FLASH CHALLENGE: August '07

[kailhofer]

This month's challenge is about creating great characters.

As writers, we work hard to create characters to be loved or villains to despise. We sweat blood over the details of their existence, striving to create the perfect individual. Thing is, perfect people aren't very fun for our audience to read about. That is, a hero who can handle every problem in any situation never fully engages the reader, never draws them in.

We often forget to give our creations flaws. Their flawed existence and how they cope with their problem is a big part of what makes them appealing to the audience. Frankly, Superman without that longing to tell the truth to, and be with, Lois Lane is, well, boring after a little while. Imagine Serenity/Firefly if Mal had told Inara that he loved her in the beginning of the series. That whole dynamic stops in its tracks!

So, to help us learn to create those great characters, this month we'll start by making their flaw obvious. Very obvious, and maybe just a bit silly in a lighthearted way, too.

REQUIREMENTS: (1) In a modern or futuristic city, write a story using a character with something absurdly wrong about them. The absurd thing may be physical, like a pipe wrench for an arm, or emotional, like your character is deathly afraid of socks, or mental, like your character can only say, "I like traffic lights." Anything along those lines will be allowed. HINT: It helps to plan the absurd thing to be the key to solving the relevant issue; (2) Include a cane, a character less than 18 years of age, and a food item; (3) 1,000 words or less; (4) 'PG13' or lightly 'R' content, please; and (5) Give your story a title and let me know how you want your name listed after the contest.

If, in my judgment, any requirement is missed, I won't post the story for voting. Sorry, but rules are for everyone.

HOW TO ENTER: Stories should be submitted to me by PRIVATE MESSAGE, and NOT posted into the thread. If you've never sent a PM, all you have to do is log into this forum and click the 'PM' button at the bottom of this post. That will take you to a special message board, a kind of Aphelion-only email, where you paste your story into the body of the message and then send it to me. You are responsible for doing your own formatting, and for the sake of uniformity, please leave an extra line between paragraphs, just like when you see them in the 'zine. Please, DO NOT send a regular email to me--I don't want to risk a spam filter blocking someone's hard work.

ANY REGISTERED MEMBER may submit a story. Please do.

DEADLINE: Stories should be in by 10 p.m. Central Standard Time, Aug 21, 2007. The stories will then be posted for voting. Voting will close at 10 p.m. C.S.T. on Aug 27.

VOTING: Once again, the stories will be posted "blind"--that is, without the author's name on them. This is to make things as fair as they can be, without favorites to be played, and allows for anyone to enter. Names won't be on the poll for voting, and all the story titles are literally tossed into a hat (a pith helmet, actually) and chosen at in random order. When I close the poll after the voting week, I'll post a list of the stories and who wrote them.

GUEST ACCESS: I'm still going to allow guest access, so by all means, tell your friends to read all the stories and vote for the one they like best.

Guest access also means that any registered member may legally vote for TWO favorites. The 1st time as a guest, choose one favorite. Then, as a logged in member, pick another. Any more guest votes than that from the same networks seems like stuffing the ballot box, and is blocked by the software as I understand it.



EXAMPLE STORY Not eligible for entry

[right]1,000 words[/right]

[center]Business Unusual
By:
N.J. Kailhofer[/center]


Althea stopped texting her friends at the mall, mid-keystroke.

A bald man with a plunger stuck to the top of his head was stuck in the shop's doorway, the handle tight against the frame.

He unscrewed the handle from the black rubber base, straightened his gray business suit, and then used the stick like a cane as he walked up to the counter. The base of the plunger was still high on the back of his head.

After a moment, she asked, "Jewish?"

"No," he said, "just like to be prepared. I'm Delbert Lunt. Is Madame Oberlin in? I need a reading."

Her eyebrows rose. "I am Madame Althea, her daughter. How can I help you?"

"I have to find the Rharlac."

When her mom left to go to the bank, Althea just knew it was going to be one of those days.

