DEADLINE EXTENDED TO TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, AT 12 AM PDT. This extension is due to a server malfunction that occurred during the first two or three days of the contest.  We apologize to those who may have had their emailed submissions returned. 

iwritedarktee[1]For the week of August 8 through August 16, instead of a new prompt each day from Daily Prompts,we are having our very first contest  for the best 250-word story written from the  String of 10* ( words and phrases) posted below.

PRIZES

1st Place Winner will have his or her story published at Every Day Fiction in October and be paid the standard payment of $3.00 per story.   A copy of The Best of Every Day Fiction, 2008 will also be awarded to the winner as well as an “I Write Every Day” t-shirt.

2nd and 3rd Place Winners will have their stories published at Flash Fiction Chronicles in October.  There is no payment for publication at Flash Fiction Chronicles.  A copy of The Best of Every Day Fiction, 2008 will also be awarded to both 2nd and 3rd place winners.

GUIDELINES

1. Read the contest’s String of 10 Writing Prompt posted below*, on the FFC Daily Prompt Page, or at Gay Degani’s Author Thread at Every Day Fiction. 

2. The contest is open to stories of  up to 250 words. Entries over the word limitation will be disregarded. There is no entry fee.

3. Submit via email addressed to flashfictionblog@everydayfiction.com.   All entries must be copy and pasted into the body of the email. No attachments will be opened.

4. You may enter as many 3 separate and different stories up to 250-words each.  All three must contain at least four words from the String of 10.  Any stories without at least four words from the string of 10 will be disregarded.

5. All entries must be in English, original, unpublished, and not submitted or accepted elsewhere at the time of submission. Flash Fiction Chronicles/Every Day Fiction/Every Day Publishing reserves one-time publication rights to the 1st- through-3rd winning entries to be published at Every Day Fiction and Flash Fiction Chronicles.

6. Entries must be received via email by midnight PDT Sunday, August 16.

7. Winners will be notified by September 20.  Publication will follow in October. 

Keep in mind:  What matters most is your story, not the prompt words or quotation.  However at least four words from the prompt must  be used. 

*PROMPT

STRING OF TEN

BLOW BACK-STORM-JAUNDICE-STEAM-TATTOO-SENSE OF FUN-CANTALOUPE-STREAKED-UMBER-DRIPPING SWEAT

QUOTATION

And when is there time to remember, to sift, to weigh, to estimate, to total? –Tillie Olsen  

TIPS

1. Do not dash off the first thing that comes to mind and email five minutes later.  READ IT, REWRITE IT, and PROOFREAD IT.

2. Start with a strong first sentence.  This doesn’t necessarily mean the first sentence you write, but rather the best sentence you write after you have a feeling for what the story is about.  Engage the reader with detail and conflict.

edf cover3. Words need to be carefully chosen in short fiction.  Your rough draft may use vague imprecise language, but your final draft should shine with specific detail, active verbs, and vivid language.

4. An exact definition of what constitutes a story is not possible because “story” means different things to different readers.  In this case, a story might be best served if it can draw some kind of emotion from the reader with characters who are caught in a moment of internal or external conflict,  the outcome of which can be good or bad or obscure.  If in doubt, send it on.