Contest Commences!

I have a prompt for you! 

I used the words you all provided and shuffled them up, made a list in random order and went from there.  The following is what came to me, plus a sketch you can see in the last post.  Isn't it amazing how you can get the ideas down in many ways?  The sketch nailed the scene idea for me, actually.

"She slumps in the clammy darkness, her mind as dark and empty as the cavern, her bones aching with chill.  She is tired, not the ordinary kind, but pure exhaustion so that she wants to die.  And, with it, her enemies are winning: she can no longer fight them off.  When the needle accurately finds her vein with the unholy injectables, fire dives and weaves within her blood.  Her power responds, rises within--the precursor to much, much worse than loss of control."

You can do whatever you like with that, gang.  Follow it, set it up, have it be the cause or effect of your flash piece, or just let the prompt inspire you in some tangential riff.  Just have fun with it!  [NOTE: you DO NOT have to use any of the prompt words in your story.  They were just to inspire me to create the prompt.]

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The Details.

1. If you haven't heard about this contest already, you can read here to see how the prompt was created. 
2. Submit a 200-250 word flash fiction, urban fantasy story.  Don't worry if it's a little short or long, just make it a complete story.  Do not, however, exceed 300.  [UPDATE 8/12: The prompt is not a part of your story's word count, and you are NOT REQUIRED to use any of the prompt words in your story.]
3. Submit your entry to me via email with the header "4th Bloggaversary contest" to writtenwyrdd AT live DOT com as an .rtf file.  The attachment MUST be an .rtf file, as entries in the email body and Word place all sorts of html code in the text. 
4. Give me a link address for your blog or website and I'll include it with your entry.  If you wish to use a pseudonym or to not have me link, just let me know. 
5. Be sure to include a valid reply email so I can contact you if the story doesn't arrive with the email or something else like that.  (It happens.)
6. You can submit up to two entries, but send them to me separately. 
7. Deadline for submissions will be midnight on Sunday, August 22nd.  However, if I do not have enough entries to justify giving out three prizes, I will either extend the deadline until we get a dozen or so entries or I'll just give one prize to the entry with the most votes.
8. Voting will commence from closure of submissions for one week. 
9. Readers will vote for three categories: winner, runner up, and best use of the prompt.
10. Prizes on offer will be 1) a Buddy Christ bobble head; 2) a Nunzilla 3) the anthology Steampunk by editors Ann & Jeff Vandemeer; or 4) the possibly risky and very speculative option to have me come up with some semi-personalized art for you. 
11. The prizes will be chosen by the winners in order of bragging rights.  (See previous post here for pictures and more information.)
12. Winners will be announced on August 29th*. *(See #7 above re exceptions.  In the event the submissions deadline changes, voting will last at least a week after that new date.)

Please, if you would, announce the contest's commencement-- via FB, Twitter, your blog, or email friends you believe may be interested-- so that we have plenty of entries and voters!  Last time we had twenty one and it was a good number--not to many to read.  I'd appreciate it.  

PS: This contest is open to anyone, anyplace, even though it might be a real pain in the butt to ship to Eastern Europe or what have you.  Except prison.  If you are in prison, I don't like you and you aren't eligible. 

Comments

[laughingwolf]

cool... will plug it :)

[Charles Gramlich]

Eggselent. I've copied it to a file and now will begin to allow cogitation to work on it in hopes some ephemeral idea will emerge from the dankness of my unsconscious and deign to allow itself to be articulated.

[writtenwyrdd]

Could you type that with a straight face? ;)
I look forward to seeing your entry.

[writtenwyrdd]

Thanks!

[Avery]

Very cool. I'll play, and put a blurb up on my blog about it.

[writtenwyrdd]

So cool. Look forward to reading it.

[Betsy Dornbusch]

I don't play contests, but have fun!

[Charles Gramlich]

I have a question actually. The 250 word thing. If we use the prompt as the start of the story, does it count toward the 250 word limit?

[writtenwyrdd]

Ye gods, no! But a good question. We are only going to count what you write. I would like your submission to be a story on its own, though. My thought was that my prompt shouldn't be required reading to 'get' your story submission; but you can use your best judgment on that.

[Sylvia]

I'd like to point out that the last contest Writtenwyrd held, I wrote two drafts trying to get to the right story.

I didn't win the contest. But one of the drafts led to a story that just sold to an anthology and my entry is looking like it might sell to a flash magazine. So I definitely recommend taking the time to enter!

[writtenwyrdd]

I inspire, I beta read, I edit, I toss ideas all over the place-- why don't I spend more time writing and submit my own stuff? Gah.

Congrats on your stories, though! Woot!

[writtenwyrdd]

You should submit, Bets! It'll be fun!

[Kathleen A. Ryan]

I learned about your site & contest from Charles. I tweeted a link to your contest announcement. (My username on Twitter is @katcop13). It's been retweeted several times already by those interested in Urban Fantasy ~ the word's getting around!

[Whirlochre]

Ooooh, I'm in!

[writtenwyrdd]

Thanks, kathleen! It's great to have a lot of participants, so I hope you enter, too. And thanks for stopping by.

[writtenwyrdd]

Good. What would a contest be without your particular brand of wit?

[Mother(Re)Produces]

The US Justice System being what it is, consider the possibility that about half the people languishing in prison are not particularly guilty. That being said, I can see why you might not wish to hand out your return address to the other half.

In any case, I will see what I can do.

[writtenwyrdd]

Well, regardless of the unknowable quantity of innocents in prison, they were convicted by the system we all live under. But I wrote that in humor, mostly.

Thanks for spreading the word.

[Natasha Fondren]

Argh. I've got nothing! I'm sorry. My brain's a blank when it comes to ideas. I'm looking forward to reading the entries, though!