Tuesday, August 17, 2010

New Contest at My Vamp Fiction!

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Hello, Lambchops! We have a message from SusanAshlea from affiliate, My Vamp Fiction, to share with you all today. Original fiction, anyone?! Woohoo!

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We all love vampires, don’t we? I mean, what’s not to love – sexy men and women, danger, lust…sounds right up our alley here at MVF. Whenever one of us picks up a new vampire book or series, we always discuss it with each other as we are reading, and one of the most popular phrases that comes out of our mouth (or keyboards, rather) is, “the author’s take on the vampire myth is really interesting…” That got us thinking, and the first MVF Original Fiction Short Story Contest was born.

We are issuing an awesome challenge to our readers this fall: write an original short story and give us your own spin on the vampire legend!

This isn’t a fan fiction challenge; this is a chance to let loose and create your own world. Do you have some brand new characters running around in your head? Have you always wondered how vampires would be different if you gave the legend a little tweak? Tired of all vampires being suave sexy men? This is your chance to get it out there!

If you are interested, and we really hope you are, here are the details:

-Word count must be between 3,000 and 20,000 words. We want to give you a chance to really develop your world and your characters. However, keep in mind this is a short story contest.

-The story must have an obvious beginning, middle and end.

-The story must be rated R or lower. This is not an erotica contest. We want to encourage new writers to work on developing the characters and their world without the use of explicit sex.

-The story must be original. Fan fiction or re-worked fan fiction will not be eligible. We want this to be your creation from beginning to end.

-The story must contain elements of vampire lore, and your spin on it. Don’t take anything for granted; write your story as though the reader has never heard of vampires.

-All characters must be original

-All entries must be properly edited and proofread for grammar and punctuation before they are accepted and posted.

We know how protective authors are of their work, so we have taken steps to ensure that your short story will remain exactly that: your short story. Your contest entry will be linked as a protected PDF file to protect against theft.

Here is how to submit your entry:

1) Once your entry is edited and proofread to correct any grammar, spelling or punctuation errors, save it to a Word .doc file.
2) Make sure to include your title, author name AND pen name in the document (author name & penname will be removed until after the winner has been announced).
3) Email your document to meesh@myvampfiction.com with “MVF original fiction contest” in the subject line.

Once you have submitted your entry, Meesh will convert your document into a protected PDF file and upload it to the website, where it will be directly linked under the title only. Your author name will not appear on the entry until after the contest is over.

Important dates:

-Entries will be accepted through 11:59pm Central Standard Time on Saturday, October 9th, 2010.
-Entries will be posted for public reading and voting on Sunday, October 10th. Voting will last until Saturday, October 30th.
-Winners will be announced on Sunday, October 31st, on MVF’s First Anniversary!


How will the winners be determined?

1) There will be two methods, each worth 50% of the final score: Popular vote & Judges score.
2) Once Meesh receives your entry, she will remove your author name, thus making this an anonymous contest. The title will still be visible however, and Meesh will not be judging or voting as she is the only one with access to author names.
3) The popular vote will begin on Sunday, October 10th and will last 20 days.

Judging & Ranking process:

1) Each judge will give the entry a score based on several factors such as character development and use of contest theme.
2) Once all judging forms have been turned in, the scores will be added up with the top score assigned the #1 ranking, the second highest score assigned the #2 ranking and so on.
3) Once the popular vote is over, the rankings will be combined with the judges scores.
4) All rankings will be averaged, with the lowest number being the highest ranked.
5) Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

Judges:

**The following people will be judging the entries for the Judges Score portion of the contest

-Nowforruin
-Chelseamcg
-Cedward
-KariAnn1222
-Mac214
-SusanAshlea
-SarahBella
-Saluki
-Jules
-Bforqueen

**It is important to note that the judges will not have any prior knowledge of the authors who have submitted entries. All judges will abstain from entering the contest as well as voting in the popular vote.

Prizes:

-we are currently developing prize packages for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place, so please watch for announcements concerning these prizes!

We will be updating with more information about prizes as we go along. If you have any questions pertaining to the contest, feel free to ask us here.

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