Hall of Fame

Welcome to the 2008 Short Fiction Competition Hall of Fame! Here you'll find a collection of all the great stories that have won past rounds of this competition. Enjoy!

ROUND ONE

FIRST PLACE:
"The Way Forward"   [13+] by NickiD89

SECOND PLACE:
"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

THIRD PLACE:
"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor
"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor
"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

ROUND TWO: WESTERN

FIRST PLACE:
"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

SECOND PLACE:
"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

THIRD PLACE:
"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

ROUND THREE: POLITICAL

There were less than ten entries this month, so only first place will be awarded. Congratulations to the winner:

First Place:

"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

HOWEVER, I did promise bonus goodies this round, so I'm happy to report the following additions:

1. Everyone who entered will receive 3 raffle tickets for Jennifer's "Invalid Item" !
2. The winner gets another 4 raffle tickets!
3. The winning entry has been upgraded from a 10K awardicon to a 25K awardicon!
4. Since all of the entries were so great, everyone who entered will receive a Political merit badge!

Congratulations! Thanks for your entries this month, and for keeping my contest going!

THE PROMPTS:

1. Tell a story about an ordinary day in an ordinary person's life... as if there were danger at every moment and around every corner.
OR
2. Create your own local legend and then tell a story about someone in the community finding out firsthand whether it's real or not.
OR
3. Tell a story about moving into a new house... but the horror and scares can't come from the house itself (i.e. no haunted houses).

ROUND FOUR: HORROR

There were so many great entries this round, I had a really tough time picking the winners. Also, thanks to some incredibly generous donors, this round the prizes have been increased. 1st Place has been awarded a 50k awardicon, and 2nd Place has been awarded a 25k awardicon! Your Round Four winners are:

1ST PLACE: "Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

2ND PLACE: "Puddle of Fear"   [13+] by Lornda

3RD PLACE: "Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

HONORABLE MENTIONS: "Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor
"Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

Congratulations to all the winners!

THE PROMPTS

1. Stuck in a foreign country and not knowing the language.
OR
2. Vacation plans unexpectedly change after accidentally getting on a plane, train, etc. heading to the wrong destination.
OR
3. The trip there ends up being more adventurous and memorable than the destination vacation itself.

ROUND FIVE: TRAVEL

Really great stories all around for the Travel round! It was really hard to choose, but in the end, with only five entries, there can only be one winner:

1ST PLACE: "Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

Congratulations to aszreal for writing a steamy, travel-inspired story!

ROUND SIX: MYTHOLOGY

There were only two entries this round... I guess Mythology isn't as popular a subject as I would have hoped. Both entries were great, but the winner is:

1ST PLACE: "Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

Congratulations to Frangipani for writing a great modern update on a classic Greek myth! I'm also going to award the other entrant, jaya , a Mythology Merit Badge for being the runner up! Congratulations to both of you!

NOTE: As a big fan of mythology and legends, I like to think I know a fair share of them from various cultures around the world. However, I think it's safe to assume I don't know ALL of them... so with that in mind, please reference the original material in your item, so I can research the subject it if I'm not already familiar with it. Thanks!

1. Write a modern update of a well-known myth or legend.

OR

2. Write a story about a mythological or legendary figure that's out of his/her/its element.

OR

3. Come up with your own myth or legend to explain some kind of event or occurrence.

ROUND 7: DETECTIVE

There were five entries this round, which unfortunately makes my job even more difficult, because every single story this round was excellent! But with only five entries, that means only 1st Place is awarded. So I give you the winner of Round 7:

1ST PLACE: "A Dish Best Served Cold"   [18+] by Hyperiongate

Congratulations to Hyperiongate for writing a great futuristic detective tale with an awesome twist! However, I couldn't in good conscience let the rest of you write such great stories without some kind of recognition, so Detective Merit Badges all around!

1. Film noir is one of my favorite genres... write me a good old fashioned noir detective tale.
OR
2. In the vein of the "Monk" and "Psych" television series, come up with an unusual, original detective character and base a story around him/her.
OR
3. Write about the most difficult, intriguing, or puzzling case of a detective's life.

ROUND 8: HISTORY

NO ENTRIES! NO WINNERS!

1. Take a real-life historical event and use it as the basis or backdrop for a fictional tale.
OR
2. Write an fictional story or alternate history for a real-life historical figure.
OR
3. Make up your own fictional historical event, told as if it really happened.

ROUND 9: GHOST

There were two fantastic entries this round... so good, that I couldn't possibly choose between them! Therefore, I'm awarding 1st Place to BOTH stories! Congratulations Hyperiongate and Lauriemariepea !

1ST PLACE: "Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor
1ST PLACE: "Threshold"   [18+] by Hyperiongate

1. Write a good old fashioned, creepy/scary ghost story. The creepier/scarier, the better!
OR
2. Write a ghost story that centers around Halloween and/or trick-or-treating.
OR
3. Write a tale about a ghost with a purpose. Avenging a wrong, delivering a message from beyond the grave, causing general mayhem... make it interesting!

NOTE ABOUT ROUND 9: Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so in honor of the holiday (and all the cool new awardicon colors), the awardicons you'll be playing for will be of varying amounts and colors - orange, brown, black, gray, red... you won't know what you'll get until you win!