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 Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 8:03 am
This contest has ended and winners have been selected. I don't have enough time to find the thread I posted in the writing contests forum, so you'll either have to find it or just wait for the next one!
Does anyone have a short story related to animals they've written and would like to share? We'd love to hear them!
I've decided to make this into a contest. Submit your story, it will be judged, and the winner wins something awesome.
Let your creative juices flow, my fellow animal lovers.Guidelines arrow Your story must be at least 1000 words and no more than 10000 words. 1000 words = about 3-4 pages.
arrow It must be animal related! It can be any real animal, or a fictional animal, but it cannot be a made up fantasy animal, only "documented" fantasy animals such as unicorns, hippogriffs, etc.
arrow It can be fiction or non-fiction. Just put an interesting plot to it. I don't want an essay or a report; I want an interesting story with characters, plot line, resolution, conflict, etc.
arrow If you are caught stealing/plagiarising a piece of work, then you will be banned from the guild. In retrospect, if you suspect someone of stealing work, send me a PM with proof and I will give you a sealed envelope. Let's make this fair, mmkay?
arrow What's not allowed?
*No pornography (cause bestiality is gross), unless it is of two animals mating, which is perfectly natural.
*NO ANTHROS. This are to be strictly animals. No shapeshifters, just true animals. They can speak as much as they want. But don't let them be able to change shapes. Yeah.
arrow What is allowed?
*Profanity is allowed. Provided its tastefully done and coincides with the plot and story. Gratutious profanity will definitely lower your score.
*Realism. Death, slaughter, torture, etc, as long as it isn't over done. I don't mind graphic text, so go for it.
*Sex is OK, as long as you're not describing it to us. Not many of us would like to know the delicate nature of two raccoons getting it on. You may allude to it, and perhaps even begin with some description, but don't get into it.
*The rating on your story? It can be mature if you'd like, but please put a warning in bold red at the beginning of your story letting others know that it's a mature story.
Just post your story. You are free to edit it as much as you like, but after the week before the set deadline, I will be saving all stories to my computer and you will not be able to edit any more.
How will you be judging?
The judges will base their scores on the following criteria:
* Originality. Is this typical of other stories? Did the author have quite an imagination when coming up with this story? Was the plot or ending predictable?
* Character Development. Did the author get me involved in all characters presented? Did I get a basic understanding and background of major characters? Did I feel for the characters at certain emotional points through the story?
* Plot. Did I get into the story? Was it exciting or boring? Was it a well thought out plot or something that looked like it was thrown together last minute?
* Description. Was it overdone? Underdone? Did the author make me feel as if I was there or actually looking at the characters? Could I form an accurate picture in my mind or was I left to imagine the whole thing?
* Spelling/Grammar. Was it easy to read the story or was I constantly stopped trying to fix the grammar and spelling on several words? Did the content ruin the story by the inability to read it?
Who are the judges?
Your judges will be Ailinea, Kineta Storm, and lil_gene. All judges will be PMing each other to decide on an overall consensus of a winner and discussing their opinions.
If I have any more questions, who should I contact?
Feel free to PM me, or just post your question in the thread. I'll try to answer it as soon as possible.
What are the prizes?
First Prize: 5,000 gold and a Sealed Envelope.
Second and Third Prizes: Sealed Envelope.
All submissions are to be entered by February 28th, 2005. The last day to edit your submission is February 21st. You can still submit after the 21st, but you will not be able to edit. Judging will being on March 1st and will continue until all judges have read stories and have agreed on a winner. Exact amount of time in indeterminable.
Due to lack of participation, deadline is extended and will be also posted in the writing contests forum.
In the following posts I will introduce myself and my judging biases. Just so you know what to expect. ^^ I will also be introducing the other judges in my own post.
I'm posting a story I made up back in September that I'm proud of. This is just for fun and an example of a short animal story, although it's a bit childish for my normal story writing. Enjoy!
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 8:10 am
 Alright, so you're wondering what fate I'm going to have in store for you, eh? ^^ LEt's just say that I'm a writing and reading fanatic. I love to read, I love to write, and I love animals. So this is why I created this fun little contest. For some reading material and to make people happy!
What I like to see in a story is basically what I've posted in the first post. I like realism. A lot. I don't like sappy stories or dumbed down versions of animals, like you see in my fun short story below this post, but that was just for fun. I prefer the raw, natural stuff. If you're going to write about an animal, research it and learn its behaviors, habits, life, etc. Don't assume that all bats drink blood or that all birds of prey kill their food. Bats mostly eat insects. Bald Eagles are scavengers. See what you learn? Don't take out all the stuff that you might think is gross. Tell me how well that wolf hunts down the elk and how the pack kills it. Tell me about the bear that has to gnaw its leg off to get out of a trap. Get it? Good.
