Welcome to the SHOW DON'T TELL Contest!
Show, don't tell! How many times have you heard that? We all know it's one of the toughest things to do. Some editors and agents will decide whether or not to read your submission based only on how well your first sentence does this. Our contest is all about showcasing and practicing this important skill.
The most basic rule for our contest is that you must show all the facets of your story as opposed to telling them. Each month, we'll give you four or five sentences that will serve as a story prompt. Your task will be to write a story that includes the information in the prompt. You will need to show that information--along with all the other aspects your story. This contest is all about showing and not telling.
 
July, 2020 prompt
 A soldier returns home after military service.
An old person offers the soldier riches in return for recovering a hidden treasure box..
The one condition is that only the old person may open the box.
After recovering the box, the soldier opens it anyway.
A brilliant blue light shines forth and changes everything..
We've deliberately omitted the names, and hence the genders, of the characters. Following the contest's traditions, the soldier would be Ruby and the old person would be Roscoe, but feel free to use your own names.
These are the bare-bones to the beginning of a classic folktale, the tinder box  . The actual tale involves a King, a princess, magical dogs, and other elements. About half of the story happens after the blue light appears.
In all stories, all characters should want something or have a goal. What the character wants has to matter--those are the stakes. Finally, there needs to be an obstacle to achieving the goal. Goals, stakes, and obstacles are the basics of tension and hence plot. Tension arises from conflict. This could be conflicts between multiple goals, or between the goals and obstacles. Of course, the goals of one character could constitute the obstacles for another. You can increase tension by raising the stakes, increasing the obstacles, or refining the goals.
Note that the prompt leaves open the goals, stakes and obstacles for the soldier. We know the old person has a goal--recovery of the treasure box--but the stakes and obstacles are unknown. EIther soldier or the old person could provide the point of view and/or be the protagonist. The heart of your story is filling in these details, along with revealing the significance of the blue light.
Example ▼
Here's an example of the kinds of sentences we might use as a prompt.
Matt awakes in his bedroom.
He's cold, alone, and his head hurts.
His spouse and best friend are arguing downstairs.
He's hopeful when his spouse enters the bedroom.
His spouse speaks.
The information in these sentences is shown in the story " In Dreams" .
In order to be sure all entries receive a fair reading, we will limit the number of entries in each round of the contest round to ten. Entries are first-come-first served, so enter early! You may enter only once in each round, but you may enter every contest round if you wish
What are the rules? ▼
The basic rules are simple.
Write a story that includes the information in the prompt
Show the information in the prompt through the words and deeds of your characters. In the case of your point-of-view character, you may use sensations and thoughts as well.
Your story should have one character provide the point-of-view-- do not use an omniscient narrator.
Edit your story so it is no longer than 3000 words but at least 1000 words. Word count excludes title and author byline.
Include your word count at the top of your story.
To assist in the judging, please color code the places in your story where you show the information in the prompt.
There are some other technical rules listed below, but that's pretty much it.
You will need to use WritingML to color code your text. This is an example of how to make text red:
{c:red} This text is red{/c}, and this text is not
results in:.
This text is red, and this text is not.
You can find more information under WriitingML in the Writing.Com tools link on the left side of your screen.
Will my entry be disqualified if I don't follow the rules? ▼
Our goal is to accept and review all entries. We have only three exceptions to this goal. First, we will disqualify entries that are substantially over the limit of 3000 words. Second, we will only review entries that have enabled reviews in the item options. If "email comments only" is enabled, your story will not receive a review. Finally, the content of the story must include the information in the prompt--random stories with no relation to the prompt will be disqualified.
Of course, not all entries are equal. After all, this is a contest. There will be consequences in scoring for not following contest rules.
Similarly, submissions that exceed our limit of 3000 words won't automatically be disqualified. Exceeding the word limit falls under failing to follow the contest rules. That will result in a reduced score in the contest evaluation, but it won't generally result in disqualification.
However, we have a hard and fast rule that submissions longer than 4000 words will not be eligible for an award and probably will not be reviewed, either. Remember, we are volunteers. Reading and critiquing is time-consuming, challenging work. Please respect the time and effort of our judges by complying with our word limits.
What are the prizes? ▼
 Everyone who enters will receive 1000 GPS.
The best stories, as determined by the judges, will earn additional awards.
 Best Story: 20,000 GPS, an awardicon for your story, and a Point of View merit badge.
First Runner Up: 10000 GPS, an awardicon for your story, and a Point of View merit badge.
