FLASH CHALLENGE: December '09
Posted: December 11, 2009, 10:42:03 AM
"A Winter Wish" Challenge:
Winter fills some with dread, but it always inspires me. Fluffy white flakes gently waft down, covering hills and homes. Accumulation slowly erases the previous year, creating a clean slate for the world to start anew next spring. It always seems like magical moment to me, a point where anything could begin.
Let's roll with that. Let us embrace the magic of that moment and create stories where the seemingly impossible becomes possible, where dreams are realized, be it for better or for worse, in winter's icy embrace.
I challenge you to craft a story where a wish is granted in a winter setting.
See the example at the end of this post for a possibility.
RULES
NOTE: Due to recent controversy, there are some new, unfortunately quite long, rule changes below.
CHALLENGE REQUIREMENTS: (1) Your SF/F story must contain a wish fulfilled and a winter setting; (2) One entry per author; and (3) This is a Rated 'PG-13' challenge.
FORMATTING: 1,000 words or less, not counting title, byline, or "The End". Give your story a title and a byline. Leave an extra line between paragraphs, just like when you see them in the 'zine. Smart quotes (quotes that turn in, i.e. “ or ’) do not display correctly on all computers so use the inch and foot symbols (" & ') instead. I will allow different colors, but not changed fonts or sizes, artwork, or any other embedded or external links. You are responsible for doing your own formatting.
NEW! CHARACTERS & SETTING: No copyrighted characters or settings, or references thereto. Famous, non-copyrighted fictional characters like Santa Claus, or religious figures such as the Devil, angels, or Thor, as supporting characters at best and at my discretion. The Wicked Witch and Dracula may be in the public domain, but don't expect me to allow them. No person that was ever a human being may be used as a character, but can be referred to, as in "President Kennedy would appear there later that day." Characters, except as noted above, must be used in their original appearance only. All non-copyrighted settings are ok. Famous, unique sites like the International Space Station, the Oval Office, or the Brooklyn Bridge, etc. may be used over and again. No fan fiction or sequels, so don't bother putting your story in the Land of Oz or that great place you thought up three challenges ago.
NEW! DISQUALIFICATIONS/REFUSALS: If, in my judgment, any requirement or rule is missed, I won't post the story for voting, but authors are free to resubmit with changes until the deadline. Should a story be initially accepted and posted in the challenge, but then later judged by me to be in violation, the story may be disqualified and removed from contention at any time prior to contest end. Authors who feel a story may be in violation should send me a PM and state their case.
HOW TO ENTER: Stories must be sent by PRIVATE MESSAGE, and NOT posted into a thread. Just click the 'PM' button at the bottom of this post and paste your story in the message.
DO NOT send a regular email to me.
CONTEST PROCEDURE: Stories will be posted "blind"--without the author's name on them. All the story titles are literally tossed into a hat and chosen at in random order. When the poll closes after the voting week, I'll post a list of the stories and who wrote them. The winner is chosen based on total points scored. All entries are reposted in the Flash Archive with the author's byline included after the challenge is concluded.
Entries from new authors are strongly encouraged. C'mon. Give it a try!
NOTE: ONLY REGISTERED MEMBERS who have posted at least one message may submit a story. Without that one post, the system may not let you send a PM.
DEADLINE: Stories should be in by 9 p.m. Central Standard Time (GMT-6), Wednesday, December 23, 2009. The stories will then be posted for voting at 10 p.m. Voting will close on Dec. 29th at approximately 10 p.m., GMT-6.
NEW! VOTING: Stories are rated on a scale of 0-10 in whole numbers in 6 different categories by filling in scores in a form that is posted by me immediately following the post containing the stories for this challenge. Voters copy and paste the form into a PM and send it to me for tallying. One vote per user (that is, per ip address), and authors may not vote for their own story.
