F
Fijoli
Guest
Original poster
Seasons greetings Iwaku,
We have a spooktacular writing contest just for you to dig your horror teeth into and real prizes for our top three contestants!
Fijo Fact:
I remember being a child and telling the most horrid stories about peoples heads falling off because they lied to each other too much. I hated when my parents lied to me and once, when I caught them doing it, I drew a few pictures of people with no heads. When my mother saw these drawings, she said, "That isn't very nice!" and asked, "why are their heads falling off?" I simply responded with,"Their heads are all filled up with the lies and makes them too heavy for their bodies, so they just swell up until they fall off."
My mother, thinking she was clever, asked me another question,"well, what happens to the people that hold on to their heads, The ones who are really good at lying?"
I said, "Then their heads don't fall off....their heads Explode."
My mother was mortified.
I was four and my mother has this on video, marking the day she knew I had a fascination for horror. She still, to this day, asks me if any ones heads have fallen off lately. It's kind of our little inside joke.
We are going to do something very similar, This is a short story contest for giving us a well balanced fable of darkness, while teaching us a lesson at the same time.
Fables are as old as civilization itself, since we have been able to communicate we have been telling stories to our children to scare them into heeding our words. Mostly known for the twisting and often fatal moral at the end, fables have a special place in the dark chambers of my heart. Wardrobes & Rabbit holes paints a decent picture of the history of fables and the horrors found within children's literature.
We are not looking for ungodly amounts of gore or the depictions of trigger content in this contest. We want everyone to enjoy themselves and give all a fair chance to participate. All entries should be stories that you can tell a 10 year old child. If you do the research in how fables work, you are sure to create a short story more gruesome than any horror movie or novel could ever potray. Subtly can be more dark and ominous then you realize.
Aesop's fables are a great example of how, with just a simple paragraph, we can strike fear into one another. Do not be disheartened! don't feel that you are limited to just one paragraph. While keeping fables short is the key, we would really like to see sophistication in simplicity, but we will draw that line. It is important to keep in mind that you are catering to the attention span of a child in your entries.
Aesop
Αἴσωπος
Fables are a world wide phenomena, and the ways we have chosen to tell the tales of horrors in human ere are as ancient as speech itself. This contest will help us not only to learn about the roots of story telling but teach us how to tell tales of misfortune and mistake for others to learn and grow from. From Scandinavia to Native American to Japan, humans have been practicing the arts of writing fables and storytelling for many ages.
Now it's Iwaku's turn to be a part of this ancient way and no better a time then during the season of the Harvest.
~ Please Be respectful, depicting personal problems with another members is not allowed.
~ 1 paragraph minimum, 5 paragraphs max, know that fewer words can still get your point across, and can be more effective.
~ There must be a moral to the story. The most important part of a fable is the lesson we learn and the impact that is left behind from the fate of the characters in your fable.
~ Any kind of character is acceptable. While the most popular fables are based around animals, this is not the rule. You have the choice to use animals, people, made up creatures, or....just about any subject/object that will bring the elements of grim to your fables.
~ Do not plagiarize. It's a serious offense, and I, along with my fellow staff mates will recognize plagiarized work. Please don't do it. If you re caught plagiarizing you will be disqualified and also receive a warning.
~ Trigger content will get you disqualified. If you are unsure and have any questions regarding the content, please ask.
~ Have fun, be creative, and have a safe Halloween.
The Iwaku Staff will be working together with our members in voting and judging this contest.
3rd Runner up - A free month donators tag and gift certificate for $10
2nd Runner up - A free month donators tag and gift certificate for $15
1rst place winner - A free month donators tag, Gift certificate for $15 AND have their fable illustrated for free by Fijoli and, furthermore, showcased in the Writing and Art Museum for all our old and new members to enjoy.
$$$$ will be rewarded by either via PayPal or gift cert to the place of winner choice
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