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 |   A book for all my SCREAMS!!! Entries. |
 Foreword Hello readers, Thank you so much for your interest in my writing. I hope that you'll take the time to go through this introduction at least once, preferably before reading anything else in the book. It contains a lot of information that I, as the author, would like my potential audience to be aware of prior to viewing the following stories. If you wish to skip this page, I won't hold it against you - but all the same I'd appreciate if you kept reading. You are already here, after all, and it would go a long way toward easing the ever raging anxieties that I experience when posting content of this nature. Those of you who continue reading, thank you in advance for your time and understanding. You are without a doubt some of my favorite people. Those of you who don't wish to continue, I'll know. Context I get nervous about everything, especially about showing people things I've done. I don't like people seeing things that are in progress or even second or third drafts. My preferred process is to edit pieces over and over until I hate seeing them anymore, and then I still get nervous when people read them. As you can imagine, this can be an issue for someone who would like to be an author someday. Some of the things that I'm hoping to get better about on Writing.Com are finishing things, writing shorter pieces, practicing the horror genre, and becoming more comfortable with having people read things - even if they're not perfect. Then people started telling me about SCREAMS!!! The Contest For those of you who don't know, SCREAMS!!! is this wonderful little horror contest:
Every day writers have 24 hours to respond to the daily horror prompt in the less than 1,500 words. It's absolutely amazing, and it's run by some really amazing people. There are wonderful sponsors, great hosts, neat prizes, and there are some really talented writers posting new horror stories all the time, as well as some really creative and sometimes challenging prompts. if you haven't checked it out, you totally should. Note: When I first posted this collection, SCREAMS!!! was a 24 hour, daily horror contest. For the sake of context I left my earlier introduction up there (since it does explain why I helped start this collection) but it should be noted that since then it has gone from a daily contest with a weekly bonus winner to a weekly contest with a monthly bonus winner. The change happened at some point in between my entries 25 and 26. As you can imagine, it's also something that I think is going to really help me work through some of the aforementioned writing issues I'm trying to get past. I've been working up the nerve to submit on a more regular basis, which brings us to this. The Book I've entered twice, and immediately began to notice issues. Aside from the basic things (my fear of posting barely edited work, my desire to make stories much longer than 1,500 words, etc.) there were three main things that really bothered me. 1. The entries were cluttering up my portfolio with work that I feel doesn't represent my normal standard/style of writing. (Not to mention taking up a lot of slots.) 2. I'm getting a lot of technical/grammatical feedback on entries that I often have less than an hour to edit and hearing over and over from reviewers about where I'm missing commas or have made typing errors was starting to drive me a little insane. 3. Trying to write a review disclaimer that concisely captured the context of the situation while politely outlining the essence of what I'd like to hear about in reviews for these entries was driving me insane. That was when I got the idea to throw all of my entries into one book entry. It will clean up my portfolio, ratings won't apply to individual entries but I can still get some feedback, I can include a review request instead of typing it out lengthy disclaimers all the time, and best of all, it will (hopefully) help me learn to format book items before I attempt to post any of my lengthier work. The title of the book, as you're probably aware, is Mumurationis Cotidie, which might or might not roughly translate to "Screaming Daily" which I thought would be an appropriate title, assuming that's even close to what it actually means. Who knows? Not me, because my Latin is far from perfect, much like my SCREAMS!!! entries, which I felt like made the perfect metaphor. The idea is there, but the execution is probably incredibly flawed. Awards and Recognition As you guys may have noticed I now have some lovely awardicons adorning this book. The first is courtesy of Angus  . It's for a specific story in the collection, "Invalid Entry"  , which won the weekly contest.The second is for the entire collection, courtesy of Lornda   and Beautiful Candy  .The third is also from Angus for another specific entry "Invalid Entry" which won the weekly contest (1/1-1/8 2017)The fourth, surprisingly, is from Angus for entry "Invalid Entry" which won the weekly contest "Weekly Winner! (2/19-2/26)" I'm also very honored (and pleasantly surprised) to announce that it has received a 2016 Quills Award Nomination for Best Short Story Collection. