SEASON'S GREETINGS, PEOPLE OF IWAKU!
As the month of December rolls in, comes a time where we take time to reminisce on the year we had so far, the good times had with friends and family, and the next year close at hand.Holidays are just around the corner, and with this comes the tradition of gathering with family and friends to celebrate and stay warm through the winter. Many choose to show their affection and familial ties by putting together gifts and feasts of holiday food, or simply enjoying time away from work and school to be with the people they love.
Keeping in the spirit of these core values and traditions, why don't we write together about family themes, but with a different take on reunions and gathering?
This month, the soiree's theme revolves around the keywords:
Family Secrets
Every family has its history, and in turn secrets that they may or may not rather keep buried...
Mysteries
Only sometimes, these secrets don't quite stay as secret as intended.
Traditions and Rituals
What does a family do upon gathering together? What rituals or traditions do they share?
Holidays
Unexpected things can happen when relatives who don't normally see each other gather together for the holidays.
Are you getting a feel for this month's event, now? We thought that family and mystery themes would be an interesting combination, and just enough to give people a challenge. Every family unit has its own little idiosyncratic traits and traditions and little secrets among the members. With this in mind, we'd like to see what you could come up with. Be it magical or supernatural, or mystery and suspense, what comes to mind when we give you these prompts?
THIS MONTH'S PROMPTS
- A family (extended to relatives) gathers 'round during one holiday to celebrate or commemorate together, but during one particular holiday something unexpected happens...
- The children knew there was something special about this holiday, but only once they are of age or it is 'the right time' as dictated by their elders are they allowed to see or participate in their family's special tradition.
- Use a winter setting. (Adds 1 more ticket)
- Use the point of view of an animal (such as a family pet) to narrate. (Adds 2 more tickets.)
- Use a ritual of any sorts within the story or submission. (Adds 3 more tickets.)
Ritual Name:
Purpose for Ritual: [ Why does your character's family do this?)
Items for Ritual?: [Does the ritual require any items to perform it?)
Ritual Actions: [Brief description on how the ritual is enacted.)
Frequency: (how often does this ritual occur)
Purpose for Ritual: [ Why does your character's family do this?)
Items for Ritual?: [Does the ritual require any items to perform it?)
Ritual Actions: [Brief description on how the ritual is enacted.)
Frequency: (how often does this ritual occur)
THE HONOR ROLL AND PRIZES
To preface this, I would like to extend an apology to our participants from the last soiree in October. November has been a hectic month for most of us in the team, with IRL concerns and matters or illness taking us away from our Soiree duties. We are working on getting back on track this month, and hopefully December will prove less hectic. Expect to see the Honor Roll up and posted soon this month, as well as our team reviewers giving their feedback to your past submissions. Again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience. And hopefully, we can learn how to mold and plan better for future events.The Honor Roll will be a list of 10 participants who have fulfilled criteria and standards for events, and these points will be carried over from past soirees - in this case the last one from October. If you have participated in the last Soiree, yes, you have a slightly increased chance of winning our freebies and gaining a spot on the list. Participate more in future Soirees, and more and more chances will be opened up.
The October Soiree's prizes will be distributed soon and are separate from this month's event.
For this month, participants all have redeemable tickets as soon as they submit their works, and fulfilling Extra Credit adds more tickets, therefore adding more chances in what will be a randomized lottery to determine the winner of our varied freebies. As stated before, Honor Roll participants retain a special advantage due to fulfilling criteria and standards.
Free Art Request from [Insert Staff Artist Name Here]
Free Div Box or BB Code Character Sheet or Formatting from @WhisperingWillows
Free Character or Roleplay Banner from [Insert Staff Photomanipulation Wiz Here]
Free Character Playlist put together by [????]
People also have a chance to get the COOL THANG user banner under their names for one month. In following soirees, the more you regularly participate, the higher your chances of one day getting that fun user banner.
These coupons can also be gifted to friends, so if you have friends you'd like to help out or cheer up and you have a coupon you don't really get to use, why not make someone else's day? Or to add a bit of holiday cheer and give a unique gift?
GENERAL SUBMISSION RULES
This month's Soiree will run its course throughout the 12th of December to the 30th, using the site's standard time. This will have only one part, giving participants 18 days to submit their works. Anything past the deadline will no longer be accepted, as the next month is set aside for another sitewide event.To submit your entry, just post your finished work in the thread we will set up for submissions. A Contest Runner will copy and move it to the opening post so that it will be visible to those who want to post reviews. To make sure that the Soiree team will see it, please remember to tag @Hana or @Sen in your submission.
- All entries must be submitted before the deadline dates set for each respective part of this event. Entries submitted past deadlines will no longer be reviewed; the staff reviewers all have limited time to read and review all entries. We can only help those who have submitted within those dates.
- Only one entry per part is allowed per person.
- Entries must fit within the given criteria for each challenge.
- Participants must write original entries for the challenges; they may not take concepts from original published works and use them in their submissions. Inspiration from published works is of course allowed; however the point of this activity is a creative exercise to help members create their own works.
- Plagiarism isn't allowed and if a participant is caught, they face the possibility of being banned from the Soiree.
- Submissions have a word limit of 5,000 words, but the recommended length is 3,000 words so as to not overwhelm the reviewers and the staff who will be reading over the entries. Other participants are also encouraged to read each other's entries; constructive critiques and comments are part of these exercises.