ZUser Created Challenge- Writing Round

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Woo, it's finally to begin. This is the first true ZUser Created Challenge dedicated to writing, so anyone who likes Zelda and is a good writer, this is the exact contest for you to participate it. Before anything, I gotta thank Fox *Haret* for allowing me to use the title of ZUser Created Challenge, and let me run my competition alongside his. The newest ZUser Created Challenge for artwork is also starting up soon, so basically our two contests are forming for one giant ZUser Created Challenge, better than the last!

Please make sure to contribute in the best possible way for the latest ZUC by posting in, and more importantly, participating in the second Graphics Challenge, run by good ol' Fox McCloud, who did a great deal with the last one, which was a great success! So go on over there as well!

ZUser Created Challenge- Graphics Contest #2

With that aside, allow me to go on about this contest. This is only for writing, and all rules, topics and such are complete, so here's one big lo-down on it all


Topic-

Your topic for your written piece is to select any one scene from a Zelda game, any Zelda game, from Legend of Zelda to the Minish Cap, and put it into writing. That means, taking the scene, and simply writing the thing out. You can do a fight scene, a dialogue scene, even a short side-quest type, whatever you want, from whatever game you want. And don't worry if you do the same as another contestant, you may very well have the superior form of the scene


Rules-

-The minimum for your written entry is 700 words, the maximum is 1600

-You must type in 12 Size, Times New Roman font on Microsoft Word, it's how I decided length

-You must have a title, and a by-line, this counts as your word length

-Give a rating as well, use the video game ratings *i.e, E, T, M or A*

-One entry only, during the allowed time, you can do many ideas, but you can only hand in one final piece

-You have two weeks from today to work on it, if you haven't handed in your entry before the Final Entry thread is locked, you will not be judged, even if you pm a judge



Other Contest Info-



Judges-

I have gathered four other members who will help me judge the entries, and we have the entire judging rubric set in stone, it's a point system containing four categories. Our wonderful judges will be-

achitka
vacumgod
Safer Sephiroth
LionHarted
Me *Mirren*


And these are the judging aspects we'll be looking at, make sure your piece applies these well-


Spelling and Grammar- Microsoft Word usually gets all mistakes, but make sure you read it through a few times and see that's nothing incorrectly spelled our there is lack of correct grammar in sentence parts. Do a spellcheck if you need. Any mistakes, whether minor or major, will decrease your point score for that category, and on an overall level lower your main score


Dialogue- Hey, even if you just have Link in the scene, or a single character or whatever, you'll have to make them talk. Make sure what they say isn't exaggerated or sounds funny, make it clear whose talking, and of course have a variety of speaking description words *i.e, said, asked, inquired, replied* And a big thing, over-amount of cussing= bad


Originality- You're taking a scene that's already been made and putting it into writing yes, but if you just do that, then your score's gonna flop. Add little things we don't see, get into character's heads, have the narrator say things we didn't experience in the game. But remember, going overboard with new stuff will get you in trouble for this score as well, keep it in perfect moderation


Description- Writing is painting a picture with words, but like real art, doing too much can make things bad, and doing too little is horrible. Just as originality, keep it in moderation. Add detail, but don't add too much, because then it'll sound funny, and your score won't be too good. Use just the right amount

*each category is scored on a system of ten points each*


As for this thread, use it to ask questions which I can answer, and also discuss the contest. Most of all, use this place to post your first drafts and such, talk about your entries and stuff, it all works. But this is not a chat-room, make productive posts, and contribute well to the topic. It's all about the writing and the contest, keep it at that.

And with that I say, get writing, and good luck from the entire ZUser Created Challenge team

I'm in, but where do you submit your entry? Do you upload a Microsoft Word file and send it through a PM, or do you simply post the writing on a post somewhere? How do you submit it?

Just like the original ZUC, I'll have a thread open as the deadline comes closer, and you can post the entire final piece in there, just the writing

Hm, interesting, count me in. So, even if there is JUST dialogue, you can still turn it in? Wouldn't that make it sort of boring? It's not my preference, as I'd rather have the action outbalance the dialogue by just a bit, but I was just wondering.

