The Fantasy genre is filled with cliches...I want to see them twisted! Take any common plot device, and in a short story (500--3,000 words) show me a new take on it. How about the hero that ISN'T reluctant to take the throne? How about the ugly fairy, the clumsy vampire, the wizard who changes the oil on your car?
Feel free to message me if you can't think of a cliche to twist, I can give you a long list of them. :-)
Rules:
1. Proper grammar and spelling are musts. I can deal with a few typos: btu trehe's no way in hcek I'll be albe to get tohurgh smeotihng lkie tihs. Please edit!
2. Please don't go over or under the word limit by more than 50 words.
3. The previous rule doesn't apply to poetry. If you want to write a poem with a twist, feel free to make it as long or short as you want.
4. Enter as many times as you like, but only one of your stories can win any prize.
5. Anything goes, except for erotica or excessive swearing. If more than 3% of your word count is profanity, it's excessive.
6. I'd prefer if your story wasn't humor, but if that's the only way you can think to twist your cliche, go right ahead. I'll enjoy almost anything as long as it's well written.
Feel free to message me if you can't think of a cliche to twist, I can give you a long list of them. :-)
Rules:
1. Proper grammar and spelling are musts. I can deal with a few typos: btu trehe's no way in hcek I'll be albe to get tohurgh smeotihng lkie tihs. Please edit!
2. Please don't go over or under the word limit by more than 50 words.
3. The previous rule doesn't apply to poetry. If you want to write a poem with a twist, feel free to make it as long or short as you want.
4. Enter as many times as you like, but only one of your stories can win any prize.
5. Anything goes, except for erotica or excessive swearing. If more than 3% of your word count is profanity, it's excessive.
6. I'd prefer if your story wasn't humor, but if that's the only way you can think to twist your cliche, go right ahead. I'll enjoy almost anything as long as it's well written.
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on June 7, 2007
- Rewards: Gold: 150, Silver: 50, Bronze: 25
- Final notes: There were quite a few interesting entries in this contest! I'm not going to lie, though: judging wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. The winners are stories that leapt out a grabbed me the first time I read them: they stand up on their own, they have fresh, original looks at the cliches, they flow well and show a good understanding of character, tone, etc. That's not to say I didn't enjoy all the entries: I did. I just enjoyed the top three a little more intensely, that's all. :-)
Thank you everyone for your wonderful, creative entries! I hope to see you all again in another contest!
~Bitter Irony
Contest Winners
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Dear Brother; / Greetings and salutations from the upper-most echelons! Just dropping you a note to let you know that I am thinking of you,• Commented on by judge. [remove]
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Once upon a time, in a kingdom not so far away, a young girl named Elizabeth sat at her window, dreamily looking out upon the winter-y scenby neurossection 1400 words, 6 comments, on Jun 2 1:19 PM 2007. In Fairy tale, Horror
Silver trophy winner
• Commented on by judge. [remove] - Error: Unable to find finalist item 85491, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
Gold trophy winner
Entries [8]
1 - 8 of 8
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• Commented on by judge. Prewrite
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The blow had knocked Roland clean back over the table, glasses crashing to the floor and shattering in a cascade of diamond-edged shards. Mby motown-junk 1700 words, 6 comments, on May 30 3:45 PM 2007. In 200-1500 lines, Action, Fantasy, Third person, Tragedy, Unedited• Commented on by judge. Prewrite
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by antibeautiful 1400 words, 1 comment, on Jun 3 12:12 AM 2007. In Fantasy, First person, Other, Sad, Tragedy• Commented on by judge.
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Seven times I kicked that little rock, waiting for the answers to light inside of me. What did he mean? What was he expecting me to say? /by Domine Pestilentia 500 words, 2 comments, on Jun 5 6:39 PM 2007. In• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
1 - 7 of 7
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heh
I don't know about cliches, but my favorite dramatic device would be when the main character finds out an upsetting bit of news and then VOMITS in response.
I know it sounds weird, but seriously? If you watch any 'dramatic' show for a long enough time, it'll happen.
Girl: But, Johnny! You're not my baby's father!
Johnny: Oh my god. *barfs*
I crack up every time. It's just such a melodramatic response. So totally my favorite. -
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Delfishie--
If you can think of a way to twist that cliche, be my guest. :-) I'm not sure if that's fantasy-related enough for this contest, but I'd certainly be interested in reading it!
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um...I think I have a twist...but it's maybe over 4,000 words...{sighs} and even then I don't know if it qualifies 4 your contest! Good luck with this, though!
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I can accept a 4,000 word story if you'd like to try: your chances of winning might be lower than a shorter one, but hey, if you really need and use every word, I won't mind. If it doesn't work for the competition, that's fine, too; I'll leave it in the contest so it can get some publicity, it just probably won't win.
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Break a fantasy cliche without satirizing it? Quite a challenge. I will have to see what I can work up.
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List of Cliches
For some reason, I can't manage to message anyone from my computer, so here's a list of ten cliches from my list:let me know if none of these are working for you, and I'll post some more.
1. A peasant/servant/other commoner turns out to be the heir to the throne, and is better at ruling than the old king or any of his advisors.
2. The hero has a "wise old mentor" who explains everything to him, for example, why certain esoteric groups were set up and why the king is evil and how dragons give birth.
3. The princess is forced into an arranged marriage and is unhappy about it, even if it advances her politically.
4. Everyone likes the hero, and if they don't like the hero, they must be evil.
5. The wizard is always a wizard, not someone like Rasputin pretending to have magic and really being a hypnotist or what have you.
6. Politics are no-nos: big battles where thousands of people die solve everything.
7. It's set in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. (Personally, I would love to see a fantasy set in the 18th century--if you'd like to write it, I'd love to read it!)
8. There are always clear gender roles: women are either repressed or the dominant sex. There is no such thing as gender equality in cliched fantasy.
9. The heroine is always beautiful: the hero is always handsome: the villian is either disgustingly ugly or "coldly" beautiful/handsome.
10. There will be a magic artifact: a ring, a sword, a jewel, a crown, etc.
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I'll def. enter this one... I think i'll do mine about a dark lord... hmm...
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