A monthly contest for stories with a twist. Get 500 GPs for entering! Sept round open! |
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! Gift points will be sent at the end of the round when I review your story. September 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 15th 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. I will accept any genre except erotica. 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 {bitem:######} 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. Hint: I do not like erotica, fan fiction, really gory horror, or extremely sad stories. I really hate sad stories!!!!!!! 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! August winner! 1st place
If you have any questions or suggestions, please post them in the forum or email me. Check out these great contests!
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