April 2008 Daily Writing Competition Topics

INKsters Daily Writing Competition for April 2008

The contest rules and submission requirements are on the bottom of the notecard. Please read them to prevent driving me 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 intoxicated by the literary community in Second Life and utterly indulgent about crashing your group messages with noteworthy cultural events around our little world. We want you to join us and we want you to create something you're passionate about too and share it with us.

Please take the daily competition 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.

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THIS MONTH'S THEME: Alice in Wonderland

April 1: Happy Anniversary
INKsters is officially ONE year old! You all deserve a HUGE pat on the back for making this crazy idea worthwhile. Tell me why you write in SL, what has this done for you in RL, and what literary pursuits you're planning.

April 2: Down the Rabbit Hole
You heard about Second Life from someplace. Where? How? You went to secondlife.com. Why? You downloaded the viewer and pressed connect. Down the proverbial rabbit hole you descended and suddenly a tiny YOU appeared. What were you expecting? When you looked through the little door, what type of beautiful garden did you see awaiting you?

April 3: Drink Me
Have you ever put something into your body with surprising results? What strange properties, powers, or abilities would you or your characters like to be able to access temporarily? What would you do with them?

April 4: Pool of Tears
You've been crying so much you must swim for your life in a pool of your own tears. A mouse happens by doing the back stroke. Describe that conversation?

April 5: Tweedle
You're in a row boat with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Only two of you can survive and somebody must be thrown overboard. Who? Why?

April 6: Buying Ink
It's been said, "Never make somebody mad who buys ink by the gallon." Or better yet, "Be nice to me or I'll put you in my novel." Lewis Carroll included many allusions to people he knew in real life when he wrote Alice in Wonderland. How do the real characters in your life show up in your writing? How about an example? How about social security numbers, heh!

April 7: Tea Party
So you, your avatar, your favorite characters, and a group of your favorite famous people from history all sit down for tea. (Make it vodka if you're avant-garde.) You all put on crazy hats. Describe your Mad Hatters Tea Party.

April 8: Poetry Time
You're under deadline. Your agent is on the phone. The publisher's administrative assistant is e-mailing you with subject lines that read, "When can we expect your pages?" You've even disconnected from Second Life to try and meet your quota. Then it occurs to you. Lewis Carroll tossed Jabberwocky into the middle of Through the Looking Glass. It helped him meet his page quota, and the poem ain't half bad either. Maybe YOU should consider tossing in a poem in the middle of your prose too. Grab your vorpal sword and mix a poem into your prose.

April 9: Memorized
Throughout Alice in Wonderland various verses are recited at important points in the story. What event in your life or your characters' lives might require the recitation of a verse, and what would it be? What do you have memorized? What would you like to memorize?

April 10: Hookah How-de-Doo
As Thinkerer Melville says, "We rez characters in our imaginations when we read," so why not rez them in Second Life too? Let's use this beginning provided by Jack Lefebvre: "Ever since he’d become Uberlaird of the Fifth Zenith, Zorg had insisted on being addressed as Zorg the Despicable." And let's end the piece with: "Then, with a collective sigh, the four thousand Demi-Groles prostrated themselves at either side, their tongues extended to create a soft green carpet for her approach." And let's make "her" be Alice; and "he" be a hookah smoking caterpillar. This is a hard one to fit into 500 words!

April 11: Humpty Dumpty
It's 2008 and Humpty Dumpty is now 137 years old. Where is he now? What's he been up to? (If you don't like Humpty Dumpty, pick another character you like, or discuss your favorite really old person.)

April 12: Keep it Going
What is Alice's untold story? What if she never woke up from Wonderland? What if Alice stayed on the other side of the looking glass and kept living in a backward world? What if you never logged out of Second Life? What are the consequences of your actions?

April 13: Big Smile
The Cheshire Cat is a contestant on This Is Your Life, or American Idol, or Jeopardy, or Wheel of Fortune, or whatever game show you positively love in your country. Bring on a supporting cast of characters to help the Cheshire Cat be a winner and have a big smile.

April 14: Backstory
You're standing on a giant chess board with talking pieces. What was life like for the King, or Queen, or Bishop, or Rook before they became chess characters? How did they work their way up the corporate ladder to become more valuable than pawns?

April 15: Rubber Eraser Day
This topic repeats from last year because it's just too perfect. And, it's true. Tell us how your ability to wipe away your literary mistakes, improve your golf score, and save yourself from mathematic humiliation. If you could erase parts of your life (Second Life?), what would they be?

