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PopeAlessandrosXVIII
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:07 pm    Post subject: IFQ Issue #39 Reply with quote


Bringing you the News The Old fashioned Way




The IFYs Return!
The Council Chaimbers is all abuzz with the reactivation of the city most infamous IFYs! New catagories, new hype, all new crew! Read more below.


IFYs Not So Iffy Anymore
Story by PopeAlessandrosXVIII


Sitting in on the latest Council meetings, Stein and over have overheard a lot of talk about the resurrection of the much loved IFYs. There has been much talk about adding new categories as well as a small dispute over which stories should be allowed. In the realm of categories, the following have been purposed:

Best StoryGame

Best Non-Spotlight SG.

Best Plot

Best Style/Most Original

Best Description/Detail

Best Character

Best Supporting Character

Best Decision Point

Best Critic

Best SG From a New Author (Award for SG from an author who joined in 2011/2012)

Best Newcomer (Award for a debutant author)

Best RPG

Best Poet

Best Art Work

Best Sci-Fi

Best Fantasy

Best Romance

Best Horror

Best Linear

Best Author

Best Character

Most Evil Villain


Over all, the genre specific categories have been eliminated, but there are still a few more suggestions meandering their way in. After initial proposal of naming them the 2012 IFYs, through a near unanimous agreement, the even has been re-named 2011 IFYs. So, get yourselves ready. Read up, spruce up, dust off your SGs and be prepared for the time of your life! This editor doesn't know about the rest of you IFians, but I am looking forward to this wonderful event!


I wrote this book and I learned to read
by HalfEmptyHero


This line—this simple, yet elegant line—is a rather interesting line. It comes from an introduction to the novel The Sound and Fury by its author William Faulkner, and is followed by one of the best introductions to a work I have ever read. I don't normally enjoy reading introductions; they are often bloated lamentations from a friend of the author, or in-depth analysis of a book that, presumably, the reader hasn't read yet. I normally start reading the introduction in a blind hope that there might be something worthwhile in there. I rarely make it through to the end. But after reading the first line of this introduction, I knew I had no choice but to finish it.

Later in the introduction, Faulkner adds more to the line. He says, "With The Sound and the Fury I learned to read and quit reading, since I have read nothing since." But what does he mean by all of this? Well the basis of the introduction is that The Sound and the Fury was the only book that Faulkner wrote that he enjoyed writing. He stated in the article that he received little or no joy from his subsequent novels and for one reason: "I knew too much about this book before I began to write it."

He could no longer feel emotional about a book he was writing because he knew what was going to happen. When he wrote The Sound and the Fury, he wrote without purpose; he wasn't writing a novel, he was simply writing. He was never again able to capture the emotion and the joy that he received while writing it.

I bring up this introduction in the hopes that it might broaden some minds, and hope that it might serve as an introduction to a great writer that many Americans are subjected to—but perhaps do not appreciate at the time—while in high school. And I will leave with a bit of advice: don't try too hard; let the words flow and come together as they will. And most of all, enjoy yourself.


If Only Wordfind
The first three IFians to find all the words, mail PopeAlessandrosXVIII and you shall be rewarded from the IF Treasury!





Word Find Words:

Hak
Logan
SEPIGON
The Five Dragons
Mark Keavney
Stasis Hall
Story Chat
Grim Reaping



Wordfind Winners from last month:
1st: N/A
2nd: N/A
3rd: N/A



Linear Lane Looky Loo
Story by PopeAlessandrosXVIII


Blood Moon – UndeadCowboy

The Original Escaping Eternia – misterbiz

Mr. Biz's Deleted Scenes – misterbiz

The Chronicles of Lanthos – Lilth

A Winkle In Time – Logan Ethan Kane


And from the Dark Linear vault

Getting Lucky – misterbiz


Come support the muse in Linear Lane today!




SparkleSteps – Tikanni Corazon – 6
Heavy Metal – Thunderbird – 5
The Childern of Leyond – Kalanna Rai – 4
Eden's Call – Lilith – 3
Edge of Glory – Kalanna Rai – 3


Still holding first place with an iron grip is SparkleSteps by Tikanni Corazon. As a solid second, Thunderbird's Heavy Metal keeps it's place as well. Popping up into thrird place is our newest Spotlight winner, The Children of Leyond by Kalanna Rai. Droping down one place into forth is Lilith's Eden's Call. Finally, still wandering around the top five, in fifth place is Edge of Glory by Kalanna Rai.



