I'm afraid the complexities of running an international competition is just too great

I tend to disagree. Just ask Shadowline. Their contest was open to everyone. Plus, by participating in the contest, the participants agree to the rules as set by Tokyopop.

But then, I'm not a lawyer, and not playing one on TV. (And wouldn't have participated anyway, because I'm not in deep enough in the Dreaming universe.)

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Hehe... I personally felt that way at first, but then if TOKYOPOP finds it too complicated, there's probably a number of legal issues that aren't apparent to non-lawyers like us.

I think it has something to do with the different branches of TOKYOPOP in different regions, like how TOKYOPOP Australia is a franchise owned by Funtastic (a big toy company). Even when they're running RSOM competitions (for manga), they have to run it regionally.

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Just a question for you. As a judge what would you be looking for in a story? Something rather liner or something that has a stylized uniqueness to it?

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I'm rather open-minded about that. If you write with a stylised uniqueness that will give you extra points, but there's alot more than that when I'm trying to decide whether a prose story is good or not. I like to look for things like story structure, originality, characterisations, how well the writer evokes the atmosphere they want, etc. just as much as having a distinct voice. Having a unique voice is definately a big advantage, but putting that above all other things in consideration would be a big mistake.

Besides, I'm not the only judge of the competition. :D Alot of other editors at TOKYOPOP are on the judging panel too, and they may look for different things. A well-rounded entry is probably the best way to go. :D

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Great thanks for the help. I'm sure you're quiet busy reading all the enteries that came in. I must say that your story has some of the most interesting concepts that I've come across in a while. Especially on the take of the Fairy king. Out of curiosity, where did you get the idea of the Quinkan?

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The Quinkan is an aboriginal spirit - it exists in aboriginal mythology (aka "The Dreaming"). If you do a google search, you can probably find something about it. :D

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I actually found it, thank you for the suggestion. I have a friend that lives in Australia, and oddly enough she's never heard of this myth before. Hummm, by the way, it mentioned two types, a thin good one and a fat bad one in the article I found on the subject. I remember that your drawing in the last book seemed to imply a thin looking creature. I was just curious if you heard about the different ones, or if there are various versions of the myth that say it's only one type of creature?

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of this. I know you're probably quiet busy. :D

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Hiya, great to see you've done research! :D And you found something too. I'm not surprised your friend doesn't know about the Quinkan - not alot of people know much about aboriginal myths and legends, in Australia or elsewhere.

As for the thin and fat ones - yes, I know about these. The legends vary from place to place, but generally speaking they seem to be fat = good and thin = bad. Personally, I think it's because of the nature of the aboriginal language - "Quinkan" may be a general word for "spirit", with different kinds of words for different kinds of spirits. It's difficult to tell, since there are so many aboriginal languages, but for that reason, I left the details in "The Dreaming" rather vague.

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Well!! Wish I had found this sooner.

Fantastic Manga, the pictures of the girls stabbing themselves with those knives creeped me out. I had nightmares, that's how frightenly well they were drawn!!

I just mailed mine off today. Had to hold my squirmy 5 month old most of the time I was writing and editing it, so it went slower than desired, but since that was the only way I could have the time to write, (he's lovable, but cries unless he'd held) I'm pretty pleased I got it done!! Now, I pray it doesn't get lost in the mail...

--Sarah Lamb

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Hi Sarah,
Thanks for letting me know you entered the competition - it's great to have all kinds of people entering this. I'll keep my eye out for your entry - I'm looking forward to reading it.

And I'm real glad you enjoyed "The Dreaming". :D I'm always grateful when people let me know they liked it - a big hug to you (and your 5 month old boy)!

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*gives gift of mountain dew*

you're gonna have a hard time reading all of those entries.

the time frame they've given for this is nuts.

contests ends April 15(but they'll be receiving entries until around the 25th or so...)
winners announced June 1st. (probably decided on by the 20th of may.)

hence the gift of mountain dew... for all those late night readings.

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Thanks for the mountain dew. :D But this time I think I need Red Bull too (lots of it!!). :D

The contest actually started on the 1st February... but I'm an ass for not advertising it on my site immediately. :( I was preoccupied with finishing "Odd Thomas" to the point where I just rolled over and bellied up when I finished at the end of February. :P

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*revised gift of red bull*

Enjoyed the Dreaming, hope to pester the local Barnes and Noble into ordering a copy of "Odd Thomas". ^^ Don't know why, but if I want a book... they never have it on the shelves ^^;

(just the cosmos playin' with my mind I guess)

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No worries - they're doing a massive promotional blitz for "In Odd We Trust" (the official name for the Odd Thomas book), and there's no way you're going to miss it. Bookstores ARE going to be stocking it.

The cosmo play with your mind not, on this one.

