Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
May 2008 Daily Writing Competition Topics
INKsters Daily Writing Competition for May 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.
*************
THEME NOVEL FOR THE MONTH: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
(Go read it if you haven't already. It's super fun!)
May 01: Let's Go!
If you could hitchhike anyplace in the galaxy, where would you go?
May 02: Planet Sized Brain
Your robot is depressed. How will you cheer him up?
May 03: Abbreviation
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is often abbreviated "HHGTTG" or "H2G2." I abbreviate my Second Life name as Ink. You may have seen the "six word autobiography" challenge on the internet. How would you abbreviate who you are?
May 04: Mother's Day Stories Due
Funny yet poignant. Make your mom laugh and then cry.
(Early deadline so it's ready for mom. This contest is worth 500 linden and you may exceed the 400 word limit, but please keep your lengths reasonable.)
May 05: Vogon Poetry
I know I use this topic about three times a year, but it just doesn't get old. The Vogons are reputed to be the worst poets in the universe. Can you beat them?
May 06: Zaphod Beeblebrox
He's the president of the galaxy. He stole a space ship. If you were president of the galaxy, what would you steal?
May 07: Heart of Gold
Who do you know with a heart of gold? Where do they take you?
May 08: Trillian
Tricia McMillan, better known as Trillian, is the only other survivor of the destruction of Earth when the Vogons clear it out to make room for an intergalactic super highway. If you could pick one other person on this planet as your only survivor, who would it be and why?
May 09: Forty-two
What is your ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything?
May 10: The Question
What is your ultimate question?
May 11: Guidebook Entry
They've called you up to write an entry in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy about a place you know better than anybody else. Write the entry for us.
May 12: My Alien Friend
Arthur Dent didn't know his best friend was an alien. Which one of your friends is most likely to be from another planet?
May 13: Mice
Mice may be calculating the ultimate question even as we speak, but I bet you have a memorable encounter with a mouse in your past. Recount it.
May 14: The Right Number
When first published, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sold a quarter million copies in the first three months. That's a pretty good indication the author created something valuable. How do you know when your writing (or other artistic endeavors) is having a meaningful impact? How do you gauge success?
May 15: Space Tourism
Virgin Galactic Airlines will make routine sub-orbital flights into space for anybody with the fee. The cost is $200,000 USD. Would you pay that for the chance to go? If you had that amount of cash rolling around in your pockets, what would you love to buy?
May 16: Parallel Universe
Who lives in your alternate universe? What do they do there? What is better and worse in the universe running along side the one you live in?
May 17: Babble Fish
To understand each other in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, people simply put a Babble Fish into their ear. What languages do you know? Which ones would you like to learn? What forms of communication do you use that are better than spoken language?
May 18: Sentient Computers
Do you want technology to play a bigger role in your life? What would you like machines to take care of for you?
May 19: Radio Script
They've just handed you the microphone. Say what you have to say, but say it as if it is being broadcast over AM radio on a Sunday to everybody in your local area. Select a topic you're passionate about in your home town and speak from the heart.
May 20: Mostly Harmless
Are you? What makes you partly harmful?
May 21: Don't Panic
Describe a scene in your life when you out-and-out panicked. What caused it? What was the result?
May 22: Hitching
They've just closed down your town due to an outbreak of something horrible. You need to leave with only the clothing on your back. Where will your thumb take you? Where would you begin again?
May 23: Comic Book
An illustrator from DC Comics is on the phone. He's drawing the cover art to a comic book about your life. He needs to know what imagery you'd like to use. Type out the conversation for us.
May 24: Yum!
You and your current lover have been invited to dinner at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It's a formal evening and should be the fanciest night of your life. Just as you arrive and are being announced, you see a former lover has also been invited. Then you discover you'll be sitting at the same table. You know what happens next, right?
May 25: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Towel Day
Always bring a towel, especially on the 25th. What do you do to be prepared?
May 26: Unhelpful
You've been invited to offer some unhelpful remarks about something you've written. You'll be presenting your unhelpful remarks to an audience of people who are smarter than you. What will you tell them?
