Original Fiction Contest!

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-02-21 01:29am

An original fiction contest is hereby declared.

It is our intent to create a contest for friendly competition between interested authors, in the realm of science-fiction and fantasy works. The contest rules shall be established below and shall be fixed so that all interested can reference here while working on their efforts. Any updates to the rules will be announced in an edit to this post and a reply to this thread announcing that edit.

This competition is solely for original works, and the works submitted cannot contain any elements of any copyrighted work whatsoever unless you provide the Judges with a letter (a scan will be sufficient, but e-mail will not be) giving you permission from the holder of the copyright to use their work in a contest which may have a financial reward. I am including that on the off chance that someone really, really wants to write fanfiction, but the reality is that fanfiction cannot be written for monetary reward; unless, of course, dispensation is given from the copyright holder. Considering this is rather implausible, works of fanfiction are effectively banned from the contest. Fanfiction submitted to the contest will not be accepted except under the above and extraordinary conditions.

However, the actual goal of this contest is to really encourage people to write original, creative fiction. That is the title, and that is the entire point of the effort. You are encouraged to produce a piece of totally original fiction, or something based on a universe you have created yourself and have put time into already; that comes from your own mind. Even if you do not win one of the prizes, you shall have an opportunity to receive at least five reviews of your piece of fiction, guaranteed, each by a different judge. These shall be exhaustive and very good reviews given for the purpose of improving your writing by people skilled at the literary art. That is the gain of everyone who enters the contest, regardless of placing.

The contest shall begin as-of 23 February, this coming Monday. From that date onwards, submissions will be accepted. The e-mail address for the acceptance of submissions is StorycontestSpamremove@SpamremoveDragonchoice.com Submissions will be accepted from 23 February until 23 June. The deadline may be modified subject to announcement in this thread; but will not be made sooner. We want to give you actual time to work on these stories.

There shall be at least five judges, and there shall be maintained an odd number of judges in the judging of each story, though an effort to consensus will always be made. Several alternate judges will be retained. In general the judges will be people I will be selecting personally for their excellent writing or editing abilities or general knowledge and expert abilities with linguistics and/or the languages. Currently the confirmed judges are myself and one Faye Upton. Names of the other judges shall be announced later along with anything they want to say about themselves, and E-mail contacts if they wish to give them. Most of them are busy people and do not need to be made busier if they are going to be judging this contest.

Stories must be in excess of 5,000 words, and, quite simply, we expect that anyone entering is capable of writing such an effort in the time alotted. 5,001 words is not a lot; I have made story posts more than half that length in a single day. Copy and paste one of your longer posts into word, or several short ones made in a single day, say for an STGOD, and get a word count on it and you might be surprised how much you write in one day yourself. The key is to of course make it a coherent story effort.

The maximum is fixed at 15,000 words currently. There is a possibility that this may be extended upwards. 15,000 words is generally about the upper limit for short stories seen in magazines; though I have seen 25,000 word limits before. Consider, however, the 15,000 word limit to be your planning limit until I speak with the other judges on the matter. Certainly the 10,000 - word possible variation leaves a wide room for chosen styles.

Each author may submit only a single story. The story may come in any form desired as long as it is entirely submitted before 23 June and is within the word limits, but must be of a science fiction or fantasy genre. Remember, now, that's very broad in terms of category. Any kind of fantasy, any kind of science-fiction. But something that clearly isn't one or the other will be rejected, as will stories violating the word limits (we will try to fix the upper limit ASAP because of this). Any fanfiction story, also, will be rejected, or any story containing fanfiction elements; unless the noted proviso is fulfilled to our satisfaction. We will try to get rejection notices out as quickly as possible to give authors who receive them a chance to resubmit.

The works may be submitted in any format or style as long as they meet the above requirements, but generally the judges being considered are traditionalists in regard to grammar; several are from the UK and write rather formally; one is a linguist; and I personally find many modern grammar conventions contemptible (the biggest annoyance would be the ridiculous chicago convention of s's--it should be s'); now, don't get worried. You will not be downgraded for obeying commonly held rules. However, probably the absolutely best possible advice I can give is:

Don't trust the damned word processor.

If you want to be a writer you've got to have a gut feel for how the language should flow; for how it should mesh together. Computers can't construct fiction yet, and much of what makes fiction good is in the construction of the sentences--the grammar. So don't trust your computer's answer there, always double-check it to see how it feels in the structure and context of what you're writing. If you're willing to do that you're on the right track already.

Monetary payoffs are currently $20 for first place, $10 for second place, and $5 each for third and fourth place; but I have received an offer to increase that by half again, and so if the prizes are increased by further donations, that will also be announced in further updates. And don't get frightened by what I've said, because qualitatively there are some excellent writers here, so if you've read this you're probably already someone who is doing it right.

Best of luck, everyone, and do have fun in your writing.

P.S. Can a mod sticky this?

Sure. ~ Crown

Jaded Masses · Post by **Jaded Masses** » 2004-02-21 01:52am

Not sure what I'm going to say other then, I'll give it a shot.

I'll give it a shot

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-02-21 01:53am

I'm game.

Post by **Kuja** » 2004-02-21 02:00am

Hmmm...intriguing.