Second Runner Up: 5,000 GPS, an awardicon for your story, and a Point of View merit badge
Unless they have been previously reviewed by one of the judges, these three entries each will receive an in-depth, review from one of the judges. At the discretion of the judge, the review may be public.
 If we have three or fewer contestants, we will defer the competition and will roll the entries over to the next contest.
Every contestant earns the 1000 GPS for entering whether we run the competition or not, but you don't get a second 1000 GPS if your entry rolls over to the next contest. A story can only earn the 1000 GPS once.
If we have four, five or six contestants, we will award only the "Best Story" and "First Runner Up" prizes.
We reserve the right to reduce the number of prizes if we do not have at least six entries that are substantially shown as opposed to told. If, at judging, we discover that no entries make substantial showing there will be no prizes.
Judges will endeavor to provide every entry with an in-depth review, but these are not guaranteed. Remember, our judges are volunteers with their own busy work and writing schedules. We will only critique entries that have enabled reviews in the item options. If "email comments only" is enabled, your story will not receive a review.
At the discretion of the reviewer, critiques provided to contest entries may be public and posted to the public reviewing page.
All decisions by the judges are final.
Is there a limit to the number of entries in each contest round? ▼
Yes. To be sure that we are able to give each entry a fair reading, we can accept no more than ten entries in each iteration of the contest. We'll post a "Contest closed to entries" message in the forum after the tenth entry. If you're too late for this contest, you may enter the next one! We expect to offer the contest at least every other month.
How often and for how long does the contest run? ▼
We expect to run the contest at least every other month, starting August 1, 2018.
The contest will close to new entries after receipt of ten submissions or on the fourth Monday of the month.
If we have three or fewer submissions by the fourth Monday of the month, we will extend the deadline for submissions to the fourth Monday of the succeeding month.
If we have three or fewer entries by the the fourth Monday of the second month, we will roll contest entries over to the next iteration of the contest.
What is the deadline for entries? ▼
The deadline for entries is when the tenth entry to the contest is posted or
8:00:00 AM Central time (UTC-5 hours) the fourth Monday of the contest month. whichever happens first. We will use daylight time during the months when it is applicable. .
In Universal Time, that's 1:00:00 PM UCT the fourth Monday of the contest month. To convert the deadline to your local time zone, go to
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
If you're interested in why "Coordinated Universal TIme" is abbreviated "UCT" instead of "CUT," see
http://www.timeanddate.com/time/utc-abbreviation.html
What are the judging criteria? ▼
[30%] Effective showing of the information in in the story, with special emphasis on the required elements.
[20%] Does the first paragraph establish the point of view and orient the reader?
[15%] Creativity and originality
[15%] Showing the goals, stakes, and obstacles for the protagonist
[10%] Plot and pacing
[10%] Technical proficiency. This includes, for example:
 grammar
spelling
proof reading
complying with contest rules.
I'm really pumped! Can I enter more than one story? ▼
Only one entry per contestant per contest, please. Feel free to enter every round of the contest if you like!
What are the other rules? I've got this awesome, unfinished erotic poem in non-rhyming choriambic foots. Can I enter it? I know you'll love it! ▼
Whoa, there, pardner! Here are some other rules.
Prose only.  No poetry.
Finished works only.
Short stories only. .
We will only critique entries that have enabled reviews in the item options. If "email comments only" is enabled, your story will not be disqualified, but it also will not receive a critique from the judges..
Erotic fiction is acceptable, but it must be properly rated. In addition
no non-consensual sex
no sex involving minors
no scat (a word of to the wise: if you have to look it up, don't)
no bestiality (vampires, werewolves, and sentient aliens excepted)
no incest
No gratuitous violence, excessive blood, or gore
There are scoring consequences if your submission exceeds 3000 words. If your submission exceeds 4000 words, it will be ineligible for an award and will be unlikely to receive a review.
May I edit my story after I enter? ▼
Yes. However, each contest round we will post a "Contest closed to entries and editing" message to the forum, usually at noon on the fourth Monday of the contest month. That's so we have a week to read and judge the stories. Once we've posted the message, do not edit your story. Doing so can result in disqualification.
Contest Judges ▼
LInks to stuff ▼
Past Winners ▼
Our Generous Contest Sponsors ▼
How do I enter? ▼
It's simple! Just 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: {bitem:1894810}
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:
If you're still not quite sure what to do, check out " Newbie Hyperlinking 101 - Bitem Format" for a step-by-step tutorial.
What are you waiting for? Start writing!
The July, 2020 round of the contest is now open!
As of 3:00 PM, July 2, there are 0 entries in the contest.
There are 10 remaining openings.
Contest closes for judging in
or when we have ten entries, whichever happens first.
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