Top 5 Peek

Story by PopeAlessandrosXVIII


The final heart pounding chapters of Tikanni's Croazon's SparkleSteps, a tale of family, fantasy, love, and loss, keeps readers on the edge of their seats, and begging for more. Heavy Metal by Thunderbird is till going strong in both challenging the readers intellect, as well as their faith. The heart felt connection to the expansive cast in Kalanna Rai's The Children of Leyond keeps readers fixated on this epic tale of succession and sorcery. The underground cult in Eden's Call by Lilith throws our heroin and tag along further into darkness and mystery with every word written. The fine science fiction tale that is Edge of Glory by Kalanna Rai continues it's mission of destruction and battles.




Debate
by PopeAlessandrosXVIII

It is once again time for the great IF Quirer debate! This month we took a look at ever popular pastime we've come to know as Role Playing Games, or RPGs. This debate focus specificly on the sub genre, Forum Role Plays. For those of you unfamiliar with the term RPG, here is a short explanation.

In a Forum Role Play there are several different types, but I'll just go with the broad concepts. Basicly, two or more people come together on one thread with a common idea, such as an action adventure set in Camelot, or a science fiction set on a space station. With that idea in mind, the “Players” either create one or more characters, or if set in a particular fandom (Such as Harry Potter, or InuYasha), choose characters from the fandom for them to “Play”. Now, the point of each RP is up to the players, but in general, they set a goal such as “Get Married”, “Save the world”, “Find the lost ___” and so on, and from there they “Play”.

Playing consist of posting back and forth actions and reactions of your characters. Posts go from as short as “I punch you” to pages long detailed passages of time depending on the preference of the players. This is how the story unfolds in an RP, and again, depending on the layers, it can be as short at a page to an epic novel of adventure.

This month, the questions were simple. The questions posed ere:

What do YOU think? Where do you rank Role Playing Games in the realm of artistry? What is Forum Role Playing to you?


The responses were as varied as the colors in the rainbow. . . . .


“It's art. It can tell a story, therefore it is art. The fact is, in every medium you will have your fair share of bad art. RPs can be a form of artistic expression.” – Masterweaver


“Just because something exists, doesn't make it art. I'm not saying that a RPG could never be art, but I certainly have never seen one. Just because something tells a story doesn't make that something art. I would say that Role Playing Games, per typical usages, are not artistic. I cannot classify any of the RPGs that I have seen as art. They may exist, but I have not seen them. My playing the air guitar and attempting to sing could be considered art, but it shouldn't be. There are many published books and screenplays out there that I wouldn't consider art. Being published is not a determining factor for something's artistic value. people have too broad a definition for art. The act of telling a story is also not art—it can become art, but it does not have to be. People do say "the art of storytelling" but that is using a different meaning of the word art; that denotes the skill of storytelling and should not be confused with art as we are using it. – HalfEmptyHero


“Well, it is my opinion that every individual post in a Forum RP is not art, but the RPG taken as whole is a story, which is told via the concious use of the skill (writing) and creative imagination of two or more different people, and can affect senses, emotions and intellect. Then, it becomes art.” – Vishal Muralidharan


“I personally think it depends upon the participants, and how seriously they take the quality of writing. If the same care is taken in it's creation as with any other form of creative writing, then I think it could be considered art. Like I said, depends upon the players themselves. I don't think just any RPG can be considered so though. Someone who's merely typing any inane crap clearly isn't trying to create art.” – Tikanni Corazon


“When writing a story we are supposed to make our characters believable or if not believable at least something that a reader may become emotionally invested in and thus follow the story because of. In a forum role-play you have two or more people exercising the function of character building by assuming the qualities of these characters themselves and narrating out the story through their actions as they see these characters would. Thus, forum rp could, in a loose sense, be considered a low form of script based acting and therefore art.

Could not a forum roleplay, where the participants have time to plan out and think over their actions, be just as easily turned into a screenplay or short film as it could a book? Perhaps even easier as role-plays tend to be far more character centered. The roleplay itself may not be art. It may very well simply be the fun creative process that leads to it. Just as adding water to clay and squishing it around to make the consistency one needs is fun but only the finished product molded from the clay is art.

