Short Story Contest (2014)

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Deleted User - 819397

Well folks, through the efforts of Apelatia, I am pleased to announce a short story contest, hosted by the forum staff!

What is this contest?​

This is a contest designed to showcase any writing skills the forum community has. If you wish to enter, your task will to be to write a short story centered around a specific prompt. Once entered, your piece will be judged amongst the other entrants and a winner will be selected.

Who can enter?​

Anyone! This is not limited to the Campfire Stories community, even though we are hosting it. If you want to try your writing ability against the other entrants, feel free!

How do I enter?​

During the period that this contest is open, send Lord Regal a private message entitled "Short Story Contest Entry - Your Name" with the story as the message.

How will my piece be judged?​

Once the collection time is up, your pieces will be set to be judged by the moderating staff of the forums. Lord Regal, Apelatia, and Chloe O Gurl may not vote as they are too integrated into Campfire Stories and we do not want any bias towards or against anyone, be they Campfire regulars or not. The pieces will be anonymous, with Lord Regal assigning each one a number, keeping the names private until the winner is decided. The pieces will be judged on the following criteria:

Best Written: Did your short story have a clear plot? Beginning, Middle, and End? Does it flow smoothly between the different events? Does it have good spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Does the story make sense?

Most Creative: Did you take the prompt and make it your own in a unique way? Did it hold the reader's interest? Did you show creativity in your characters, plot, and setting? Is each person in the story unique, or do they all sound as though they are one person?

What is the prize?​

A forum banner, similar to what the moderation staff has, albeit specifically made for the winner of this contest. The banner itself will depend on who wins, as a non-Campfire Stories resident would not want something relating to this section, while a regular likely would. Regardless, writing will be the theme of the banner.

What are the rules?​

Length: The story must be between 500 and 3000 words. It does not matter where it falls within this spectrum, and it is this open ended so that participants have a wide range to work with.

Content: The story may have anything at all in it, so long as:
A: The Campfire Stories Rules AND the Forum Rules are followed.
B: The contents of the story relate to the prompt.

Disclaimer: Lord Regal will read each entry to ensure the above rules are followed. Any violations will lead to that entry being ineligible for judging.

Time Range: The contest will open at midnight server time on October 1st and will close at midnight server time on Novermber 1st.

What is the Prompt?​

The first sentence of your short story MUST be as follows:

Short Story Contest Prompt said:
It was a good day to die.

Is this someone talking? Thinking? Telling a story of their own to other characters? Reading a book? Something else entirely? That's for you to decide. So long as it's the first line, you can do whatever you want with it.

I have a question not listed here!

Please send a private message to either Lord Regal or Apelatia to address any questions or concerns.

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD WRITING!​
 
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Deleted User - 819397

Notice: The competition was originally scheduled to end in two days (October 20th) but because I've only received one entry up until now, and I know there're a good number more of people who are in the process of writing for it due to PM correspondance, I'm opting to extend the deadline to Midnight server time November 1st. I've changed that in the original post too. Happy writing!
 

Deleted User - 819397

THIS IS THE FINAL CALL FOR STORIES! The competition ends in roughly 1.5 days, and I am not extending the deadline again. You have until midnight November 1st Server Time to PM me your story. Upon hitting Nov. 1st, I'll get the judging underway, and will post the winner here, along with their story. So, if you've been writing and haven't given me your story, now's the time to do so! If you've PMed me you should've gotten a response from me saying if you were entered or if it was rejected for some reason. If you did not receive one, check in with me and make sure I have your story!

Thanks to all who have participated!
 

Deleted User - 819397

The contest is closed, the judging will commence within a half hour, and I'll announce the winner here and send them a PM when it happens. Thank you to all who participated!
 

Deleted User - 819397

Hello all, I thank you for your extreme patience.

After a long, arduous process, the mod staff has narrowed it down to their top three, and we'll hopefully have a winner in a few days. I thank you again for being so patient, and ask that you bear with us for just a bit longer!
 

Deleted User - 819397

Everyone, thank you for your extreme patience as the mod staff determined the winner of this competition. The entries were all lengthy and it took a while to process them all, but I'm pleased to announce the winner at last!

In third place, Pscspyder! The story can be read here.

In second place, Tumbleweed27! The story can be read here.

And in first place, our winner is…

Trancel!! The winning story can be read here. I'll be writing our winner a PM about the aforementioned award. Thank you all very much for participating, I can say I enjoyed reading every entry, no matter how far in the judging process it got! Should we run something like this again, I hope everyone will enter once more, and bring others along for the fun!
 
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