It's week twenty-six already! And that's extra special because it means we've been doing this for half a year already!

Your challenge this week is to write a minimum 500 word short story around the theme of loyalty.

Remember, in order to receive points for completing the weekly challenge, you MUST declare it by Monday at midnight.

As always...



If this is your first time on one of these quests, you'll need to see the initiation pamphlet.

Also, I would like to remind everyone that any weekly challenge pieces that are posted on the forum will be eligible to be featured in our newsletter. Please post a link in this thread if you would like it to be considered.

If you could write your sign-up post in a similar format to the following, it would be appreciated:
Goal: weekly challenge (or whatever you decide to do)
Timezone: PDT

Go!!!! *shoots off fireworks*

Dragon slayers for the week of September twenty-third through thirty:

Raven of the Wood: chapter section of TKB (PDT) COMPLETE
Azlyn: Finish Tavion's fractal (MDT)
Lycanis: Get 500 words on current shortstory and do some setting development for Repetition. Get to the end of the current shortstory.(PDT) COMPLETE
Aubrey: (CDT)
 Weekly challenge COMPLETE
 Personal challenge:writing up a rough outline for the Red Rain sequel COMPLETE
Aratrea: Finish Backstory about Rainor and the Huntress (EDT) COMPLETE
Astronomer: Finish editing 'The Big Move' (EDT) COMPLETE
Juliet: Write a chapter (more than 500 words) in 'A New World'. (GMT) COMPLETE
Katharina: (CDT)
 Weekly goal: write short story about loyalty and/or incorporate loyalty into a chapter COMPLETE
 Personal goal: Set new goals on WIP and write a note to Noelle COMPLETE
Lord Tarin: Write the first 25 pages of The Conquering Light (MDT) COMPLETE

Goal: chapter section of TKB
Timezone: PDT

Personal Goal: Finish Tavion's Fractal
Timezone: MDT

Personal goal: Get 500 words on current shortstory and do some setting development for Repetition.

I have a question before I declare any goals. I will be gone all day on Friday and Saturday and will have absolutely no internet connection until late on Saturday, maybe. However, Friday and Saturday will be the best days for me to do some writing. Can I post my results on Sunday morning instead of trying to remember to hop on the internet really quick on Saturday night after two exhausting days? If not, I totally understand, but I thought I'd ask.

Goal: weekly challenge AND personal challenge of writing up a rough outline for the Red Rain sequel
Timezone: CST

(I'm gonna regret this...)

Goal: Finish Backstory about Rainor and the Huntress
Timezone: EST

Goal: Finish editing 'The Big Move'
Time Zone: EST

Personal Challenge: Write a chapter (more than 500 words) in 'A New World'. (Is that what incorporating the weekly challenge into the personal one means? * still isn't sure *)

Katharina: That's fine.

Juliet: To overlap with this challenge, you'd either need to write a short story with a theme other than loyalty, or incorporate the theme of loyalty into the chapter you're writing.

Thanks, Raven!

Weekly goal: write short story about loyalty and/or incorporate loyalty into a chapter
Personal goal: finish one chapter in WIP
Time Zone: CDT.

Now that I understand the rules, I shall be brave enough to attempt this quest.

Personal goal: Write the first 25 pages of The Conquering Light (see signature WIPs).
Time zone: MDT.

This shall be fun (I think ). In any event, because I'm very competitive, this challenge will help push me to complete my weekly goals, which I have anyway.

Personal goal completed, apparently.
So...
New personal goal: get to the end of current shortstory.

That was fast, Wolf.

Good luck on your next one.

Thanks! You too!

Glad to have you, Tarin! That's a great goal.

I think it's awesome that you up your personal goal when you complete it early, Wolf. Good to challenge yourself.

Tarin's goal is...massive.

Thanks, Aubrey.

I am changing my goals due to time constraints.

Weekly goal
Personal goal: Set new goals on WIP and write a note to Noelle
Time Zone: CDT

Thanks. I try to stick to it, and I'm off to a good start.


Really? Maybe I just have more time to write (since more than half my day centers around my writing pursuits). I try to break it down and keep myself on track by finishing each smaller goal: 25 pages a week = 100 pages a month = 300 pages in 3 months = I finish book (since most of my books are right around the 320 page range).

Nice! You're probably also better at staying focused.

Aye, it depends on your writing speed and how much time a day you spend writing. For me, when I'm going "full time" on a book, 25 pages is a challenging but reasonable goal. (To put it in perspective, that's only 5 or so scenes of Peter's Angel.) So, I think it's a great goal for someone who's devoting themselves to a novel.

Personal goal done. ...Story is done...until I go edit it.

*hands Wolf a tissue and a cupcake and sends him off to edit*

*races to finish so he can have a cupcake as well*

That's the spirit!

I finished my goal! * wipes forehead * I like writing fantasy better than historical fiction for a reason....

*eats, then makes note to start editing* *sniff*

*grins at Wolf*

Wait, Juliet is writing HF?

I have finished my personal goal and started my weekly goal. I hope to write this weekend while I am gone and will update you on Sunday morning or Saturday night if all goes well.

Personal goal completed.

Goal completed. My first chapter is done, and it's twice as long as I thought.

Good job Dragonslayers.

Woot! *tosses cupcakes around, pausing to hug Raven*

Shoot, I forgot I wanted to join this again.

Aw. I'll try to poke you to make sure you remember this time.

Personal and public goals complete.

Annnnd I'm gonna fail. I do not feel up to writing that second fractal stage the evening after a quiz meet. I really need to make these goals smaller.

Aw. I totally know how hard it is to think (or do anything) after a quiz meet. Brain feels like oatmeal. If you change your mind and need a writing buddy... skype me.

*waltzes in joyfully* I am glad to announce that my personal goal for this week is accomplished! I actually finished yesterday, but I didn't have the chance to post until tonight.

*sits down and waits expectantly for a winner's cupcake*

Yay! Good job. *gives huge slice of pizza*

*gobbles slice of pizza*

Thanks, Wolf. I'm glad I passed my first offial challenge.

Me too.

*scurries in* Personal and weekly goals completed! For the weekly goal I ended up doing over 500 words on a random scene from a novel. It's not complete because I don't know where the scene fits in sequence yet, but I started and ended at a place such that it's pretty self-contained and almost self-explanatory, if you're familiar with the novel. So is that close enough to a short story?

And yeah, it has to do with loyalty, in a very complicated has-to-do-with-the-character's-personality-and-backstory way.

Whew, had to get that posted before midnight.

Now then... *beams and happily hands a cupcake to Tarin* Congratulations, and well-earned! You'll be back next week, right?

*hugs Mae* Been there, done that more times than I can count. Live and learn, is the thing. Setting realistic goals for yourself takes a lot of practice, as weird as that sounds, because it takes awhile to understand your own pacing. How much can you do in a week? What other factors affect that? Etc. So, it's okay, and now you have a clearer idea of what to set next week's goals at.

*tosses cupcakes around for everybody else*

*eats*



Yeah, I think I've been making mine too easy. Imma be harder on myself this week...

I finished my weekly goal, too! Thanks, Raven for letting me post later than I should have . My short story is similar to what Aubrey described. It can be on its own, but it might actually be a good start to a longer fantasy story . My first fantasy! Aaah !