It is our pleasure to be participating in judging Contagion-Fans.com 500 word zombie inspired short story competition. With most competitions, users are limited by the software and hardware required to partake (3D/Level Design/Etc) but Joe from Contagion-Fans would like to give everyone a chance to win a copy of Dead Island using notepad, wordpad, word, etc. Whether you're a writer or not here is some good fun to put together your own fan fiction or a story you've been meaning to write and have yet to start.
The competition will run from August 30th to September 12th (Exactly 2 weeks) and winners will be announced the following weekend.
Monochrome will be hosting the entries and participating in the judging so lets answer a couple questions and set some ground rules-
Terms/Conditions/Rules
1. How long can my story be?
A. No less than 450 but no more than 550 words. (You can use Wordcount a free web based word count app to check that you're within the limits though unfortunately it is not exactly accurate so any that just top it off I will check myself and message the user as one post kept saying 558 when it was dead on 550)
2. Where do I post my short story?
A. Please post your entries -here- (that means no PMs or Emails please)
3. Who decides the winner?
A. Members of Monochrome LLC and Contagion-Fans will judging each entry.
4. How many short stories can I enter into the competition?
A. One, so be sure to check for grammatical and spelling errors and that you're confident that this is the story you'd like to post.
5. Can I borrow and set my story within an existing story
A. We do not want to see anyone ripping off another story so the plain answer is no but when it comes to Monochrome LLC games you're welcome to set your story within the ZP:S/Contagion universe but we expect all original work and nothing borrowed.
6. If I win how will I receive my game?
A. Contagion-Fans.com will provide the game digitally so the winner will be contacted and arrangements made to provide them with the game as soon as possible.
7. I already have Dead Island, can I still enter and win?
A. Yes. We will provide 1 (not multiple games) other game of equal or less value at the request of the winner.
8. Does my story have to include a zombie theme.
A. Yes
9. Can my story be submitted unfinished because it's well over 550 words?
A. Yes, we only ask that you submit something between 450-550 so that we don't get overwhelmed. You can write a story and take a portion from the beginning, middle, or end though we recommend that where it picks up and ends isn't too sudden and has a decent flow to it preferably.
Both Monochrome LLC and Contagion-Fans.com have the right to remove entries if they break any of the above terms/conditions/rules at any time.
If you have any questions please Contact Us and we'll do our best to answer your questions. Any posts that are off topic or clutter the entry thread will be removed.
Best of luck to all of you and once again would like to thank Joe and Contagion-fans.com for their generosity!
These rules are reasonable, but there is one big question that I have, and that is "is the story required to be in the Cotagion universe?"
I think #5 answers that question. You don't have to set the story within the world of Contagion but used it as an example considering we've not revealed any story. We don't want people borrowing an existing story or seeing plagiarism. Good luck :)
My only remaining comment then for the time being is that 500 words (even 550) does not usually cause a story to be more than one and maybe a fifth of a page in length. If this is you preference, so be it, but it limits depth and progression.
Short storys can have depth and great progression. Just choice how you word it wisely!
Comes to roughly a page and a half to two pages (School Textbooks/Manuals excluded) actually which is more than enough for the competition. I believe #9 explains the reasons behind this but waddlesticks also put it nicely.
"For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn"
6 words, tell me that doesn't have depth.
How much are you asking for? (w00t 6 words!)
Good point, and there are writing challenges for, say, writing a story in 6 sentences.
I'll be posting a submission soon.
I believe I'm a judge. And i'm tough. I only enjoy stories that contain sharks or shark type objects being used as weapons.
do not listen to this man! Next thing you know we'll have zombie sharks with with shark tooth knives and lasers (major points deducted!)
sounds exciting :>!
well, i have to say good luck!, i am good writting stories, but not in english, so i will be only as a judge. Again Good Luck!
Greetings from Argentina.
I'll try.
2 days left to get your entries in before it's too late! I look forward to finally reading all of these instead of counting words to make sure they fit the requirements heh.
Sorry I've been late on submitting -- things got busy. I hope you guys haven't come to a decision yet.
1 Hour left to win Dead Island or another game of your choice! - Monochrome-games.com
Alright the competition is closed and we're now reading through the stories. Any story that exceeds 550 words will automatically be disqualified as the rules and warnings to those who posted over were stated. Will announce this weekend (possibly earlier).
Congratulations Herr_Alien on winning Contagion-Fans.com's Short Story Competition and winning a copy of Dead Island! To view their story, honorable mentions, and quotes from both Monochrome and Contagion-Fans.com visit - Monochrome-games.com