Just finished my pet Joswood's overlay which you can find here: xXx

I feel pretty proud of it ^_^

Also, for my question, when it comes to pet stories, do you prefer long or short? Should the stories always be long? Always be short? Or does it all boil down to the pet in question?

And how would you go about making an ordinary, everyday pet stand out from the crowd?

Nice overlay C:

I think it boils down to the pet in question, personally. Just using my own pets for ease, Named has a longer story because it fits him better and it helps to explain everything as opposed to just skipping to the end (which I haven't even got to writing yet) which would make sense alone but wouldn't sound as good, in my opinion. On the other hand, Abderian has a more simple story which doesn't really need any background knowledge or explanation as to what's going on, and Leaquina's is even shorter because it's written somewhat like an "about the author" section in a book so it doesn't need a lot of detail and wouldn't make sense being long. Personally, if I were you, I'd just go for whatever you felt most comfortable doing. If you think you can do a long story for your pet, just go with it and write as much as feels natural or until you personally think it's excessive. If a shorter story fits, there's nothing wrong with sticking to something more simple and to the point or just more fast paced.

I'm going to ignore the standing out question though because I'm not so good at that myself so I'm sure someone else can answer better than me ^_^;

... that was slightly longer than planned.

Thank you so much!

Also thank you for linking your pets as example and for taking the time to reply :) In that regard I do see more of what you mean by the amount written being linked to the type of pet in question. I think I might try your suggestion and go with whatever feels comfortable (though I'd be surprised if I wrote anything then because writing is one of my weakest creative areas :P) I really appreciate your input in the matter though :)

That's fine ^_^

To be honest, I don't even think about what I'm writing at all. When I started Named's story, I wanted something short and simple and, well, you can see how long it is so far and it's not complete yet. It might be an idea for you to try that and just go with the flow then do any editing so it flows better after, or whatever. I tend to avoid the editing process personally because I know I'd scrap the entire story and start again every time, but that's just me and it means my stories don't end up as well as they could so I wouldn't advise it... Anyway, I'm sure your writing will be fine (: As long as you're happy with it, that's all that matters really. Things like the spotlight are good and all, but there's no point making your pet something you don't like to please others so just writing whatever and however much you personally want should come first, which I why I think mindless writing can work well for a first draft.

I think that was getting to be part of my problem. Seeing all the different posts about pets who aren't good enough for the spotlight, the talk of increased standards, the people upset about not making it in. I think seeing all that instilled some sort of fear in me to make to think twice about whether or not any of my pets would be good enough.

I will take your advice though and stick to just writing these stories for my own interest, spotlight entrant or not :) Thank you!

That's fine :) Working on your pets should be enjoyable so try not to worry about it!

If you're really worrying about the spotlight here then let me take away some of your anxiousness. The spotlight people don't prefer a particular length, they only want you story to be unique and to illustrate your pet. That's where we're back to: do what makes you feel comfortable! Have you checked the recent winners? Story length differs a lot. And also there's no pet that's 'not good enough'. There are only pets that aren't according to the spotlight guidelines and that's what people are trying to do. Make their pets meet the guidelines. But that's a personal decision. You don't have to. Maybe take a look at the not interested in the spotlight thread? People have very sound arguments not care about it, too ;) As for your question how to make a pet interesting: personally I think you do that best with good graphics and/or good art. I know that's expensive if you're not an artist yourself but it IS what people see at first glance and I guess it does play a role in the decision to read on or not. I myself haven't commissioned graphics, because I like to do my pets myself. Still everyone has a point where they can't get further and then there's surely someone in these forums who will be able to solve your problems ;) I'd say your overlay is very much a step in the right direction ;) Made me want to pet this little guy, right away XD Don't let yourself feel pressured, just enjoy.

your pet is very cute! i think whatever story you write for it will be wonderful, as long as you believe in it.