Guidelines
We all need them, so let me make this brief.
No plagairzing! (I'll fix that spelling in a moment)
Be nice to other contestants. Remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have done unto you.
Do not ask me to read your entry, and do not ask me what I think of it. I do not read any entries until the contest ends to avoid choosing favorites before all the entires come in. You will get your results at the same time as everyone else does.
Use the following form when submitting your entry. Be sure to use the correct one!.
Short story:
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Title of piece:[/b]
[b]Word count:[/b]
[b]Rating:[/b]
[b]Prompt number(s):[/b]
[b]Post URL:[/b]
[b]Story:[/b]
Character contest:
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Name of character:[/b]
[b]Word count:[/b]
[b]Post URL:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b]
To find the URL of a post, please read here. I made that tutorial last year for another contest I was running. Please use it. "I don't know" or a blank space will affect your score a lot. If you still aren't sure after reading that, ask me. Do not name the URL. Just post it. Just the http://www.gaiaonline.com/topic/etc. part.
One entry per person, unless you'd like to pay the entry fee twice. If you do submit more than one entry, you cannot win two prizes. You will win the highest prize you achieved; the other one will go to the next person in line for it.
I reserve the right to add more rules.Short Story
Entry rules:
Short stories only. If you're going to submit a piece of a larger work, make sure I can understand it without having to read any type of background.
1,000-7,500 words. I will allow up to 500 words above the maximum, but no lower than the minimum.
All entires must be posted here in the thread, unless they're over a PG-13 rating. If they're R-rated, PM them to me, including the form in the PM. Also post the form here in the thread, saying that you PMed it to me where you would normally post the story.
Use a prompt from the list below this section, please. The option to write a story without the use of a prompt has been eliminated.
Prompts
Please use one of the following in your entry. As was stated above, you may choose to write with no prompt, but your entry fee for that entry will be doubled. More than one prompt may be used if you like.
Lights out. (Lights Out)
The basics of want and need. (Hiatus)
The cowards in you and me.(Hiatus)
Don't confuse this.(Hiatus)
"I want you." - This isn't like the Uncle Sam "I want you." (Made A Mistake)
I can't think of any others at the moment, but they'll come - This prompt was randomly decided upon. It is not on the Lights Out album.
You may use either one part of this section of song or the whole thing. It's entirely up to you. Just be sure to post which section in the Promt section of the form.
We walk alone like broken lovers
Behind the bars and discotheques
Love is a product and sex is the currency
We all cheat if we can't win
Blood, liquor, and the Holy Bible paint a picture of a
Kinder gentler war
An art that seems to have no ending
One that leaves us standing at the gates with broken wings
While our heart scan reports: Access denied, access denied
We have arrived
(Out of Phase)
This must end. (Dead Living)
I can't save us from the outside. (Dead Living)
Beauty lies in the ignorant, with the sound of selling out to the innocent. (Dead Living)
Love is wasted on the young. (Hiatus)
Dancing lonely. (Hiatus)
I predict the worst. (Hiatus)
You're gonna hate me. (Hiatus)
The sun is burning down Los Angeles. - Any city may be used in place of Los Angeles. (Los Angeles)
Come on, come on; it's alive and breathing. (Los Angeles)
Come on, come on; come alive today. (Los Angeles)
Come on, come on; it's a heartless beating. (Los Angeles)
Silent in the crowd. (Made A Mistake)
This is the last goodbye. (Majoring In Minors)
Vacant like an empty statement. (Out of Phase)
We're starting something beautiful. (Riot)
Down down, to the lovers and thieves. (Riot)
Outloud, we're telling your secrets. (Riot)
Tell me how it all works out. (Shaking)
Character Contest
Yes, there will also be a character contest. I'd like you to use the following form and answer it as if you were your character. This means first-person POV. You may exclude, rearrange, or combine and of these questions, but you must include at least 45 questions out of the list below. There are around 55 (I just counted, but lost track in the course of typing this paragraph...).
I recieved these questions from a Gaia user named AstraKiseki.
Be sure to keep the questions in your entry. Do not just put answers without the question to accompany them.
[b]What is your real, birth name? What name do you use? [/b]
[b]Do you have a nickname? What is it, and where did you get it? [/b]
[b]What do you look like? [/b]
[b]How do you dress most of the time? [/b]
[b]How do you "dress up?"[/b]
[b]How do you "dress down?" [/b]
[b]What do you wear when you go to sleep? [/b]
[b]Do you wear any jewelry?[/b]
[b]What's your real birth date?[/b]
[b]Where do you live? Describe it: [/b]
[b]Do you own a car? Describe it. [/b]
[b]What is your most prized mundane possession? Why do you value it so much? [/b]
[b]Who was your father, and what was he like? [/b]
[b]Who was your mother, and what was she like? [/b]
[b]What was your parents marriage like? Were they married? Did they remain married?[/b]
[b]What were your siblings names? What were they like?[/b]
[b]When's the last time you saw any member of your family? Where are they now? [/b]
[b]What is your first memory?[/b]
[b]What was your favorite toy? [/b]
[b]What was your favorite game?[/b]
[b]How old were you when you went on your first date? [/b]
[b]What were you like in high school? What "clique" did you best fit in with? [/b]
[b]Do you have a job? What is it? Do you like it? If no job, where does your money come from?[/b]
[b]What is something you had to learn that you hated?[/b]
[b]Do you tend to save or spend your money? Why?[/b]
[b]What hobbies do you have? [/b]
[b]What bands do you like?[/b]
[b]What's been your favorite movie of all time? [/b]
[b]What type of places do you hang out in with your normal friends?[/b]
[b]What would be the perfect gift for you?[/b]
[b]What kind of weather is your favorite? [/b]
[b]What is your favorite food? What is your least favorite food? [/b]
[b]What is your favorite drink?[/b]
[b]Do you have any pets? Do you want any pets? What kind?[/b]
[b]What do you find most relaxing? [/b]
[b]Do you currently have a lover? What is their name, and what is your relationship like? What are they like? Why are you attracted to them?[/b]
[b]What is the perfect romantic date?[/b]
[b]How old were you when you first got drunk? What was the experience like? Did anything good come out of it? Did anything bad come out of it?[/b]
[b]Do you drink on any kind of regular basis?[/b]
[b]What kind of alcohol do you prefer?[/b]
[b]What do you think of drugs and alcohol? Are there any people should not do? Why or why not? [/b]
[b]Have you ever been in an argument before? Over what, with who, and who won? [/b]
[b]Have you ever been in a physical fight before? Over what, with who, and who won? [/b]
[b]What trait do you find most admirable, and how often do you find it?[/b]
[b]What is your religious view of things? What religion, if any, do you call your own?[/b]
[b]Do you think the future is hopeful? Why?[/b]
[b]What's the worst thing that can be done to another person? Why? [/b]
[b]Is it okay for you to cry? When was the last time you cried? [/b]
[b]Think of a major event that happened during your training/initiation. What was it? [/b]
[b]Has anyone or anything you've ever cared about died? How did you feel about it? What happened?[/b]
[b]What was the worst injury you've ever received? How did it happen?[/b]
[b]Do you have any bad habits? If so, what are they, and do you plan to get rid of them? [/b]
[b]What time period do you wish you had lived in? Why? (Looking at this as an attempt to change history doesn't count.) What appeals to you about this era? [/b]
[b]How private of a person are you? Why?[/b]
Table of Contents
Introduction and Basics - Guidelines - Prizes - Entrants - Judging - Links - FAQs - Reserved
