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An Alien Friendship Contest!
"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."


Hello, and welcome to my third writing contest! I have not been very active in this forum or in any others on Gaia for several months now, but I always come back here to read what people write and to gain inspiration from others' successes. I've been writing for a couple years now and am always looking for inspiration to keep plowing through a project even when I want to start over or work on something else. That, added to the fact that I have literally more gold than I know what to do with, is the reason behind this contest. Let's kick back and write as we talk about inspirations, frustrations, writer's block, and more!

To give you a fast glimpse into this writing contest, here are some specifics:


Type - Original Prose
Entry Fee - Free
Deadline - August 22, 2012
Prize Pot - 500k
Word Minimum Requirement - 5,000 words
Word Maximum Limit - Nonexistent!
How to Enter - Post the story in the thread [No PM'd entries allowed]


More specific information will be provided in the following posts.

Note: Okay so, I have lots of gold. Several million gold. And I literally never use it. I'd be more than happy to contribute more gold to the prize pot, but since my last contest did not garner much interest, I'm a little hesitant. If there's a higher interest in this contest, the prizes will go up dramatically. Only time will tell!
Prompts and Rules
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival."


Prompt:

There will only be one prompt that you must follow when you write your entry to this contest. I have a story idea that has been in my head for a while now, and I really think that this idea can offer new and experienced writers alike a great opportunity for practice. Besides, I just really want to read some awesome alien stories!

Therefore, the prompt is as follows:

An alien from another planet intent on taking over the Earth for some evil purpose finds that his plans are becoming increasingly less important to him after he develops an unexpected friendship with one of the natives. Of course, forgetting about world domination just isn't as easy as it used to be, especially with all the outside pressures urging him to see to the Earth's demise as soon as possible.



Rules:

-- You must write an original story following the above prompt. The prompt can be tweaked to your desire (the alien can be a she instead of a he, for example), but you must incorporate the basic summary of some sort of alien coming to earth and becoming friends with a human into your story. The alien can just be a human from another reality, or from a planet of your design, or from another galaxy altogether. You decide!

-- 5,000 word minimum requirement. I'm looking for a story with depth, character development, and overall believability, and I enjoy longer stories because I feel like I can get into them more than shorter stories. There is no maximum length!

-- Submit your stories here in the thread when they are finished with the story title and word count at the top of the story.

-- Submit stories in the following format:

Double spaces between paragraphs
Double spaces between dialogue
Left-aligned
Default font size and color

-- Feel free to ask questions if something is not answered here!
Prizes
"Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much."



All right, prizes time! Prize amounts will change based on the amount of entries that come in because the less entries that come in the less competition you guys have. Plus I really, really want to try and inspire people to enter, since I'm really hoping to read, read, read this summer.

Here's how this'll work:

With 0-1 entry, the prizes will be:

5k for entering as a consolation

-------------------------------------------------

With 2-4 entries, the prizes will be:

First place -- 50k
Most Realistic Friendship -- 30k

Total -- 80k

-------------------------------------------------

With 5-7 entries, the prizes will be:

First Place -- 100k
Second Place -- 40k
Most Likeable Alien -- 20k

Total -- 160k

-------------------------------------------------

With 8 entries or more, the prizes will be:

First Place -- 300k
Second Place -- 100k
Third Place -- 50k
Most Realistic Friendship -- 25k
Most Likeable Alien -- 25k

Total -- 500k
Judging

"A stranger stabs you in the front; a friend stabs you in the back; a boyfriend stabs you in the heart, but best friends only poke each other with straws."


As of now, I will be the only judge. That's how I did my first contest, and it worked out really well. I will be giving everyone who wants one a detailed critique of their entry, what I thought about it, and what I believe needs work. These critiques will be PM'd straight to you instead of posted in the thread for obvious privacy reasons, but I will be announcing the winners in the thread along with their number scores.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! =D

Judging will be done by using a numerical score based on the following criteria:

1.) Did you follow the rules and format guidelines? 5 points

2.) Did you follow the prompt? 5 points

3.) Did your grammar and spelling add to the story's magnificence, or were there too many errors to fully enjoy the story? 20 points

4.) Was your story captivating (was there plot and conflict)? 20 points

5.) Was there an appropriate amount of descriptions (not too much, not too little)? 15 points

6.) Did I enjoy reading the story (would I read it again)? 5 points

7.) Were your characters believable and could I tell them apart? 30 points

Total Points Possible -- 100
Entries

"Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words."


1.) Reincarnated_Alphonse -- In the Company of Elves
2.) GarGo0or -- Is it them, or me?
3.) Daceria -- A Day at a time
AND -- We're open! =D

Questionable Genius

12,875 Points
  • Nerd 50
  • Protector of Cuteness 150
  • Gender Swap 100
this sounds kinda interesting. I've never wrote about aliens before, but if they can be humans from the future or alternate reality like you pointed out....I think I can work with that =]
Chevix
this sounds kinda interesting. I've never wrote about aliens before, but if they can be humans from the future or alternate reality like you pointed out....I think I can work with that =]


Sweet! I hope to read an entry from you in the future. =)

Yeah, I don't often come across good alien friendship stories. I mean, there's E.T. but that alien is just weird and strange, lol.

Wheezing Gaian

2,900 Points
  • Risky Lifestyle 100
  • Market Browser 100
  • Hygienic 200
Ooh! Interesting! I'll be entering!

Wheezing Gaian

2,900 Points
  • Risky Lifestyle 100
  • Market Browser 100
  • Hygienic 200
There should be more contestants! I shall bump! C:
kurosakibutt
Ooh! Interesting! I'll be entering!


Welcome to the contest, kurosakibutt! =)

Fashionable Shopper

4,150 Points
  • Dressed Up 200
  • Autobiographer 200
  • Hygienic 200
I SHALL ENTER!

Bow before my writing excellence!

Aged Gaian

posting to save in history and will come back if if I'm done or not.

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