems like the only way I can get these to work inside the word limits. Because the latest competition is over 24 hours and I chose a more slice of life plot, I felt for the first time in a while that I could get present tense to work effectively. Lol, though had I realized what WW mentioned, that "only about 5 out of 21 podium places went to pieces in the present tense," I might have reconsidered. Who am I kidding, I still would have written it in the present just to see if I could do it successfully.
I know exactly what you mean when you say, "I would like to improve my writing." I am not trained beyond my final school year advanced English course, so I don't know the extent to which the magic formula is the one I was told at the beginning, namely, "There is a reason virtually all best (and not so best) sellers are written in past, third person." But part of the fun for me is experimenting; maybe I should be embarrassed by this but I even published a poem here which is written inside the constraints of a Shakespearian sonnet, (each line is 10 syllables long written in iambic pentameter. Three four-line stanzas plus a final rhyming two-line stanza that is a counterpoint.) God knows whether anyone noticed or indeed whether I got the iambic pentameter right, but I enjoyed the process.
I once read about a French novel La Disparition ("The Disappearance"), a 300-page lipogrammatic novel, written in 1969 by Georges Perec, entirely without the letter e. I am sorely tempted, lol, just think of the words I couldn't use.
It is Christmas Day, just a little after midnight.
I hope you all have a wonderful day with whoever you are allowed to congregate with.
I will take a beer before I head to bed. Knowing that I have to have a bit to do when I wake to get a meal on the table in 13 hours, well actually tables as we are eating outside which is the recommended way in these times, particularly for mum as she is recently immunocompromised.
Be good, and if you can't be good, be careful. The first Christmas round is on me.
Annie
All factually based of course, remember The End Begins, you know the one where, the Halloween before last, Annie has tentacle sex with the devil and gets pregnant with the Anti-Christ, a girl called Susej, well ..... no wonder I am having sleepless nights and it isnt the worry of setting the four horsemen (or women as it turned out) of the Apocalypse lose on the world. These 4 month old baby divinities give you no peace at all. And as for her first Christmas.
Which goes to show that most of my stuff is pure fiction, thought there will some details that are real. Only three of my stories are factually based, and one of those is only partly true. Now of course some characters are based on real people put in situations they have never been in. Eve in my story Starting Over is based on a friend of mine, but I can assure you that she and I haven't used a double headed dildo, let alone a time travel one and restarted the universe via a visit to the garden of Eden.
Annie
Congratulations, Omnium is a fabulous accomplishment. That plus your half million views and 3rd place do indeed round out a wonderful achievement in the oddest of years. I do love the Postulant's tale; it is so you, good story build, fabulous language choices and great sex.
Annie x
This was a total surprise to me, found it accidently and just loved it. Anya Taylor-Joy is gorgeous and the story and period detail just drew me in. Though in reality I am sure she would not have been as readily accepted.
Congratulations, you are an inspiration to all Annies.
A story, well yes you write like a dream. A picture, well yes again, I love your one boob page. An arse, well now we are talking; and you even know how to spell the word.
'Attention whore,' wear that badge with pride, you so are.
Signed: the other Annie, aka not the naughty one.
Lol, great post, I looked and clicked the count up by one
Two naked Annies in bed, we are so beyond curious and now getting naughty
Well done to all the authors who entered; as always, there were so many wonderful stories both within and outside the top ten. Congratulations to my fellow writers in the top ten, your stories were all fabulous, a tribute to our craft.
Special contrats to Susie Rach and the naughty Annie, great stories from three fabulous writers.
Thanks to Nicola and all those who organised and judged this competition. Loved being part of it.
SHAMPAIN, for me, 53-48 sounds amazing, got to drink to that 
The bar now has a touch of class, so I will avoid risqué pussy comments. 
and a road trip around the world's longest highway (Highway 1 appropriately) awaits. Just a gentle 14,500 km circumnavigating the continent. And that by the way should prove East is best, down under at least. 
