February Contest: Flash Fiction!
Jan 30, 2024 17:18:13 GMT -6
Post by Caulder Melhaire on Jan 30, 2024 17:18:13 GMT -6
✨ February Flash Fiction Contest! ✨
CONTEST SCHEDULE
Submissions Open: Thursday, February 1st
Submissions Close: Friday, February 16th, 12:00 PM (Noon) CST
Voting Begins: Friday, February 16th
Voting Closes: Friday March 1st, 11:59 PM CST
In honor of the shortest month of the year, come join us in celebrating the wonderful form of short fiction known as: Flash Fiction!
Flash Fiction is much the same as regular fiction, just in a more condensed form. Think of it as a very short short-story! While the exact numbers vary, most short stories typically fall somewhere between 1500 and 10,000 words, whereas Flash Fiction dwells in the land between 1000 and 1500. Though shorter, flash fiction is still a complete story, with a beginning, middle, and end. Quite often, it will include some sort of twist before the close to compensate for the tighter boundaries, and to encourage even deeper reflection on the piece. (Note: this is not a requirement for this contest, just a common characteristic of the form.) Brevity is key with flash fiction! You may have to get close and tight with those shears to make everything fit.
...interestingly, February is also the second month of the year. What does that have to do with the contest, you ask? Well, it wouldn't be a February contest without a wildcard. Your theme for this contest will be:
SECOND PERSON
Your entry may be in any genre or style you please, but must be written using Second Person narrative perspective. Second person narration is unique compared to first and third, because it heavily implies the reader has some place in - or relevance to - the story by addressing them directly using the pronoun, “You.” It’s not a form I see used very often. Most notably for me, N. K. Jemisen used it masterfully in her Broken Earth trilogy, and Atiq Rahimi wrote Earth and Ashes in second person to force the reader to become “both participant and witness” to the content of the novella.
✨For some examples of Second Person writing, as well as a general guideline of what to approve/disapprove of during the voting process, check out THIS ARTICLE from A Place of Intent, which lists excerpts of true Second Person, as well as creative ways to blend it with other narrative styles.✨
Funnily enough, avoiding the overuse of the word “you” is one of the most common pieces of advice for writing second person. For some ideas, tips, and guidelines on the narrative form, check out these resources:
→ Indeed - What is Second Person
→ Electric Literature - How to Write a Second Person Story
→ Scribophile - Using Second Person POV
CONTEST BASICS
✒️Only one entry per participant, of any genre.
✒️Word limit: Between 1000 - 1500 words.
✒️Your story must be unique, written specifically for this contest. You may not submit a story you have already been working on or wrote in the past, nor will we accept fan fiction for this particular contest.
✒️No AI-written or AI-assisted pieces. Anything deemed so will be disqualified from the contest.
✒️Do not disclose which entry is yours until after the contest has concluded.
✒️Please paste this template at the very top of your entry:
Title:
Genre:
Word Count:
Trigger Warnings:
✒️For information regarding Trigger Warnings, please reference our post about it HERE
SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY
📝Send your entry to me (Caulder) via Private Message in BB Code according to THESE INSTRUCTIONS
📝Each entry will be posted anonymously by me in Fiction
📝I will not edit mistakes, typos, or for readability. BB Code likes to act up, so make sure you do some testing or re-sending to verify that your formatting has stuck the way you'd like it to.
NOTE: The ProBoards private message system does NOT allow us to edit our PMs. If you see a problem with your entry, you may resend it as needed up to the deadline.
JUDGING
📌 Voting is open to all LegendFire members! Every contestant is REQUIRED to vote.
📌 Unless excused for serious reasons, contestants must vote on all entries. You will receive 2 reminders of this requirement 1 week and again 3 days prior to the end of the voting period. If you do not vote on ALL entries, your entry will be disqualified.
📌 Please follow these steps:
1. Critique each entry according to the following questions. Answer them as thoroughly as possible. Two sentences minimum per question. The goal is to help the author improve their craft. NOTE: voters who leave one-liner critiques to justify their vote will receive warnings according to our warning system.
Technical writing elements: Which elements were technically sound in this entry? What still needs work? (consider writing fundamentals, the things found in grammar manuals, dictionaries, clarity guides, etc.)
Artistic writing elements: What appealed to me in this entry? What might benefit from revision? (Consider things like narrative hook, emotional impact, character arc, word choice,
metaphor, imagery, uniqueness, etc.)
Theme: How good was the implementation of the theme? How effective was the usage of the theme at drawing you into the story?
2. Assign each area a numerical value: Rate each entry from 1 to 5, with five being the most favorable.
3. Add your scores you allotted to each area and divide by 3 to get an average score. For example: 3.5 + 3 + 4 = 3.5 (The contest host will collect all the averaged scores for each entry and tally the overall average to determine the winners.)
📌 You may vote for yourself to maintain your anonymity. This vote will not count toward the final score.
📌 All entries must have the same number of votes for each vote to count. For example, if over half the entries receive 7 votes, we will set the final vote requirement to 7 votes per entry.
WINNERS
100 Hard Honor Points for all entrants, upon submitting their entry
1st Place winners: an additional 200 Hard Honor Points, for a total of 300.
2nd and 3rd Place winners: an additional 100 Hard Honor Points, for a total of 200.
(Contestants must edit their Honor Points themselves within their profile settings)
PROMO BADGE
[img]https://i.ibb.co/23YwhVz/2ndperson-Badge.png[/img]Participants:
- Sundrinker
- ScintillaMyntan
- saintofm
- Jib
- Raveneye
- Alatariel
- Mazulla
You add them to your profile as you do them around the forum.