Every effort will be made to keep the voting fair. In the past, some voters have abstained from voting for some of the stories while voting for the others. Since total points scored decides the winner, this put the stories that weren't voted on at a disadvantage. Should this happen again, the skipped stories will be given marks equaling whatever the story's average is at the time of contest close. IF YOU WISH TO SCORE A ZERO FOR A STORY, YOU MUST ENTER A ZERO IN THAT POSITION ON THE VOTING FORM. A challenge entrant who does not vote for the other stories will receive a 10% deduction in their own score at the time of contest close, and the other stories will be given marks equaling whatever their story's average is at the time of contest close.
If more than two stories are tied at the end of voting, there will be a succession of one-day runoff votes until a single winner is chosen or the number of winners is reduced to two.
WHAT YOU WIN: Writers get improved short fiction skills, increasing their chances in the marketplace, without the lengthy investment in time a longer story would take. That, as well as bragging rights and pride--there is stiff competition each month amongst some great stories.
LEGAL STUFF: Aphelion will not try to make a dime off you or your stories. Really. We want to see you succeed but nothing about that will line Aphelion's pockets. We love fiction and we love seeing authors get better to the point where people do pay them for their stories. That's why we're in this.
I'll try to do my best lawyer impersonation: By entering this challenge you are technically granting Aphelion: The Webzine of Science Fiction and Fantasy perpetual electronic rights only to post and archive your challenge entry. Aphelion would rather not lay any claim on them at all, but by posting them on a public site, they'd legally count as being published no matter what.
Ok. A real lawyer would have been less interesting. I tried.
Example story, not eligible for entry:
Solace
By:
N.J. Kailhofer
"Lotería!" Jax couldn't have explained to anyone from the ship why the sight of the snow falling outside the window under the planet's glow made him catch his breath in his throat, but it did. Maybe it was because the ship never had weather. Rain was like a water shower on the ship, which he had tried, but snow was different.
The flakes floating past the window mesmerized him. Where do they go? He wished he could see.
This metal blister on this nameless ball of mud gave him everything he needed to live while they he waited, but it was too late. Through his tiny window, he watched the creatures slide into oblivion as the microbes ate away at them, all of them. There weren't even puddles left where their bodies used to be.
Soon, his prison cell would finally die, too. This moon rotated so slowly that night lasted three years, and the life support system on the escape pod wouldn't take it.
But when it finally breathes it's last gasp, it will open the doors.
[align=center]***[/align]
Marta rolled over in the bunk and draped her long leg over his. "Why do you have to go?"
Jax sighed and ran his fingers through her black hair. "Because everyone not as good as me failed. Because those creatures are the greatest challenge in the known galaxy. Because who knows what else they may find further on? Maybe nothing, and we might have to return with nothing unless I find a way to communicate with them. Because it's my job."
"I don't care." Her brown eyes burned. "Isn't there any way out? The center planets are so far from here, by the time the ship comes back to you, my dear Jacinto, you'll be old and gray. I want to have children. I am noble born. One of my sons could be the next Captain, but not without a father who is a senior officer to help him, to shield him from his rivals and enemies until he is strong, with many victories and great discoveries to his name. My girls will marry into strong houses, building the alliances we'll need. Together, we could forge a dynasty that lasts until we return to Earth, three centuries from now."
He lied, "It's my duty, alone."
Her eyes glared. "Esto es el colmo!" With that, she stormed out of the room.
[align=center]***[/align]
At the edge of the window, Jax could still see the wreckage of the shuttle.
All antigualla. Maybe if they hadn't thought the wreckage was food, they might have ingested less human bacteria. I might have had someone to talk to.
"Hey, gorrón," his teacher used to say. "Is all you do stand around and gab all day?"
"Hell, yes," Jax would reply. "There isn't anything else to do unless I want to get in a fight or chase chicas."
The old man would smile. "You will. Your generation will get to do it all. I'll be long dead and you'll be standing on another planet, probably chasing alien chicas instead."
The thought made him laugh. The gray, shambling figures that roamed the surface never even reminded him of Marta. They barely took notice of him. He knew they were intelligent, to a point. They had a social order, and he identified leaders and took detailed notes, like a dutiful officer should, but he could never tell if they ever saw him or heard him screaming.