May 27: Sci-Fi Character
For the next five days, I'll challenge you to create an outline of a full-blown science fiction short story (or novel or epic poem). If you're into fantasy, or gaming, or something related to the science fiction genre, it's okay to go in that direction instead. Create a main character for your story. As with most main characters, your leader should be relatable, conflicted, and fascinating.
May 28: Sci-Fi Setting
For day two of the challenge, describe one or more settings where your action will take place. A bar on a remote planet, a mythical forest, a cave with relics from a forgotten civilization, or a space ship with a sexy alien co-pilot all make lovely settings. Be detailed. Consider how your location will affect the story.
May 29: Sci-Fi Plot
Okay, here's the bare bones no frills attached plot outline. You only have 500 words, so picture today's entry on the back cover of your book. What happens in your story?
May 30: Sci-Fi Round-up
You know your main character and where he or she will be located and you even know what they will do. Take time today to describe other characters, other important aspect of the story, your themes, your point of view, or anything else you think will help serve as a reminder of what you want to accomplish for your reader in this story.
May 31: Final Project
Do NOT turn in your completed story. Today's entry should be up to 500 words out of your story. The real story! Do your best job of crafting your sentences and bringing your imagery to life. Maybe it's the first 500 words. Maybe it's the 500 words when we meet your main character in the story, or take a look around your setting for the first time. Just make sure you are happy this is your BEST effort at bringing together your elements you've been working on this week.
*******
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
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.
*************
THEME NOVEL FOR THE MONTH: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
(Go read it if you haven't already. It's super fun!)
May 01: Let's Go!
If you could hitchhike anyplace in the galaxy, where would you go?
May 02: Planet Sized Brain
Your robot is depressed. How will you cheer him up?
May 03: Abbreviation
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is often abbreviated "HHGTTG" or "H2G2." I abbreviate my Second Life name as Ink. You may have seen the "six word autobiography" challenge on the internet. How would you abbreviate who you are?
May 04: Mother's Day Stories Due
Funny yet poignant. Make your mom laugh and then cry.
(Early deadline so it's ready for mom. This contest is worth 500 linden and you may exceed the 400 word limit, but please keep your lengths reasonable.)
May 05: Vogon Poetry
I know I use this topic about three times a year, but it just doesn't get old. The Vogons are reputed to be the worst poets in the universe. Can you beat them?
May 06: Zaphod Beeblebrox
He's the president of the galaxy. He stole a space ship. If you were president of the galaxy, what would you steal?
May 07: Heart of Gold
Who do you know with a heart of gold? Where do they take you?
May 08: Trillian
Tricia McMillan, better known as Trillian, is the only other survivor of the destruction of Earth when the Vogons clear it out to make room for an intergalactic super highway. If you could pick one other person on this planet as your only survivor, who would it be and why?
May 09: Forty-two
What is your ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything?
May 10: The Question
What is your ultimate question?
May 11: Guidebook Entry
They've called you up to write an entry in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy about a place you know better than anybody else. Write the entry for us.
May 12: My Alien Friend
Arthur Dent didn't know his best friend was an alien. Which one of your friends is most likely to be from another planet?
May 13: Mice
Mice may be calculating the ultimate question even as we speak, but I bet you have a memorable encounter with a mouse in your past. Recount it.
May 14: The Right Number
When first published, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sold a quarter million copies in the first three months. That's a pretty good indication the author created something valuable. How do you know when your writing (or other artistic endeavors) is having a meaningful impact? How do you gauge success?
May 15: Space Tourism
Virgin Galactic Airlines will make routine sub-orbital flights into space for anybody with the fee. The cost is $200,000 USD. Would you pay that for the chance to go? If you had that amount of cash rolling around in your pockets, what would you love to buy?
May 16: Parallel Universe
Who lives in your alternate universe? What do they do there? What is better and worse in the universe running along side the one you live in?
May 17: Babble Fish
To understand each other in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, people simply put a Babble Fish into their ear. What languages do you know? Which ones would you like to learn? What forms of communication do you use that are better than spoken language?
May 18: Sentient Computers
Do you want technology to play a bigger role in your life? What would you like machines to take care of for you?