April 16: You There?
If you like eating fast food, you may not have seen your feet lately. Maybe you should mail them a gift. Alice contemplated sending a gift to her feet at this address: ALICE'S RIGHT FOOT, ESQ., HEARTHRUG, NEAR THE FENDER, (WITH ALICE'S LOVE). What would you send to your feet, and how would you address the package?

April 17: So Late
The White Rabbit said `Oh! the Duchess, the Duchess! Oh! won't she be savage if I've kept her waiting!' Who have you kept waiting? Who keeps you waiting?

April 18: Ringlets R Us
Alice said "I'm sure I'm not Ada, for her hair goes in such long ringlets, and mine doesn't go in ringlets at all; and I'm sure I can't be Mabel, for I know all sorts of things, and she, oh! she knows such a very little! Besides, SHE'S she, and I'm I, and -- oh dear, how puzzling it all is!" Ever since you joined Second Life, you've enjoyed various levels of being someone else. Does your avatar act a lot, or a little, like you in First Life?

April 19: Meetings
"In that case," said the Dodo solemnly, rising to its feet, "I move that the meeting adjourn, for the immediate adoption of more energetic remedies." You've no doubt been to a few un-energetic meetings. Maybe you've been to a really weird meeting lately. Who do you hang out with while sitting in chairs and what do you discuss?

April 20: Four-Twenty
Marijuana day. What sayeth thou? What? I'm hungry. Who cares. I'm gonna sit here and watch TV.

April 21: Little League
"But who has won?" This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of thought, and it sat for a long time with one finger pressed upon its forehead (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the pictures of him), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said, "EVERYBODY has won, and all must have prizes." What prizes should you get? What have you already won? Should everybody get a trophy?

April 22: Sad Tail, er, Tale
"Mine is a long and a sad tale!" said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing. "It IS a long tail, certainly," said Alice looking down with wonder at the mouse's tail; "but why do you call it sad?" Write your own sad tale no longer than a mouse's tail.

April 23: Dreaming
Alice wakes up from Wonderland and finds it was all a dream. This kind of Deus ex Machina drives me crazy. My boyfriend William kills everybody off at the end of his tragedies. What is your least favorite way an author escapes from a plot complication?

April 24: False Accusations
I've heard all manner of rumors about Lewis Carroll and his fascination with children, but a review of the scholarly material seems to indicate there is no evidence whatsoever he was a pedophile. Have you or somebody you know or one of your favorite characters ever been accused of something untrue?

April 25: Your Footmen
The Duchess is served by a Fish-Footman and a Frog-Footman. Who serves you? Who would you like to be served by? What are they wearing?

April 26: Flamingo
Alice finds managing her flamingo as a croquet mallet rather daunting. Ever putt with your sand wedge? Bowl with a too heavy ball? Run with bad shoes? Watch TV with a black and white set? What technological impediments have you encountered in your leisure and gaming life?

April 27: Jabberwocky
Write your own nonsense poem ... make it sensible.

April 28: X-Rated
A 1976 pornographic version of Alice in Wonderland is counted among the adult film classics (by a guy in his basement who counts these things). And there's only one available used on Amazon in VHS format for $69 dollars (oddly apt). They've decided to make an X-rated version of the main events in your life. In 500 words or less, write a detailed teaser they'll print on the back of the DVD box to encourage shoppers to take home the "The Story of U."

April 29: Illustrated
Lewis Carroll returned the first printing of Alice in Wonderland to the printer because John Tenniel, the illustrator, thought the printing of his work was bad. This cost Lewis Carroll a fortune at the time. He eventually made it up by becoming the J.K. Rowling of the later 19th century and these days the few remaining copies of that very first printing command a fortune at auction. Remember a time when you went above and beyond your obligations and did something for somebody else even though it cost you greatly. Or, if you're more cynical, write about murdering an illustrator with his own pen.

April 30: Silent Movie
The 1903 silent movie version of Alice in Wonderland is available on YouTube.com. It's a fascinating view into film making (with special effects!) from a hundred years ago. What creation of yours would you hope will still be around in 2108 for the public to see?

Thanks to Ada Radius, Luta Lassard, Thinkerer Melville, Jack Lefebvre for contributing a huge bunch of these topics.

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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. The competition is a motivational tactic to help all of us feel a sense of urgency to 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