"The Rharlac? Lovecraftian beastie? Tentacles everywhere?"

He brightened. "Good. You know it. I need to find it."

"What for?" She cringed. Never ask customers why.

He ignored the question. "Crystallomancy or astromancy?"

She didn't know how to do either. "I think cartomancy instead."

He frowned. "I don't have time for tarot card nonsense."

"Mister Lunt, if you want to find a creature that powerful, it will require the strongest skill I have."

She pulled out a tall stack of business card-sized slips and fanned them out in front of her, the written side away from Lunt.

He shrugged. "How do I find the Rharlac?"

He drew a card. "By Jove, you're right."

It read, Take the girl with you.

"What?! I didn't make one saying that! Besides, I can't leave."

He laid ten $1000 bills on the counter. "I can compensate you for your time."

She looked at the money. They needed it.

"No disrespect, sir," she said, "but I don't know you."

His 'cane' tapped the floor. "Does your mother have a phone, some way you can reach her? Ask her? I'll go to the butcher shop while you call. We'll need fresh meat."

He whirled out the door.

She stared at the money. It was more than she had ever seen. She knew they were never going to give her mother a loan--what reputable institution paid to keep fortunetellers in business? Without that cash, they'd be out on the street. She thought hard about it.

He returned with a small, white-paper package. "What did she say?"

Althea bit her lip. "That ten thousand is not enough for the Rharlac."

He added to the stack. "Shrewd, your mother."

$30,000! She clutched it in her hand. "I'll just put this in the safe, and we'll be off."

In the back room, she wrote a note about going to the ATM for change.

Lunt waited by the door. "We'll need those cards."

Her throat was dry. They had to have that money, but Althea knew she shouldn't have agreed--she could wind up on a milk carton.

"Which way is the Rharlac?"

He drew another card. Down.

Across the street, Lunt forced open a manhole and climbed down.

"Ew!" Althea held her nose.

"Come on down."

The rungs on the ladder felt wet and gritty, the air stale and heavy. Before she was even halfway, the darkness pressed in on her. Her foot plunged into gray liquid, and she tried to remember if these sewers were just for storm water or not. Lunt waited at the bottom with a small flashlight.

[center]***[/center]

The fortunes lead them through the sewers until there were only a few cards left.

"Listen!" Lunt cupped his hand to his ear.

The sound of him running away with the only light filled her senses, and she stumbled after him. When Althea caught up, he was standing by a support pillar.

"It's just over there."

She couldn't see anything.

He pointed his light at his own face and leaned close. "I need you to stay here and point this light at it. If you don't, it will get us both."

Althea felt something metal touch her wrist, then heard the sound of a handcuff close.

She tried to pull away, but it was too late.

Lunt pulled her other arm around the pole and locked it tight.

"Hey! Let me go!"

He put the flashlight in her hand. "Keep the light on it."

"What!?" Something moved in the dark. Instinctively, she pointed the light.

The Rharlac was just feet away from them. A mass of tentacles, like a giant squid, filled most of the passageway. She saw Lunt screw the handle back onto the plunger on the top of his head, and then pull it off, keeping the cup part upright.

"Mighty Rharlac!" he shouted. "I have brought you a sacrifice!"

She shook. "Hey! No!"

Lunt removed the steak from inside the plunger and threw it. The monster caught the body-temperature meat and pulled it down underneath itself. Seconds later, its tentacles rolled upwards. She saw the mouth of the Rharlac--a beak the size of a man's fist. Above, it's black eyes locked on hers.

It squirmed toward her.

She screamed.

Lunt whirled between the tentacles, jabbing his plunger over the beak.

He plunged like a madman.

The monster convulsed, and then she saw a bright light inside the creature.

Lunt pulled.

A globe of light inched out.

The light shriveled to the size of a marble and stopped glowing. Lunt dropped it into his pocket.

The creature morphed, taking on the shape of a person.

"Mom?"

"Althea?" Madame Oberlin, shaken, looked around. "Mr. Lunt? The banker?"

