SBS Mag: World Gone Wrong Contest

[Shaun]

Premise: Write a story about the theme of "the world gone wrong". What would the world be like in the future if Global Warming killed everything? Or if we killed ourselves? Or what is life like in parts of the world now where it just isn't going the way it should? Write about the future or the present, or even the past. It doesn't matter. Just show the world when things just aren't quite right. Post-apocalyptic, personal, retrospective, whatever! Science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, mystery, romance, it all counts! Any genre acceptable, just show us people living in dire conditions, in a world where things aren't right, or where things around them aren't going well.

What to submit: A short story dealing with the above premise. All genres are okay, all types of stories okay, just so long as they work with the premise. If you can show us a screwed up today, great! If you want to show us a screwed up tomorrow or a screwed up fantasy, go for it! It just has to be a world gone wrong. Think dystopias, think social unrest, think bad conditions, horrible realities, etc. Look at the third world for inspiration. Remember, don't be too gory or too violent. Use your judgment here. Assume that if the story needs the gore to work, it's not what we want. Violence and gore should serve to further the story, to make it better, not as shock value. The same for sex. You can have the elements, but make sure they are not for shock value. We want the premise to shock, not the blood, if there is any.

Word count: Any word count up to 8,000 words.

Who can enter: Any active member of YWO (use your best judgment: if you have only posted once, that's not very active, but you don't have to post three hundred posts a day either). You can still submit to this even though you may have submitted to another contest or to the magazine itself. Anyone can win this. ANYONE. Yes, it's possible you could get published two times in the same issue, though we may ask to save one of the stories for a later issue, just to be fair.

Guidelines: Follow the basic guidelines for the magazine, which can be found here (http://www.youngwritersonline.net/showthread.php?t=936). You can also find more direct format information at this post (http://www.youngwritersonline.net/showpost.php?p=32962&postcount=12). We are not anal about format. Do your best, but just because we aren't anal doesn't mean you should ignore them. It's not that hard to put your name and stuff on the manuscript.

How do you enter: Write the story. Submit the story to sbsmag@yahoo.com with the subject of your email as "Contest One: Name of Story". Please use that format so it goes to the right folder. Attach your story as a .doc or a .rtf.

Deadline: July 14th, 2008 (any time on the 14th counts, doesn't matter if you're submitting during someone else's timezone).


If you have any questions, please ask.

[Zombified]

Man I got hundreds of these kinds of stories!

[Shaun]

Good, now it's your job to get more people to submit to this. I want lots and lots and lots of options :P.

[sXe_Jinxeh]

Okay, I have an idea for this.

Actually, the idea was my Dad's...but he tells me ideas and then hands me a pen. I'm like his ghost writer, XD

[Shaun]

Good! Then write it!

[Shaun]

Don't forget to enter everyone!

[Guessed]

Ouch, thanks for the bump, Shaun - I totally missed this thread.

[Carraka]

Yeah, I remembered seeing this thread somewhere, but when I went to look for it, I couldn't find it, so I thought I had imagined it.

[Shaun]

Nope, it's real, now go tell everyone else about it!

[Guessed]

Hey, you're the one with modly powers. You can probably project knowledge of this contest into the backs of all the members' heads or something. Anyway, I'm going to go try and inspire myself or summat so I can try and win this dang thing. :P

[Starry]

Ew, sorry Shaun, but I can't stand post-apocolyptic (or post-cataclysmic, as it would most likely be in fantasy). If I happen to get inspired and write a new story, I'll submit to the mag, but don't count on it.

[Shaun]

It doesn't have to be post-apocalyptic. I never said that. It just has to be about the world gone wrong, even if it's only from the perspective of one character.

[Shaun]

Well, nobody jumped on this, so all contests are off folks. Regular submissions to the magazine from now on. Yay :P.