Then they all melted away and left him trapped inside the small pod.
[align=center]***[/align]
"Hey, Jax!"
A face peeked out from the bunk above him. "Amigo. She left you, eh?"
Jax sighed at Rico, his roommate. "You know she did. You watched her leave."
Rico hopped down and sat on the side of the bed. "Whatcha gonna do? From hour 16 to hour 24 this is our room. We live together."
As if I could forget. "What do you want?"
"You sure you won't get back together?"
"No."
"You don't mind then, if I see her?"
Jax blinked at his thickheaded bunkmate. "Why her?"
Rico smiled. "Oh, c'mon! I hear you two all the time, almost every night. She really gets into it. A man would be a fool to not want that."
Jax headed for the door. "Be careful what you wish for."
In the corridor, he pushed past the Low Ones waiting to get into the washroom. Senior officers don't wait in lines, he reminded himself.
"Damn." Every urine receptacle was busy. An oral sanitizer was open, so he cleaned his teeth while he waited. It was just as packed in his deck's galley. At that hour they only had stimudrink #4, but at least he found the last spot near his favorite window where three seats were mounted a centimeter more apart than the others. The liquid made him feel awake as he stared out the window at the large, curved stretch of the outer hull in front of him.
If only something would break, I could go out there, but nothing ever broke down.
[align=center]***[/align]
The light flickered. The time had to be soon. The food synthesizer was shut down and the temperature in the pod was dropping.
There! Faintly, Jax could hear the pins begin to retract inside the door. The pod is still obeying quarantine safety procedure, protecting my life until it can't anymore, then it will open the doors to give me one last chance to find my own way to survive instead of suffocating from carbon dioxide.
A low moan came from the ceiling above him, from pipes freezing and metal cooling, probably for the first time since the ship initialized in Earth orbit. He'd disabled the audio warnings.
A red light flashed next to the door, ticking away the moments until freedom could be his.
The door started to move.
Taking his last breath, Jax peacefully stepped out into the thick methane snow, into the wide open he'd always wished for.
Alone.
[align=center]The End[/align]
Winter fills some with dread, but it always inspires me. Fluffy white flakes gently waft down, covering hills and homes. Accumulation slowly erases the previous year, creating a clean slate for the world to start anew next spring. It always seems like magical moment to me, a point where anything could begin.
Let's roll with that. Let us embrace the magic of that moment and create stories where the seemingly impossible becomes possible, where dreams are realized, be it for better or for worse, in winter's icy embrace.
I challenge you to craft a story where a wish is granted in a winter setting.
See the example at the end of this post for a possibility.
RULES
NOTE: Due to recent controversy, there are some new, unfortunately quite long, rule changes below.
CHALLENGE REQUIREMENTS: (1) Your SF/F story must contain a wish fulfilled and a winter setting; (2) One entry per author; and (3) This is a Rated 'PG-13' challenge.
FORMATTING: 1,000 words or less, not counting title, byline, or "The End". Give your story a title and a byline. Leave an extra line between paragraphs, just like when you see them in the 'zine. Smart quotes (quotes that turn in, i.e. “ or ’) do not display correctly on all computers so use the inch and foot symbols (" & ') instead. I will allow different colors, but not changed fonts or sizes, artwork, or any other embedded or external links. You are responsible for doing your own formatting.
NEW! CHARACTERS & SETTING: No copyrighted characters or settings, or references thereto. Famous, non-copyrighted fictional characters like Santa Claus, or religious figures such as the Devil, angels, or Thor, as supporting characters at best and at my discretion. The Wicked Witch and Dracula may be in the public domain, but don't expect me to allow them. No person that was ever a human being may be used as a character, but can be referred to, as in "President Kennedy would appear there later that day." Characters, except as noted above, must be used in their original appearance only. All non-copyrighted settings are ok. Famous, unique sites like the International Space Station, the Oval Office, or the Brooklyn Bridge, etc. may be used over and again. No fan fiction or sequels, so don't bother putting your story in the Land of Oz or that great place you thought up three challenges ago.
