The Crypt Critters Halloween Writing Contest [Winners Announced]

reply to post by jackflap


I plan on adding chapters as long as the contest runs, so you can expect additiions every few days working itself up to a crescendo of horrors peaking around the end of October and finishing on the last day of the contest. At least, that's the plan.

I don't mind anyone commenting in the story thread, though, since new chapters will be clearly marked as such.

On the continued topic of stars and flags, I'm certainly not against seeing lots of them for creative writing. Few people know how difficult it is to write good fiction which grabs the imagination of the readers and produces colourful images in their minds as much as any movie could. In a way, it's even better because the images come from a union between the author and the reader which, to me, is much more personal than any screenplay.

That there may be a tendency to hold back on starring and flagging fictional stories is one based, imo, on a reluctance to give credence to something 'made up' rather than coming strictly from facts. ATS is a place, I've always said, where hoaxes come to die. It's the focus of our membership to find the facts either supporting or disproving an allegation and most readily seen in the Aliens and UFO's forum when questionable videos are presented as proof of their existence among us. The abilities shown by a goodly number of our members to find clues of photoshopping and assorted other evidence is clear.

So, when the greater membership, with that mindset prominent in their surfing here, see a fictional story on the Recent Posts page , they are quick to move on.

On the other hand, there are also those who can appreciate a good tale and it's those members that are drawn to the writing forums. In a way, I agree with cat and yourself in that perhaps few writers star and flag the stories created by other writers. I don't know why that might be so, but could it be something as simple as the disease known as 'Artistic Peer Exclusion Syndrome", or APES for short?

My submission, (CCHWC) The Halloween Costume, is in. I have a few friends that won't sleep after reading it! Good luck all!

reply to post by Cameoii


Read it, Cameoii... pretty intense story. I kept hoping that her fate wasn't so terrible.

Here's my story: Oh, For Someone To Play With

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by berenike


Wow! Two intriguing tales in one October night.

A dark and brooding journey for sure, berenike. Enjoyed all the subtle character building too, right up to the sudden surprise ending.

reply to post by masqua


I have a question about the use of brand names in our stories, the context wouldnt be insulting or derogatory to that brand.

Example of context..

"How do I get to McDonalds from here Joe?"

Using brands makes the story more realistic but does it clash with the T&Cs..

Thanks..

I have my idea now, thought I would choose werewolves should be finished in the next few days..

Cheers,

JQ.

Great story masqua, dont know why its not being entered in the contest though..

Originally posted by John Q

I have a question about the use of brand names in our stories, the context wouldnt be insulting or derogatory to that brand.

No problem as long as you personally don't stand to benefit from the free advertising.

It shouldn't matter if you praise or slag the company either. There are plenty of threads about (ie) Montsanto

Great story masqua, dont know why its not being entered in the contest though..

Conflict of interest. Even though I'm not actually picking the winners myself, I am involved to a degree. I just can't see agreeing with the pick of my story as a winner.

Looking forward to seeing your story, John Q.

Glad I am not competing with masqua
But a submission just the same

Decided to experiment a little with a more dialogue driven versus descriptive driven story telling by having clear divisions between the two.

My entry into this contest :

(CCHWC)Operation Gatekeeper

Good luck to each and every one of you who have entered into this contest.

May the best guy or ghoul win the contest and everyone should have fun.

I just posted my story for the contest. I called it You Never Know What You Got Till Its Taken. It is about an old Irish legend. I hope everyone enjoys it. The link is right here.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I was going to make the last part a lot more graphic but I relented.

Hello all,
I just posted my first short story on ATS ever, "The Garden."
www.abovetopsecret.com...
I don't know that it's very scary, but it does make me salivate...

Thanks for the fun. I look forward to reading more submissions.

Have a spooktacular halloween everyone

All new submissions are greatly appreciated. Looks like the judges and myself have some reading to do this weekend.



I look out of my window right now and see a sky mottled with grey clouds scudding out of the north. It's cold, just above freezing, and the past two mornings had frost on the rooftops.

Squirrels have stolen two small squash out of our garden and been nibbling on our pumpkin.

Yes, the trees are turning bright red, orange and yellow, so winter snows can't be far behind.

It's days like these that horror stories are the whipped cream on my slice of pumpkin pie.

mmm, whip cream and pie....ooopppss off topic.
for my story- see my siggy.

reply to post by masqua


Ok. Threw my hat into the ring. Early Halloween. Read, ignore, love, hate.

It's there. Hope for those that did read it, you liked it. Some "adult" content but I tried to keep the swear words to a minimum.

PG, maybe PG-13.

edit to add; it may boarder the line of T&C. Just wanted feedback from OUR PTB that it was appropriate.



[edit on 17-10-2009 by mikerussellus]

[edit on 18-10-2009 by mikerussellus]

I'm sorry, I don't have the time to peruse this thread. Minimum of 1000 words, right? Is there a maximum? I came up with an idea last night and I'm getting an itch to write.

Originally posted by intrepid
Is there a maximum?

If there is, I'm in trouble. I hope to go for as much as 20,000 words in my story. Next chapter coming soon.

Hope to see you write one, trep, and good luck in the contest.

reply to post by masqua


Oh God I TOTALLY agree masqua. I love this forum in winter months and Halloweentime seems to be the kick off for the entire holiday season as well as the best place to hang out on ATS.

Why do you suppose that is?

reply to post by antar


Well I have been getting the itch to tell my Halloween stories. Both of which are absolutely true, however the debate is whether to try to write them or if it would be better to fire up the camcorder and just tell them.

I am leaning towards the video option to use the art form of "story telling".

Hope you good people don't mind if I join you. It's my first story submission so be gentle with me. It's called The Uninvited.

Such fine story tellers on ATS. Best of luck to you all.

Okay I think I have a good story but its 1917 words. What should i do? Oh minimum of 1000! ohhhhh! i Feel stupid. for a sec I thought it said Maximum of 1000!

[edit on 22-10-2009 by GhostlyBigfoot]