May 19: Radio Script
They've just handed you the microphone. Say what you have to say, but say it as if it is being broadcast over AM radio on a Sunday to everybody in your local area. Select a topic you're passionate about in your home town and speak from the heart.
May 20: Mostly Harmless
Are you? What makes you partly harmful?
May 21: Don't Panic
Describe a scene in your life when you out-and-out panicked. What caused it? What was the result?
May 22: Hitching
They've just closed down your town due to an outbreak of something horrible. You need to leave with only the clothing on your back. Where will your thumb take you? Where would you begin again?
May 23: Comic Book
An illustrator from DC Comics is on the phone. He's drawing the cover art to a comic book about your life. He needs to know what imagery you'd like to use. Type out the conversation for us.
May 24: Yum!
You and your current lover have been invited to dinner at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It's a formal evening and should be the fanciest night of your life. Just as you arrive and are being announced, you see a former lover has also been invited. Then you discover you'll be sitting at the same table. You know what happens next, right?
May 25: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Towel Day
Always bring a towel, especially on the 25th. What do you do to be prepared?
May 26: Unhelpful
You've been invited to offer some unhelpful remarks about something you've written. You'll be presenting your unhelpful remarks to an audience of people who are smarter than you. What will you tell them?
May 27: Sci-Fi Character
For the next five days, I'll challenge you to create an outline of a full-blown science fiction short story (or novel or epic poem). If you're into fantasy, or gaming, or something related to the science fiction genre, it's okay to go in that direction instead. Create a main character for your story. As with most main characters, your leader should be relatable, conflicted, and fascinating.
May 28: Sci-Fi Setting
For day two of the challenge, describe one or more settings where your action will take place. A bar on a remote planet, a mythical forest, a cave with relics from a forgotten civilization, or a space ship with a sexy alien co-pilot all make lovely settings. Be detailed. Consider how your location will affect the story.
May 29: Sci-Fi Plot
Okay, here's the bare bones no frills attached plot outline. You only have 500 words, so picture today's entry on the back cover of your book. What happens in your story?
May 30: Sci-Fi Round-up
You know your main character and where he or she will be located and you even know what they will do. Take time today to describe other characters, other important aspect of the story, your themes, your point of view, or anything else you think will help serve as a reminder of what you want to accomplish for your reader in this story.
May 31: Final Project
Do NOT turn in your completed story. Today's entry should be up to 500 words out of your story. The real story! Do your best job of crafting your sentences and bringing your imagery to life. Maybe it's the first 500 words. Maybe it's the 500 words when we meet your main character in the story, or take a look around your setting for the first time. Just make sure you are happy this is your BEST effort at bringing together your elements you've been working on this week.
*******
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
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
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.
*************
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.
*******
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
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.
*************
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.
*******
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
Saturday, March 1, 2008
March 2008 Topics
INKsters Daily Writing Competition for March 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 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.
March 1: Run Doggie Run
The Iditarod dog sled race across Alaska begins today. What is your dog (or your cat, or your bird, or your significant other) good for?
March 2: Horton Hears a Who
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born today. Write about your Second Life in Dr. Seuss style.
March 3: A Good Day
In 1938, oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia. What would you do if you discovered you're a billionaire?
March 4: Vroom
In 1887, Gottlieb Daimler unveiled the first automobile in Germany. Write about the role a piece of technology plays in your life. Consider the automobile, the airplane, computers, cell phones, or coffee pots. OR, write about a piece of technology you would like to have that is still awaiting an inventor, such as time travel, teleporting (in real life), or programmable significant others.
March 5: Don't Get Saucy With Me!
March is “National Sauce Month.” Seriously, it is. I looked it up. What is your favorite type of sauce?
March 6: Michelangelo
Google your favorite image of Mike's work and become one with his genius. Describe a day hanging out with him as he worked on that piece, or perhaps describe a day with him hanging out with YOU in Second Life.
March 7: iPod
Two years ago on this day Apple received its patent for its iPod. Write about somebody you know (ehem) who serves no value to humanity as he or she spends all hours of the day plugged into an MP3 player, or somebody who is making music go to new places, or more broadly, how Apple has changed your life.