Lunt said, "Those weren't treats in that bowl. You ate one before I could stop you."

He unlocked Althea, and she hugged her mother.

Althea looked back at Lunt. "How did you make the cards work?"

"You did that, not me. Your gift is real."

Her mother smiled at Althea, and then asked, "Why would you have such a thing on your desk?"

"Flexible payment plan." He grinned. "Banking is a lot more exciting than people think."


[center]The End[/center]

[Robert_Moriyama]

I'm in -- and anybody who EVER wants to get a story published on my watch better vote for my story. It's the one with a weird guy, a teenager, and a food item. And the weirdness is vital to the outcome of the story, so don't be fooled by any Edward Scissorhands knock-offs where the scissors are never used for anything.

Robert "Victory or death (to my competitors)" M. >:(

[Robert_Moriyama]

guess everyone'll be submitting serials from now on! hahahahahah oi...

Then I shall be forced to use my Secret Editorial Powers to influence McCamy's tastes so she rejects submissions by traitorous curs such as thee. Yessssss -- I shall become a Serial killer. [smiley=evil.gif]

[Robert_Moriyama]

8 days since the challenge was posted -- how many entries so far? :-?

[kailhofer]

8 days since the challenge was posted -- how many entries so far? :-?

So far, you've got a 50-50 shot at winning. I've got a friend, however, that if he can actually write the idea he told me about, he'd kick both your stories' butts--but it would be his first story ever. That's a big hurdle for your first time.

I'm still trying to figure out what it is that lures people to try. The hearing impaired challenge had 9 entries, and was about making characters as much as describing the world without one sense. This one was also about building characters. I tried giving more required items, thinking that if there were more points to line up it might maybe make it easier, not harder, to create a plot. Maybe fewer requirements are better. I can try that next time.

Maybe it was Dan putting it in his editorial that time. I don't know.

Either case, I sure would love to find what it takes to attract someone new. Nothing against the outstanding entries Usual Suspects have put forth, but one of my goals is to attract new writers.

So if anybody is out there, the field is wide open. Only 2 entries so far. It doesn't have to be deep and serious or light and funny. Anything in-between is ok, too. Perhaps your character is unintentionally naked (keep it clean). Maybe your hero has two left feet, literally. Maybe they didn't have a belly button, and they want to keep it quiet. Maybe he or she can only wear tan colors or they'll freak out. Maybe he's normal if it's dark, but in daylight takes the shape (not in a costume) of a one of those store mascots you see at street corners. Anything.

Deadline: Tuesday, Aug. 21, 10:00 central standard time.

Give it a try, please!

Nate

[kailhofer]

It's up to 3 now, and I feel much better about the whole thing. Plus, this person hadn't entered before, so that's icing on the cake.

Anyone else care to give it a try? Reminder: the winning entry will be published in the 'Best Of' issue at the end of the year, and that is something you can brag about.


Nate

[kailhofer]

It's now a 4-way race, with more than 2 days to go. Way to go Aphelionites! Keep 'em coming!

I'm so proud to be a part of this. These challenges I've given are hard. They're not about writing just to have a contest, like you see in some other zines. They're meant to make us work at it (and that includes me too), to help us master a new skill or technique, as well as inspire us to write something new every month.

I continue to be amazed at the stories that come in, just how good they are. They're better than I could have dreamed for a contest such as this. Really, honestly.

In a way, it's a shame that they all can't be published--because they're good enough--but I think that makes winning all that more special.

If you've submitted an entry to any of these challenges, my hat's off to you. (Well, a pith helmet actually, since that's what I pick the order they appear out of.) Good work!

And don't let me scare anyone off. You don't have to be one of the Usual Suspects. This could be your first story ever. That's ok. All things are equal, and everyone has even chances. This can be a great learning experience. Give it a try.


Nate

[kailhofer]

Woo-hoo! 6 now!

This is just cool. I'm practically bouncing in my chair at this point.

Nate