-TFS

Sounds like fun. I'd like to take part in this. I already have what I'm going to do all planned out.

I might do it, actually count me it, but don't expect that I will do it. I guess I could do a scene from OoT, like the one where Link first meets Ganondorf. But I really don't remember the exact dialogue.

Hehe... I know exactly what I want to do. You can count me in.

In fact, I wrote it up before posting here. All there is left to do is just to fine-tune it.

Thanks a bunch for using my art Mirren!
You can definately count me in. I'll submit soon. When's the art challenge starting?

Important Note


If you're going to post your first drafts here, even prewrites and such, make sure you put them in a quotations box to make your post cleaner

*i.e, quote tags *

Originally posted by Darth Nurma
Hm, interesting, count me in. So, even if there is JUST dialogue, you can still turn it in? Wouldn't that make it sort of boring? It's not my preference, as I'd rather have the action outbalance the dialogue by just a bit, but I was just wondering.

-TFS

No, a script-writing will be a big flop for you. As I said, you've gotta have description, so just writing what they say is a bad idea. You can do a scene where two people talk, such as Link's exit of the forest and talking to Saria, but you've gotta put into detail their emotions, their reactions, their actions, and they're feelings if you're doing a dialogue scene

Originally posted by Lord Ganon
I might do it, actually count me it, but don't expect that I will do it. I guess I could do a scene from OoT, like the one where Link first meets Ganondorf. But I really don't remember the exact dialogue.

If you miss a couple lines, it's no problem. Part of the fun is making the scene kinda like your own, not just ripped from the game, and mixed with your imagination. But make sure you've got the basic idea in the writing of what they're talking about

Originally posted by Kaze-One
Thanks a bunch for using my art Mirren!
You can definately count me in. I'll submit soon. When's the art challenge starting?

It's started today as well, go there and see what you can do!

ZUser Created Challenge- The Graphics Contest #2

All right. I've been waiting for this, another ZUser Created Challenge. You can definitely count me in.

Ooh! Ooh! Me! Me! Me! (I really need to stop getting myself into these things....seriously, I have so many stories to write, it's not funny. :confused: )

Anyway, me me me! ^_^ I really wanna join! I love writing! Yay! This is awesome! *runs to MSW*

Hmm, what to write, what to write?

P.S.-

Originally Posted by Mirren

Woo, it's finally to begin. This is the first true ZUser Created Challenge dedicated to writing, so anyone who likes Zelda and is a good writing, this is the exact contest for you to participate it.

Read it back to yourself.

Alright, if you wish to post your pieces in here just to start, as your drafts and such, this is how you'll do it. Just do as I do, put the whole thing in quote tags, no rating is needed now, but for the final entries it will be. You can discuss others works about theirs, and even your own.

Here would be mine, for fun

*another note, please say what scene it is*

Mine is Link vs. Volvagia from Ocarina of Time

Against the Serpent
By Mirren


Link stepped into a large room after he used the golden key to open the enormous door. He had been traveling through the Fire Temple for hours, fighting off all enemies, solving dangerous puzzles, and simply trying to navigate through the house of flames. Now, he stood on a small ledge before three things; a second pillar, a slab of rock with nine holes poked into it, and an entire floor of red lava. The young man looked around, trying to spot his old friend who he had seen enter here.

“Where in God’s name could Darunia have gone?” Link asked himself, “He came right into this place…” Realizing that he was obviously no where to be found, the Hero of Time shrugged and jumped down onto the second pillar, and then hopped across to the island of rock.

And soon, it began to shake. The column behind him slowly sunk into the lava until it was completely drowned by the magma. Link was trapped.

From the middle hole, flames spouted, and the rumbling grew greater and greater until finally a shrill roar echoed throughout the room, and an enormous dragon flew out. Link was astounded by the sight of it, with a glowing serpentine body, from all the lava it literally swam in, and a face covered by a metal mask. The creature soared around in the air, until it eventually belched a spray of fire at Link, narrowing missing his side. It dove back into the lava, and Link quickly reached at his back to pull out the legendary Megaton Hammer.

