February Topics

INKsters Daily Writing Competition for February 2008

The contest rules and submission requirements are on the bottom of the notecard. Please read them to prevent driving us crazy.

MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL: Please hit SEARCH on the bottom of your screen, select the "Groups" tab, and join the INKsters. We're positively indulgent with telling you about noteworthy cultural and literary items all around Second Life.

Please take these topics as starting points. They're designed to expand your mind and suggest a possible direction for you today, rather than being a specific task for you to complete. Please think divergently and create something beautiful, funny, poignant, interesting or informative. If the topic doesn't work for "you," create a character or situation to make it work.

February 1: Love
Love is...

February 2: Ground Hogs
It's Ground Hog Day. Traditional: If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, that means we are in for six more weeks of winter. Modern: You wake up and live the same day over and over and over again. Are you traditional or modern?

February 3: Tolkien
Author J.R.R. Tolkien was born on this day in 1892. Share your Hobbitophilia.

February 4: The Perfect Season
Americans spent yesterday watching the Super Bowl as the New England Patriots went for a perfect season. Nineteen wins, zero losses. What do you want to be perfect at doing?

February 5: Mardi Gras
You're drunk and your shirt is off. Somebody is going to be really mad at you tomorrow. Who, what, when, where, why and how?

February 6: Monopoly
On this day in 1935, the Monopoly board game went on sale in stores. Some of us can buy hotels; some of us can barely afford pizza. Create a saga where a rich person and a poor person resolve a conflict.

February 7: Going Together
Select three unrelated things (for example, a heart, belly button lint, and a Siamese cat) and create a piece where those three things play an essential role in the action. Remember a Death Star, a fuzzy troll living in a swamp, and two comical robots? You can do better than that.

February 8: Cardboard
A second life where you live in a cardboard box can be pretty amusing, but in first life, it's not quite so funny. Describe where you'd build your cardboard mansion in your real life. How would you survive?

February 9: Perfect Bed
When I started playing Second Life, I remember those animated beds cost something like $10,000 linden. Now you can get them free. Where is your perfect place to get horizontal and what do you do there?

February 10: It's Raining
Today is Umbrella Day -- really. What would you advertise on your umbrella and why? Extra credit if you build an umbrella (or parasol) in Second Life, take a photo of you with the umbrella, and drop the photo onto your notecard entry for today.

February 11: Metamorphosis
Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990 after 27 years as a political prisoner. After his release, he said, "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have changed." How have you changed since your early days in Second Life? Or, what is the most important change you've made in your real life?

February 12: Marked for Life
Write a very short story, poem or other piece about a person who gets a tattoo.

February 13: Who Are You?
Today is “Get a Different Name Day.” How did you end up selecting your avatar's name?

February 14: Valentine's Day
Today is Valentine’s Day. Write a love letter to someone. (This should have already been done by now you procrastinator!!)

February 15: The Purse
You are walking through the forest and stumble upon a woman's purse. It's tattered and has obviously been there awhile. You open it up and find the woman's identifying information in there. You also find 100,000 Euros. And so you....

February 16: King Tut
You've been named Pharaoh! But then you end up being assassinated. Describe your funeral.

February 17: RAK
It's “Random Acts of Kindness Week” and a good time to make a list of people we care about, people who we should care about, and people who are darned hard to care about, and then we need to make a list of fun things to do to make them happy. Go.

February 18: Pluto
On this day in 1930, Pluto, a former planet, was discovered. Now a group of scientists have excluded Pluto under the definition of planet. What are the Plutonians doing to regain their status?

February 19: Goldilocks
Some blonde girl broke into the three bears' house and vandalized the place. Now she's standing in front of the courtroom awaiting her sentencing. What does the judge have to say?

February 20: Major Tom
On February 20, 1962, John Glenn orbited the Earth in the Friendship 7 space capsule. If you had a spaceship, where would you go?

February 21: Snippets
Visit a busy place in your first or second life and write down snippets from the conversations you hear. Arrange them in some type of order so they seem to go together. Add whatever transitional information you need to so it will seem like it makes sense.

