910writersblog

The Possibilities of a Dream
by Makkus


The medium didn’t matter. Computer games were his favorite but he would happily submit to pen and paper, instant messaging, or email. He never had the courage to try any live-action stuff. It was probably too close to reality for him.

( I remember the first time I saw him... )

Ashes
by Elijah Sight


Where are you? I can’t see the sun! There’s so much smoke, and the air is so cold. What happened? I was home, and... There’s an awful wind. I don’t know where I am. I’ll walk a little ways…

( Where are you? Where did you go? )

Ninety Percent Man
by DecafCoffee


Ninety Percent Man gazed nervously at the rotting rope bridge before him. He wasn't nervous about crossing the bridge itself — hell, he'd traversed all sorts of perilous structures. It was just that nagging gremlin in the back of his brain. There was ten percent of his journey left to go, and he couldn't do it.

( ... )

I End The World Every Ten Minutes
by Author


"Oops," I said, and watched the world vanish as I rubbed my nose.

( 'Oh for--' my sister snapped her fingers and the world returned. The honking cars zooming by resumed without missing a beat. )

All The King's Men
by netpoet22


I wish I could fly.

( First time I tried, I discovered that not only could I not fly even one tiny little bit, I'm also not invulnerable. )

Aaaaaand here are your stories!

Round 2 specifications were:

Of Candy and Candles
by Makkus


Brooke Gray watched with a hooded gaze from the shadows as the man’s eyes darted back and forth. He didn’t appear to see her behind the counter. Crossing her arms over her ample bosom, she smiled, her fangs shining in the candlelight.

The man crept through the shadowy aisle between car fresheners and bath salts, with the body language of someone with everything to hide. His hunched shoulders and nervous movements radiated discomfort. He even appeared to be shivering, despite the warmth of the candlelit sales floor.

Her soft furry ears picked up every sound of his Italian leather shoes as they rasped against the worn wooden floorboards. He muttered to himself and despite the thirty feet separating them, Brooke could hear every word.

( “Where is it?” He scrabbled among the bath salts. “It has to be here. They told me it would be here.” )

The Amulet of Kings
by netpoet22

It was eleven-thirty, and dark as pitch. The only light glared weakly off of torches, their flames attempting in vain to pierce the looming presence of night around them. With the boredom and desolation of paupers, the guards meandered about their bored pathways, further wearing down grooves cut by their predecessors. What little training they might have gleaned during their forced service to the witch-queen availed them naught... None of them noticed me. Though the blood hadlong since rushed to my head, my perch underneath the overhang remained firm.

Finally, as happened each hour around that time, four of the guards turned the corner around the castle sides, and for sixteen and a half seconds, I was alone.

( It was more than enough time. )

The Dove and the Raven
by thereisnosaurus


On the thirteenth day the light was bright. Harsh light, as she had no doubt intended it to be, yet it was still light. To the man's eyes it was both venom and balm. It pained him but he would not give it up any more than he would the phylactery bound about his neck. To endure this in total darkness would be impossible for him.

( He shifted uncomfortably. The rock was harsh against his back and a little trickle of blood ran down between his legs where it had rubbed red raw against the stone in his attempts to loosen his bindings. )

Open Mic Night
by DecafCoffee


“Take my wife… please! I’ll give ya her mother for half-off!” sputtered the sweating, pink-faced man on stage. The two burnished iron golems standing on either side of him took a step closer, their bodies glowing a dull red, heat waves curling up around their shoulders. A small yelp crawled out of the man’s throat. He stifled it, swallowing hard. “I uh… I was looking at this blog the other day, sumpin’ about a gay guy. Didn’t know I was on the… the blogosqueer! Heh!” Teeth clenched, muscles tense, the man looked to his left.

( The golems took another step. Only one more and it’d be curtains. )

And here are the entries for Round One!

The available themes for this round were Just for Pun, a quasi-trope theme involving heavy punning, and an object theme involving <candle, mist, shine, chain> at any point in the plot. The specified range was from 3000 to 4500 words.

DecafCoffee: "Open Mic Night" - 3213 words, pun theme
thereisnosaurus: "The Dove and the Raven" - 3567 words, object theme
netpoet22: "The Amulet of Kings" - 3008 words, object theme
Makkus: "Of Candy and Candles" - 4607 words, object theme
Author: "Bell, Book, and Candle" - 3992 words, object theme

Unfortunately, Elijah Sight, Pvt. Jet, and Daracaex were unable to get their entries in this round, so these five are all we have for now. Enjoy!

And now, from the specific bowel of the Internet known as the 910CMX Community, never before seen outside those harrowing halls, here is the Second Writers' Contest, presented to you in its dramatic, diabolical, and eye-gouging entirety by Silver Blaze the Argentous and Apparently Redundant, and presided over by the esteemed Kyr "the Crafty", Yoni Wolf "the Lupinacious", and frozenchicken "the Tasty Treat in a Box"!

Assembled by the benches are your contestants, preparing to demonstrate their mastery of metaphor and pugnaciousness of pun, wizards and wannabes of wording, in no particular order: the master of long-form loquacity, thereisnosaurus; the balladeer of the, uh, blogosphere, netpoet22; the creator of conscious characters, Author; the assemblage of draconian pastries, Daracaex; the exulted Emir of Eccentricity, Elijah Sight; the prize creator devotee of the Black Brew, artist extraordinaire, DecafCoffee; the magician of the mundane, Makkus; and the preferred transportation of the rich and famous, Pvt. Jet.

Together, they will treat you to a once-in-a-lifetime experience, from which you will leave nodding your head in silent agreement or shrieking with your retinas in flames. But wait! You can get back at the contestants by registering your vote! First, ensure that you are a member of the 910CMX Community, then head over to our voting/critique thread and place a vote for the contestant you want to subject to instant and irrevocable forum fame. That person will, rest assured, wind up insane from all the attention, and you will get your revenge for that horrible migraine you got from reading. Sound good? No? Well, do it anyway.

The first round will end on September 23, 2009. Voting begins once all judge reviews have been posted.

Be sure to vote, and enjoy the stories!