We at StorySleuths learn so much from gathering tips from our reading, but truly, the only way to improve as writers is by writing. That is why we are so excited to announce our new StorySleuths StoryChallenge.
Inspired by the fun and fabulous stories in this month’s featured book, Geektastic, we want to encourage everyone to write their own Geektastic-inspired short stories.
Here’s the challenge: leave us a comment to let us know you’re ready to take action. Then write your own Geektastic story—imagine that you were invited to submit a story for the anthology. What story would you tell? (Come on, you know you have one!)
Then, by midnight on January 31, 2010, leave us a comment with a summary of your story and your thoughts on the process. We will do a random drawing of participants. One of you will win your very own StorySleuths magnifying glass!
FAQs
- How long should the story be?
The word count for a short story ranges. Short-short stories can be as little as 50 to 100 words. Longer stories can go up to 10,000 words. For this challenge, we encourage you to write as long or as short as you like. The purpose of the story is to take action and put your writing skills to work.
- No, seriously, how long?
If you really need a word count, then in the spirit of the new year, why not shoot for no longer than 2,010?
- I’m not, nor have I ever been, a geek. How can I write a Geektastic-inspired story?
a. Take the broadest view possible of geek: Wikipedia says that there are many kinds of geeks. A geek can be a "person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who passionately pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance.”
b. Alternatively, use Tracy Lynn’s “One of Us” story as a model and imagine a story where a non-geek interacts with characters who are geeks.
- Will you review and judge the stories?
No. Our goal is to encourage writers to play with the short story form and to experiment with different writing skills. To be eligible to win the StorySleuths magnifying glass, you just need to leave us a comment by midnight on January 31, 2010, with a summary of your own story.
- What if I don’t finish my story by January 31st?
That’s ok. Even though short stories are, well, short, they still take a long time to write and revise. We hope you’ll continue working on your story if you like where it’s going, and if not, that the process of experimentation was helpful in improving your writing skills.
The Rules
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- Leave us a comment to let us know you plan to participate.
- If you like, add our StorySleuths StoryChallenge badge to your blog. Scroll down for instructions.
- Write a Geekstastic-inspired short story.
- No later than January 31, 2010, leave us another comment with a short summary of your story and your experience writing the story.
- Include your email address or link to your blog so we can contact you. Then you will be entered into a random drawing to receive your very own StorySleuths magnifying glass (U.S. Residents only).
- The winner will be announced February 2, 2010.
Our fabulous StorySleuths StoryChallenge badges come in two colors.
For the small green badge:
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For the small white badge:
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Happy Writing!
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