Photo credit to Ihor Maylytiskyi on Unsplash.
I've been wanting to do this for almost a year, and today is the day. I'm excited, delighted, and thrilled to announce that I am holding a short-story competition.
The top three finalists will be published on my blog, and the first place winner will be receiving a CASH PRIZE.
Your Prompt
A Matter of Time by Marcus Warner
I chose this prompt because it's not only a musical prompt, but a visual one. You will be writing your story with this song and picture in mind.
Questions you should ask yourself...
Who is that man, and why is he standing on the shore in a suit? Why is he looking out to sea while holding a pocket watch? Is he waiting for something, or someone? It's A Matter of Time until...what?
Notice the constant ticking in the background of the song and the woman's voice singing. Why are these different sounds present in the music?
Word Count, Guidelines, and A Not-Guideline
Word Count
Your story should exceed 1,000 words and hopefully be under 5,000 words. (But if you go over by a few hundred words, don't sweat it).
Guidelines
I'll expect your story to adhere to the following guidelines. If any are broken, your story's out of the running. Sorry, but writing uplifting stories is what we're going for here.
No inappropriate/sexual content. These stories are going to be read by kids. Write them accordingly. We want to read something edifying and respectful.
No profane language or taking the name of the Lord in vain. It's important to have reverence for the Lord's name and to use clean language.
A not-guideline
Genre? Choose whatever you want. I'm open to fantasy, contemporary, historical fiction, or even cyberpunk aliens who live in the Quantum Realm (please don't plagiarize Marvel, though). Let your imagination run away with you.
Submissions
Your story must be submitted before July 31st in this form. If you have a hard time remembering that, just remind yourself to get your tall tale in before Harry Potter's birthday.
Winners and Prizes
The winners, and only the winners, will receive an email by September 7th letting them know that they have won. The 1st place winner will receive a $20 dollar Amazon gift card as well as having their story published on this blog. 2nd and 3rd place winners will not receive a prize, but their stories will also be published on the blog. Think of it like an honorable mention.
Those who do not win will be acknowledged and thanked in a participation post where blog readers can still find the links to their blogs, social media, email lists, or any other place where they can connect with them online.
Hint-hint
Please edit your piece before submitting it. Typos and bad grammar/punctuation irk me greatly, and it's just not professional. You'll still be in the running if I find some mistakes, but if you're a finalist I'll be asking you to fix them.
Also...I love good, strong characters. If your story stars a relatable protagonist with real struggles and a redemption arc, you're hitting my sweet spot.
What are you waiting for? Start writing!
There are so many views, I'm kinda nervous on how much competition I have. 🤣
You should do a non-prompt short story contest. This prompt was too hard for me this time but I like it for a complex series I’ll be starting soon.
-Sara D
I have another question, XD. If I were to win (theoretically), when would I be able to claim this as my own again. Most contest have things like "In three months you may post this on your own blog" or whatever. When would that be for this?
~ Haniah
Put the playback speed at 2 and listen (it sounds creepy) 😬
Hey do we have to have the title be "A Matter of Time?" or can we change it to something like "Times End"?
-Sabine