October 31, 2012 - Time to put the chainsaws back in the shed, hang the skin-suits up in the closet and announce the WINNERS of this year's All Hallow's Tales Contest! Competition this year may have been less crowded than in previous years, but no less fierce! Please help me congratulate this year's winners:
FIRST PLACE:
Harvest Time "Oh, come on. There's got to be service around here somewhere." Maria stretched her arm high over her head, hoping that the extra height would help her cell phone find enough bars to call for a tow truck. When that did no good, she climbed up on the roof of her station wagon.
"Don't you ever try something like this, Lucy. It's dangerous. Mommy's only doing it because it's an emergency."
"Okay, Mommy." Lucy was playing in the grass by the car, and even though nobody was around, Maria couldn't help but worry.
"Stay close to the car, okay? You don't want to get lost out here." Maria didn't want to even be here. If the GPS
Harvest Time by =
TobaeusFirst Prize
1,000 points courtesy of Points Pool donors.
$20 Amazon Gift Card from `
Memnalar Dripping Blood Bookmark from `
Memnalar dA Print of winner's choice from #
CRLiterature 6-month premium membership from #
CRLiterature 3-month premium membership from `
Memnalar £50 worth of tokens in =
TheSkaBoss' browser game
Lyrania.*
Free copy of
Applianceocalypse by =
Tobaeus**
Feature in "Friday Night Features" from `
dreamsinstatic Journal feature from *
Penfury Journal feature from *
SadisticIceCream Journal feature from ^
pullingcandy Journal feature from `
IrrevocableFate Journal feature from #
Writers-WorkshopSECOND PLACE:
OzymandiasJuly 3, 1928
The excavation commenced this morning. Max claims we'll have this temple untucked before next October, but I know he's being excessively optimistic for Arthur's sake. Still, who'd suppose we could even manage this far without bumbling ourselves into a cataract? I rode on a camel for the first time only a month ago, and the beast didn't even bite me. I'd say that's success already.
July 4
Bloody hot. Why'd we go in summer again?
July 6
We've got some sort of corner showing through. Can't determine yet whether it's from the point of a pyramid-like object, or the corner of a more rectangular sort. Odd angle. I suppose centurie
Ozymandias by *
orphicfiddlerSecond Prize 800 points courtesy of Points Pool donors.
Dripping Blood Bookmark from `
Memnalar 3-month premium membership from #
CRLiterature 3-month premium membership from `
Memnalar £20 worth of tokens in =
TheSkaBoss' browser game
Lyrania.*
Free copy of
Applianceocalypse by =
Tobaeus**
Feature in "Friday Night Features" from `
dreamsinstatic Journal feature from *
Penfury Journal feature from *
SadisticIceCream Journal feature from ^
pullingcandy Journal feature from `
IrrevocableFate Journal feature from #
Writers-WorkshopTHIRD PLACE:
Ghost of a ChanceI flicked through radio stations, trying to find one that had decent reception out here. The classic country station had petered out about fifteen miles down the two-lane county road, and the beat-up Chevy that held all our gear didn't have a CD player. Static, static, and more static, then a burst of faint Hispanic-sounding music, but even the ranchera station was more white noise than melody.
"Forget it, Jules," Elliot sighed from the back seat. "It's only twenty more minutes."
"Yeah, assuming we don't run into a dirt road with a tree across it." Ally, our pugnacious resident skeptic, glared at the asphalt ahead of us.
"Don't jinx us
Ghost of a Chance by ~
AranovThird Prize 500 points courtesy of Points Pool donors.
3-month premium membership from #
CRLiterature 1-month premium membership from `
Memnalar £10 worth of tokens in =
TheSkaBoss' browser game
Lyrania.*
Free copy of
Applianceocalypse by =
Tobaeus**
Feature in "Friday Night Features" from `
dreamsinstatic Journal feature from *
Penfury Journal feature from *
SadisticIceCream Journal feature from ^
pullingcandy Journal feature from `
IrrevocableFate Journal feature from #
Writers-Workshop*=TheSkaBoss describes Lyrania as "a grindy text-based browser
rpg that's great for keeping you entertained at work (or otherwise
procrastinating on your writing!)." So check it out. ** =Tobaeus describes Applianceocalypse
as "the story of a toaster that steals parts from other appliances in
order to become the family's favorite. But competition lurks in the
cabinets, and mechanical upgrades might not be enough to win this
fight." The story comes in e-book format.JUDGE'S PICKS:But wait! There's MORE! Each judge was asked to provide a Judge's Pick, or an entry that stood out in their eyes outside of pesky points totals. Here they are:
~LadyCalypso: Harvest Time by =Tobaeus [link] - Holy crap, is it possible for me to score higher just for sheer scary points? I was so impressed by the way ~Tobaeus used the usual suspects of no cell phone signal, broken down car, old stranger in the middle of no where, and then took all of that in a direction I was not expecting. I like stories that take a simple plot and make it their own without trying hard at all, and this one tickled my Halloween fancy. The stuff of nightmares, right here. My nightmares, to be exact. My hat is tipped off to you!