March 8: IWD
Today is International Women's Day designed to bring focus to women's issues. In Second Life, you can freely switch genders and zoological heritage too. Would you want this power in real life?
March 9: Napoleon and Josephine
Napoléon Bonaparte married Joséphine de Beauharnais on this day in 1796 continuing one of the great literary romances. Remember a time when you (or one of your favorite characters) fell madly in love. Write a letter filled with passion to the object of desire (and maybe send it to him or her?!).
March 10: Poof!
I remember this day in 2000 like it was yesterday. The NASDAQ hit its all-time high at 5132 points. Then the dot-com bubble burst and half my money went away. Moving away from a purely financial theme, how do you know when you're so high it's time to get out? How do you know when you're so low it's time to get in?
March 11: Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed is an American legendary figure who went around planting apple trees. Having grown up next to an apple orchard, I blame him for my unwillingness to eat one more apple ever in my life. What do you like to grow?
March 12: Coke Me Up
In 1894, Coca-Cola was sold for the first time in bottles. Coke, McDonald's and Starbucks seem to be the great culinary delights proffered by Americans to the rest of the world. When you're traveling, do you find solace in finding something from your own country you recognize, or does the globalization of all of our economies distress you?
March 13: Uranus
My monthly obsession with astronauts continues today by noting William Herschel discovered Uranus on this day in 1781. How has Uranus improved your life? Or, how does life in this solar system compare to life in other solar systems you've visited?
March 14: Albert Lives
Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879. He said, "Before God we are all equally wise, and equally foolish." What makes you wise? What makes you foolish?
March 15: Stab Me
It's 44 B.C. You're Julius Caesar. You don't know about the term "Ides of March" yet. In fact, you'll never know. You're about to be stabbed to death by a pack of Senators. What should you have done to make more friends and fewer enemies in your life?
March 16: Grasshoppers
Party in Finland! It's St. Urho's day! He is the patron saint of the grasshopper and he drove them away from the legendary Finnish grape crops into Hell. What more of a writing prompt do you need? I've given you Finland; I've given you grasshoppers; I've given you saints and Hell. Go write!
March 17: Green Beer
Party Everywhere! Put on the green for St. Patrick the patron saint of throwing up. Tell us your favorite beer consumption story.
March 18: Caligula
In 37, the Roman Senate proclaimed Caligula as Roman Emperor. Ever make a really bad decision yourself? Do tell.
March 19: In The Closet
This is “National Clean You Closet Week.” I started to make fun of it, but it turns out to be a charitable idea where you donate stuff you're not using to people who could use it. Seems like a great idea. What are you hiding in your closet?
March 20: Finally
I loathe the wintertime, and it's finally the first day of spring. I'm SO happy. Some of you live in the southern hemisphere and you're celebrating the first day of autumn. What important items are on your "to-do" list now that the equinox has arrived?
March 21: UNESCO Poetry Day
World Poetry Day is today as declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements" (especially in Second Life).
March 22: Goof Off
Luckily, after your busy poetry day yesterday, it's finally “National Goof Off Day.” Most Second Lifers are pretty well prepared for this holiday. What things besides Second Life do you do to goof off?
March 23: Easter
Whatcha doin?
March 24: Abracadabra
Magician Harry Houdini was born on this day. What feat of magic would you like to perform?
March 25: Naughty Boy
In 1811 one of my favorite poets, Percy Bysshe Shelley, found himself on the streets after being expelled from Oxford for his publication of a pamphlet entitled "The Necessity of Atheism." Write a pamphlet yourself today espousing your most controversial idea.
March 26: The Best One
Ludwig van Beethoven died on this day in 1827. I think he's the undisputed champion of all musicians. I think William Shakespeare is the undisputed champion of writers. What are you the undisputed champion of? Or, what would you want to be the undisputed champion of? Or, who is your favorite undisputed champion?
