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Writing.Com Time

Saturday
November 21, 2009
6:36am EST

>> Message Forum >> Contest >> ID #1269187 | Show Details

Twisted Tales Contest		Rated: 13+
A monthly contest for stories with a twist. Get 500 GPs for entering! Nov round open!
by: arakun the twisted raccoon	Avg Rating: (61)

You don't have to have a twisted mind to enter this contest, but it helps!

Thanks to waterfalcon6 for the contest sig and Acme for this merit badge!

Write for me the type of story I love to read--a tale with a plot twist or surprise ending. I'm an expert at figuring out the twist before it happens. See if you can fool me! It's a great way to sharpen your plot development skills and win prizes. All entrants receive 500 GPs just for entering! November round is open!

Plot twists are a basic element of mystery and suspense writing, but definitely not limited to those genres. They add excitement and interest to comedy, romance, fantasy, and almost any type of story. Stories by Dean Koontz and Jeffery Deaver give good examples of what I want. Most of their books contain at least one good twist. Other examples are the following short stories:
"Rain Rain Go Away" by Isaac Asimov
"The Open Window" by H. H. Munro (Saki)
"Charles" and "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
You can also check out last month's winners listed at the bottom of this page. All of them were fantastic!

RULES

The contest will run from the first to the last day of each month. Depending on the number of entries, winners should be posted by the 10th of the following month.

Entries must be no less than 300 and no more than 6000 words. Please include a word count with your entry. Please don't exceed the maximum of 6000 words. I hate having to disqualify good stories because they are too long.

Must contain at least one plot twist or surprise ending. Any genre is accepted.

Complete short stories only. Sorry, no poetry or novel chapters.

I don't care about the rating, but please rate appropriately. Intro and title must be rated E.

Post entries in the forum using a bitem link. Example
ID:
Title: Invalid Item
Description: This item number is not valid.
By: Not Available.
with your item number in place of the # symbols. If you don't have space in your portfolio to do this, you can post your entry directly into the forum, as long as it is not rated above 13+.

You may enter one story per round. If your story doesn't win anything, you are welcome to enter it in the next round.

Previously written stories are accepted as long as they follow the rules. Stories that have won awards are allowed as long as they haven't won an award in this contest.

You may edit your entry as many times as you want before the round closes. I won't judge them until then. Please feel free to read and review each other's entries.

Judge's decisions are final.

PRIZES
First Prize:
Merit Badge, Awardicon, and 20,000 GPs
Second Place:
Awardicon and 10,000 GPs
Third Place:
Awardicon and 5,000 GPs
Three honorable mentions of 1000 GPs each

In a month with less than ten entries, only the first prize will be awarded.

All entrants will receive an in-depth review of their entries and 500 GPs for entering a story that follows the rules.

Donations of gift points to be used for prizes are always welcome!

JUDGING CRITERIA

Plot
Plot development is of utmost importance in this contest. Is it original? Does it keep me interested? Does it unfold logically and make sense? The twists should be unexpected, not unbelievable.

Description
Do you bring your characters and settings to life? Are you able to weave your descriptions into the story without derailing the plot?

Grammar, punctuation, and spelling
Is the story free of typos, incomplete or run-on sentences, and other technical errors? This isn't as important as the other two criteria, as long as your grammar and spelling aren't so bad that I can't tell what you are trying to say!

October Winners!

1st place
ID: 1588184 (Rated: 13+)
Title: A Musical Intuition
Description: An unexpected resolution for a superstitious private-eye.
By: Coolhand

2nd place
ID: 1351169 (Rated: 18+)
Title: Petra's Sanctuary
Description: A shorter version of a novella that I never finished but may go back to.
By: Mark C ~ 2 years on WDC

3rd place
ID: 1610344 (Rated: ASR)
Title: Instant Ancestors
Description: What can become of a box of old photographs
By: PlannerDan

Honorable mention (no particular order)

ID: 1611261 (Rated: 13+)
Title: The Wooden Sphere
Description: There is no stopping a vivid imagination until it leads to somewhere else.
By: W.D. Wilcox© ¿ Φ

ID: 963470 (Rated: 18+)
Title: Stones and Silence
Description: A college senior discovers he's much more than he ever thought he was.
By: Miranda - head up & moving on

ID: 1522004 (Rated: E)
Title: The Last Dance
Description: A short story
By: The Rider of King's Hill

Judge
arakun the twisted raccoon

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please post them in the forum or email me.

