On behalf of Temnoye Bratstvo and the city of Philadelphia, I am immensely excited to offer a new kind of writing contest! 

The idea is simple. Every other week, I'll be posting a brief prompt/subject and 10 words.

Write a short story fitting/completing the prompt that includes all 10 words, and you'll be entered in the running for 500k. (It's not a lot, but the winnings stack. So bear with me. <3)

Rules: 

1. Minimum 500 words, Maximum 800 words. 
2. MUST relate to the prompt and contain all 10 story words.
3. MUST include a unique title. 
4. MUST be grammatically correct, WITHIN REASON (I'm not gonna be a grammar Nazi, but it should be readable with punctuation). 
5. Cohesive structure and flow (i.e., beginning, middle, and end with some identifiable plot)

Stories will be scored/judged in two parts: 

1. TIPS! Please, "vote" on your favourite stories by tipping. Depending upon the number of entries the top 3-5 highest tipped posts will start with 2 point bonus. 
2. Scoring - each story will be scored as follows: 

               Minimum word count = 1 point, Maximum word count = 2 points

               Story words = 1 point, 2 points for creative use.

               Grammar and structure = 1-3 points for clarity

               Plot = 1-3 points for depth

               Originality = 0-3 points

               Character depth / development = 0-3 points

               Creativity = 0-5 points (As this is a creative writing contest, bonus points will be given for creativity. Feel free to stretch, explore,                       write outside your character... but try to keep it within the period setting. I'm down for magic, but let's keep it mobster magic.)

               Enjoyment = 0-5 points (We'll call this one "Reported Personal Bias". I'm human. Sometimes I'm just really gonna like something. I                   think if you went through the effort to write something I really like, then you should be rewarded for it. But, I'm gonna                                       be honest about it. <3)

Submissions should be posted as replies to this thread - Please include a title for your story.

At the end of the contest, I will post the top three stories along with their respective scores. First place is guaranteed 500k. Second and Third may qualify for additional prizes pending contest popularity. 

Judges: Yours Truly (of course) and James-Quinn (additional judges pending/TBA). 

Flash Fiction (11/18/2019)

The Best Night You'll Never Remember

Puzzle, Scorpion, Snout, Ward, Seltzer, Shake, Tiger, Exhausted, Stumble, Posse

Sumbissions close 00:00MR on 11/22, Winners Announced 11/25

What I'm Told Happened To Me (Or The Best Night I cant Remember)

Nara S Imhaya woke with his head throbbing and still exhausted. He had a night of carousing at a local speakeasy and the sounds of the jazz band added ringing in his ears to his headache.  Turning on his room radio he tunes in "National Barn Dance" on WLS-AM playing “Last Blue Yodel” By Jimmie Rodgers. One of his favorites he sings along remembering the singer who passed earlier that year.

“Threes was once a sweet gal that I thought I would like to wed. But I found out she always ate her crackers in bed. The women make a fool out of me.
Yodel lay de o yodel lay de oh de-eee”

The song ended and a commercial for the shows sponsor came on. It was for Alka-Seltzer and with a chuckle he plopped two tabs of this new product into a glass of water hoping it would help his hangover. “What did I do last night?” He wonders aloud.

Just then a knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and brought new pounding to his head. Poking his snout in the doorway his friend Tiger asks
“Have you rejoined the living my friend? With everything that happened last night I thought I would have to send a posse to look for you.”

Sitting at the table where a jigsaw puzzle was partially completed, he downs his drink in one gulp. The puzzle was part of a contest that boasted a $500 prize. Even though it had ended already he was obsessed with completing it, always coming close then packing it back up to take with him wherever he went. He winced from a sharp pain in his right butt cheek. Standing up and walking over to the mirror to check himself out he was shocked to see a brand-new scorpion tattoo

“What happened to me last night??” He asks dumbfounded.
AM
“My friend you shut down the 3^rd ward, all of Chicago has heard about how you can shake a floor. I am amazed you managed to stumble back here.” He said with a chuckle “You and Sarah didn’t just cut a rug you drilled through the floor.”

With a grin he got a flash of memory, a sweet smell of Jasmine and a scandalously short flapper skirt. Sarah, they had a long history mostly of her getting him into or out of trouble. It was her idea to take a little break from business and have a bit of fun while in the windy city.

“But what happened?” He asked again, hoping that he could find some clues to his new body decoration and its meaning.

“Well let’s see” Tiger replied, the pox marks on his face stretching with his smile to look like the whisker dots that earned him his name “You started the night with a bet that you could out drink her. You downed enough whiskey to run a car from here back to Philly. Then you danced like nobody around here has ever seen. Then you Yodeled and I kid you not you have offers to star in a show of your own here. Finally, you decided to lead the band like Cab Calloway and got tossed out of the place. Last I saw you and Sarah were walking arm in arm up Lake Drive.”

With a sheepish grin as a few fuzzy memories fell into place with his friend’s description he puts on his jacket. Falling out of the pocket was a small card. It read.

“You owe me $2000 for losing our bet. Next time you think you can out drink me remember how it feels to get your ass stung.
Love Sarah”

It was the best night he could not remember.



Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alka-Seltzer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Barn_Dance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvARNTNgGvg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Rodgers_(country_singer)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/500-00-Jig-Saw-Contest-Interlocking-Puzzle-Vintage-C-1933/193091574557?hash=item2cf5279b1d:g:BFwAAOSwc~1ddUuX

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cab_Calloway

"Indelible"

Oriana was exhausted, trying not to stumble as she made her way down the Philadelphia sidewalk. It had been three weeks since the surgery, and this was her first real time out of the house. Her injuries  had been severe, and her hand had started to shake as she raised it to move her hair back out of her eyes. It was a good sign that it was growing back, but still an annoyance. What she really wanted was a drink- something heavy and not that seltzer shit that Brigitte kept trying to give her.

As she approached her destination, Oriana warily moved past a posse of young men who were watching her shuffle along with her cane. She shifted her body, surreptitiously showing the gun on her hip to ward them off. Looking down the street at Race Street Automative, she resolved to check in soon on the progress of getting her new wheels.

Pushing open the door of the shop, Ori was greeted by the man she’d made her appointment with. Jimmy had been in the navy, then sailed as a merchant all around the world, where he’d learned the art of tattooing. They’d already discussed what Ori wanted, but she still flipped through the book to see her options to make sure. Moving to the animal section, Oriana let her fingers wander over a dragon, a lion, a bull, a wolf, a scorpion, and even a pig snout and cat whiskers. But her finger finally alighted on her selection- the silhouette of the tiger in motion, mid-stride as it walked.

“This one. I’m sure.”

“Okay, Miss. Where do you want it?”

“My hip. The right one. Here.”

Ori winced slightly from the pain as she slid her shirt to point the the precise spot she wanted the tattoo- the spot where Tara had been shot when killing Oriana’s tormentor, Francesco Bianchi. Oriana gingerly moved herself onto Jimmy’s chair and leaned back.

“You okay, lady? You know this is going to hurt, right?”

“Yea, I know. It’ll be worth it.”

Ori grit her teeth when the process began. It did hurt, but it wasn’t too bad. She’d felt a lot worse. To distract herself, she thought of Tara. Tara, bravely trying to help her mother as Oriana put a blade to Tara’s throat. Tara, walking into her dorm room and finding Oriana waiting on her bed to “babysit” her. Tara, in the forest. Tara, in Naples. Tara, standing over the body of Francesco. Tara, processing the death of her parents in Iceland. Tara had always been there for Oriana. Once, Ori could easily imagine leaving Tara, but now? They were like two pieces of a puzzle, fitting together perfectly. 

As the tattoo process continued, the pain became strangely engaging, if not enjoyable. She leaned into it, and it was over faster than she’d expected. When it was finished, Ori gently slid off the chair and buckled her jeans, handing Jimmy a few bills before listening to the aftercare instructions.

As Ori hit the sidewalk again, she reflected on the fact that just about everyone in her life was temporary. But it was those permanent people- the people who won’t quit on you no matter what- that make the difference. She didn't have many of those. A wedding can be undone with a piece of paper, but a tattoo? For better or worse, in sickness or in health, for richer or for poorer…

The Last Drink

Aatto sat in a chair, waiting for his new hire Harry to bring him some seltzer. He had been on a heavy drinking binge the last couple of months before Aada finally convinced him to lay off the alcohol for a while. Normally one would avoid a bar in his situation but he had to stop by just to see how things were doing without him there. Harry arrived with his drink as he finally picked out a book to read. He took a sip, quickly realizing Harry brought him vodka instead of the drink he requested. One would think that a man who wanted to work at a bar would know the difference between the two. He grumbled, glancing down at the glass before deciding that he could break the cycle tomorrow.

One glass turned into ten then into thirty. Sure, Aatto could handle his liquor but everyone had their limit and that day he finally hit his. After his thirtieth he decided the bar was doing just fime without him and stumbled out of the bar after giving Harry a piece of his mind for making such a stupid mistake.

Aatto left the bar and began wondering what he was going to do with all the free time. Then an idea hit him, why not visit the zoo? He grinned at his idea before changing course to his new destination.

The man finally arrived at the zoo to find the gates closed and locked. He grumbled once again, looking around as he thought about what to do next when his eyes fell on a nearby tree, a limb sticking out over the edge of the wall that was keeping him out. He grinned, as if he had just solved the world's most difficult puzzle. The male carelessly climbed the tree before dropping into the zoo.

Aatto landed on a bush instead of the ground which forced him to take a moment to remove himself. Once he was finally back on the ground, he began to look around him for a sign for the different animal enclosures. He finally spotted one next to a statue of a scorpion and followed the signs to the big cat enclosures.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive at his desired section. He looked around at the cages before he spotted a tiger. The male ran up to the cage and peered in, waking the animal inside. The tiger turned it’s snout in his direction and yawned. In response, Aatto began to motion to the tiger to come towards him and telly it that it was a ‘pretty kitty’ as he somehow managed to stick an arm between the bars. Fortunately, before things got bad, a guard spotted him during his rounds. 

