Origins of Troublesome Musings

I host a forum ("Acid Tongued"  [18+]) where stories of a non-mainstream nature are shared, discussed and reviewed. One day, Tension , a visitor to the forum, sent me an e-mail suggested I run a contest for these writings. That contest bloomed into

ID: 840115   (Rated: 18+) Troublesome Musings  Free your words. Be handsomely rewarded. New round open! by Elisa, Stik 15K

an annual contest hosted over the spring and summer with generous prizes. Why such generous prizes? In my opinion, writings of a taboo or unusual nature need all the recognition they can get. I'm also a generous person by nature Well, Tension is the first person I have to thank, as he sent me the e-mail in January/February of 2004. I got the contest up and running by May thanks in a large part to CTalley and Davy Kraken . Both of these wonderful people gave me advice and suggestions on all the technical aspects of the contest, from revising the rules to the format of the contest forum. Thank you both. I'd still be agonizing over the set up if it wasn't for you.

Now that the origins have been explained and credit has been given to those wonderful behind the scenes motivators, it's time to answer that burning question:

What is a troublesome musing?

Troublesome is not sex. Troublesome is not violence. Troublesome is not profanity/obscenity. Troublesome is not theme.

Troublesome is ORIGINAL. Troublesome is DIFFERENT. Troublesome is THOUGHT-PROVOKING. Troublesome is UNUSUAL.

~Lynn McKenzie

A troublesome musing is a writing of any form that is largely unaccepted by the mainstream populace for whatever reason. It can be of any rating (last year's winning pieces ranged in rating from 13+ to GC+, but all ratings are accepted in the contest), any static item (essay, poem, short story, etc.) and for this contest can be up to 100 KB in length. Usually a good troublesome musing has some sort of intrguing twist. Such twists include unusual genre combinations (political erotica, anyone?) or a refreshing take on a topic (such as suicide on a dream vacation). The 2004 round saw a diverse crop of entries of many different topics, including serial killers, homeless writers and rape. Therefore, anything goes in this contest...excluding fluffy and tame writing. To see the list of winners, feel free to check out "Troublesome Winners"  [18+].


Now as I've said before, I had plenty of help with getting this contest going. However, I'd also like to acknowledge past donors and judges as well, since their contributions were very much appreciated.

PAST DONORS

Stormy Lady 2004
Former member kimberlyb1968 2004
Petra Pansky 2004
Wendopolis 2004
Redbird on brief hiatus 2004
MaryLou 2004
Former member panthera 2004
Jax: Not here. 2005
SilkAngel 2005
Former member lynk 2005
Laurel 2005
The Dankins 2006
Wenston 2006
Pia Veleno 2006
Demon Squirrel of Doom! 2006
Stiggles 2007
Former member plafleur 2007
Mark 2007
mars 2007
Acme 2007
Adriana Noir 2008
Confused *MJ Quixote* 2008
Isiterra working too much... 2008
Mark 2008
Jenn - Hopeful for the Future 2008
Lynn McKenzie 2008
Anonymous 2008, 2009
Former member flex 2009
Former member scattered 2009
Gabriel Daniel Albrigo 2010
Redtowrite 2010
Lobelia is truly blessed 2010
Maria Mize 2010


If you would like to donate, please send your contributions to "Troublesome Banking"  [18+].


PAST JUDGES

Grammar Hawk 2004
*~*Chelle thanks anon*~* 2004
Jax: Not here. 2005
Hollowεtεrnity 2005
Davy Kraken 2006
Former member terryjroo 2006
Robert Waltz 2007
Former member plafleur 2007
Stiggles 2007
Lynn McKenzie 2008
SoCalScribe (as ragefire2000) 2008
Acme 2009
Former member c.t.moon 2009
LdyPhoenix - Lost in the mire. 2009
Ben Langhinrichs-quiet 2010
pitbull 2010

If you are interested in judging, feel free to send me an e-mail.

Likewise, if you want to help but can neither judge nor donate, you can always help get the word out. To link the item in forums, there's an item alias for this contest. Instead of typing in the number, just type 'troublesome' into any item tag. Then presto! A link to the contest is ready to go! For the more visual types, be on the lookout for new image tags.

This concludes the humble story of my contest. I enjoyed running it last year, and I hope that with each year it becomes more fun and more diverse with entries. I enjoy reading writings that dare to explore uncharted and taboo territory, and rewarding them is even better. So, won't you care to jump in and join me on this wild ride we call Troublesome Musings?