Ho Ho Ho! December Flash Fiction Contest!

**Sterling13** · December 1st, 2009, 08:33 AM

THE RULES HAVE CHANGED!

Welcome to the December Flash Fiction Contest! (Rev B)

As I balance my uncoordinated self from a wobbly aluminum ladder above my porch, stringing 100 count resistive elements around my gutters (in an effect I’m told is supposed to look like icicles), I’m struck with the following idea for a theme:

“Tradition”

(Actually, in an effort for full honesty – many other choice words popped into my head at that moment… the tradition idea came much later after many “oooohs and ahhhhhs” from my daughter…)

The Rules:
1. Submit your story to either the Stories section of the SFFWorld site or in the new members only Stories Sub-Forum (or both). For rules regarding posting the story in the Sub-Forum, please follow this link: http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25006 . For the differences between the two, see the FAQ at the bottom of this post.

2. Post a link to your submitted story in this thread.

3. The length of the submission is limited to 2 Story Section pages or 1,200 words in the Stories Sub-Forum.

4. All submissions must be in by 10:00 PM (EST) on the 20th of December.

5. Voting will take place from the 21st of December through midnight on the 31st in a new thread in the Writing Forum.

6. Voting will follow a three vote system - You will be allowed to vote for UP TO 3 stories. All votes are equally weighted.

7. All entrants are encouraged to provide feedback for each entry.

FAQ:
Q - What's the difference between the Stories Section and the Stories Sub-Forum?
A -
Stories Section
The Stories Section is the link in the SFFWorld sites' header bar at the top of the screen. Posting here will make your story more accessible to the rest of the site, as well as to non-members the SFFWorld. This guarentees the greatest exposure for your story, but may limit your future paid publishing options, should you be inclined to try and sell your story elsewhere (Please see this post: http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24989). In addition, there are very limited formatting options (no italics, etc.)
Stories Sub-Forum
The Stories Sub-Forum is a members only forum located within the Writing forum. This section of the site can only be accessed by members of SFFWorld. Posting in this method offers minimal exposure, but should not limit any future attempts to submit your story elsewhere for publication. This method also affords all of the formatting options available in standard forum posts.

Q - If I decide to post my story in both the Stories Section and Stories Sub-Forum, which version will be utilized for voting?
A - In the voting thread, the Stories Sub-Forum version will be utilized unless otherwised expressed by the author.

Q - I didn't particpate in the contest - can I still vote?
A - Of course! Providing you've read all the entries, feel free to vote and/or provide feedback on the stories.

Feel free to ask if you have any additional questions.

Have fun with it!

**Taramoc** · December 1st, 2009, 08:46 AM

October?! The theme should be "Time Travel".

Taramoc

**Sterling13** · December 1st, 2009, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by Taramoc

October?! The theme should be "Time Travel".

Taramoc

Edited (mister wiseguy!)

(copy and paste, while timesaving, always seem to cause more trouble than they're worth...)

**SuperFede** · December 1st, 2009, 08:53 AM

mmm, this theme can probe to be a little difficult.... we'll see what comes out...

**Taramoc** · December 1st, 2009, 09:04 AM

Hehe, sorry couldn't resist.

I'll do my best to participate to this one. I have an idea germinating already in my head...

**venustar** · December 1st, 2009, 09:04 AM

Hmmm...tradition...

Ideas are bubbling. Maybe a full on roil soon.

**Fung Koo** · December 1st, 2009, 09:08 AM

The irony...

I was putting together the new short fiction post last night and I also picked "Tradition" as the theme...

Great minds think alike and fools seldom differ.

Glad I waited until morning now!

Well, back to the drawing board.

**NickeeCoco** · December 1st, 2009, 09:44 AM

Congrats Rich! I actually did read your Pork Chop sandwich story and I really liked it. I would have voted for it, I believe, but since I didn't get all the stories read, I refrained.

(It also reminded me of this: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/82144/ Though, there's some swearing here, so beware. But it added an extra amount of humour to your story for me. )

**Hoodwink** · December 1st, 2009, 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by Fung Koo

The irony...

I was putting together the new short fiction post last night and I also picked "Tradition" as the theme...

Great minds think alike and fools seldom differ.

Glad I waited until morning now!

Well, back to the drawing board.

Maybe Rich could go back to his earlier choice of theme:

"Damn these f@#!% lights!"

**Sterling13** · December 1st, 2009, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by Fung Koo

The irony...

I was putting together the new short fiction post last night and I also picked "Tradition" as the theme...

Great minds think alike and fools seldom differ.

Glad I waited until morning now!

Well, back to the drawing board.

I claimed it first! Hehe.

That's really odd... even stranger, on my drive to work, I actually wondered "What if Fung chooses the same theme?" Creepy.

I sent a message to Hoodwink about a strange coincidence we had last month - his story's setting is Outpost 12, and mine (as mentioned in the email at the end) is Galaxy 12. On top of that, we both used the name "Melody" for a female character back in... February?

I think you guys are seeping into my brain....

**GarrickW** · December 1st, 2009, 11:22 AM

Congrats Sterling13! Now let's see what I can do this time around...

**DailyRich** · December 1st, 2009, 12:57 PM

Hmm, I've got something I abandoned that just might fit this perfectly with a few tweaks....

**Sancho** · December 1st, 2009, 01:48 PM

Wahey!

My laptop's suffered problem after problem these past two months, preventing me from participating. Looking forward to getting back into the thick of it.

**NickeeCoco** · December 1st, 2009, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by DailyRich

Hmm, I've got something I abandoned that just might fit this perfectly with a few tweaks....

I'm in the same boat. I'm actually really happy about this, 'cos it's been brewin' in my head for a while now.

**txshusker** · December 1st, 2009, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by Hoodwink

Maybe Rich could go back to his earlier choice of theme:

"Damn these f@#!% lights!"

That's definitely a tradition at my house.

And how is it that every year, right after I take down the lights and mark the cords and memorize the configuration, the following year the marks and my memory are gone and I have to start from scratch again? Is there a nasty light elf out there that causes that?