Calling All Writers (CAW) 25 - Writing Competition

NOTE: Please be patient. There is a lot of information contained in this initial post. If you do not have adequate time now, you can always come back for more, because you don't want to miss the details, especially the prize info at the bottom.

Hosted by: ahorsewithnoname

Welcome one and all to the CAW 25 Writing Competition! CAW stands for Calling All Writers, an open writing competition started a number of years ago by veteran writer, site moderator and 6-time CAW winner ejls. Since that first competition, hundreds of stories have been entered into the fray and a wide range of winners have been chosen by voters over the years, including a number of first time entrants.


General Rules.
The rules are fairly simple but important. This is an anonymous writing competition. This means that when you submit your story, you will send it via email to the Host who will then post it under the CAW SOP account along with all of the other entries. You are allowed to post that you will be taking part, but you are NOT allowed to indicate which story is yours, what you will be writing about, etc., in any post or private message. This means you cannot publicly or private campaign for your story or for votes. If that comes to light, your story will be removed. The only exception is sending your story to a proofreader, which is HIGHLY encouraged!

CAW 25 Specific Rules.
Being that this is the 25th CAW, I have decided to make it a little special, and a little different.

First, you will have three choices for your writing assignment.

A. You will be able to write about a photograph that will be posted. More details will be found with the photos, below.

B. You will be able to write using a pre-written paragraph as a beginning for your story. Again, more info will be found below.

C. You will write a story that includes a foreign country as the backdrop. Specifics are below.

You may write two stories. If you do, you must choose A & B or A & C or B & C. You cannot write two from the same option. You may write with a partner if you wish. Same rules apply.

You will have until Noon (Eastern time) on Saturday, September 12, 2015 to finish your entry or entries. Some extra time has been allocated in case a second writing competition (KAW #3) is announced, as some of you will be eligible to enter both. As the time draws closer you will be able to PM the CAW SOP account and get the email address for entry submission. Amount of reading time and voting procedures will be dependent upon the number of entries received.

YOU ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY! Formatting issues sometimes arise due to various word processing programs, different platforms (Mac vs PC), and so on. Your best bet is to take your entry and paste it into a new thread on the forum and then preview it to see how it will look. BE CAREFUL NOT TO POST IT! PREVIEW IT ONLY!! Submissions can be accepted in Open Office format, Microsoft Word format, and possibly others, but, if you are submitting in something out of the ordinary, it is best to send a test ahead of time to be sure that there aren't problems as I do not have the ability to edit posts once they are made.

Further, you probably should indicate at the beginning of your story which theme you are writing about. This isn't a requirement, just a suggestion.

Writing Specifications
Here are the specifics for each of the three options. Remember, you only choose ONE unless you are writing two stories.

A. Use ONE of the three photographs below and make it the central theme of your story.



or



or




B. Use ONE of the paragraphs below to begin your story. You may make very minor adjustments, but please do NOT make wholesale changes. If you are unsure, send a PM to CAW SOP seeking approval.

1. As the warm rays of the sun crept above the horizon and began to fill the room, I realized that today would set the stage for the rest of my life, short or long-lived. Today would be different from all others, because today was the start of The _________ Games.

or

2. The raw, cold wind had been buffeting my face for the past hour, turning it rose-colored with burn.

or

3. "Congratulations, ________, you're going to have a baby!"

C. Pick a foreign country to you, one that you do not current reside in, and one that you have not spent a majority of your life in. Use that country as the backdrop for your story.

You can write pretty much anything, but, when it comes time to voting, you'll be judged on how well you tied your story to the country. For example, if you write about the potato blight that struck Ireland in the 19th century, and how your characters struggled and then immigrated to America, that's a strong tie-in. Conversely, if you write about Canada and have the story take place at a lake and there's no further mention of Canada or no uniquely Canadian aspect to the story, then it could have taken place in the US or anywhere...and I myself would find fault with that.

Prize.
Typically the "prize" for winning a CAW is that you get to be the Host for the next CAW. Woo hoo! Since this is the 25th CAW, I thought I would add a little something extra to it.



Yep. $50.00. Not likely you'll be able to retire with the winnings, but it sure beats a sharp stick in the eye, eh? This will be coming from me, personally, not the website. In order for me to send it to you, you'll need to be able to provide me with some kind of mailing address. If you can't do that, well, then don't expect the prize! I won't need a name, but I'll need an address. Anyway, I thought it would be a nice touch.

That's it. Have at it. I hope you enjoy the challenge and I look forward to your stories!

--ahorsewithnoname

 

It would be interesting if someone tried to incorporate ALL the themes into one entry. Seems possible.

Good Challenge!

Let the hand-wringing begin.

 

Back into the fray already. Alright then...

I'll have to take more time later to go over these, but looks great Horse! Looking forward to another fun competition!

 

One thing is certain. There should be no complaints in this CAW about running out of time to write.

Time management skills, people!

 

I complain there' s too much time instead, no time pressure.

 

Well I think that's the exact opposite of my suggestion but hay I new I didn't count.

 

Thanks Horse looks awesome.Think you should stipulate that the story has to start with telling you which one has been picked otherwise how are to judge if it fit the criteria?

 

Reread the rules no option for A C and B?

 

Well, atleast this time I have time.

 

No. You can write two stories...so either A & B, A & C, or B & C if you want to write two...otherwise just A, B or C.

 

Oooh super! Here we go again. No confuscation from me this time, I should have time to write something. I like the idea of longer writing times, as with CAW XXIV it seems to produce more entries, and better ones too. I'm away for this weekend but I shall have plenty of time on a couple of long(ish) train journeys to think up some ideas.

Aww 1TM, don't despair, I've been around here since the very first CAW, and he didn't take any notice of me either! *thinks* Perhaps if I flashed my boobies at him....

 

Interesting... alright then. If I do this it will be my first time... *like a virgin*

 

Welcome to the mad house. The CAW can be very rewarding, it can also be a bit rough if you don't know what to expect. You'll get comments, which is good. They can be brutally honest, which depends on you how you take them.

 

You could start by flashing them at us. Then we could say how much good we think it'd do.

 

I'm not sure your spec is quite right. Under the rules as stated, I may be eligible to be able to write something set in Britain. I'll have to count months to be sure. I spent the first 21 years of my life there, which isn't the majority of it. There's also a few years in the Netherlands.

Neither of those places seem to fit the spirit, but do fit the letter of the rules.

 

What about A, B, and C together in one story? Not sure what the story would be, but someone may be crazy enough to try.

Another question: Is it permissible to combine a picture with a paragraph or with a foreign country? Can we do more than one theme in the same entry?

 

Well, I like the idea. It's actually better than expected (more choices), and while I've already had an idea for a story that would fit at least one of the requirements here, I'm not sure about it anymore. I'll consider it, and see if I come up with anything worthwhile.

 

Judging the criteria seems to have been left to the voters in the past.

 

(shakes head) this looks difficult none of the pics grab me (though as a dirty old man would like to grab her in several places) Not sure I can work anything from the paragraphs. The last time I wrote about another country I had to apologize cause I thought I had insulted a good many people. Gee tanks hoss! I am screwed!