In the end, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I would assume that if the story is well told, entertaining, and has characters you can become emotionally invested in, then it becomes an art in and of itself. Because what is a roleplay but a more personal form of storytelling and we've long held storytelling to be an art. I have a broader definition of art than most. For me art needs to be something I can connect to emotionally that charges my imagination and provokes thought.”
– Kalanna Rai


“I can't help but feel like there are two separate issues here. The first is how narrrow or broad your definition of 'art' is, and the second is whether or not you respect RP writing. People are quick to call just about anything art these days, and it's seriously watering down the meaning of the word. The biggest concern is the writing quality, of course. Too many grammatical errors, and it's over. Too much delay makes it less of an RP experience, because you have time to think it over... but that also makes it a better read. It depends if you want the story or the improv experience more.

I'd say it also depends on what is being roleplayed. I have more respect for original characters in a canon world than I do for people who who use the canon characters to RP scenes they wanted to see- doubly true for ship stories. On the whole, I don't think of RP as art. It's fun, it's useful- it can create a lot of ideas, it's good for making you think outside of the box... but it's not any more a piece of art than outlines, notes, and rough drafts of a novel are pieces of art. Can you make art using those tools? Yes. Does that mean those tools are art? No.”
– Shillelagh


“Storytelling is Art. RPing is storytelling. RPing is Art.” – Vikas Muralidharan


“I think the key word in RPG is the G - Game.A game is a game. It can have excellent artwork, have a great plot etc. but its main function is a game. Any artistic element is second to that. From my experience the stories that are crafted in forum RPGs are sketchy, disjointed and almost always from multiple POVs depending on who's playing and if there is any order of play. I don't consider that art in the true sense of the word. At the end of the day - (IMHO at least) RPG is exactly what it says on the tin - a Role Playing Game. If that Role Playing Game happens to throw up the most seamless and beautifully crafted story that can be translated to a short story or a novel, then that's a bonus.” – Crunchyfrog


Thanks for reading, and come join the debate today!



[b]Outsider to Tourist Interview

by PopeAlessandrosXVIII

Once again wandering around one of my pet sites, Stein pulled down an interview with one of my fellow pet owners. The result this time, was a little different.


Stein: *A tall man in a long stitched lab coat, thin rimmed glasses, and a bolt through his head walks up to a blonde woman and a small dinosaur* Hello there! I am Stein, and this is my dog, Rover.



Cremuex: *Stands up and looks at Stein with an expression of concern* My word, are you alright? You have a... a... THING through your head!


Rover: *A large brown shaggy dog looks up at her, metallic whirs and clicks coming from it's head* Wuff


Stein: *Smiles* I am quite alright, it's actually very comfortable. I am glad you've agreed to an interview. *Looks down at dog* Ready Rover?


Cremuex: You're not bothered that there's a bolt protruding from your skull? Ok, just checking, that is a bit... curious. Don't mind me.


Rover: Wuff *Looks up at woman, it's ears seeming to click into place facing her*


Stein: Good. First off, how are you doing today?


Cremuex: Ah... I'm alright I suppose, just a little... freaked out that you might need medical attention. Aside from that I'm dapper dandy.


Stein: Good to hear it. Now, could you tell me a little bit about what you like to read? What genre for example.


Cremuex: I tend to read a lot of non-fiction books about psychology and philosophy. I like to know about people and understand how I can help people. Aside from the uni books I kind of have to read I also like Penguin books, they pick some good classic literature like Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Hermann Hesse, Gepffrey Robertson and Alain De Botton. Religion is also something I like to read up on but mainly western religion.


Stein: I see. . . Who is your favorite author?


Cremuex: I don't really read series books, or at least I haven't since I read Harry Potter, though I stopped reading that when the fifth book came out and Harry decided to be a whiny teenager instead of manning up. It's almost like he was more mature as a child then he was as a teenager. Marvel has some really good stories but as a graphic novel I doubt that the Uncanny X-men or the likes would count. Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts series was good, though you have to know about Warhammer 40,000 to really enjoy it.


Stein: Is that so? What is your favorite work of theirs?


Cremuex: The book that I read was an omnibus, so basically a collection of several of his books published as the one really thick book. He isn't afraid to kill off characters that he puts a lot of effort into, which just pushes the emotion scale up a bit.


Stein: Ah. Do you do any writing? And if so, where do you post it?


Cremuex: The only writing I've ever done that wasn't for Advanced Extended English in High School has been in role plays with friends. I'm not really a stand alone individual. I like not being in complete control of a story and having to bounce idea's of others. It allows for a sort of unpredictability that can have some really great effects though with other people stories tend to die if others, including yourself, lose interest. I did post a bit on Gaiaonline back when it was called GoGaia and I've had some roleplays on DNAdopts where I spend most of my time these days.


