Anthrofiction Network's Short Story Contest, Summer 2007

[ScottyDM]

Announcing Anthrofiction Network's
Short Story Contest for Summer 2007

And we have a theme! "And isn't she a beaut!" — in the same sense Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, used to use that phrase when describing a big salty. This theme will probably grab a few of the less wary by a limb, drag them into the swamp of their own prose, and put them into a death roll. Hey, but how else we gonna learn?

Ahh, what is it? Take a peek, if you dare.

And we have the rules.

As always, never any fees to enter. Someday this year I'll have the trophies completed. I still need to get the proper rocks for 2007. Good luck to everyone who attempts an entry! < giggles — then is yanked back into the mire that is his sample story > "Ow! Dang, that's gonna leave a mark."

Can you use transformation in an entry? Absolutely! Transformation could even trigger the response called for by the theme if the TF is welcomed by the person being transformed or the person effecting the transformation.

Scotty

[ScottyDM]

The entry period for the contest is almost upon us.

Six stories so far, but one entered the other day wasn't anthrofiction, so... Interesting story though and hopefully the author can tweak the main character in time for the entry deadline.

The deadline is Tuesday at "the end of the day." What this means is midnight Greenwich Mean Time. So the deadline depends on what timezone you're in. For example we here in the Americas have our deadline well before midnight.

Good luck to the existing entrants and I hope to see more stories.

Scotty

[ScottyDM]

My apologies. I should have updated this thread almost two weeks ago.

Anthrofiction Network's short story contest for summer 2007 is in the judging phase. The judging phase will close on September 4th at the end of the day (GMT).

The theme this quarter is A Sense of Wonder, which is a challenge for any writer because it's all about the emotion. Two goals: show a character who feels a sense of wonder about something, then write it such that the reader shares that sense of wonder with the character. Very tough.

There are nine stories, so without further ado, here are links to the stories along with a small sample of each....

Butterfly Kisses

They say that miracles only happen by chance, or when you just get lucky. Miracles are merely a mistake that can have some good come along by accident. And still some even say that miracles are only a figment of our imaginations. I didn't believe in miracles along with all those other people. But, like them, I was wrong.

Childish Things

David sat in the hospital cafeteria, sipping coffee that had gone cold half an hour before. It didn't matter; he wasn't thirsty, wasn't hungry. He felt rather like the corridors around him: white and blank and cold.

Ruled by the Water

Tall, parched grasses swayed in a lazy pattern around sparse trees. Tree trunks split into gnarled branches, which in turn divided into spider webs of knotted, leafless twigs. Hot, dry winds brought swirling wisps of fine dirt into the air, blowing across the savannah in irregular patterns. Kuru felt her fur ruffle as a breeze brought a fresh dusting onto her back.

The Cost of an Heir

"I'm not going over this again," Blinock said as he wrapped his arms around his mate's small frame and gazed up at the stars. It was hard to stay mad with her in his arms.

Song of the Silent

He stared at the other tools on the table. There was a pair of forceps, which had smooth, flat circular pieces on the inside of the tines, and a cup of water. He had also brought a blade along, which was heating in the fire. His mentor had suggested using a hot blade so that the wound would be seared shut immediately.

Monkeys and Magic

"Humble yourself before your king wolf-man, and perhaps he will be merciful," the magistrate intoned.

Perhaps if he did not already have his staff calked to strike the 'doomed' gong I might have been more impressed. It didn't matter anyway.

The Otherworld

In the ominous silence of the city street, two people walked hand-in-hand towards the unknown.

Their jovial laughter echoed through the snowy November day. Few pedestrians walked the streets in such cold and the couple found themselves alone.

The Gray Wolf: A Fairy Tale Retold

It has been many appearances of Mother Sun and Father Moon since I last tasted man-flesh. The vivacious star-daughters dance mockingly, and the cloud-sons gust and brood around their dam in the great sky. I cry to them, "Let me join you, oh my kin!" but they do not heed me. My pleas are scorned—banished I remain.

It's Like a Jungle in There!

Harold's bottom had hardly settled in his deck-chair when he suddenly remembered his wife's pot plants. He had not watered them since she set off on a rare visit to her sister in Australia. He leapt up like a cat with its tail on fire.

Thanks for participating and I hope that if you're a writer you can join us next quarter. Transformation is always welcome as long as you anthropomorphize at least one of the character's forms.

Scotty

[ScottyDM]

144 Ballots

The analysis is done and I can announce the results.

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Childish Things by Renee Carter Hall scored 4.67 with 16 verified ballots. Imaginary friends are real!

The Cost of an Heir by Michelle Hicks scored 4.39 with 37 verified ballots. The sex life of centaurs.

Ruled by the Water by Teric scored 4.25 with 21 verified ballots. African lions.

It's Like a Jungle in There! by Chrissy-ma, aka Chris Hazelgrove, scored 3.82 with 11 verified ballots. Henri Rousseau meets Doctor Doolittle for tea with the Mad Hatter... errr, no. Well then spider venom contains hallucinogenic substances... errr, anyway there's a size TF and it's trippy.

The Gray Wolf: A Fairy Tale Retold by Abby “Merc” Rustad scored 3.77 with 11 verified ballots. Fantastic fairytale with a couple of TFs and other magic.

The Otherworld by Vaperfox scored 3.32 with 11 verified ballots. Weird dream world with multiple body-swap TFs.

Butterfly Kisses by McKenna scored 3.27 with 15 verified ballots. Mutant girl-butterfly hybrid.

Monkeys and Magic by Andrea M. Bodel scored 3.23 with 11 verified ballots. Quirky werewolf humor.

Song of the Silent by Angela McKnight scored 2.97 with 9 verified ballots. Disturbing self-mutilation to gain potent magic.
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Congratulations to Ms. Hall and to everyone who entered the contest. And thanks to those who scored the stories.

This contest received about three times as many ballots as I'm used to getting and my method for processing them is not very scalable. I need to come up with a new method before December.

I'll announce the next contest and theme in a new thread.

Scotty