CONTEST!

Welcome to 3AM Perspective’s Summer 2008 Writing Contest the Fourth Annual contest to be held here! This year, the contest beings on May 18th and ends on August 24th. Please take a moment to fav the news article to help spread the word: [link]

THE GOAL: Write a short story based on the following image.
This time around, I thought we’d try something a little different. Normally the contest image is a single picture, but for this year, we are using a comic page. I want to make this perfectly clear: the goal is NOT to put word bubbles into the page itself. Rather, the goal is to write a short story based on the image.

RULES:

1. Story must tie into the image shown.
2. Story should be no more than 6000 words.
3. Again, the goal is NOT to put dialog into the comic page. Please do not do this. This is not a caption contest.
4. The characters in the image are named Callum and Alan, but please do NOT use these names in your story. Create your own names so that the work can be your own. I’m not looking for a fan fiction.
5. NO SCRIPT FORMAT! Any script formats will not be accepted.
6. If you wish to do a poem, I will also gladly accept this as an entry.
7. The story may be any genre you wish, so long as it complies with Rule 1.
8. All entries will get a written critique, which will be posted in my journal and in the winners news announcement when the contest is over, even if they do not place. If you do not wish to be given a critique, say so when you send in your entry. Otherwise, by entering, you automatically agree for me to post a written critique.
9. Please link back to either my front page, the journal, or the contest image in your artist’s comments. Just saying “this is for resuki’s contest” doesn’t work. No one knows who that is. This way people can get a look at what image you were supposed to write about.

JUDGING:
I will personally judge the contest. Here are the rules about the judging:
1. The first rule of the judging is my word is final.
2. The second rule of the judging is… my word is final!
3. You will get points for creativity, emotion, and generally how well the story grabs my attention and sticks in my head. How much I like the story will be a large part if my decision.
4. How well the story ties in with the contest image provided will be a major factor as well.
5. Grammar, voice, and spelling are things I find very important. While they may not completely destroy your chances of winning, ignoring the basic rules of writing will most defiantly affect things.
6. I like good endings. Thought I’d mention that.

TO ENTER:
Upload your story to deviantArt and then send me a note with the link to it. Please title the note as “Contest Entry.”

THE DEADLINE: August 24th, 2008, midnight, Mountain Time.

PRIZES:
1st prize
• A three month subscription to Deviant Art
and one of the following:
• One magnet and a print of your choice from my gallery (Matte print, approx. 8x10, give or take)
OR
• A full color character bust image from me. (Colored in marker.)

2nd prize
• One magnet and print of your choice from my gallery (Matte print, approx. 8x10, give or take)
OR
• An ink and pencil character bust image by me. (Fully shaded.)

3rd prize
• One print of your choice from my gallery (Matte print, approx. 8x10, give or take)
OR
• A pencil sketch character bust image by me. (Line-art, of a cleaned up quality.)

Please note! To claim print prizes, you MUST set up a deviantArt print wishlist and have it publicly viewable. I will give further instructions to the winners. See below for important info on prizes.


Technicalities and Questions:

How will I know if I win?
I will notify the winners via note when the contest ends. Winners will have six months after notification date to claim their prizes. After this time, any unclaimed prizes will be forfeited.

If I win, can I have a print from someone else’s gallery?
Sorry, no. Just my prints. I’m gonna be completely honest on this one. I get a discount on my own prints and I’m poor. So, yeah.

What species are the characters in said image? What are the names of the characters? What are the genders of the characters?! (hehe)
All of these questions are things I leave to the writers to decide. As stated above, the characters do have names, but you must make up your own. I’m not looking for a fan fiction.


BEST OF LUCK TO ALL!


Disclaimer:
Any story written and submitted into this contest is the property of its respected writer, and I lay no claim to any of the submitted stories whatsoever. (i.e. if you later want to publish said story, that is your own choice and I won’t sue you or anything.) However, likewise, the image this contest is based on is the property of myself, Gina Trujillo, and is NOT to be redistributed without my permission. (i.e. please do not use it as the cover image for your piece of writing, please don’t put word bubbles in it and reupload it, etc. You may link to it, however.)
The bottom line is, the writer agrees to lay no claim to my image, I lay no claim to their story, and we can both be happy with our art.