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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. |
15. The Private Message February 4, 2017 at 5:58am
PROMPT:
Inside Your Fish
Listen.
This is going to sound really weird, and believe me, I’m as uncomfortable as you are about sending you all of this over a fucking videogame of all places, but I didn’t ... [Read more] 14. Jordan February 4, 2017 at 6:00am
PROMPT:
A CARNIVAL SIDESHOW ATTRACTION
or
A CHILD'S IMAGINARY FRIEND
Looking at the drawings, I am hit instantly with memories of my own childhood, and of Jordan. I would have known who he was in... [Read more] 13. My Naughty List January 30, 2017 at 1:10am
PROMPT:
For tomorrow please scare the Christmas Hanukkah and Kwanza spirit out of your judge with a story about Santa Claus.
“-and, what’s this one? Bribery?” I shake my head, making as a “tsk”in... [Read more] 12. 517-6912 February 4, 2017 at 6:03am
PROMPT:
ANY OLD STORIES THAT YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED
“Don’t leave with that guy,” the stranger told her. “He’s a jerk.”
Bree turned her head, her mouth already open to scold the man, until sh... [Read more] 11. Inspiring or Inspired? January 30, 2017 at 1:11am
PROMPT:
A Hotel
Some of the best writers in history had stayed in the hotel.
It wasn't something that people talked about, or that the hotel advertised, but it was probably Zoe's favorite part of ... [Read more] 10. Gin and Tonic February 4, 2017 at 6:11am
PROMPT:
My Drink Tastes Funny
My drink tastes funny.
The thought seemed almost insignificant at first - in fact Alicia's first instinct was to raise the glass to her lips to see if she could taste w... [Read more] 9. Into The White January 30, 2017 at 1:12am Prompt:
Now talking of GoT, this year we are joined by a new mysterious group who call themselves White Walkers. Your challenge for tomorrow is to scare 1000 years off the life of your judge with a story about creatures of your own called white wa... [Read more] 8. Trypophobia February 4, 2017 at 6:17am
PROMPT:
HOLES IN FLESH
It looked like the sort of thing that would be painful, but it wasn’t – at least not at first. In fact, the first human carrier didn’t even know he was inflicted until a friend... [Read more] 7. The Ringing of the Bells January 30, 2017 at 1:13am
PROMPT:
Bells/ A Church/ Open
“-and from my dream I screamed, awakened, only to find that as I exited my slumber my nightmare was still real – for the bells were ringing all around me.”
Her ... [Read more] 6. The Heart of Our City February 4, 2017 at 6:20am
PROMPT:
A HEART
You have been tasked with destroying the heart.
It doesn’t seem fair at all. You were the one who was against opening the box in the first place when it was initially discovered. The... [Read more] 5. Perfecting Her Scales February 4, 2017 at 6:22am
PROMPT:
SCALES
“Again.”
Mel’s fists clenched at her sides, but she was determined not to get angry this time around. If her father was forced to find her yet another coach, she was going to be i... [Read more] 4. Advice From a Friend February 25, 2017 at 10:19am
PROMPT:
SHADOW PEOPLE
or use the following sentence word for word somewhere in your story (and please bold it!):
SHE WATCHED IN HORROR AS HIS EYEBALL FELL OUT AND ROLLED ACROSS THE FLOOR
7:00pm ... [Read more] 3. JD's Last Round January 30, 2017 at 1:15am
PROMPT:
For tomorrow, please scare your judge insensible with a story about a referee!
Paul stood in the shadows, watching as the man who had once been his best friend was brutally murdered. He stared, unb... [Read more] 2. Her Collection January 30, 2017 at 12:45am
PROMPT:
For tomorrow, please scare the soul out of your judge with a story that starts with the line: It was her thirteenth birthday
It was her thirteenth birthday, and it had been her favorite thus far. T... [Read more] 1. Graduation Test January 30, 2017 at 1:16am
PROMPT:
XXX
Red sloshed over the side of the bucket , splattering the floor and narrowly missing the leg of Amanda’s jeans. Her face contorted in disgust and she jumped back, nearly spilling the rest ... [Read more] A Feedback Request May 27, 2017 at 1:09am Introduction
If you're here because you're about to leave a review for one of the entries in this book, let me just start by saying thank you! I always appreciate when readers like you are generous enough to leave their thoughts ... [Read more] |
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