Tales Shown, Not Told

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  Each round of the contest will have three prompts. 
  Contestants will pick one of the three and write a short story that uses that prompt.
  The story should be at least 1000 words and not more than 3000 words.
  Contestant will post a message in this forum that includes a link to the story in {bitem:NNNN} format. 
  Above the title and author byline, the first two lines of the story should indicate
          the approximate word count; and
          the prompt the story is using. 
        These lines, the title, and the author byline do not count as part of the story's word count.

There are a few more technical rules below, but that's the basics.

 

This round's prompts are:

Genre Prompt: Urban Fantasy: The setting should be a modern-day city with fantasy elements.

Words Prompt:  Write a story using the words evanescent, gibbous, and jitter.

Character prompt:  Protagonist has lost somethng.

Choose ONE of these prompts for your story. You're free to explore these prompts in whatever way you wish, but the prompt must be part of the story.

For genre prompts, stay within the bounds of the genre.  For the words prompt, the words must appear in a natural way, in complete sentences or in dialogue. Boldface the words so that judges can find them.  For the character prompt, be sure to show the reader the protagonist's goals, obstacles, and stakes. 

Mixing genres would be awesome!  A science fiction story that's also a romance, for example, or a horror tale that's also a western.  Be creative.

First Place
Author receives 50,000 GPS and a merit badge
Story receives a blue awardicon

Second Place
Author receives 25,000 GPS and a merit badge
Story receives a red awardicon

Third Place
Author receives 12,500 GPS and a merit badge
Story receives a Green awardicon

The judges will select the merit badge, with most winners earning the short story badge. The best stories will earn the exclusive Max Excellence badge


Judges may elect to award Honorable Mentions, which may include up to 5000 GPS, a merit badge, and an awardicon for the story.

If there are fewer than six entries in the contest, only first and second place awards will be granted.

If there are fewer than four entries in the contest, that round of the contest will be cancelled.  Judges may opt to award Honorable Mention awards, including GPS and a merit badge.



Optional Motivation Competition

Contestants may elect to respond to all three prompts.  We'll have an additional and separate motivation competition for the best story that responds to all three prompts.  The winning story in this category will earn 10,000 GPS and a motivation merit badge.  If there is only one entry in this category, it will recive the award.  The winner in this category is eligible for the other awards mentioned above.  Contestants wanting to enter this competition should list all three prompts in the heading to their story.

The motivation competition requires a minimum of one entry that responds to all three prompts and does not depend on the total number of entries to the main contest.  We will make the award for the motivation contest even if only one contestant responds to all three  prompts and the above minima are not met for the main contest.

Each round of the contest invites experienced authors on WDC to serve as judges.  Every contestent will recieve a review from one of the contest judges.  The review will provide general impressions and may include suggested edits.  We ask our judges to  consider the stories holistically and to use their best judgment, but we don't give them specific guidelines. 

Every story has unique strengths. Stories are more than the sum of thier parts, but we've listed below some of the things judges might take into consideration.  Authors might think about these while polishing their stories.

Show don't tell..  Reveal the information in the story through the words and deeds of the characters not through author narration.  You may use the emotions and thoughts of the point-of-view character as well, but only after the reader is embedded in that character's head.  Do not have the characters sitting around telling each other stuff they should already know--that's still narration, not showing.

Opening paragraph.  This should name the point-of-view character and put the reader inside that character's head.  It should answer at least some of the other basic who-what-when-where-why-how questions.  It should at least hint at the basic conflict of the story. It should start in the middle of action, in the here-and-now of the story. 

Characters. Every character should want something, i.e., have a goal.  Something bad should happen if the protagonist fails to achieve their goal--that establishes the stakes.  Finally, something or someone has to stand in the way of the goal--the obstacles.

Tension Conflict arises through the opposition of goals of obstacles.  The outcome of the conflict matters because of the stakes.  These three--goals, obstacles, and stakes--work together to create tension, the engine that drives your story.  Expanding the goals, raising the stakes, or increasing the obstacles increases the tension.

Plot.  At a minimum, a story should have a beginning that establishes the status quo.  It should have a middle where most of the action occurs and that shows the characters in conflict. It should have an ending that  establishes the status quo after the action.  The status quo at the end will likely be different in some way from the beginning, but not necessarily.  The ending will also likely show how the protagonist has changed.

Setting.  This includes staging--show where the characters are in relation to each other and the physical world.  Setting should also establish the central elements of the fictional world.  Be sure to keep these descriptions in the head of your point-of-view character.  However, once you've established the point-of-view, arguably everything on the page is something that character has sensed, thought, or knows.

Point of View.  The best advice here is keep it simple.  For a short story, pick one and only one character to provide the point of view.  The narrative can be third person, limited to this character's point of view, or first person in this character's head.  Don't try something exotic like a second person narrative unless you think you're Hemingway (hint: you're not).  Avoid omniscient narrators--this isn't 1890 or even 1980. 