“Volvagia…” he whispered. Quickly the slab began to tremble once more, and Link spotted one of the holes that was spilling out fire, the place where Volvagia would emerge. He made a dash to that puncture, tightening his grip about the handle of his great war-hammer. Just as he got there, Volvagia erupted from the opening, roaring and swinging his mane of fire. Taken off guard by the sudden attack, Link was forced to simply bite his lip and endure the pain as the flames seared his body. Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes back up to meet with Volvagia’s, and he struck.

The Megaton Hammer smashed onto the skull of the dragon, breaking small bits off and making Volvagia fall to the ground. Link slammed it down once again, and this time the dragon was quick to make a hasty retreat back into the hole.

“Crud, this is gonna be a pain with him being able to run and hide everywhere” Link murmured. In the next few moments Volvagia was flying out again, slowly slithering in mid-air at Link, who found himself at a disadvantage being just on the ground.

Until he pulled out his Fairy Bow. He notched in an arrow, and let it go straight into Volvagia’s face. It bounced off the mask, making the serpent only growl in annoyance. Link grimaced for a second as he loaded another arrow.

“Man that’s some tough metal right there…” As Volvagia cried aloud, the Hero of Time fire the arrow straight into his mouth, ending the holler early and instead making him howl in pain. Link was quick to take advantage, shooting off another arrow that pierced straight into Volvagia’s maw. Though instead of retaliating, the dragon instead began to fly up to ceiling in the room, its body curving and twisting all over as it unleashed terrible, strident screeches. Link cocked an eyebrow at the rather bizarre behavior, until he finally could see the boulders falling straight down at him.

With a shout he jumped forward, and the rock smashed onto the ground and split apart, striking the young man hard in the back. Link roared as the fragment cracked against his body, and sent him sprawling on the hard floor of the island. He groaned, feeling as if his back was broken, though tried to move away as fast as possible. More and more boulders were raining from the ceiling, shattering against the ground all over. At times Link was hit by the smaller shards, but somehow he was vigilant, and agile enough to avoid being struck head on again. Volvagia flew back into another hole, and after a few more moments the hail of rocks concluded.

Link instantly stopped in the middle of the slab which he fought on, his eyes shooting in all directions to spot the hole where Volvagia would emerge from next. One close by started to leak with fire, and Link was moving towards it in a second. Gripping the Megaton Hammer harder than ever, he charged at the hole, waiting for Volvagia to come out and batter his head.

But the fire then stopped, and in surprise Link put on the brakes, halting with a baffled look on his face. Behind him, he could hear, and almost see Volvagia erupt from a different gap, though he couldn’t find the speed to move out of the way as the dragon released a stream of flame from his maw. Link was pushed forward as he screamed; feeling his skin burned even while his thick Goron Tunic hampered some of the heat. When he landed, he could see the smoke rise from his charred garb, and Volvagia sitting within the hole, laughing at him in his animalistic tongue.

Link’s eyes flared, and he felt a rush of adrenaline as the thoughts of the dragon setting Hyrule aflame and devouring all innocent people rushed through his head. The young man lifted himself to his knees, and then to his feet. He staggered for a moment, but before long he was running straight at Volvagia, holding the Megaton Hammer behind him as he screamed in fury.

Volvagia spun around, his claws held out to rip at Link, but instead they only found air as the Hero of Time leapt over them. The dragon didn’t even know what was happening as he felt his head be struck again, and with a cry he collapsed on the ground. His eyes glowing with intensity, Link brought the legendary hammer back, and brought it down flat onto Volvagia’s head.

The mask split, and splinters flew out as Link felt his weapon crush clear through it. Volvagia reared back, screaming in pain as he clasped his hands onto his throbbing, broken face. Disappearing back into the hole for a moment, he later flew out once more, sailing around in the air as his body writhed. Bellowing in agony, his body began to dissipate into flames, until soon he was reduced to a skeleton. The bones plummeted to the ground, shattering upon impact, and following them was the metal mask, which landed right before Link’s feet.

“You won’t be getting your snack today” the Hero of Time said with smirk.