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** While the collection did not win the category - it was an honorable mention and I received my lovely, purple awardicon, courtesy of Andy~hating university  The sixth awardicon for the collection was also awarded by Andy~hating university for a specific story "Invalid Entry" which won the weekly award.The seventh awardicon is from Angus for my "Invalid Entry" which won a special edition of the daily contest.The eighth is for "Invalid Entry" which won "Weekly Winner (8/12 to 8/19)" .The ninth is for "Invalid Entry" which won "Weekly Winner (8/26 to 9/2)" The tenth is for "Invalid Entry" which won weekly winnerThe eleventh is for entry "Invalid Entry" which won "Weekly Winner (4/21-4/28)" This collection was featured by the wonderful willwilcox in "Horror/Scary Newsletter (November 30, 2016)" . Conclusion Thank you for reading this, those of you who did. I feel better having the reasoning behind this book put into some context for the reader. I'm going to put the review request information in a separate entry, so that when I link to it at the bottom of each entry (yes, I really am that paranoid) that's the only thing people have to read, and hopefully that will make them more likely to actually read it and take it into consideration. If you keep going, I hope you find at least one thing in here that you can at least sort of enjoy, or that makes you think or maybe gives you nightmares. |
42. Ginger Didn't Know September 13, 2018 at 2:51pm
PROMPT:
ONE OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
Ginger was pretty to look at, everyone agreed.
She had strawberry blonde hair, soft hazel eyes, a fair complexion, and the sort of lithe body that many would never be a... [Read more] 41. Freedom September 1, 2018 at 12:42pm
PROMPT:
SOMEONE CELEBRATING THEIR 18TH BIRTHDAY
Quinn was up with the first light of dawn, having barely managed to sleep at all the night before. She sat up from the couch where she had spent her last night i... [Read more] 40. An Artist and a Writer September 13, 2018 at 11:09pm
PROMPT:
ONE OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
“You know, I’m always going to support you, no matter what.”
That was always the hypothetical situation with Nate, and it probably always would be. He liked to tal... [Read more] 39. Predestiny February 8, 2019 at 11:42pm
PROMPT:
A SINISTER MINISTER
"Praise," said the man at the gate, "For I have found my place here in the Kingdom of Heaven."
And Saint Peter smiled upon him. "You served as a Minister fo... [Read more] 38. Completionist September 13, 2018 at 11:06pm
PROMPT:
FAMILY SECRET
Addiction runs heavily through the paternal side of my family.
My dad has been sober for fifteen of my nineteen years of life, but I hear the four before that were rough. His sister... [Read more] 37. ALFABET BORD August 22, 2018 at 2:08pm
PROMPT:
A OUIJA BOARD
HI!
my name is JAN. i think that it might be short for somthing, but i don't know what. my parents never told me. i never knew them well and i don't live in the house with th... [Read more] 35. Flung July 24, 2018 at 4:39am
PROMPT:
A NEWSPAPER AD
(any type of ad: a want ad, lost and found, etc., as long as it revolves around a newspaper ad)
“I can see why you didn't feel the need to be modest.” Grace said as she approa... [Read more] 34. Timestamps July 22, 2018 at 3:10pm
PROMPT:
what happens when midnight comes, and time as we know it stops..
11:50pm
This is it. In about 10 minutes we're going to hit the launch button on this thing. A deeper understanding of time, can... [Read more] 33. A Cat Named Hercules January 24, 2018 at 10:36am
PROMPT:
A guy becomes worried when he notices the neighborhood cats begin following him.
Ethan was saddened to see the cat trailing along behind him.
It was a cat he recognized, a well-loved neighborhood ... [Read more] 32. Too Wild, Too West January 23, 2018 at 10:23am
PROMPT:
Old West Theme
"Howdy there, partners." Aiden regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but then he tipped his hat anyway. And then he bowed.
I feel like a goddamned jackass.
... [Read more] 31. Ride to the Party January 22, 2018 at 10:10am
PROMPT:
Car
My story starts and ends with blood on the backseat of a '65 Mustang.