Technical Proficiency. This includes things like readability, spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

  Only one entry per contestant per contest. 
  Contest is limited to ten entries. If necessary, the time stamp of the the entry in the forum determines the tenth and final entry. An entry is not complete until the contestant posts a message to the forum with a link to the story, per the How To Enter instructions.
  A message in the forum will announce when the contest is open for entries.  Contest is generally open for submissions the first day of the month in which it runs and for about three weeks thereafter, or until the tenth story is submitted. The contest closing date will appear at the bottom of the contest page.  We anticipate offering this contest twice a year.
  Entries may not exceed 3000 words. 
  Entries should be at least 1000 words.
  Entries must respond to one of the three prompts.
  Story format and header information
            Double space between paragraphs
            If responding to the  words prompt, boldface the words in the story.
            The first line of the story should be the approxmiate word count
            The second line of the story should identify the prompt the story uses
            These lines do not count against the word limits for the story
            Title and author byline do not count against the word limits for the story
  Entries should be set to "accept reviews."  The setting "Reviews only/No ratings" is both acceptable and preferred.
  Short stories only. No essays. Prose only. No poetry.
  Once judging starts, announced by a post to the forum, do not edit your stories.  Editing before and after judging is fine.
No non-consensual sex.
No sex involving minors.
No bestiality (vampires, werewolves, and sentient aliens excepted)
  Follow the directions on how to enter.
  All decisions by the judges are final and not subject to appeal.



  No info-dumps.
  Use third person limited or first person point-of-view.  Avoid omniscient narrators.  Avoid second person point of view.
  We are serious about our suggestions on craft.  Take them into account as you prepare your story.
  We believe that readers care about the characters, and the plot is there to give the characters something to care about.
  We like creative plots with memorable, quirky characters. 
  Don't fool the readers.  We like surprise, but of the kind where we slap our foreheads and mutter, "We should have seen that coming."  That means there should be foreshadowing, however subtle, of the surprise.  Do not end with, "and then the little boy woke up" or anything similar.
  Be sure your story is free of typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors.
  Be sure your story is properly rated per WDC norms.

  PIck one of the prompts.
  Wite a story that responds to the prompt and is between 1000 and 3000 words.
  Place the story in your WDC portfolio in a static item.  (See links below for a tutorial if you're unsure how to do this.)
        The first lne of your story should include the approximate word count.
        The second line of your story should state which prompt you are usijng
        If responding to the WORDS prompt, boldface the words in the story.
        Double space between paragraphs.
  Post a message to the board below with the subject, "MY ENTRY" followed by the title of your story.  In the body of the message, include a link to your item in "bitem" format like so: but use the number for your static item.  Please do NOT include the story itself.  Include a link as described above.

When you post your message, we'll see a link to the item that looks like this:

STATIC

A Day at the Park, With Pie  (18+) Ruby saves the world with her knitting and homemade pie. #1894810 by Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

If you're not quite sure what to do, check out."How To Create an Item" , "Create/Edit a Static Item"  and "Newbie Hyperlinking 101 - Bitem Format"  for step-by-step tutorials on creating, editing, and linking static items.

 
We extend thanks to all who have generously donated GPS to our contest.
Not counting marketing, each iteration of this contest costs over 100,000 Gift Points.  We are grateful for any donations we receive.  Our ability to continue offering this contest depends on the generous contributions of members like you.

Benefactors:

Patrons:

Champions:
Elle (she/her)
Princess Megan Rose 21 WDC
Olivia

Anyone donating 10,000 or more Gift Points becomes a Benefactor and is listed above. 
Anyone donating 20,000 Gift Points or more becomes a Patron and is listed above.
Anyone donating 40,000 Gift Points or more becomes a Champion, is listed above, and receives a Merit Badge.

Donations may be sent to Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈 , 🌷 Carol St.Ann 🌷 , or attached to a comment in the contest message  board.

Thank you for whatever assistance you can provide. 

 

STATIC

Max's Alphabetized links to Useful Stuff  (E) Some links to things every author needs. #1708934 by Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

FOLDER

Thoughts on Writing  (NPL) Short essays on the craft of fiction. #1847273 by Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

GROUP

The Art of Show vs Tell Courses  (13+) Have you ever been told, "Show, don't tell?"...a 2018 and 2019 Quill Award Winner #2129581 by Jim Hall

STATIC

Strolling Through Genres  (E) Strolling Through Genres #2295716 by Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

STATIC

Contest Graphics  (E) Contest Graphics #2295833 by Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

 
Your name goes here!  Just enter the contest and win, place, or show!

Contest open for entries until we receive ten stories or 8:00AM July 24, 2023, whichever happens first. 
Assuming we don't close early, the contest closes in

No entries so far.  Ten positions available.


Questions or comments about the contest? contact Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈 or 🌷 Carol St.Ann 🌷 .