February 22: Humility
An angry mob formed on the corner of Main Street and First. They heard you're celebrating "Be Humble Day." You've said you will not talk about your success or accomplishments all day. Why are they angry at you and why do they want to stop you?

February 23: Tootsie Roll
You're stuck on a deserted island awaiting rescue. A magical fairy appears and grants you one wish. You think a nice piece of candy would taste lovely, so you order up a ________? Why?

February 24: First Love
The early days of your "first love" will be a memory you always cherish. What made that person catch your eye?

February 25: Shhhhh!
It's “Quiet Day.” Create a list of at least five activities you would do being completely quiet and tell why you love them.

February 26: Back Talk
One of the characters you've created in one of your previous assignments has gotten a job at the New Yorker magazine and has been asked to write an article about YOUR writing career. What will your character say about you?

February 27: Meet Me
You're in a public place and somebody you don't recognize hands you a note and vanishes. It reads, "Meet me in bathroom upstairs in five minutes." What's this all about?

February 28: I Dig It
You have a shovel and you're working feverishly in the dirt. What are you up to this time?

February 29: Leap Day
Who is your favorite person to pounce on and why?

Thanks to Kathryn Primrose for several fun topic ideas!

HOW TO ENTER:

1. From your Inventory, select the Create menu and then begin a New Note. Write your entry onto the notecard (or Control-V to paste it onto the card from your word processor). Your entry should have your name at the bottom. Rename the description on the notecard to be the same as the competition name and date. Save your notecard in your inventory and you MUST rename the notecard with your name first, then the title of the competition, then the due date.

2. Next, from your saved notecard in your inventory you MUST right-click on the notecard select Properties. Make sure the toggle boxes at the bottom are checked to allow future owners to modify, copy, AND give/transfer. I must have full permissions from you to place the notecard in our anthologies.

3. Teleport to the INKsters Mailbox:

and drag and drop your finished notecard into our mailbox. Then send me an IM to let me know you've completed your entry. If you have any technical difficulties, please let me know and I will help you.

THE RULES:

1. You have until 11:59 p.m. Second Life time on each day to write one entry in English related to the topic. I reserve the right in my sole discretion to grant a wee bit of wiggle room when necessary for late entries (but don't count on it bub!).

2. Your entry must be NO MORE than 500 words. If it's a little over, I won't disqualify you; if it's a lot over, I will. Brevity is the soul of wit, so please stop when you're done!

3. An illustration, photo or texture usable in Second Life to accompany the story is strongly encouraged, but not required. Please drop your illustration onto your notecard (make sure the properties are set to full permissions).

PRIZES:

I award L$25 to the best entry. If I decide none of the entries are a winner, I reserve the right to award no prize on a given day. I also reserve the right to award more than one prize if I have ants in my pants.

I am occasionally asked, "What are you looking for?" Short answer: Quality writing. I don't care if it's poetry, prose, fiction, essays, journalism, or alleged non-fiction. If your writing is the best today, you'll win. Also, please note the vagaries of competition: Sometimes your most beautiful work ever is overlooked in the judging process, and sometimes a total piece of poop wins, and those of us who've been writers for a long time are so used to this we don't even notice it anymore. We hope you understand completing and submitting your writing makes you a champion, and the judging and competition portion of our group is a motivational tactic to help you AND us AND me get off our collective keisters and create something beautiful from nothingness.

PROCEDURAL MUMBO JUMBO:

I publish the writing prompts monthly. William Shakespeare in the INKsters Headquarters will always know what's what. Touch him, like he's touched you.

There is no fee to compete. All times are Second Life time. By entering, you grant me the permanent right to use your story in our Second Life anthologies and on our blog related to Second Life on the internet.

http://slinksters.blogspot.com/

You retain all other rights. I encourage you to submit your writing to other people and places in the real world and in Second Life.

Good Luck!

ItsNaughtKnotty Cannned