NEW! DISQUALIFICATIONS/REFUSALS: If, in my judgment, any requirement or rule is missed, I won't post the story for voting, but authors are free to resubmit with changes until the deadline. Should a story be initially accepted and posted in the challenge, but then later judged by me to be in violation, the story may be disqualified and removed from contention at any time prior to contest end. Authors who feel a story may be in violation should send me a PM and state their case.
HOW TO ENTER: Stories must be sent by PRIVATE MESSAGE, and NOT posted into a thread. Just click the 'PM' button at the bottom of this post and paste your story in the message.
DO NOT send a regular email to me.
CONTEST PROCEDURE: Stories will be posted "blind"--without the author's name on them. All the story titles are literally tossed into a hat and chosen at in random order. When the poll closes after the voting week, I'll post a list of the stories and who wrote them. The winner is chosen based on total points scored. All entries are reposted in the Flash Archive with the author's byline included after the challenge is concluded.
Entries from new authors are strongly encouraged. C'mon. Give it a try!
NOTE: ONLY REGISTERED MEMBERS who have posted at least one message may submit a story. Without that one post, the system may not let you send a PM.
DEADLINE: Stories should be in by 9 p.m. Central Standard Time (GMT-6), Wednesday, December 23, 2009. The stories will then be posted for voting at 10 p.m. Voting will close on Dec. 29th at approximately 10 p.m., GMT-6.
NEW! VOTING: Stories are rated on a scale of 0-10 in whole numbers in 6 different categories by filling in scores in a form that is posted by me immediately following the post containing the stories for this challenge. Voters copy and paste the form into a PM and send it to me for tallying. One vote per user (that is, per ip address), and authors may not vote for their own story.
Every effort will be made to keep the voting fair. In the past, some voters have abstained from voting for some of the stories while voting for the others. Since total points scored decides the winner, this put the stories that weren't voted on at a disadvantage. Should this happen again, the skipped stories will be given marks equaling whatever the story's average is at the time of contest close. IF YOU WISH TO SCORE A ZERO FOR A STORY, YOU MUST ENTER A ZERO IN THAT POSITION ON THE VOTING FORM. A challenge entrant who does not vote for the other stories will receive a 10% deduction in their own score at the time of contest close, and the other stories will be given marks equaling whatever their story's average is at the time of contest close.
If more than two stories are tied at the end of voting, there will be a succession of one-day runoff votes until a single winner is chosen or the number of winners is reduced to two.
WHAT YOU WIN: Writers get improved short fiction skills, increasing their chances in the marketplace, without the lengthy investment in time a longer story would take. That, as well as bragging rights and pride--there is stiff competition each month amongst some great stories.
LEGAL STUFF: Aphelion will not try to make a dime off you or your stories. Really. We want to see you succeed but nothing about that will line Aphelion's pockets. We love fiction and we love seeing authors get better to the point where people do pay them for their stories. That's why we're in this.
I'll try to do my best lawyer impersonation: By entering this challenge you are technically granting Aphelion: The Webzine of Science Fiction and Fantasy perpetual electronic rights only to post and archive your challenge entry. Aphelion would rather not lay any claim on them at all, but by posting them on a public site, they'd legally count as being published no matter what.
Ok. A real lawyer would have been less interesting. I tried.
Example story, not eligible for entry:
Solace
By:
N.J. Kailhofer
"Lotería!" Jax couldn't have explained to anyone from the ship why the sight of the snow falling outside the window under the planet's glow made him catch his breath in his throat, but it did. Maybe it was because the ship never had weather. Rain was like a water shower on the ship, which he had tried, but snow was different.
The flakes floating past the window mesmerized him. Where do they go? He wished he could see.
This metal blister on this nameless ball of mud gave him everything he needed to live while they he waited, but it was too late. Through his tiny window, he watched the creatures slide into oblivion as the microbes ate away at them, all of them. There weren't even puddles left where their bodies used to be.
Soon, his prison cell would finally die, too. This moon rotated so slowly that night lasted three years, and the life support system on the escape pod wouldn't take it.