Stein: Mmm Hmmm. What is your favorite thing to write about?


Cremuex: I like to write about a few things but the most important thing isn't the theme so much as it is a good plot or story line. Fantasy is a good place to start, simply because it offers a lot of freedom to let creativity flow. Different times like Edwardian and even futuristic ones are nice every now and then. My family has always been based on the army, navy or air force so military stories also catch my attention a lot. The best stories, I find, are ones based on social interactions between characters that shows a lot about their personality and builds the story up more then a climatic battle. Not every story needs to be about how an individual fights against all odds with super powers to defeat the bad guys, has everyone fall in love with them and saves the day from certain doom. Sometimes it's nice to just be a normal, possibly less then great human, with all the faults a normal person has, just trying to make a difference, whether you 'win' or not.


Stein: Interesting. Would you mind sharing a bit of your work with the readers?


Cremuex: Ahh... well, do keep in mind this excerpt is from a role play so the story is a bit here and there. It's from "Save Grargoth" that was on DNAdopts RP forum.


****

A flash of light like lightning filled the skies but was not accompanied by thunder. The sky was clear and there was no sign of a lightning storm.

In the desert stood a serophim; A humanoid being of indeterminable gender, with soft feminine features, white hair, fair skin and ice blue eyes. The only sign that it wasn't human, aside from it's holy aura, was that it had a set of six wings protruding out it's back. The being looked around at the desert and at the walled city. It sighed deeply and inwardly, arching it's back and speaking in an unknown angelic tongue. The wings withdrew in a blazing light, a symbol appearing between the wings. The thing clenched it's jaws tight, pain in it's eyes as bone melted into bone, as muscle contracted and strained, feathers melted into skin as if skinned alive. In a moment, a split second, the wings were gone with no sign that they were ever there. The clothes and armor under them were mended instantly as if there had never been a whole there in the first place. The creature whimpered and prayed for strength.

It's icy blue eyes closed and when they reopened they stood before the walls of the city.

"Father, why can I not enter the city?" they asked in their angelic tongue. To it's surprise a noise chimed from their cloth belt. Raising an eyebrow they reached for the thing that made the noise.

---
"What is this? A tablet? Thank you Father." When they had finished praising god the tablet spoke to them, in their own angelic tongue.


"Welcome to Grargoth! I hope I find you all well. If you present your invitation to the Wall, the gatekeeper should be right with you!

The creature shrugged and pointed the Aidl at the wall, bowing it's head in peace as it spoke.

"Please give me passage to this city, I offer a tribute to you as a sign of peace."


****


Stein: Nice. Is there anything you don't like reading or writing?


Cremuex: It's not that I HATE Mary Sues and Gary Stu's... I just find them unbearably painful. I really dislike people who have grown up with English all their lives and write 'lyke th1s lulz'. *exasperated face* It gets to me more then it should.


Stein: Uh huh. Well, that should be good! *Bows* Thank you for your time, and I hope you check out the next issue of the IF Quirer! Come Rover! *Stalks off, coat flaring*


Rover: Wuff *Wanders off behind Stein*


Cremuex: ... Oh, ok, bye then... Don't forget to maybe visit a hospital... or something...


After this encounter, Cremuex Levier followed our Roving Reporter back to IF. With fine grace, she has drifted about IF, making her way into the Art Gallery where her fine works can now be seen. This editor has high hopes for this new tourist in our fine City.



Mr. Biz's Mindset
Story by Mister Biz.

It's that time again, Boils and Ghouls. Time for your friendly neighborhood psycho to crash into the walls of your gray matter and blow your mind. Or not. Either way, its time for The Mindset. So sit back and pay attention.

It is a very special edition of the mindset, ladies and germs. Its the IF day edition. On Jan. 10, 2010, your favorite little oddball created an account here in the magical City of IF. At first I didn't do anything because I wasn't as confident in my SG ability as I am now. Then I simply forgot the site altogether.

Then the mighty Thunderbird, who had been following my work already on another site, told me I should bring Escaping Eternia over here and see how the story changes. I loved the idea. So I came back, remembered my username and password and on May 11, 2011, I brought the zombie madness here. Which was quickly followed by my poetry and all of my other masterpieces.