Maybe this is exactly the kick I need to get off my ass and write Dark Rain in full.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2004-02-21 02:15am

Hmmm.... can I submit my Soldiers of the Sovereignty? Bah, in its current form it already exceeds the limit by a thousand words.

Hmm... gotta think of something.

23 June, eh? I'm game!

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2004-02-21 03:21am

So... where do we sign up?

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-02-21 03:40am

Stofsk wrote:So... where do we sign up?

You would have to submit a story, including your name and e-mail adress (if different from the one used for submission) to the address which will be specified this coming Sunday. An introductory summary is optional.

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2004-02-21 05:22pm

I'll give it a shot. I've had an idea for a sci-fi clunking around in my brain for awhile now.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2004-02-21 09:47pm

Can it be a fic based on a friend's original sci-fi universe?

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-02-21 10:11pm

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Can it be a fic based on a friend's original sci-fi universe?

Since I assume he doesn't have a copyright on it, an e-mail from him giving permission would suffice.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-02-21 10:14pm

The e-mail address for submissions is now available and it is StorycontestSpamremove@SpamremoveDragonchoice.com

justifier · Post by **justifier** » 2004-02-21 11:19pm

I'm working on one story which I might submit. It has a lot of elements from War of the Worlds in it. It is no a fanfic persay but it includes tripod walkers, tenticled blob aliens who feed themselves with human blood and other similarities, however the alien forces also have a modified background and armory compared to WotW and the events of WotW never happened. I want to make sure such a work can be submited, since it is an original universe though heavily inspired.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-02-21 11:57pm

justifier wrote:I'm working on one story which I might submit. It has a lot of elements from War of the Worlds in it. It is no a fanfic persay but it includes tripod walkers, tenticled blob aliens who feed themselves with human blood and other similarities, however the alien forces also have a modified background and armory compared to WotW and the events of WotW never happened. I want to make sure such a work can be submited, since it is an original universe though heavily inspired.

As long as the physiological details of the aliens are different, considering what you have already said in the post above as well, I believe it would be sufficient. But I am not sure if it would be currently if the physiological details are the same.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2004-02-22 01:13am

I've had an idea for a fantasy story floating around in my head and've been looking for an opporunity to flesh it out. I'm in.

P.S. Who here agrees that "and've" should be a new conjunction?

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-02-22 01:23am

HemlockGrey wrote:I've had an idea for a fantasy story floating around in my head and've been looking for an opporunity to flesh it out. I'm in.

P.S. Who here agrees that "and've" should be a new conjunction?

I don't. There are rather more in the English language than it should have as it stands. And it doesn't sound right when you say it out loud. Maybe if you had a Yorkshire accent... But only then.

Post by **fgalkin** » 2004-02-22 01:34am

I might enter if I'll have any free time.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2004-02-22 05:43pm

I don't. There are rather more in the English language than it should have as it stands. And it doesn't sound right when you say it out loud. Maybe if you had a Yorkshire accent... But only then.

Well, I've never heard anyone from around here pronounce "and have", at least, so maybe I'll make it some sort of secret Philadelphia-area thing.

Post by **haas mark** » 2004-02-22 06:20pm

HemlockGrey wrote:I've had an idea for a fantasy story floating around in my head and've been looking for an opporunity to flesh it out. I'm in.

P.S. Who here agrees that "and've" should be a new conjunction?

Should not. "And" is not a pronoun, noun or proper noun. Well, not in writing anyways. Dialectually, however, it sure can be. Just not as a dictionary word.

And if I have time, I'll go for it (the contest, that is).

~ver

Sonnenburg · Post by **Sonnenburg** » 2004-03-05 04:10pm

I assume from its absence that there is no agreed contract between you, the holders of the contest, and us, the writers, regarding the sale or reproduction of these original works, correct? The authors retain total control of their efforts and they can't be reproduced without permission?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-03-07 08:56pm

Sonnenburg wrote:I assume from its absence that there is no agreed contract between you, the holders of the contest, and us, the writers, regarding the sale or reproduction of these original works, correct? The authors retain total control of their efforts and they can't be reproduced without permission?

Presumably. On SB, Marina said she would produce a legal waiver to secure the author's rights (link) if neccessary.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2004-03-07 11:08pm

Questions:

1. Can the fic be loosely inspired by something I saw on a music video?

2. Can we provide a yahoo email when we submit?

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-03-07 11:44pm

The Duchess of Zeon wrote: Since I assume he doesn't have a copyright on it, an e-mail from him giving permission would suffice.

Copyrights for written works are automatic; anything you write is protected, so this exception really doesn't make sense.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-03-10 08:20pm

Sea Skimmer wrote: Copyrights for written works are automatic; anything you write is protected, so this exception really doesn't make sense.

Hrmm. I'll need to consult, then.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-03-10 08:20pm

Sonnenburg wrote:I assume from its absence that there is no agreed contract between you, the holders of the contest, and us, the writers, regarding the sale or reproduction of these original works, correct? The authors retain total control of their efforts and they can't be reproduced without permission?

That is correct. It is not my intention to even post these works on the internet.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-03-10 08:22pm

Biography of Faye Upton, first Judge and E-mail host.

Other judge biographies to follow.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Original Fiction Contest!

Original Fiction Contest!

E-mail address for submissions now available.