Like Writing, Want Points? New Short Story Contest

I'll give them all a read once I have more time, probably after I decide if I want to enter more than one story. I wind up drawing influence from other sources a lot of times and I dont' want to wind up sounding like a rehash of someone else's ideas, even if done with my own peculiar twists.

I didn't mean to seem snobbish or offensive in my previous remark, though I see now how it could be viewed that way. So to anyone who thought my remarks to be ill-mannered, I offer my humblest apologies.

Those rules apply to ATS official contests for prizes with monetary value, not the Short Story ATS Point awards which have no real value except for the cool purchases in the ATS store. So feel free to write as many stories and enter as many of the upcoming short story contests as you want.

Whew.....I'm relieved. Ofcourse, the problem now is you will probably never get me to shut up

Whats the topic for the next contest? I'm rearin' to go...

Love and light,

Wupy

can't tell you that yet
maybe I should make the contest time frame shorter?
I'll wait and see how well this one goes before deciding on any changes for the next.

Science Fiction with a religous twist would be cool, already got a story written. Will have to summarize it since it about 80 pages long,but it cool. Basically it's star wars but better because I said so.

Personally, I believe that the time frame is about right. Giving us one month gives everyone a chance to get some new work done -- get the creative juices flowing big-time. It's not like we need to have a contest to write a story for this forum.

This is a cool idea, I'm in.

Gotta get a move on though..I found this late...

Good idea though!

Well, a month is a long time, but I guess you get 12 contests in a year(roughly 12) it should keep everyone writing.

Still want next topic science fiction with a religous twist, got Religon Wars, the battle between the Jewish Rebels and the Catholic Empire, the Rebel Leader Rabbi Goldstein vs the Catholic Leader Father McGrady, using Holy Saber and such. Instead of X-Wings or Tie Fighters you got Jew-Wings(shape of star of David) and Cross Fighters(shape of a cross), no Death Star, but Death Cross(again a cross) with the power to convert an entire planet in one shot! Mwahahahaha!!! No AT-AT or "chicken" walkers but J-Walkers, or JC-JC. No Dark Emperor but the Pope! "Join the Cross side young Goldstein." "Jew, I am your father!" And the home planet of the Empire is not Coriscaunt(sp?) but Vatican! Not Yoda but Budda! No wookies Mauslims! And of course have to use the KKK outfits for the Storm Troopers. No droids, but hindus! I was really bored and nothing else to do but write what came to me.

Are you sure about that James? Spiritual fiction has been the main topic of my story telling life. I don't write about religion, I write about human spirituality. The first day of the contest i'd have ten of my better stories up and be declared the official ATS guru.

In the words of Bear Bryant, "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up."

Persoanlly, i'm willing to tough out the time till the next contest begins and leave the fate of the next contest in the capable hands of WorldWatcher. I'm sure as Mod she has her own agenda and surprises.

I can't wait.

Love and light,

Wupy

True, but dang, we have about 15 stories up so far and still time left for more. This way I would have a jump on the competiton.

well i guess it is almost time for a new topic. any hints on what the next topic is?

There's still time left on this one, guys. Let Worldwatcher run the contest by the timetable she has already established. As the moderator of the forum, she's the one running the show here, remember?

Personally, I think that bugging for a topic for the next contest before this one is even over would be more than a bit premature, so just let her handle this according to her own judgments. I'm sure you'll all get a chance to write about your favorite topics at some point.

True Dh, True. But dang it, like when you buy instant lotto tickets, you want to scratch scratch scratch NOW! You want to see if you won NOW! Or like a kid on christmas, "Yup, high grandma, hi uncle, his cousin, now open present!!!!" Then afterwards they are normal/sane.

Thank you wupy and dh
damn skippy I have my own plans and I'm not sharing till the time is right

still lots of time to get your entries in, I hope to see a few more before the competition closes

Like I said, like a kid on christmas, is nuts until after the presents are opened. After they know what they got then they are "Yea! Family time, eat, speak, be family." But before that it all "Open Open Open!!!!!"

Worldwatcher, we need your opinion here.

On another thread we've been discussing if one person can take more then one spot in the winners circle. We will have first, second and third place to be awarded so we were wondering if one person could take say, first and third, or second and third, or maybe even all three.

Could you clarify this for us?

I don't think it would be right or fair for one person to get more then one spot. Still, Kushi is worried and so is James and i'm just curious and would like to know.

Personally, I think a rule should be added saying something to the effect, "You can enter as many times as you like, but can only win one of the three top spots awarded."

I also wouldn't mind a little clarification on what is defined as a short story here. Such as, no multiple chapters, the story must begin and end with the first posting of it. A word count, saying a short story is less then 5000 words. You don't have to make them hard and fast rules, but a few guidelines would really come in handy.

I know you are the new Mod in the forum and I have no right to be so brazen as this, but I want to help make this the best damn thing that has ever happened to ATS and I can't do that by just sitting back and keeping my big yap shut.

I hope you will forgive me.

Love and light,

Wupy

actualy the reason that i would like a future topic ahead of time would be so we can reserch into what we don't already have a major learning in. i know for myself at least writeing does not come easy. unfamiliar subject matter makes it a wee bit harder.

wuppy also has point i hadn't considdered, what is the criteria for a story legth?

If the timeframe given is one month for a contest, how much more time would you need to research something to get an idea to write?

As for wanting things to move along faster, like a kid on Christmas, as was said, all I can say is, "Patience, my padawan. Allow this to flow naturally you must."

Can someone win all three prizes?

Yes, Check out the Showcase of Winners

I believe it was the Science/Space category that Jonna won with a clean sweep. Awesome work Jonna
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I have no problems with one member winning all three prizes, if someone is that talented and creative, then they absolutely deserve it. That doesn't mean that the runner ups might not get some sort of award, it may or may not happen, it will depend on the final scoring of each submission. It is also possible that members are tied for the same position, that too will be worked out so that both are rewarded.

As for story length, we'll let this first go as is, but perhaps next one will be something like 5000 words or less. Paragraphs are fine, they make for easier reading. Right now my main criteria for "short story" is that it begins and end in one post and stays in context with the topic, so far I don't see any problems with any of the entries.

and don't hestitate to offer your suggestions, I might not follow your advice, but I will listen

Well, while were on the subject, just how are stories scored? Is there a set list of guidelines the judges work thru? Is grammer and punctuation factored in? What about believability? This is after all fiction.

I'm sure everyone here has more integrity then to write for the score card, after all were writers who write for the sheer glory of writing. Winning and losing means NOTHING to us

Any insights on the matter would be greatly appreciated by the writers involved.

Love and light,

Wupy