10/16/07

Scare-Your-Pants-Off Opening Paragraph Contest

I was recently reminded that I haven't done a contest in awhile. So in honor of Halloween, let's hear it for the Scare-Your-Pants-Off Opening Paragraph contest.


Submission Rules:
Write an opening paragraph (or two, but no more than two) for a horror story.

Maximum word count: None; but no slopping together multiple paragraphs and pretending it's just one.

No swearing or graphic gore. Set the mood with your WORDS, not with hack tricks.

Published paragraphs ineligible, as are entries for last year's contest. Other than that, you're free to recycle something you wrote previously.

Paste entire paragraph(s) into an e-mail and send to me. No attachments, please.

You may submit more than once. Send each submission in a separate e-mail.

SUBMIT it any time between now and Monday, October 29th.

I will post all paragraphs as they come in.



Voting Rules:

VOTE between October 30th and October 31st.

We'll have a Popular Vote winner and a Publisher's Choice winner. My winner will be the one who creeped me out the most. You guys can vote by whatever criteria you want, just don't make it a popularity contest.

Don't vote for yourself.

UPDATE: You may vote up to three times, but only once per paragraph. We're on the honor system here.

You may make all the comments you like, but VOTING COMMENTS must clearly indicate that it is a vote. (Ex: I'm voting for this one...)

Winner will be announced after Halloween.

PRIZE: A classic horror book of your choice (must be available in paperback and easy to find) AND full story (if there is one) posted here with a link back to your blog or website.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Whoa! Now THAT'S a challenge to get the adrenalin going. Sounds like a spooky fun contest. If I could write one without getting nightmares, I'd do it :-)

By the way, if you like treats more than tricks, there's one waiting for you on my blog.

Anonymous said...

why do I get the feeling that multiple paragraph rule is meant for me....?
*BIG grin!*