Tragedies are more than momentary disappointment; they’re a lasting scar that stays with your character forever. Tragedy takes many forms but JUST THIS ONCE, death will not be one.
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Core Concepts: foreshadowing, perspective
I have waited 2 years for this event I'm so hype!!!!!
For clarity - this is a story where death is specifically not the outcome, but it still ends tragically?
The only two requierments are 1) Story is tragic and 2) There is no death.
Exactly! Death cannot be included in the story, but it must contain a tragedy
@Lucas Sipe SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
For clarity sake as well: is ambiguity about a character's fate allowed? Someone who is missing but never returns, someone who wakes up not the same, and so on?
As long as it's clear no one dies, you are all good.
Does it have to be a heavy handed take on tragedy (dark drama, etc), or could it be a lighter take (humor, etc.)?
It can be however dark you want, but the tragedy needs to be apparent in the piece
@Hayley Starshak Okay thank you!! 😊
Can people have died before the story takes place (mentioned only as a past event), but not during the active story unfolding on the page? Or can there be no death mentioned in any capacity whatsoever?
There cannot be any death included in any part of the story.
@Lucas Sipe Great, that helps me rule out a thought. Haha. Thanks!
Can you explain the definitions for foreshadowing and perspective for this event?
Sure! Foreshadowing means that the story would hint at what is to come next. Perspective means that the story is told from a specific point of view. Something that is tragic to one character is not necessarily tragic to another.
@Hayley Starshak So for perspective, does it have to be an unusual tragedy or something others can relate to?
@jr.lim505 It can be whatever you want as long as it does not include death and it is tragic to the character experiencing it
Hi there! Just to clarify the note above, are there elements earlier on in the story that hint at what happens later in the story, or does the story itself foreshadow what comes after it. I think it's the former, but I just want to be sure I'm heading in the right direction. Thanks!
Foreshadowing in general can be either but for our judges, it's easiest to prove when the foreshadowed events come to pass during the course of the story.
@The Writer's Workout Thank you!
This one came after a long time. Time to put the thinking cap on.
I understand there is to be no death in the story. But...
i) can the story or the end of the story foreshadow death as a possibility?
ii) can the word 'death' or 'dying' be present anywhere in the story?
Those are both great questions! As for your first question, stories for this event can't include any deaths, even if the death happens outside the pages of your story. You can certainly foreshadow that your character might come to physical harm, but I would stay away from any suggestions that they might die.
As for your second question, you can definitely include the words "death" or "dying" in your story! You just can't have any of your characters actually die-- whether that's within the story you write, or the future events you foreshadow.
Can the story deal with the aftermath of a tragedy where the exact nature of the tragedy is initially unspecified but is foreshadowed and revealed towards the end of the story?
That should work!
How is the core concept of perspective different from the core concept of voice? Assuming that your MC doesn't have a drastically different view of events from everyone around them
Hi Ivy,
Perspective is the character's view where voice is how the story is told. With voice, it's about consistency of language, making sure that the story feels level and connected throughout but with perspective as a Core Concept, the judges look for the way your character experiences events of the story. In this Event, a character should experience something tragic to them that may or may not seem tragic to another character in the story.
@The Writer's Workout Ah, I think I get it now, thankyou!
Hey you mentioned no one could actually die,
1) then can someone be resurrected.
2) Vampires can't exist, can they?
3)Can there be an instance where it seems the character is dead, but isn't really dead. Later on in the story you find that the character is actually alive.
4) Can there be a situation where someone has to pretend to die?
5) What if according to one person the character is dead but according to another person he/she is alive?
6) Can there be a situation where someone considers a person emotionally dead? ( something like, "From this day on, Jen is dead to me." Something based on grudge.) But the person is alive (Like when someone says "You are no longer my son." But you technically still are through blood.)
7) Can you tell me what you mean by perspective? I haven't understood. Do you want us to give the POV of different characters rather than only one?
Thank You in advance for your help.
Hi!
Resurrection is not allowed because the character still died
Vampires are technically dead, so they do not count
3,4,5: It must be obvious that the character did not actually die, nobody should assume that the character died, and the tragedy cannot revolve around a character death
6. Being emotionally "dead" is fine as long as they are not literally dead.
7. A character's perspective is their unique qualities/attributes/situation that makes them experience the world in a specific way. So what one character perceives as tragic, could be different for another character
Just to provide extra clarification on number 7 here, you do not have to provide the POV of multiple characters (though you can if you'd like)
@Hayley Starshak thank you so much
My understanding from some of the comments above is that as long as a tragedy occurs from the perspective of the MC it would be okay to write the story in a comedic style. Is that correct?
I think so, yes.
As long as there is clearly a tragedy in the story, it can be as light or dark as you want!
@Hayley Starshak Thank you!
On one hand, my brain is like "NO DON'T WANT TO WRITE TRAGEDY" and on the other hand, my brain is like, "GIRL YOU ARE TOO COMPETITIVE NOT TO DO THIS". Anybody else in this boat with me? So glad to see that the tragedy just has to be tragic from the MC's perspective. I can work with that.
That's my thought too! I generally write happier stories with happier endings. But I gotta do this!
Hey, I don't want to soud like a sadist, but more sadder the better, yeah?
All that matters is that it is tragic for the character experiencing it
Agreed - bring on the melancholy! 😂
Does 'death' relate to humans and animals only? Can something non-sentient die in the story? I think I know the answer to this, but just want to check! Thank you!
Unfortunately, no death of any kind is allowed
@Hayley Starshak thanks for clarifying!
This may sound really dumb, but does the MC or any other character have to express the tragedy or can the tragedy just be apparent to the reader?
No, that's not a dumb question at all! Your tragedy must, first and foremost, be tragic for the main character of your story.
@alexiangoehring Thanks a million!
@lauren No problem!
I just want to make sure I'm 10000% clear: The tragedy doesn't have to be like a house burning down losing everything you own (but everybody lives) tragedy, but it can be something like your car gets stolen but it's the day of a big job interview and there's no other way to get there tragedy? Like with the fear event, the tragedy can actually be mundane-ish to the rest of the world as long as it's super end-of-the-world tragic to the MC?
Exactly! It can be as big or little of a tragedy as you want, but it must be tragic to the MC
@Hayley Starshak I have been called a drama queen more than once and wear my crown proudly, so I think I can pull this off. 😊
Just making sure that the ending does not have to be tragic? It can actually be a happy ending as long as there is a tragedy explained or told in the story?
As long as the bulk of your story is tragic, you're more than welcome to have a happy ending