Check out these great contests!

ID: 1277388 (Rated: ASR)
Title: Beyond The Water's Edge
Description: Flash Fiction challenge from your friends at the Pond :) Open to all WDC members!
By: arakun the twisted raccoon

ID: 896794 (Rated: 13+)
Title: Daily Flash Fiction Challenge
Description: Daily prompt and 1500 GP prize - enter your story of 300 words or fewer!
By: arakun the twisted raccoon

[ Post a new Message

There are 999 visible Posts. Viewing page 1 of 40 with per page.

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#999. This is my entry for November

--->>ID #2000745 by Brian

on 11-21-09 @ 5:33 am

#998. November Entry Posted.........

--->>ID #2000327 by S M Ferguson

on 11-20-09 @ 12:40 am

#997. November entry

--->>ID #1999551 by OldRoses

on 11-18-09 @ 1:13 am

#996. The bill of sale.

--->>ID #1999397 by bricksandsparrows

on 11-17-09 @ 3:29 pm

#995. My Entry - The Holiday

--->>ID #1998498 by Hazel

on 11-15-09 @ 12:22 pm

#994. My Entry - Steel Spores

--->>ID #1998466 by TrippyMert

on 11-15-09 @ 10:47 am

#993. October winners!

>>>>>>ID #1996585 by arakun the twisted raccoon on 11-11-09 @ 12:50 am

#992. Happy Holidays!

--->>ID #1994113 by Coolhand

on 11-11-09 @ 11:21 am

#991. november entry

--->>ID #1994004 by pumpkinhead

on 11-05-09 @ 11:32 am

#990. My November 09 Entry: Nebo

--->>ID #1993767 by N.N. Woodbury

on 11-04-09 @ 8:33 pm

#989. My Ent Tree

--->>ID #1993519 by W.D. Wilcox© ¿ Φ

on 11-04-09 @ 12:27 pm

#988. first contest

--->>ID #1991837 by walker of the dark

on 11-01-09 @ 3:06 pm

#987. October round closed! November open!

>>>>>>ID #1991610 by arakun the twisted raccoon on 11-01-09 @ 12:37 am

#986. My October Entry

--->>ID #1991580 by Mark C ~ 2 years on WDC

on 10-31-09 @ 11:45 pm

#985. I'll give it a shot

--->>ID #1990646 by Miranda - head up & moving on

on 10-30-09 @ 8:41 am

#984. My entry

--->>ID #1989557 by Ratfink

on 10-28-09 @ 10:59 am

#983. My entry

--->>ID #1988542 by Adrianna

on 10-26-09 @ 4:34 am

#982. entry posted at request of author

>>>>>>ID #1987968 by arakun the twisted raccoon on 10-25-09 @ 12:26 am

#981. My Ent Tree

on 10-23-09 @ 2:31 pm

#980. Twisted Tales Entry - Oct. 09 Short Story of about 800 words

--->>ID #1986831 by EvilDawg

on 10-22-09 @ 4:27 pm

#979. My Entry

--->>ID #1986813 by PlannerDan

on 10-22-09 @ 3:41 pm

#978. my entry

--->>ID #1986536 by The Rider of King's Hill

on 10-22-09 @ 3:13 am

#977. my twisted tale!

--->>ID #1986358 by katt

on 10-21-09 @ 5:48 pm

#976. Global Cyberspace of 2020

--->>ID #1985244 by P-Nut

on 10-19-09 @ 4:08 pm

#975. My entry for October: short story of 1,800 words.

--->>ID #1982231 by George Orwell's Ghost

on 10-13-09 @ 6:55 pm

There are 999 visible Posts. Viewing page 1 of 40 with per page.

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