The first time I was sixteen. I was young and happy and all trouble. He was eighteen and gorgeous, and an entirely diffe... [Read more] 30. Leaving Early January 21, 2018 at 12:22pm
PROMPT:
I should never have taken this job
I should never have taken this job.
That's my first thought upon waking.
I needed the money but I don't think I can take it anymore. The fluorescent l... [Read more] 29.Them and Us January 20, 2018 at 10:52am
PROMPT:
Parasites
There is something different about the air in the house, I can feel it as soon as I rise.
I can smell death.
I slide out from under the covers where Beth had fallen asleep beside me. Sh... [Read more] 28. Waiting for the Bus January 3, 2018 at 8:01pm
PROMPT:
She finds new photos on her cell phone that she didn't take or put there.
Sharon is uncomfortable. The bus is late. The man is watching her.
She is flipping idly through the pictures on her p... [Read more] 27. Ouvert January 1, 2018 at 11:49pm
PROMPT:
OPEN
(I know this meant an open-ended prompt, but I took it in a more literal sense)
Anna saw the sign on her first walk around her new neighborhood.
“Ouvert,” it read.
She didn'... [Read more] 25. Alyssa's Boyfriend March 6, 2017 at 5:20am
PROMPT:
SMOKE OR ICE
“It’s kind of intimate, isn’t it?” She asked me the first time she saw me with a cigarette in my hand.
“What is?”
“Smoking.” Without asking she took the thing from... [Read more] 24. A Witch's Power March 5, 2017 at 2:56pm
PROMPT:
WITCHES
“You’re making a mistake,” she pleads, but I put a finger to her soft lips to keep her silent. She’s quivering and squirming, but the bonds hold steady. Tears stream down her cheeks.... [Read more] 23. Stalemate March 25, 2017 at 2:41am
PROMPT:
TAKE ONE CHARACTER YOU LOVE FROM A NOVEL YOU LOVE, AND ANOTHER CHARACTER YOU LOVE TO HATE FROM A DIFFERENT NOVEL YOU LOVE, AND MAKE SOMETHING SCARY HAPPEN BETWEEN THEM.
Two men sat at the edge of ob... [Read more] 22. Elisa February 20, 2017 at 10:02am
PROMPT:
GLOVES, SUNGLASSES, OR ANY OTHER USEFUL OBJECT THAT CONCEALS.
She came up to him after the panel and she just the littlest wisp of a thing. She couldn’t have stood much more than five foot, and h... [Read more] 21. The Monster in the Laundry Room February 5, 2018 at 7:45pm
PROMPT:
"MY GREAT-AUNT SALLY ONCE TOLD ME WHY, TO HER, THE LAUNDRY ROOM IS THE SCARIEST ROOM IN ANY HOUSE."
My great-aunt Sally once told me why, to her, the laundry room is the scariest room in ... [Read more] 20. Achievement Unlocked February 11, 2017 at 10:52am
PROMPT:
FUZZY LOGIC
I found the game on a Steam Clearance sale. It cost me twenty-two cents. That’s not even expensive enough that you can call it an impulse buy. With the ninety-nine cent games you sort o... [Read more] 19. Any Rational Person September 27, 2017 at 1:25pm
PROMPT:
Monday morning started out like any other day, until I opened my door and found the finger lying on my porch.
Monday morning started out like any other day, until I opened my door and found the f... [Read more] 18. Creepy Window February 7, 2017 at 9:13pm
PROMPT:
For today I want you to go through all of those old horror stories you never finished and finish your best one. Or even if they are finished, polish them up, cuz I have a feeling I might be flooded tomorrow morning and t... [Read more] 17. Finding Fortune February 6, 2017 at 1:37pm
PROMPT:
SOMETHING UNDER THE FLOORBOARDS
“You will find your fortune under the floorboards.”
This sentence haunted my poor late husband until the very day he died, and ruined both our lives in the pr... [Read more] 16. Early Retirement January 30, 2017 at 1:09am
PROMPT:
SEWING
(I can think of a lot of things to write about with this one!)
I knew back in high school that I was going to be a surgeon. Up until then I had never thought a lot about my career. I wasn’t... [Read more] |
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