Avison Flash Fiction competition! Win €60 to spend on apps, books, toys…..
Flash Fiction* refers to the creative writing of very short stories; in this case, just 300 words! Do you think you can move, shock and surprise a reader with just a few paragraphs of your creativity? If so, join our Flash Fiction competition today. Plus, a great way to work on your language skills…
Here’s what you have to do:
Decide which of the following categories you want to write under:
– Native speaker
– Non-native speaker
And in which language; English or Swedish.
Then just let your imagination go wild and write a story of no more than 300 words. We would like the focus to be on creative use of language (for example, using nice metaphors, puns, word play, language-based humour [Swenglish/Svengelska]). Otherwise your story can be about absolutely anything (within the realms of good taste).
– Then just ”like” the Avison Facebook page (if you haven’t already).
Submitting your entry:
You can either post your story on Avison’s Facebook wall here (please write “Flash Fiction” and your chosen category at the beginning of your post) or email it to us at info@avison.se (with Flash Fiction and your category as the subject).
Submission deadline:
Please send us your stories before 17.00 CET on 5 December 2011.
Prizes:
2 winners (one native writer, one non-native) can choose from:
- €60 voucher for Amazon
- €60 voucher for iTunes/AppStore
- €60 voucher for Android Market (via Amazon)
The winners’ stories will also be published on Avison’s Facebook page and here on www.avison.se.
Tips:
A good tip to get you started; listen to what Grammar Girl has to say here about word choice for creative writing. We will be posting more short story writing tips over the next week or two.
I know you are thinking that writing an entertaining story in under 300 words is a tall order. But have a look at the following example (just 99 words!) and the comment that follows it:
The second Terran envoy to the planet Yuggoth was made up of eight males and females, and their teacher, Mr. Rancter. The highly intelligent insect-like Yuggothians made them welcome but the teens were soon bored with the sparse planet.
When Greli Hantun found the swimming pool there was no stopping them. Even Rancter pulled off his own uni-suit and headed for the pool. The cool water splashed over them with a slightly viscous quality. Then the screaming began.
The Yuggothians were hard-pressed to explain why Earth diplomats had gone bathing in one of the communal vats of digestive fluid…
Author’s comment: ”The unwritten part of the story is large: the Yuggothian delegates coming to Earth in peace, the selection of the students, the trip to Yuggoth in a spaceship, and a hundred other details. Most importantly, the characterization is missing. What is Mr. Rancter like? Greli Hantun? What do they look like? We don’t know. We don’t need to know. The whole point of the story is the punchline. Micro fiction has more in common with stand-up than it does with short stories or poetry.”
Source: http://www.gwthomas.org/examples.htm
Note:
In order for the competition to be valid and for us to be able to give out the prizes, we need at least 20 entrants. So please spread the competition to your friends….
Good luck and get creative!
* Also known as Sudden fiction, Microfiction, Micro-stories, Short short stories, Postcard Fiction.