March 27: Leaping Over
It's skyscraper day ... or so I'm told. Superman can leap over them. They sway when you're on the top floor observation deck. You can own your own in Second Life. There's a forum on the internet to discuss them. Tell us a tall tale set in a skyscraper.
March 28: The Scourge
The Norsemen sure didn't want to be hanging around the house this time of year in 845. So they headed south and sacked Paris. The viking raiders collected their ransom and probably thought they loved Paris in the springtime. Be a Viking and tell the story of you sacking a city, or be a Parisian and describe the boys knocking over your umbrella tables and wine glasses.
March 29: Wrestlemania
Some days I struggle for topics, okay? Sorry! But here's the good news: In 1987, Wrestlemania III set a world indoor attendance record at the Pontiac Silverdome with 93,173 screaming wrestling fans. For the literary connoisseur in you, write about the wrestling costume you like to wear. For the poet in you, celebrate your favorite wrestler with an ode. For the party animal in you, write about attending a large gathering where you screamed a lot. Surely you can do something with this, right?
March 30: Golfer's Best Club
Phew! Here's a literary milestone. On this day in 1858, the patent for a pencil with an attached eraser was issued saving millions of us from the appearance of imperfection and saving many golfers a few strokes. Write your entry today about pencils (in pencil for extra credit).
March 31: Your Favorite New Religion
Queen Isabella of Castile was a busy girl in 1492. Among other things (such as helping to re-discover the American continents), she ordered her 150,000 Jewish subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion. Most of them hit the road of course, but if you were required to pick a new religion, which one would it be and why?
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
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 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.
March 1: Run Doggie Run
The Iditarod dog sled race across Alaska begins today. What is your dog (or your cat, or your bird, or your significant other) good for?
March 2: Horton Hears a Who
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born today. Write about your Second Life in Dr. Seuss style.
March 3: A Good Day
In 1938, oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia. What would you do if you discovered you're a billionaire?
March 4: Vroom
In 1887, Gottlieb Daimler unveiled the first automobile in Germany. Write about the role a piece of technology plays in your life. Consider the automobile, the airplane, computers, cell phones, or coffee pots. OR, write about a piece of technology you would like to have that is still awaiting an inventor, such as time travel, teleporting (in real life), or programmable significant others.
March 5: Don't Get Saucy With Me!
March is “National Sauce Month.” Seriously, it is. I looked it up. What is your favorite type of sauce?
March 6: Michelangelo
Google your favorite image of Mike's work and become one with his genius. Describe a day hanging out with him as he worked on that piece, or perhaps describe a day with him hanging out with YOU in Second Life.
March 7: iPod
Two years ago on this day Apple received its patent for its iPod. Write about somebody you know (ehem) who serves no value to humanity as he or she spends all hours of the day plugged into an MP3 player, or somebody who is making music go to new places, or more broadly, how Apple has changed your life.
March 8: IWD
Today is International Women's Day designed to bring focus to women's issues. In Second Life, you can freely switch genders and zoological heritage too. Would you want this power in real life?
March 9: Napoleon and Josephine
Napoléon Bonaparte married Joséphine de Beauharnais on this day in 1796 continuing one of the great literary romances. Remember a time when you (or one of your favorite characters) fell madly in love. Write a letter filled with passion to the object of desire (and maybe send it to him or her?!).
March 10: Poof!
I remember this day in 2000 like it was yesterday. The NASDAQ hit its all-time high at 5132 points. Then the dot-com bubble burst and half my money went away. Moving away from a purely financial theme, how do you know when you're so high it's time to get out? How do you know when you're so low it's time to get in?
March 11: Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed is an American legendary figure who went around planting apple trees. Having grown up next to an apple orchard, I blame him for my unwillingness to eat one more apple ever in my life. What do you like to grow?
March 12: Coke Me Up
In 1894, Coca-Cola was sold for the first time in bottles. Coke, McDonald's and Starbucks seem to be the great culinary delights proffered by Americans to the rest of the world. When you're traveling, do you find solace in finding something from your own country you recognize, or does the globalization of all of our economies distress you?
March 13: Uranus
My monthly obsession with astronauts continues today by noting William Herschel discovered Uranus on this day in 1781. How has Uranus improved your life? Or, how does life in this solar system compare to life in other solar systems you've visited?