I'm a mature person and I expect you to be so as well in your writing. It's a contest. You're going to be up against several different writers that have some good talent, probably better than I do. Also, if your story lacks decent grammar or spelling, you're going to get a very low score. Take your story to MS Word and spell and grammar check it. Have a friend or parent look it over for errors. Don't be lazy and take the easy way out. Nothing is more frustrating than pausing every few minutes to adjust myself to understand a grammatical mistake. Yes, I do that in real life. All the time. My friends make fun of me for it. But that's too bad. XP
Just because I say all this stuff doesn't mean you can't do it. You can write a cute story if you'd like. I'm just letting you know how I judge. There are other judges who may think differently. I'm also a person who is very glad to help out a fellow writer or aspiring author. If you have a question about what you should do in a certain spot, by all means, ask me, but I won't write the story for you. XP But I'll be glad to give advice. If you also need to ask me about a controversial grammatical error, don't hesitate to PM me. I'd be glad to help. With that said, good luck to you all and I can't wait for your submissions!
The following story I downsized so I could fit the judging stuff in this post. Just copy and paste into Wordpad or similar program and you should be able to read it. It's a cute story I wrote in about half an hour if you're bored. Once upon a time, there was a monkey named Charlie. Charlie was happy swinging in his trees. He spent all day swinging in his trees, and nothing made him happier. One day, he swung so far, he found he was lost. His family was nowhere to be found! Oh, how could he get back?
So Charlie got sad. He cried and cried and wanted to go home and see his brother and sister. But soon he realized that he would have to go back. So he got up and swung on the trees in the direction he thought he had to go.
At about lunch time, he decided to sit on a tree and rest for a while. Just as soon as he got comfortable and closed his eyes, he felt the tree start to shake. He opened up his eyes and suddenly he was being lifted high above the trees! He grabbed on to the strange thing that was pulling him off the tree and held on with closed eyes. When it seemed like he stopped, he opened his eyes and stared back into two big eyes looking right at him!
"Hello." came the sound from beneath him. Charlie got scared and let go of the creature. He looked down and realized he was very, very high in the air. He clung to the creature again. The creature laughed. "Are you OK?"
Charlie trembled. "What are you?"
The creature chuckled again. "I am a giraffe. You can call me Manny. Who are you, little monkey?"
Charlie continued to tremble. "Charlie. You're not going to eat me, are you?"
"Of course not Charlie. Tell me, why is such a little monkey like you doing way out here by yourself?" Charlie told Manny about getting lost. "Why, I'm headed towards a place that's known for families like you. I'll take you there." So, the two friends were on their way to where Charlie's family was.
The two talked as they went and Charlie learned a lot about giraffes and Manny learned a lot about monkeys. Charlie thought it was really neat that all giraffes had purple tounges. Darkness fell and they stopped and slept. When Charlie woke up, Manny was gone!! He was sad again. He also hoped nothing happened to him. But luckily, Manny came back with leaves for himself and fruit for Charlie. The two set off and came to a water hole. Manny stopped at the water hole and was very reluctant to go in. "What's wrong?" Charlie asked.
Manny shivered. "It's dangerous in there."
"You'll be OK, Manny!"
Manny sighed. "OK, just this once. Only because I know how important family is." So they entered the water and slowly started to cross.
Charlie tapped Manny. "Hey, what's the thing over there?"
Manny looked in that direction and saw two eyes poking out of the water. Suddenly they went under the water and saw a swoosh of water as its tail flicked the surface. Manny panicked. Charlie held on as Manny scrambled for the shore. "What's going on?" He yelled. "It's a crocodile! THAT will eat us!" Manny yelled. Charlie got scared again as he saw the shape of the crocodile head right for them.
"OH NO!" Charlie yelled. He didn't know what to do. Manny kept pushing for the shore, and Charlie knew he was getting really tired. The crocodile came up behind Manny and opened its mouth. Charlie ran down Manny's neck and jumped on top of the crocodile's head. The crocodile stopped and raised its head to get Charlie off but Charlie held on. He jumped up and down on his head and tried everything he could think of. The crocodile rolled and Charlie flew off into the water. Charlie tried to swin for the shore, looked back and saw the crocodile coming right for him.
Just when Charlie thought it was all over, he saw a huge, gray animal run in the water and charge at the crocodile. It had a big horn on its nose and it looked mean. Charlie swam to shore and saw Manny, who was waiting anxiously for him. "Manny! Is that thing going to eat us, too?" Charlie exclaimed.
"No, no, Charlie, that is Roger. He's a rhinocerous. He's my friend."
"Oh! Wow, he's scary!" They watched as Roger gave the crocodile one quick poke with his horn and the crocodile swam off. Roger came over and introduce himself. Charlie and Manny told him where they were heading.
"I'm heading that way, too!" Roger said and he joined the journey with them.