As the blue portal of light formed a few feet away from him, the visor disintegrated, leaving only another piece of Heart that Link collected from the other monsters he defeated. Taking it with him, he walked over to the glowing ring, and stepped inside. It surrounded him with a glossy crystal, and in the next few seconds he was teleported out of the Fire Temple, with a victory in single combat against the serpent.

EDIT-

Originally posted by I Love Link
Read it back to yourself

Fixed, even the best writers have their mis-haps

*giggles*

Yes. Sorry, I just had to say that. ^_^

I'm definately in this. I'll have mine done later, need to think of a good scene. It'd be all too easy for me to do Minish Cap...

Here's my first draft, its Link's first fight with Ganondorf.

A Final Mission

By: Bloodsword



The waves of dark energy washed over him like a crimson tide of pure hate, clearing away all of his mental strength – or what was left of it, anyway. Navi was forced to retreat from the onslaught, uttering her pleading apologies in the High Elf’s ear.

As soon as his limbs were free to open movement again, Link peered up at the hovering form of the nightmare himself… the one who had haunted his dreams since this entire mess had started. Ganondorf Dragmire, Emperor of the Dark Realm, and the King of Evil. He seemed to be gathering his energy for something… and he realized what the monster from the desert was going to do a second before it happened, and launched his body to the right, tucking and rolling nimbly onto a corner tile. Half a second later, Ganondorf’s body hurtled into the ground, causing a massive impact trauma upon the floor, nearly crunching itself under his power. Six or seven square tiles broke free and fell into a dark mist below…

Oh great, so I’m standing on a ceiling, thought Link bitterly. He shook his fear of vertigo from his head, and yanked the Master Sword out from the sheath tethered on his back, seizing his shield as well and latching it hurriedly onto the other hand. The gap between he and Ganondorf was too wide to jump… his thoughts turned to his hookshot. But how could he catch Ganondorf offguard, much less weaken him enough to shoot the chain in the first place?

A startling cry of fury erupted from the middle of the room, and Link forced himself out of his worried mind, turning his head over to Ganondorf, Princess Zelda hovering feet above him, flailing desperately in the pink crystal she was encased in. But his attention was not on her, it was on the King of Evil. His hand was raised above his head, and a glowing ball of brilliant gold was growing to the size of a hubcap.

“Oh boy…” whispered Link to himself. Again, he guessed right, and tried to plan out his actions under pressure, like he always had to.

A second later, Ganondorf hurtled the ball at a frightening speed toward Link. He did not have time to swing his sword up, and he instinctively raised his shield, hoping against hope that it would prove efficient enough.

But apparently not. Nothing but the power of evil’s bane could stop the destruction of Ganondorf, and the ball of dark energy struck through the shield and sank into Link. An explosion of white hot fury and pain slashed violently through him, and he shivered. It was the worst pain he had ever felt. He tried to hold back a scream, but it leapt unbidden from his mouth, making Ganondorf’s mouth twist into a sadistic grin. Link collapsed onto the tile, breathing hard, feeling blood dripping from his mouth.

With all his effort, he yanked himself back up to his feet, and noticed dimly that all his limbs were shaking uncontrollably. Whether from fear or the pain that had just recently racked him, he did not know. It could have been neither or both. And it did not matter just now.

“Bastard!” shouted Link, glaring with pure venomous hatred at Ganondorf, who was still smiling.

“Only in your mind, Hero of Time,” he rumbled deeply, his terrible voice reverberating around the compact room, and down through the black drop off that was right beneath both of their feet. “In some ways you could view me as a bastard, indeed… but from my view I am a simple man trying his hardest to succeed.”

“Succeed!” spat Link, “only the stupidest of fools could see that in you, Dragmire! You are not a simple man trying to succeed… you are an evil crone who is trying his hardest to rend the last of the three Goddesses greatest creation to naught but your evil design!”

Ganondorf’s smile suddenly faded. Perhaps he had seen truth in Link’s words, or perhaps he simply was tired of hearing his voice.

“PERISH!” he bellowed, and sent another shining ball of white hatred at Link. Again, the Hero of Time was caught offguard, and sidestepped it, allowing it to smash into the stone walls behind him. This he took to his advantage.

