Friday, January 13, 2012

Flash Fiction Challenge: Sand Palace



Welcome to the second weekly flash fiction challenge of January!!  Here are the rules:
  • You have one week to submit if you want to be included.
  • You are up to challenge yourself AND win a copy of either my short story, Nothing Lasts Forever, or a copy of my giant book of poetry, Bony Fingered Limbs.  Just let me know which you'd prefer, should you be chosen!  :)  It will come to you via email as a PDF file, DRM-free, so you can send it to whatever e-book-reader-device you may prefer.  ALSO, If you win so often you run out of choices, I will offer my services in editing something of yours, so there is always incentive!
  • Your word cap this week is 1000 words, so it's a little shorter, like last week!  That makes it a bit harder, but I think you can do it!  We'll work our way down shorter each month until we're awesomely churning out quickie stories like pros.  It is a good thing.
  • Your challenge for this week is something I am calling Sand Palace.  Let the photo above be your inspiration!
  • Get me your submissions by Midnight next Friday morning, 1-20-12, Mountain Standard Time.  Link us your story in the comment area!  Put it up on your own blog, or on a public note on Facebook or in a Google Document file.  Somewhere so we can all see it.  Make sure you link your story!  Just  to be sure it's not passed over by accident, missed, or not included in the contest!  Thanks!

Anyway!! Let's see what you've got!  

13 comments:

  1. http://radon-rhapsody.blogspot.com/2012/01/sand-palace.html

    Definitely not late this week! :)

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  2. Had some fun with this one :)

    http://chimericalparoxysm.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/a-castle-in-the-sand/

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  3. I had the hardest time getting this page to load. This is a hurry one - took a break from editing, dont feel right unless I take part in this challenge. Thanks Again: my submission:

    http://awideawakedream.blogspot.com/2012/01/sand-castle.html

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  4. I did it again!! *groan* Ignore the above link, as it seems to be for YOUR blog. Here's the real link:

    http://dreamingwhileawake3.blogspot.com/2012/01/flash-fiction-challenge-sand-palace.html

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  5. First time finisher, be kind:
    http://theyear2011-cassandra.blogspot.com/2012/01/flash-fiction-sandcastles.html

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  6. Should only have the correct post up now, Caitlin. :)

    I still need to write mine. I know what I want to say, mulled it over all day at work. Just spent some time reading with the kiddos, and they're in bed now.

    Off I go then! :) Midnight MST tonight! Come on, get your entries in! :)

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  7. Hey Rebecca :) Here is the link to mine :) Thank you again. http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=6018307539878814688

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  8. My daughter Anna (9) wrote a little blip of a story for the challenge this week.

    Anna's story, Sand Castle

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  9. My story, a little late getting it posted, but here it is for fun!

    Orion's Belt

    Going to go take a long bath and get to reading the other entries! :)

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  10. Who won this week? Or did I just miss a post somewhere? They were all such good entries this week!

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  11. I haven't had a chance to read any of them yet. Work was kinda crazy this weekend. Today is my first day off since the challenge ended, so I'll be finding time to read today. :)

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  12. OKAY! As promised! Notes with numbers are as follows!

    Ashleigh: 19 ~ Suspending disbelief is a little difficult here, as it is a blip of a story rather than a full story in and of itself… Has loads of potential with editing, and as a whole with the other bits I’ve seen, for sure. :) Will be very interesting watching this come together!

    Kristy: 24 ~ Powerful, loved the ending! Minor spelling or typo stuff is all I have to dock you with! The story itself was nice and in depth, complete with legend and ancient feuds, and I loved that the merpeople were so tiny compared to the humans, in the end. Also, a nice way to explain Atlantis, which, as always, is a great mystery. Lovely!

    Nicola: 22 ~ Tense slippage throughout, so I’d watch that on future projects, but overall it is a lovely story! Teared up a bit at the end, there. :)

    Caitlin: 24 ~ There were a couple minor word changes and I wouldn’t have paused at all in the reading (asked instead of said, etc)… beautifully written, lovely story. Full of emotion. Well done. Grief is not the easiest thing to write, but you did it very well.

    Cassandra: 23 ~ Fun little story! The goddess abandoning or punishing them was fantastic… as was the creation of an entire world in the span of a day, only to see it dissolved again. Certainly makes one think on the finality of things. Well done! I’d say to watch your comma placement, and be sure to read aloud to help you know where the natural pauses should go. :)

    L. Anne: 22 ~ Very good story, with a good solid heart at the center of it. Feels of real ‘first love’, as I recall (ages ago, as I am ancient, LOL) ~ the text speech is irritatingly accurate, and the interaction of the two brothers felt very real. (I have 3 brothers so I have witnessed my share of brotherly fights) ~ Overall, I’d say to watch the tenses, as that was your biggest weakness this time around.

    Anna: 18 ~ Could have been longer, and more detailed. I’ve seen your work that was not written so hastily, and it was more well-rounded. Keep working on it! This story could be very nice if you take the time to edit it. :)

    SO! It looks like we've got another tie! Kristy & Caitlin you both tie for first this time around! Shoot me a message over at bekajoi@gmail.com to let me know what you'd like a copy of and I'll get it right over to you.

    I tried to leave notes this time around to let you know where you lost points so you can work on it for next time! :) Hope the mini notes are helpful, and if you'd like to discuss further or see more detailed notes, just buzz me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

    Great work everyone, keep it up! :)

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  13. Awww, poo, I just found an entry I didn't see. It wasn't linked here, so I didn't get it judged with the rest, so I'll read it here in a minute.

    Claire's entry

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