Now to the meaty part of this little article. Oh yeah, that was just exposition. Bwahahahahahaha. Anyways, Over the past several months, I have been privileged enough to be welcome with open arms and be a part of something wonderful here. I have met some terrific individuals like Tika and my main chica Andolyn. I have found terrific inspiration and some of the greatest critics a madman like myself could ever ask for. I've managed to share some of the darkest part of my past through my work and be a Spotlight nominee twice and even had a good mayor run. I got owned in all of them and probably will continue to be but that's a rant for another issue. I would like to thank you for all for being so awesome.

Anywho, enough of the mushy stuff. That's it for this episode of The Mindset. Next time: I talk about serial killers and their impact upon the horror and mystery genres. Or kittens. I could talk about kittens. Most likely the first one though. Peace out, peoplings.

Guild Ads and Updates
Story by PopeAlessandrosXVIII


The Fantasy Guild has seen no activity this month due to a kidnapped Guild Mistress. Now that she is back, perhaps you fantastic members can show of your fantasies!

The Horror Guild has seen no activity this month due to another kidnapping of the Guild Master! Come on spooks, lets get out freak on!

The Romance Guild has seen no activity this month. No love flowing, what are we to do!?

The Sci-Fi Guild has seen no activity this month despite it's new management. Where are you techno bugs?

The Humor Guild has seen a small heartbeat of activity this month, and that's nothing to laugh at.

The Experimental Guild has seen no activity this month. With the lab this empty, has anyone noticed the fine echo?

The Art and Poetry Guild has seen a small stroke of activity as it still searches for the right name for itself. The vote will be soon!



General News Report
Story by Mister Biz

News Time, Children! Not too much happened this month but there were some goodies. Let's see what all happened.

--A brand new SG has started entitled SEPIGON. Check it out.

--Respected City of IF citizen Mister Biz has returned after a brief hiatus and then promptly flooded the city with his works.

--A couple new RPs have started up. They are A Wrinkle in Time, located in the group section and if you wish to glance through and read one there is Revenge in the One on One area. In related news, The Color of Sound roleplay has started to see some more activity.

-- The City was pleased to welcome a couple new people into it and to see some activity come from them. Welcome to Cremuex Levier and Logan Ethan Kane.


And that's all for general news this last month! If you feel you have a bit of news you'd like to see in the next edition of the IF Quirer, feel free to contact the Chief Editor PopeAlessandrosXVIII at any time during the month.



Happy IF Day!


BStheGreat
sparta12
Kalanna Rai
Jack_D.Mented
Thracia Alba
Sasuke
Mastermind
Kirranna
Mattheus
theend
Sheherazade
Serge Wolf
Natmiel
ftbritish
AdReNaLYNN
phoenix78
dameyoutohell
jess1561
zelda zonk
grace
Guardian_Angel
dariusmf
King_Naterz
misterbiz
gnomes
Fawx
Jaybreezy
Dimka
phaze
omgdude147
itybitydancer
Revenant
igostridge
hangmansipose
zammypk332
busterbaddy1
ThePryn
BrittneyX
Ivanhoe
yeller679
Isaiah
krazysnerd
SuperEL
Pockey
Lelgo56
UndeadCowboy
jezza4899
themus
keada darkness 09
jeana


Congrats to all and Happy IF Day



Words O' Wisdom

"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."
--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle



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Cremuex Levier
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice issue everyone.

Might I ask what IFY stands for? I assume it's some sort of award like the logies or some sort.

Do people not do the find-a-words? That's a shame, thank you for who ever made that image though.

Welcome back Mr Biz, not that I knew you were gone. Laughing
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

IFY's are the Oscars of IF. They're not an acronym for anything, they're just a lot of fun.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:41 am    Post subject: Mur Reply with quote

I do the Wordfind myself each month by hand. I try to not repeat words each month, so I have to dig deeper and deeper around IF each time I go looking for words. . . . .Poeple use to do it all the time, then they stopped. . . . .Biz-kun rocks. . . .He's one of my editors. . . . .I am soooooo tired right now *Dies*
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

D'awww!! i made the Mindset!! haha!

GREAT issue, guys. HEH, i liked your article especially. it could be said that all of us here are writing in the same way--not really controlling where it goes, just writing.

anywho, loved it guys, and i'm REALLY looking forward to the Ifys!! Good luck to you all!
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 7:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah.. brilliant edition Clapping

Keep up the great work guys... HEH's article was especially good to me, but the whole issue was really amazing!
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