Write With Your Power XIII
Apocalypse Now
It's everyone's favorite time of year, Write With Your Power time! Believe it or not, it's been over a year since our last contest, so we're well overdue. Things are going to be done a bit differently this time, so please be sure to read this post thoroughly and ask questions if you have them.Apocalypse Now
I know that you're all bummed out that you weren't Raptured away on May 21st, but hey, life on earth as we know it can end if we really want it to! That is the prompt for this iteration of the contest:
Write a story about the end of the world.
Will your story be a quiet reflection on mortality? Or a loud, cataclysmic tale of utter destruction? Or a heart-wrenching account of a battle against hopeless odds? It's totally up to you. We're leaving things pretty open on this prompt, and we're open to imaginative takes on the prompt.
Now for the stuff our lawyers make us post!
NOTE: THE RULES FOR THIS CONTEST ARE DIFFERENT THAN PAST CONTESTS! PLEASE READ THEM THOROUGHLY AND BE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THEM!
Rules
1) All stories MUST be ORIGINAL WORKS written during the time frame of the contest. NO stories written before today's date will be knowingly judged (therein lies the rub: we don't actually know when you wrote your story; we're going to rely on everyone's sense of honor. Remember, this is "Write With Your Power," not "Submit Past Works With Your Power").
Also, NO PLAGIARISM. You will be banned from this contest, and possibly banned from the site. We are dead serious about this.
2) The word limit for this contest is 10,000 words. We won't get bent out of shape if you're pushing 10,600 or something, but anything significantly over 10,000 will affect your score negatively.
3) NEW RULE!!You MUST provide constructive criticism to at least one other writer's submission. This criticism must be offered in the author's thread for all to see (no "But I talked to him/her on AIM!" nonsense). YOUR SUBMISSION WILL NOT BE JUDGED IF WE CANNOT VERIFY THAT YOU COMMENTED ON SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK. You can comment on every piece if you like, but you MUST comment on AT LEAST ONE.
The goal here is to help us all improve. Any writer will tell you what a valuable tool a writer's group is, where writers read each other's work and offer suggestions for improvement. Yes, there will be winners for this contest, but the goal is for participants to come out of this contest as stronger writers, no matter if they come in first or last.
Also, if possible, please try to comment on a story that has not been commented on yet. This exercise is intended to help everyone; if one story gets all the attention and others are neglected, then the purpose has not been served.
Submission Process NEW! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!!
As a result of the new commenting requirement, we're going to alter the submission guidelines to allow for participants to make use of the suggestions they receive. The schedule will go as follows:
July 1st- WWYP XIII officially begins
July 31st- Rough drafts due
August 15th- Final Drafts due
August 31st- Scores and comments from judges due
We're requiring that ALL ENTRANTS submit a rough draft. You will have one month to work on it, and then there will be a two week window for commenting and editing. You are not required to edit your work, but it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you do. Label your entries [WWYP XIII]: Story Name Here.
As this contest is already scheduled to last for two months, ALL DEADLINES ARE FINAL AND NON-NEGOTIABLE. We've been pretty loose about extensions and giving results in the past, but there will be no extensions this time, and I give you my word that results will be posted on time.
Judges
1)Jam Stunna
2)El Nino
3)TBD
Judging Rubric
The judges will grade the stories based on the Scurvy Rubric, listed as follows. Entrants will be graded on a scale of 1-10 in four separate areas, for a possible total score of 40 points:
AwardsAdherence to Prompt -
Virgilijus - How interwoven is your story to the guidelines? If the prompt were a genre, could some one read it and instantly know the prompt was fantasy or satire? If they can, you followed it well. If not, you avoided it too much. Also, the prompt should be well utilized: a story that requires a mythical object should use it for all its potential worth, not merely mention it and check it off the list.
Matt - These points should be easy to earn. How well did you engage the guidelines? Did you engage them creatively? Did you engage them with your power? If I ask you to use a gun in your story, will you give me knife? Take risks, but don't disregard our basic expectations.
Tone -
Virgilijus - The overall mood of the story; the feeling that you get when you read it. This is made up by the setting, characters, dialogue, and the imagery. Unless it is directed by the prompt, the tone for each story should be different, but they should all impact the reader. A good tone should get the reader immersed in the story, whether or not it is from blissful country sides or horrifying mad men. How real is your story in the readers mind?
S*** - Tone is made up of character (do your characters seem real? do they talk real? are they interesting), setting (Does your story have a sense of place? Of time? Are we always oriented?) and imagery (can we see what's going on?)
Style -
Virgilijus - This is what separates your story from others of the same plot. How do you describe people, actions, and places? What rhythm do your words have? How quickly do you move the plot? Style is your paintbrush to show why your painting of little girl is different and more powerful than some one else’s.
S*** - The most technical of the categories. Did you use proper spelling and grammar? Did you try to push the envelope with your sentence structure? Did you construct the plot in a significant manner? This category relies heavily on phrasing and specifics.
Enjoyment -
Virgilijus - Enjoyment is the immediate and long lasting appeal of your story. While we were reading it, was it a page turner? After we finished, did we sit and think about the theme or the final scene? Is your story an accomplishment, or just words with a beginning, middle and end?
Matt- An enjoyable story brings plot elements and theme and, frankly, everything listed above together in a way that is both memorable and engaging. We're talking about the WOW factor here, and these types of points aren't easy to earn.
1st Place - Smash Writer Status, Custom Title, and input on the prompt of WWYP XIV
2nd Place - Smash Writer Status and a Custom Title
3rd Place - Smash Writer Status
So start thinking, have fun, and WRITE WITH YOUR POWER!