The sound of footsteps and shouting alerted the male that he had been spotted. He pulled his arm out of the cage and ran at the guard, intending to knock him out before help arrived. Unfortunately for him, a posse of guards quickly arrived to stop the intruder. Seeing that he was outnumbered, he decided to run in the direction he came from and look for a way out.

The way out happened to be the scorpion statue from earlier, the tip of the tail leading right up into a tree. He climbed the statue and onto the tree before jumping over to the otherside. The male then quickly ran away from the zoo.

Once he decided it was safe, he began to look for something else to do. A brothel caught his eye during his walk so he decided to pay the ladies a visit. He came out a couple of hours later, much drunker than he was before. Deciding that he had enough fun for the night, he decided to head home.

On his journey home, he failed to realize that he caught the attention of an unsavory character. Said character snuck up behind the very drunk Aatto and hit him in the lead pipe, hard. Once the person verified Aatto was out cold, he quickly relieved the male of his cash before running off.

It wasn’t until morning he was found by a nearby store owner who quickly phoned for an ambulance. Once at the hospital a frequent customer of Aatto’s recognized him and phoned the bar who phoned Aada.

Aadda had stayed up all night, waiting for her brother to get home since it was so unlike him. So when she got the call, she was shaking with anger as she headed to the hospital.

When Aatto final woke up, he found himself in a hospital ward with his twin sister glaring at him. He closed his eyes, exhausted from the night’s adventure as his sister scolded him.

I would just like to commend the organizers of this event. The rules are clear, the deadlines adhered to and it is all very transparent.

More than that, it was made in OOC exactly where "creative writing" contests should be. An excellent idea and very well executed.

Good luck to the entrants and look forward to seeing the next one!

Scoring has been completed and I'm proud to announce the following results: 

WINNER: Narasimhaya! 

 

What I'm Told Happened To Me (Or The Best Night I cant Remember) - Narasimhaya

Word Count: 1

Word Use: 2

Structure: 3

Plot: 3

Originality: 3

Character Depth/Development: 3

Creativity: 5

Enjoyment Bias: 5

Total: 25

Nara, I thouroughly enjoyed your entry. You managed to create an engaging read, and I loved the way you fit the keywords in. The period touches with the alka seltzer were very cute. Admittedly, I questioned your use of Tiger as a name... but after reading your description of him and the explanation, I was sold. It was creative, cohesive, and overall I think it was very well written and presented. Thank you. 

 

The Last Drink
 

Word Count: 1

Word Use: 1

Structure: 3

Plot: 2

Originality: 3

Character Depth/Development: 3

Creativity: 5

Enjoyment Bias: 4

Total: 20

Aatto, I liked you story a lot. I think the character progression of working through sobriety is a great depth and development to fit into 792 words. Additionally, the idea of a drunken idiot in a zoo was pretty priceless. However, while funny, it did detract a bit from word use... despite the fact that the scorpion statue was a nice touch. The plot, while hilarious and very original, felt just a bit pressured, and didn't have the overall flow and cohesiveness that I felt Nara presented. But a fine submission none the less. Over all I was very pleased.

Indellible 
 

Word Count: 1

Word Use: 1

Structure: 3

Plot: 2

Originality: 1

Character Depth/Development: 3

Creativity: 4

Enjoyment Bias: 3

Total: 18 +2 tip bonus = 20

Orianna, I always appreciate the effort you put into your writing. But personally, I have to say, I don't feel this was your best work. The depth and character progression were lovely. And, as always, your structure was superb. But you lost major points in the originality and creativity columns. It MAY have simply been a timing issue, but Nara beat you to the tattoo idea by a full three days. Which makes it hard for me to award above a one. Additionally, while wholly well written, I was also confused about how your story fits the prompt. Your writing is always amazing, and I do hope to see more of it in my future contests. There were just better submissions this round. 

 

 

I truly appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to make this something special. I know you could easily have passed over this small competition and made an easy $1Mil, but you chose to engage with creativity and put in genuine effort for a smaller prize anyway. You have my utmost gratitude and respect for that. And for that alone, you're all winners in my book. Given the hubub about this contest, and because I DID say second and third could qualify for additional prizes, the winnings are as follows: 

Nara - $500,000

Aatto - $250,000 consolation

Oriana - $250,000 consolation 

 

Please note, funds have already been transferred to your respective accounts

Nov 23, 03:26:35

Your accountant has made payment of $500,000 to Narasimhaya. The note "Flash Fiction Winnings" was included.

 

Nov 23, 03:27:40

Your accountant has made payment of $250,000 to Aatto. The note "Flash Fiction Runner Up" was included.

 

Nov 23, 03:27:13

Your accountant has made payment of $250,000 to Oriana. The note "Flash Fiction Runner Up" was included.

Please keep an eye out for a new prompt next week. I am currently in the process of building bigger prizes and more challenging guidelines. I look forward to reading what you will create with eager anticipation. <3 


Much love and gratitude, 
Theo

 

Thank you, It had to be hard to decide, everyone's entries were amazing. 

They were, and it was a pretty close race. Hoping it ends up with even more amazing entries next time!