March 14: Albert Lives
Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879. He said, "Before God we are all equally wise, and equally foolish." What makes you wise? What makes you foolish?
March 15: Stab Me
It's 44 B.C. You're Julius Caesar. You don't know about the term "Ides of March" yet. In fact, you'll never know. You're about to be stabbed to death by a pack of Senators. What should you have done to make more friends and fewer enemies in your life?
March 16: Grasshoppers
Party in Finland! It's St. Urho's day! He is the patron saint of the grasshopper and he drove them away from the legendary Finnish grape crops into Hell. What more of a writing prompt do you need? I've given you Finland; I've given you grasshoppers; I've given you saints and Hell. Go write!
March 17: Green Beer
Party Everywhere! Put on the green for St. Patrick the patron saint of throwing up. Tell us your favorite beer consumption story.
March 18: Caligula
In 37, the Roman Senate proclaimed Caligula as Roman Emperor. Ever make a really bad decision yourself? Do tell.
March 19: In The Closet
This is “National Clean You Closet Week.” I started to make fun of it, but it turns out to be a charitable idea where you donate stuff you're not using to people who could use it. Seems like a great idea. What are you hiding in your closet?
March 20: Finally
I loathe the wintertime, and it's finally the first day of spring. I'm SO happy. Some of you live in the southern hemisphere and you're celebrating the first day of autumn. What important items are on your "to-do" list now that the equinox has arrived?
March 21: UNESCO Poetry Day
World Poetry Day is today as declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements" (especially in Second Life).
March 22: Goof Off
Luckily, after your busy poetry day yesterday, it's finally “National Goof Off Day.” Most Second Lifers are pretty well prepared for this holiday. What things besides Second Life do you do to goof off?
March 23: Easter
Whatcha doin?
March 24: Abracadabra
Magician Harry Houdini was born on this day. What feat of magic would you like to perform?
March 25: Naughty Boy
In 1811 one of my favorite poets, Percy Bysshe Shelley, found himself on the streets after being expelled from Oxford for his publication of a pamphlet entitled "The Necessity of Atheism." Write a pamphlet yourself today espousing your most controversial idea.
March 26: The Best One
Ludwig van Beethoven died on this day in 1827. I think he's the undisputed champion of all musicians. I think William Shakespeare is the undisputed champion of writers. What are you the undisputed champion of? Or, what would you want to be the undisputed champion of? Or, who is your favorite undisputed champion?
March 27: Leaping Over
It's skyscraper day ... or so I'm told. Superman can leap over them. They sway when you're on the top floor observation deck. You can own your own in Second Life. There's a forum on the internet to discuss them. Tell us a tall tale set in a skyscraper.
March 28: The Scourge
The Norsemen sure didn't want to be hanging around the house this time of year in 845. So they headed south and sacked Paris. The viking raiders collected their ransom and probably thought they loved Paris in the springtime. Be a Viking and tell the story of you sacking a city, or be a Parisian and describe the boys knocking over your umbrella tables and wine glasses.
March 29: Wrestlemania
Some days I struggle for topics, okay? Sorry! But here's the good news: In 1987, Wrestlemania III set a world indoor attendance record at the Pontiac Silverdome with 93,173 screaming wrestling fans. For the literary connoisseur in you, write about the wrestling costume you like to wear. For the poet in you, celebrate your favorite wrestler with an ode. For the party animal in you, write about attending a large gathering where you screamed a lot. Surely you can do something with this, right?
March 30: Golfer's Best Club
Phew! Here's a literary milestone. On this day in 1858, the patent for a pencil with an attached eraser was issued saving millions of us from the appearance of imperfection and saving many golfers a few strokes. Write your entry today about pencils (in pencil for extra credit).
March 31: Your Favorite New Religion
Queen Isabella of Castile was a busy girl in 1492. Among other things (such as helping to re-discover the American continents), she ordered her 150,000 Jewish subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion. Most of them hit the road of course, but if you were required to pick a new religion, which one would it be and why?
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
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