“Ha! Just as I suspected… too dim witted to hit me when I can simply move aside.”

He succeeded in angering him, for sure. He knew this because Ganondorf was now raising both hands, dark tendrils of energy gathering into several balls of dark fire above his head. He could hear the swirling of evil resounding about the room.

Ganondorf let out an ear splitting cry of frustration, and released the entities, which twisted and writhed, flying toward Link’s torso. Yelling, and knowing that just one of those balls could slaughter him, he was forced to run from the balls, which crashed into the walls again. But now he found himself on weak tiles, ones that were already weakened by the first dive bomb of Ganondorf’s heavy body.

And again, the King of Evil slammed the floor hard, and the tiles beneath Link’s boots cracked and broke free. He launched himself forward, and another tuck and roll transported him to the next corner tile, one of the four that would not break apart.

“PERISH!” hollered Ganondorf again, and sent yet another golden ball Link’s way. This time, the Hero was ready. Like a batter, he swung the Master Sword, which deflected the horrid ball back toward Ganondorf. With a swipe, he sent it back at Link. It went faster, this time. Link swung again. Back to Ganondorf. The King of Evil backhanded it swiftly and expertly. It traveled now very fast, almost a blur between them. Every few seconds Link kept swinging, deflecting the ball.

For ten more seconds, this transpired, until Link finally hit the ball so hard that it zipped into Ganondorf’s chest, sending molten heat zapping through his limbs. He cried out in agony.

Thinking fast, Link drew out his bow, and notched a Light Arrow… one of the few things that could work directly against evil, aside from his sword. He lined down the shaft, and let it fly straight into Ganondorf’s chest.

Light burst into infinity, sending Ganondorf’s twitching body to the floor of his platform, breathing stiffly.

Hookshot.

He drew out the magnificent device, and his thumb pressed on a small silver button near the top, which sent the long chain soaring between the drop off gap between the two feuders. The sharp tip stabbed through Ganondorf’s bicep, showering him with dark blood. He howled, scrabbling at it desperately.

Link pressed the button again, and he was jerked forward, flying over open space, and right on top of Ganondorf’s stomach. He yanked the hookshot out, and pulled the Master Sword back into his hands, gripping the hard blue hilt with as much brass as he could muster.

He stared into the fiery red eyes of pure evil, glaring up at him with dark skin surrounding them. Terror and burning destruction radiated like an aura from those two shapes…

Gripping the Master Sword in both hands in a stabbing position, Link allowed all of his strength and courage to pour into the hilt. The room around him disappeared, and he was surrounded by whiteness. His breathing slowed, and he felt his body flood with energy and strength. It was as if Farore herself was injecting him with her awesome will…

The blade of evil’s bane flew down through the air, and sank deep into the heart of Ganondorf.

“No…” Link heard him whisper. “It… it cannot be! The King of Evil defeated by…”

He let out a strangled gasp, and his putrid, fly ridden breath washed over Link’s face. He cringed.

“… I’ll see you in hell, Link.”

Then there was a huge forceful implosion, and everything faded to whiteness, the room crumbling around him.

Oh, this looks like a fun contest - it caters directly to my preferences! Count me in. ^^ Let's see, in all probability, I'll do a scene from OoT... preferably a scene in which there is more than one character: I enjoy dialogue. Heh, this'll give me a chance to be brutal regarding my excessive misuse of description...

I'm in. Just don't expect me to post any drafts in here (I don't want the competition to see how bad my entry is beforehand ).

So how long is it until the thread for our official entries come up? I didn't see anything giving a date for it.

Well, the way I see it the list of dates goes like this-


Monday August 29th- ZUCWR begins

Friday September 9th- Thread for final submissions is opened

Monday September 12th- Deadline for final entry, somewhere around 4:00 EST

Thursday September 22nd- Winners are announced, awards are given out


*Card is subject to change according to current happenings*

This sounds like fun! I will participate, and it's also an assignment for training. Still, I'm looking forward to this.

Yeah, count me in.

Mmmm... contest. seriously though I'm in. Just felt that people should know that.