The "Uncovered" Clarity of Night Contest

Two of my close friends have made it into the Top 40 of The "Uncovered" Clarity of Night Contest (huzzah!), Katherine Tomlinson and John Donald Carlucci. Please, take a look at their stories, as well as the other fine entries in the competition.

F-F-F #37

Okay, here's the deal. I need to rest and you want to keep writing, so let's compromise.

First, word count? Anywhere between 250-1,100.

Second, the starter sentence?

"As with juggling, the key to life is to keep the procession moving steady and don't look down."

The deadline? Have it done by Wednesday @9 AM Pacific, August 4th, all right? Please pay attention to the deadline.

All you have to do is build a story around that. Sounds simple enough, but if you've done this before, you know better. You know the deal, if you are in, please say so.

Good night, good luck, and keep roasting those plucked chickens over an open spit.

F-F-F #36, The Stories

Well, you could've gotten angry, woke up in a cold sweat or you could have followed the circling birds...

You could've done all three, or you can now just read the stories. The Poll feature of Blogger wasn't recording all of the votes, so the poll was scraped and it was left up to the writer to select from these three choices-

MRM says, "Looking at it from your/their/his/her point of view, then yeah, I would be pissed also."

Sue says, "You know that feeling when you wake up sweating and think 'thank goodness it was only a dream'?"

Welles says, "In the distance I saw all kinds of birds circling over something, but I couldn't tell what from where I was."

Let's see the results-

ERR shows us a new perspective on a distant planet.

Nicole takes us shopping.

MRM reveals a would-be god.

Cormac hacks and hacks away, just like he always does.

Sue lets us into a knitting circle that is altogether different.

Aussie Paul shows that the past can have a haunting effect.

Welles says the word "treasure" is relative.

MRM pictures someone seeking sanctuary.

And MRM finally floors us with his finale.

Flannery crosses a dreamscape.

Randal travels through the looking glass.

Doc goes back to the Old West.

F-F-F #36

Well, it's official...




...Blogger's poll once accurate polling system has now gone buggy. It's no problem, because if anything, adapting to unexpected changes is what writing is all about. So you, the aspiring scribe, can chose from the following three sentences-


MRM says, "Looking at it from your/their/his/her point of view, then yeah, I would be pissed also."

Sue says, "You know that feeling when you wake up sweating and think 'thank goodness it was only a dream'?"

Welles says, "In the distance I saw all kinds of birds circling over something, but I couldn't tell what from where I was."


All you have to do is build a story around one of those three sentences. Sounds simple enough, but if you've done this before, you know better. You know the deal, if you are in, please say so. Have it done by Tuesday @9 AM Pacific, July 20th, all right?

Good night, good luck, and keep plucking bugs from those chickens.

Starter Sentence Poll #19

Sacré merde!*

C'est Le Tour de La Fiction Flash Vendredi! We will all talk like Jacques Pepin and break into Lance Armstrong's hotel room! Uhhh, actually, why don't we urge on a starter sentence, instead? Choose from the following-

MRM says, "Looking at it from your/their/his/her point of view, then yeah, I would be pissed also."

Sue says, "You know that feeling when you wake up sweating and think 'thank goodness it was only a dream'?"

Welles says, "In the distance I saw all kinds of birds circling over something, but I couldn't tell what from where I was."

The results will go live on July 16th, 2010, @ 9:00 AM.

*As you know, there is no such idiom in French.

Line up those starter sentences!

Image from here.

Yeah, you know what you would rather be doing...anything but working. Why not line up a starter sentence instead?

You know the drill or if you don't, check out the older posts to get an idea. Please remit your new sentences or submit your old ones in the comment section. I will then load them into poll form tomorrow, Thursday, July 15th @ 9:00 AM, Pacific Time.

F-F-F #35, The Stories

ERR joins us this week.

"Come into my parlor," said The Spider to the...wait, what?

Flannery came up with the starter sentence, "I don't disagree with you, but you have to admit, this puts me in a delicate position." Let's see the results-


Joyce has a new take on an old "hit."

ERR tells us of an offer that is hard to refuse.

Aussie Paul twists a tale of infidelity.

Sue shows us an awkward reunion.

Nicole whispers of the monster hidden in us all.

Deegan rewrites "do or die."

MRM says that sometimes the smallest have the biggest dilemmas.

Doc reveals that he who controls the information, controls the power.

Welles shows the ghost of Woolrich how it's done.

Randal gives some insight as to what really went on.

Flannery points out how a creative David might upend Goliath.

The Professor lets us in on extortion gone wrong.

F-F-F #35

Let's get organized here, and if you don't know what this picture means, scroll down...

The people have spoken, and they have picked the following starter sentence-


Flannery says, "I don't disagree with you, but you have to admit, this puts me in a delicate position."

All you have to do is build a story around that. Sounds simple enough, but if you've done this before, you know better. You know the deal, if you are in, please say so. Have it done by Tuesday @9 AM Pacific, July 13th, all right?

Good night, good luck, and keep positioning those chickens.

Two stories and a contest

David Barber placed second in The Land's End Contest with this gem of a story, called "Millennium Princess." I guarantee that you are never going to guess how it ends.

If you remember Beach Bum from last year, he cooked up a good one with "A Southern Fried Fairy Tale."


Finally, Jason Evans says that there is another Clarity of Night Contest coming up-

The time is fast approaching for the biggest Clarity of Night contest ever! Author Stephen Parrish is co-hosting in honor of his newly released novel, THE TAVERNIER STONES. It's a thriller which opens with the discovery of a corpse clutching what is believed to be one of the lost Tavernier Stones--huge gems of legendary worth and beauty.

 

And now, you're about to discover your own treasure in the Clarity of Night "Uncovered" Short Fiction Contest! The prizes are legendary. $290 in prize money will be awarded (Amazon gift certificates), including $100 for 1st Place, $50 for 2nd Place, and $35 for 3rd Place. You can taste it, I know. For now, I'm giving you an early glimpse of the photo prompt to get the juices flowing. What jewel of a story can you create? As always, you will have 250 words to prove yourself and claim your booty.

The contest will open on Monday, July 19th. Look for more announcements as the time nears. Steven will be joining us and bringing all his Amish friends! (Oh wait, Amish don't have internet.) See you there, and please help spread the word.

Starter Sentence Poll #18

Cheyenne The Dog cannot decide between starter sentences!

Help her, before her eyes pop out of her sockets!

Choose from the following-

David says, "Oh my God, what the hell was that?"

Flannery says, "I don't disagree with you, but you have to admit, this puts me in a delicate position."

The Professor says, "It was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk."

Aussie Paul says, "Stomping mudholes into the guts of bad dudes was all I knew how to do."

Über says, "Most smells wafted on the air; this one assaulted your nose like a drunken pub brawler's right hook."

Nicole says, "Her eyes held mine with some mysterious force making my breath hitch, until she removed the scarf and revealed the lower half of her face."

Sue says, "Killer heels and wild hair - she spelled trouble with a capital 'T'."

The results will go live on July 9th, 2010, @ 8:00 AM.

Line up those starter sentences!

No, Li-Lo, I said line up those starter sentences.

You know the drill or if you don't, check out the older posts to get an idea. Please remit your new sentences or submit your old ones in the comment section. I will then load them into poll form tomorrow, Wednesday, July 7th @ 7:30 AM, Pacific Time. Please note that the time and day of the week are earlier than usual.