Fantasy and Vampire Book Club discussion

Writing Competition, July 2012

Topic: Shape-Shifters

Word Count: 2,000

Competition Due Date: July 31, 2012

Hello All! I’m Carolyn, I’m the new writing competition moderator. The competition this month will be about shape-shifters. The minimum word count is 1,500 words and the maximum amount of words is 2,000. This is just to be a short-story. (if you use Microsoft Word, the word count is tallied in the bottom left-hand corner, if that helps). You can copy/paste into the folder when you're done.

The topic of shape-shifters could be anything from the traditional werewolf to a more complex shifter who can shift into animals, other people, etc. Or, even one who is a vampire shifter! You decide. It’s your baby. Be creative and as original as you can!

Also, please be cognizant of your grammar and spelling. We do not expect perfect, professional polished work by any means - this is an amateur writing competition afterall; however, it never hurts to have someone look over your story before you submit it. A great story can be ruined by spelling and grammar errors that can make it look immature or hard to understand. Creativity is the key here, though.

For your submission, make sure you put your name and the name of your story at the top of the page, and put your story in the “July Writing Competition” folder only – NOT this one.

As far as prizes go, they are as follows:
1st - $10 Amazon gift card
2nd - $5 Amazon gift card
3rd – A vampire bookmark

Use the July Competition folder ONLY for submissions. Please keep comments to a minimum.

Okay, folks, let’s get to writing! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!

Cool writing competition!! I'll tweet it!

That's a great idea Kenya! I might do that too.

Looks like fun :)

I'm struggling to even make it to 1500 words. Clearly I've been writing Flash fiction too much recently

Oooh something interesting, count me in:)

I can't wait to see what y'all come up with.

Thank you for the tweet, Kenya! :)

Sounds like fun. I may have to see what I can come up with. Love those shifters! :)

Well, that's my entry in. Hope everyone enjoys it.

I just read Ian's "Fire Drill". It was fun.

I never thought of shape shifters as non-animal shifters, Raymond. Neat idea.

I try my best ;-) My aim is to confuse, amuse, enthuse or bemuse. If I've managed at least one then I consider my work done.

This looks like lots of fun! And I love the topic, this is exactly what I like to write about. I just might give it a try.

Ooooh 2000 words is so short! I'll give it a shot though.

I posted my contribution. Let me know what you think. 2000 words is a pretty tight container, but does fit well with messages here. It was fun to try.

Everyones Stories are looking great!

That was an excellent story, Denna. The lead in & twist was great.

Horace wrote: "That was an excellent story, Denna. The lead in & twist was great."

Thank you. All the stories so far have been entertaining. I liked the ogre angle/glamour slipped in. It's amazing how much can be fit into 2000 words! Good practice for all us writers. I don't envy the judges who'll have to choose one. :)

Hello everyone - my name is Dennis B. Boyer and although I've been on Goodreads for awhile now, I'm just beginning to discover what you can do with this site. This is the first group I've joined and it has me really enthused! This writing contest is such a great idea - thanks for inspiring me! I just submitted my piece, "Return to Form". I too write mostly flash, and unfortunately I clocked in a bit short at about 1350 words. This is exactly as long as this particular story should be though, I think, so I'm submitting it anyhow - I hope that's not to grave of an infraction! ;) No worries if that makes me ineligible for the prize - I'm just excited about participating! I'm going to check out the "competition" now, and hopefully discover some cool stories. I hope you all enjoy mine as well - I'd love hearing any of your thoughts on it! Thank you for this group, and for this contest, and for inspiring me to write this piece!

Welcome, Dennis. Good story.

Thank you for your submissions, everyone! I am loving the stories so far. Y'all have active imaginations, that's for sure! :)

We are halfway thru July so just a couple more weeks before the deadline. Good luck, guys!

I've written 3 shifters stories this year so I am all shiftered out at the moment :)

"Fire Drill" was my first 'shape-shifter' piece. I like challenges though; writing in different genres is fun, and very challenging.
All the stories are well written. Good work guys.
Ian.

Tomorrow is the last day to post your story! They all look great so far. Don't miss your chance! Judging begins Wednesday :)

Carolyn

quick query, what is the copyright/reuse/republishing situation on these? IE:- If I want to use my submitted story elsewhere?

More good stories! I pity the judges. The settings & themes are so wide ranging that comparing the stories will be tough.

Raymond, I put a small disclaimer at the top post of the thread where you post the story. It's your story, you can do whatever you want with it. I just wanted to make sure nobody takes anyone else's story/ideas. The stories/words do not belong to this site, board, or thread, they are yours. :)

Thanks for that, just wanted complete clarity as I wanted to include it in a new anthology so now I know I can.

Thank you for your submissions, everyone! I hope to have the winners posted by Saturday! All the stories were great!