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hope the entries have been interesting enough that you didn't have to use the red bull.

lol

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I've been sent 6 of them to judge winners by - haven't gotten around to reading them yet, but I doubt I'll need the red bull. The TOKYOPOP editors have said that the standards were quite high, and they were pleased by what they got. I'm looking forward to reading them (once I answer my huge batch of emails).

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emails are a pain.(which I'm probably making worse by typing this)

I'm glad they didn't make you read all of the entries.

I can't wait to see who's won.

I did enter... but I'm horrible at keeping to another universe. I tend to embellish too much (to say nothing for my grammar)^^;

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I already chose the winners, but it will be a secret until TOKYOPOP announces them. :D
I don't want to steal the thunder by announcing it on this blog. I'll post up my experiences of reading about the winners though. :D

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cool no worries about telling my name then.

Holly Plyler,(I did place in the last writing contest they held so I may have been in the six you got ^^)

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Ah, I'm afraid they took all the names off the contest entries so I wouldn't be biased. :D So I'm afraid I don't know who wrote any of them, LOL! XD
I'm pretty sure TP would contact you if you got a placement.
Thankyou for entering the contest though!! *hugs* Regardless of the outcome, good luck and please continue writing. :D

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hi my name is Sarah

just a heads up love the dreaming series! i've read them all and i am trying 2 get all of them (so far i have the 1st 1). but just a quick question, do we need illustrations in the short stories? and 1 more thing what inspired u 2 create " the dreaming"?

thanks and hope u can respond :)

from, sarah l. (1 of ur biggest fans)

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Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your message, and I'm glad you enjoyed "The Dreaming"! :D Good luck collecting the books - I'll be really flattered if you get all of them.

As for the illustrations, are you talking about the writing competition? I'm afraid it closed at the end of April, so they won't be taking any more entries. Sorry you missed it, if that's what you're asking about.

As for what inspired "The Dreaming", it was largely a book called "Picnic at Hanging Rock", which was a very famous Australian novel written in the 1960s about a group of schoolgirls who disappeared in the bush. It captured the public imagination, and would you believe, years later, a classmate of mine disappeared in the bush too. It was a combination of these 2 things... Hope that helped. :D

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Hi Queenie! I just got done reading the third volume. My wife read it before I did, and she was thoroughly freaked out. The story did not bother me as much, though. In fact, I especially like the fact that the story can be used as a segue into a discussion into critical thinking. One of the sisters eventually becomes fascinated in woo-woo. When I read about why she got into that, I shook my head and wished that she were better equipped with skepticial thinking.

Unfortunately, it seems that I will not be able to enter this competition. There does not seem to be enough time. What I had in mind was a story that looks at the events of The Dreamining in a skeptic's point of view. There is one particular aspect of the entire thing that I find striking. At one point, I sat down to think about exactly how many times the characters themselves were able to establish any sort of confirmation whatsoever of a single instance of truly otherwordly, paranormal phenomena. As far as I could tell, the answer is exactly none. We are shown a great number of usual events, but we are never given anything better than cultural mythologies and a legend of a certain event in the past. We are never given any indication of how exactly any of these mythologies or legends actually reflect reality. Questioning the validity of these theories is not the same as questioning what exactly happens, of course. What happens is what happens. We should take into consideration mass delusions, faulty memories, and other naturalistic phenomena that we currently are not aware of. The mythologies and legends seem to be used as the default attempts at explaining these usual events only because no other theories have been proposed and taken seriously by the characters. Just because one set of theories is the only one that is considered does not make it any more real than idle speculation or just an honest "I don't really know."

There is one more thing. Most of the events in The Dreamining do not happen in the present day, right? As far as I remember, the events take place in the early 1990s...

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Haha, I'm glad it at least got you thinking. Yours is not an uncommon way of thinking - I'm a skeptic myself, but to be able to write a ghost story, you have to suspend your skeptic brain and BELIEVE that the supernatural is not only real, but all around you. I take it you're not the kind of person to do that (to be honest, neither am I), but what you've put up here would be quite good for a classroom discussion. Some people are just more prone to flights of fancy, mysticism and other-worldly beliefs... and others are completely not. If you were present in "The Dreaming" storyline, I doubt ANY of the things would have happened as they have LOL!!

And yes, "The Dreaming" takes place in the early 1990s (you figured it out on your own, it seems). If it happened during the present day, everyone would be toting mobiles and laptops and wireless internet connections, and the students wouldn't be isolated at the school.

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Off topic, but considering my fairly recent interest in copyrights and the legal mumbo jumbo surrounding comic books, I discovered this old post of yours and am going to be referring to it later. Let me know if you mind.

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Nah, I don't mind.
I won't be getting into trouble, will I? :P

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hiya it's sarah l. again,

i just wanted 2 say that the dreaming was a great series and a great sugges!
i love how u respond 2 peoples blogs on here. i will be entering the contest i am getting started on it right know and i have a great idea!

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