But when it finally breathes it's last gasp, it will open the doors.
[align=center]***[/align]
Marta rolled over in the bunk and draped her long leg over his. "Why do you have to go?"
Jax sighed and ran his fingers through her black hair. "Because everyone not as good as me failed. Because those creatures are the greatest challenge in the known galaxy. Because who knows what else they may find further on? Maybe nothing, and we might have to return with nothing unless I find a way to communicate with them. Because it's my job."
"I don't care." Her brown eyes burned. "Isn't there any way out? The center planets are so far from here, by the time the ship comes back to you, my dear Jacinto, you'll be old and gray. I want to have children. I am noble born. One of my sons could be the next Captain, but not without a father who is a senior officer to help him, to shield him from his rivals and enemies until he is strong, with many victories and great discoveries to his name. My girls will marry into strong houses, building the alliances we'll need. Together, we could forge a dynasty that lasts until we return to Earth, three centuries from now."
He lied, "It's my duty, alone."
Her eyes glared. "Esto es el colmo!" With that, she stormed out of the room.
[align=center]***[/align]
At the edge of the window, Jax could still see the wreckage of the shuttle.
All antigualla. Maybe if they hadn't thought the wreckage was food, they might have ingested less human bacteria. I might have had someone to talk to.
"Hey, gorrón," his teacher used to say. "Is all you do stand around and gab all day?"
"Hell, yes," Jax would reply. "There isn't anything else to do unless I want to get in a fight or chase chicas."
The old man would smile. "You will. Your generation will get to do it all. I'll be long dead and you'll be standing on another planet, probably chasing alien chicas instead."
The thought made him laugh. The gray, shambling figures that roamed the surface never even reminded him of Marta. They barely took notice of him. He knew they were intelligent, to a point. They had a social order, and he identified leaders and took detailed notes, like a dutiful officer should, but he could never tell if they ever saw him or heard him screaming.
Then they all melted away and left him trapped inside the small pod.
[align=center]***[/align]
"Hey, Jax!"
A face peeked out from the bunk above him. "Amigo. She left you, eh?"
Jax sighed at Rico, his roommate. "You know she did. You watched her leave."
Rico hopped down and sat on the side of the bed. "Whatcha gonna do? From hour 16 to hour 24 this is our room. We live together."
As if I could forget. "What do you want?"
"You sure you won't get back together?"
"No."
"You don't mind then, if I see her?"
Jax blinked at his thickheaded bunkmate. "Why her?"
Rico smiled. "Oh, c'mon! I hear you two all the time, almost every night. She really gets into it. A man would be a fool to not want that."
Jax headed for the door. "Be careful what you wish for."
In the corridor, he pushed past the Low Ones waiting to get into the washroom. Senior officers don't wait in lines, he reminded himself.
"Damn." Every urine receptacle was busy. An oral sanitizer was open, so he cleaned his teeth while he waited. It was just as packed in his deck's galley. At that hour they only had stimudrink #4, but at least he found the last spot near his favorite window where three seats were mounted a centimeter more apart than the others. The liquid made him feel awake as he stared out the window at the large, curved stretch of the outer hull in front of him.
If only something would break, I could go out there, but nothing ever broke down.
[align=center]***[/align]
The light flickered. The time had to be soon. The food synthesizer was shut down and the temperature in the pod was dropping.
There! Faintly, Jax could hear the pins begin to retract inside the door. The pod is still obeying quarantine safety procedure, protecting my life until it can't anymore, then it will open the doors to give me one last chance to find my own way to survive instead of suffocating from carbon dioxide.
A low moan came from the ceiling above him, from pipes freezing and metal cooling, probably for the first time since the ship initialized in Earth orbit. He'd disabled the audio warnings.
A red light flashed next to the door, ticking away the moments until freedom could be his.
The door started to move.
Taking his last breath, Jax peacefully stepped out into the thick methane snow, into the wide open he'd always wished for.
Alone.
[align=center]The End[/align]
...well, really there are many other hardest works around...eh,eh...