=angeljunkie: The Fish Men of Nuptus County by ~NamelessShe [link] - It was kind of nostalgic in a way, going back to horror stories that were more about monsters than broken down cars and serial killers in cabins. I appreciated that, and it was pretty well written. Loved the quirky tone.
`Memnalar: Schillick Fun Sized by ~BarbecuedIguana [link] - JD has a knack for not merely thinking outside the box, but cutting the box apart and making a trombone out of it. Kudos for coming up with the best Halloween story inspired by late-nite informercials.
^Beccalicious wasn't able to provide a Judge's Pick, on account of babby. She is forgiven.
Each Judge's Pick receives 300 Points, courtesy of Points Pool donors.Speaking of Points Pool Donors, here's the list of those wonderful people:
Points Pool Donors: (These points will be used for contest prizes, judge appreciation and other such.)
=
Tobaeus 320 points
^
neurotype 200 points
`
thorns 1,600 points
=
Lucy-Merriman 200 points
`
Kneeling-Glory 100 points
*
orphicfiddler 100 points
*
Penfury 50 points
*
ThornyEnglishRose 50 points
*
RC-Eliot 150 points
Anonymous: 30 points
Anonymous: 200 points
=
TheSkaBoss 700 points
~
BarbecuedIguana 800 points
Anonymous: 100 points
~ilyilaice 30 points
Anonymous: 5 points
*Foreststone 50 points
Anonymous: 50 pointsEach entry was judged on a point system encompassing four factors: Creativity, Technique, Use of Theme and "The Halloween Factor."
JUDGESThe following brave souls read and scored the entries.
Each will receive 500 points for their hard work, courtesy of Points Pool donors.
^
Beccalicious~
LadyCalypso=
angeljunkie
Thanks to all the
entrants, judges, sponsors and prize donors for making this another successful contest. Halloween is VERY important to me for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is it gives us a reason to relax, have fun, and face our fears in the spirit of imagination and play.
Monsters are real. Don't let 'em get you. Happy Halloween!Stock art used in journal header:
[link] [link] [link]
`anmari has been spreading her infectious positivity throughout our community for over 6 years. Throughout this time Ana has been at the core of all things devious, passionately developing an eclectic gallery, helping organise devmeets, participating in chat events and also recently completed dedicating her time as a Community Volunteer. We are absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for May 2013 to `anmari, congratulations! Read More
Sta.sh
Although the contest deadline is approaching in less than four hours,
Critique will happen one work at a time, be prepared to wait your turn.
One-hundred weeks that is. In that time I've really come to appreciate how active and passionate the Literature Community on dA is; this community is truly amazing and I'm honored to be a part of it. And what better way to celebrate than to spread a little love and hand out some prizes? It's also a good excuse for me to hug you all.
Share what you love about the Lit Community, your reason doesn't need to be long, it could be a few words or a few sentences. Be as specific or general as you want!
with the subject "Demonstrably Deviant".
This article’s deviant spotlight: featuring the talented ~linaket. She has offered to answer a few questions as well, to tell us a bit about what inspires her writing and which piece in particular she favors.
Please go give him some love.
Every Sunday this article will aim to promote volunteer opportunities, various resources, prompts, challenges, and workshops, as well as highlighting various contests, and spotlighting a specific group every week. This is by no means a complete list of all the literature going-ons, merely a tool to help you get involved and stay informed.
This weeks project spotlight is
The story will be written in third person omniscient which allows us to be in any character's head at any time. But try not to do too much jumping as that gets confusing.
Every Sunday this article will aim to promote volunteer opportunities, various resources, prompts, challenges, and workshops, as well as highlighting various contests, interviewing various members of the literature community and spotlighting a specific group every week. This is by no means a complete list of all the literature going-ons, merely a tool to help you get involved and stay informed.
Knew I wouldn't win but hey it was super fun! Thanks `Memnalar for hosting the contest!
~Tobaeus, *orphicfiddler and ~Aranov - I'll read your work in the middle of tonight (Oct. 31). 0.0
[Congrats to the judges, too. It's not an easy job.]