Charlie knew that from now on, with a strong rhino like Roger and a tall giraffe like Manny, nothing else could happen. He was safe. So the trip after was very easy going, as they laughed and now Charlie knew a lot about Rhinos! Soon they reached the jungle. In order to get to the monkey families, they would have to go through the thick trees. It was at this point Manny stopped and let Charlie down.
"Charlie, I have to go now," he said.
"Why?" Charlie asked sadly.
"I'm too tall for this jungle. I won't be able to see anything below me. And there's lots of things in the jungle I need to be able to see."
Charlie cried. "But I can't go by myself!"
"I'll go with you!" Roger said proudly. "I may be a bit big, but at least I see the ground." He winked at Manny. So Charlie and Roger said goodbye to Manny and Manny promised to try and visit Charlie again sometime. Although Charlie missed Manny a lot now, he and Roger pushed through the jungle.
Roger and Charlie talked a lot. Soon the company of Roger made Charlie feel a lot better. Not to mention he felt really safe with that sharp horn on Roger's nose. Roger stopped suddenly.
"What is it?" Charlie asked.
Roger looked up in the trees. "There's a snake up there."
"What's a snake?"
"It's a long animal with no legs that likes to eat." Charlie didn't want to know what a snake eats. Roger started walking again, but kept looking up and down, back and forth. Charlie was getting a bit nervous. Suddenly, in a flash, Charlie felt like something was wrapping around him! He looked down and saw a long animal with no legs! "HELP!" he yelled at Roger.
Roger turned around and saw Charlie being squeezed by a big boa constrictor! The boa started to slither for a tree branch when he saw Roger look at him.
"He'sssss minnneeee," the Boa hissed.
"I don't think so!" Roger yelled. He got to the snake just in time to stomp on his tail that was still on the ground. The snake hissed and quickly let go of Charlie, who was so scared he didn't even move.
"RUN!" Roger yelled and he started to raise his horn to the Boa.
Charlie hesitated. "I can't leave you!"
"I'll be fine! Get out of here! Just keep going ahead and you'll be home!"
Charlie knew that there wasn't much else he could do so he jumped up to a tree and swung and swung as fast as he could towards his family. When he didn't think he could swing anymore, he got to the last tree, looked down, and there was his brother, sister, mom and dad!
Charlie was really happy and so were they, but Charlie needed their help! They listened and they all swung to where Roger was still wrestling the snake! They all put up a fight and grabbed the snake and swung him around and around until they let go and he hit a tree. Angry, he slithered off.
"Thanks! Looks like you found your family, Charlie!" Roger exclaimed.
"I did, thanks to you!" Charlie said as he hugged his mother around the neck. And they talked about Charlie's adventures and had a lot of fun. "Hey! I want you to meet Manny!" Charlie said. They all got excited and headed for the edge of the jungle, where Manny was busy eating the leaves on the trees. The friends reunited and they all stayed up late talking and talking. When the sun started to go down, they all said goodbye.
"Manny, I'll miss you," Charlie said and he put his arms around Manny's neck.
"I'll miss you too and I wish you didn't have to go," Manny said. "But I know how important family is."
"But Manny," Charlie said. "You'll always be in my family."
THE END
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 10:13 am
wow good stories, but i'm a judge so i can't write one, but i do love to write stories
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 8:09 pm
lol Omg, not THAT story Aili! blaugh
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 11:00 am
Jazi Mae lol Omg, not THAT story Aili! blaugh What do you mean by that? 4laugh
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 11:52 am
Just for my mental picture,what kind of money is Charlie?
I guess, if you want me to, I could be a judge. Because I have no artistic ablity when it comes to writing stories.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 8:44 pm
Knightclimber Just for my mental picture,what kind of money is Charlie?
I guess, if you want me to, I could be a judge. Because I have no artistic ablity when it comes to writing stories. Oh, let's say a chimpanzee. ^^
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 12:10 pm
Oh, does the story have to be about real animals? I'm not that much good about making up stories with real things, so how about imaginary ones?
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 8:02 pm
Shoujiin Oh, does the story have to be about real animals? I'm not that much good about making up stories with real things, so how about imaginary ones? Sure! As long as they're animals, that is perfectly alright! ^__^
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:33 pm
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:51 pm
okay, i'll be working on my story!
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:18 pm
Awesome! Can't wait! ^__^
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:46 pm
i'm not good at writting stories and stuff...only when it comes to assignments.
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 10:18 pm
Ooh! I shall have to create a story for this! If I get free time. Ha-ha.... Are true stories allowed, or does it have to be fictional?
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 8:34 pm
Lady_Nekochan Ooh! I shall have to create a story for this! If I get free time. Ha-ha.... Are true stories allowed, or does it have to be fictional? YAY stories!! ^__^ It can be fictional or non-fictional. Good luck and happy writing!
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