February 2010 Flash Fiction Contest

[NickeeCoco]

Well, it's February and not only is it my favourite month, it happens to be a new month for the Flash Fiction Contest. Yay! And it's the first time I've been able to play dictator. Oh ho, if only you knew what you've unleashed!

I've decided to shake things up a bit. I can't wait to see what you guys do with it.

So, without further ado, the theme is: Fantasy Cliches

BUT, there is a big but coming, there's a catch. To find out what the catch is, read the following rules.

Rules

1. Select a title. You will select a title here. Instructions on how to do so are there at that link.
(I guess I'm not that great at web design and there's a couple of errors that might pop up, but they won't affect the use of the site.)

2. After selecting a title you may add up to two of the following words: the, a, in, as. You may not, however, use the same word twice. After you have added words to the title you selected, if you have opted to do so, your title is complete.

4. This title will be the title of your story and you must write your story to fit the title.

5. Word limit: 1200

This includes those people who choose to post their story in the Stories section of SFFworld. I don't think it's entirely fair to constrain those who post there to two pages. If there's a lot of dialogue and single sentence paragraphs, that can take up a lot of space on a page. However, if you decide to post in the Stories section, please include the word count in the summary box.

If you post in the stories sub-forum, please include the word count at either the beginning or the end.

6. Formatting (Ha ha, I know what you're thinking. ) Please include spaces between paragraphs. This includes lines of dialogue. It makes it so much easier to read.

7. Dead line Please have your stories submitted by 11:59 PM (-5 GMT or EST) on February 19, 2010. Voting will take place from February 20 - 28.

8. If you don't know how to submit, just post your story either inthe stories section of the website or the stories sub forum in the writing forum and then post the link to your story in this thread.

Goodluck!

[DailyRich]

Should we post our titles here just in case random chance rears its head and we get duplicates? Or do we not care if that happens?

[NickeeCoco]

Originally Posted by DailyRich

Should we post our titles here just in case random chance rears its head and we get duplicates? Or do we not care if that happens?

No, I'm cool with duplicates. It would actually probably be really cool to see how different people use the same title. Plus, you can customize the title a bit with your choice of those words.

[PeterWilliam]

This is great. Just wait until you read TAtS.

[zachariah]

There was a thread here about cliché titles...I'm disappointed I can't use my favourite, Swords In Your Face.

[Hereford Eye]

Lazy and methodical minds take the first choice in each category because:
(a) they are titled "first," and
(b) first must be best.
Of course, lazy and methodical minds must pay the penalty for such characteristics.

[venustar]

Fun!

So, are we posting our titles as we get them, then?

[NickeeCoco]

HE - Haha. I know. I got my significant other to choose my title for me. . . Oh man. I'm screwed. Haha.

Venustar - I don't have a problem with people sharing their titles. It's bound to give a laugh. If you want, I'll start.

My title: King Above Truth but I've added the and a. So, "A King Above the Truth" is my actual title. I have no clue as to how I'm going to approach this one. I'm going to have to sit and do some thinking.

[CloudsCollide]

I have a question:

can we pluralize the nouns on the titles? The Random Title selector gave me "Sword" "and" "Sorcery". I wish to make my title "Swords and Sorcery".

THnx.

[venustar]

I got 'Prophecy of Secrets', to which I'll add 'The'.

The Prophecy of Secrets. Sounds like a winner!

[DailyRich]

"Princess and Fire". And something has already come to mind.

[kater]

Congrats Nickee Not wishing to be the party pooper but as cool as my title is, wizard above shadows, a big part of my vote is normally how people use the same title. Without the same title it's going to make this hard to compare/judge isn't it?

[NickeeCoco]

Originally Posted by kater

a big part of my vote is normally how people use the same title. Without the same title it's going to make this hard to compare/judge isn't it?

We normally have the same theme, yes. And we all have the same theme this month too: Fantasy Cliches. I just went a little further this month and gave an additional parameter with the title.


CloudCollide: That's actually something I thought hard about. I was actually hoping it wouldn't come up. I'm going to say no. Sorry. I want this to be a challenge. A writing exercise. I want to see what people do with what they're given.

[Hereford Eye]

Sword of Knowledge

So, I'll sleep on it and see what happens.

[MrBF1V3]

I thought I got a good one, but I'm still trying to think of a story to go with it. I also have to decide which fantasy cliche'(s) to feature. The game is on.

B5