RULES AND GUIDELINES

PROMPTS

The parts of the prompt are as follows: 

GENRE: While there are no specific story elements that absolutely must appear in your piece of fiction in order to have it count towards the selected genre, the judges will expect your story to reflect, stretch, play with, distort, or embrace the traditional fundamentals of the genre assignment. For more information on these fundamentals, please see the Genre Descriptions page.

ITEM: An item which must physically appear in the story, whether in the present action or in a flashback. An example:

ITEM: canteen

A few acceptable possible uses in story:

• Two characters share a drink from the canteen.

• A character punts a canteen into the ocean.

• A character stretches out their hand for a canteen, which is just out of reach.

A few unacceptable possible uses in story:

• Two characters discuss a cool new canteen one of them saw in a magazine.

• A character sees a sign for a new club in town called CHARLIE’S CANTEEN

• A character receives a note that reads “bring me the canteen at midnight”

PHRASE: The phrase will be a maximum of five (5) words and must be incorporated verbatim into the text, although it can be used as dialogue and end with whatever punctuation you choose. An example: 

Phrase: the butterfly flapped its wings 

Acceptable possible uses in story: 

• “No way!” David shouted. “The butterfly flapped its wings?”

• Around the bend the lion roared, and the butterfly flapped its wings. 

• When the butterfly flapped its wings, David screamed. 

Unacceptable possible uses in story: 

• With the butterfly flapping its wings, the cat couldn’t catch it. (changed the tense of “flapped”) 

• The wings of the butterfly flapped as it flew away. (although the concept of a butterfly flapping its wings is present here, the phrase has been rearranged) 

• The butterfly—aloft in the air by now—flapped its wings. (the sentence is here verbatim, but it’s been split by an aside — must be verbatim and consecutive)