Flash Fiction Festival
Magnesium chalk held above a tepid puddle of water. A vintage periscoping camera bulb. The second-story inebriants at Mardi Gras. That perfectly ripe avocado.
Can you time the perfect scene whilst your scene is timed?
Saddle the horse that best catches your fancy, msg your colors in order to ante, and race your story like a masked vigilante.
Two straightaways and two arcing bends
are all the separate the means from the ends.
Whither withdrawing enough funds from a finite bank,
where will you fall in the finishing line's rank?
Where will your horse take you?
The Rules
Reserve your place in the Cup by msging myself with your desired horse and what coloured silks you will be riding in. This step is first claimed, first awarded on basis of time stamp if two noders are competing for one title. Enter Prosenoder's Cup 2018 by submitting a work of flash fiction to that node AFTER the contest has officially opened at midnight server time March 1st. The title of your work must be the name of one of the horses below (please make your title bold and aligned left at the beginning of your entry). Your entry may be of any genre desired, but is limited by design to be 300 words or less. This is flash fiction in the poetic sense of the word. Stories should flash like ancient camera background lights; stories should simmer like sublimating ice. See also: postcard fiction.
Note: All entries will be posted within the node Prosenoder's Cup 2018. I'll be linking from this page to that one by way of {Prosenoder's Cup 2018{by everyone}|Title below}.
The Race
The contest is officially open March 1st, at zero hour server time (entry will be open until March 15th midnight, giving two weeks and a day of voting and chinging entrants). The gap between this announcement and the contest opening is to give all participants plenty of time to prepare their submission, as ideally all entrants will be posting sometime early in the month. The first writeup of the Prosenoder's Cup 2018 node will be 1) a reference guide for readers, sharing knowledge of the rules 2) a starting gun for all eager racers. Do not post a writeup before this definition entry, we're trying to keep the air time of all writeups as fair as possible, with no false starts.
Speaking of we, the wise and gracious Tem42 has agreed to bestow honours to the most deserving of word jockeys:
All entrants will be judged based upon their net reputation at midnight server time March 15th (15 becoming 16)
Show: 250 gp!!
Place: 600 gp!!
Win: 1,000 gp!!!
Additional 150 gp bonuses will be awarded to the two individuals with the highest goodness as well as the most C!s (caveat: unless already a winner).
As a reward for entering all riders will be gifted 10gp for each C! they earn on a writeup and 1gp for every net point of reputation.
The earlier you submit your work, the more time the E2 populace will have to upvote your brilliant submission.
You are going to submit something brilliant, aren't you?
Remember - most of all, this is not a contest about horse stories. This is a contest about riding stories like horses.
Ride light, ride fast, and be sure to lean at the finish.
The Rides
Note to those allergic to metaphor: This festival contest is a race, upon a racetrack. The authors are, for a little while, riders and their titles their steeds. Claro? Let's begin.
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
Potential Title by
YOUR NAME HERE, riding in
adjectives.
GOOD MAGIC By
Zephronias, riding in
Thierry Mugler's 1997 "Chimera"
OFF LIMITS By
Nemosyn, riding in voluminous silks
ALWAYS DREAMING By
Jet-Poop, riding in steel and silk and gold
PROMISES FULFILLED By
Silverai_me, riding in white, red, and black
GREYVITOS by
Pericles Mcgee, riding in eigengrau and gainsboro
NEW YORK CENTRAL By
The Custodian, riding in grey and brown
IMPERIAL HINT By
legbagede, riding in ash grey and ember red
SPORTING CHANCE by
mauler, riding in full plate mail
SEEKING THE SOUL by
Simone, wearing iridescent silken gossamer, long and flowing so as to resemble a comet at speed
SEA FOAM by
lostcauser, riding in rosegold, quicksilver, and mondegreen
COPPER BULLET by
Serjeant's Muse, riding in an olive fedora and woven brown serape
WORLD OF TROUBLE by
gnarl, riding in trebled whirls
RAINBOW HEIR by
Swift, riding in Haematite to make immortal the precious heirloom bones.
MASK by
raincomplex, riding in black with a single line of silver
STELLAR WIND by
hamster bong, riding in a gray cloak, face obscured.
MOONSHINE MEMORIES by
BookReader, riding in absolute darkness
CATHOLIC BOY by
jyossarian, riding in skin color
MONTAUK by
fillory, riding in black and blue
AVERY ISLAND by
mjijm, riding in halite and bone
WEST COAST by
Chord, riding in style
BIGGER PICTURE by
go ahead I’ll listen, riding in forest green and auburn with silver trim
MIND YOUR BISCUITS by
Stuart, riding in...
STILL HAVING FUN by
Glowing Fish, riding in grey and gray
BEACH PATROL by
VicimusGegan, riding in well-chosen castoffs and twice-turned finery
TIZ MISCHIEF by
moeyz, wearing maroon with gold glittery polka dots
COLLECTED by
etouffee, wearing black and white stripes
RETIREMENT FUND by
realplayer, riding in purple with gold blossoms
ABEL TASMAN
AFLEET WILLY
ALLURING STAR
AWESOME BANNER
AX MAN
BATTLE OF MIDWAY
BLACKJACKCAT
BOLT D'ORO
CALEDONIA ROAD
CLOUD COMPUTING
COMBATANT
DIVERSIFY
ELATE
ENTICED
FARRELL
FAVERSHAM
FEAR THE COWBOY
FIRENZE FIRE
FOREVER UNBRIDLED
FREE DROP BILLY
GIANT EXPECTATIONS
GOOD SAMARITAN
GRAND JETE
GUN RUNNER
GUNNEVERA
HOLLYWOOD STAR
HOPPERTUNITY
IMPACT PLAYER
INSTILLED REGARD
ITSINTHEPOST
MARCONI
MCKINZIE
MENDELSSOHN
MIDNIGHT BISOU
MOURINHO
NOBLE INDY
OSCAR NOMINATED
OSCAR PERFORMANCE by
andycyca
PARADISE WOODS
PRINCIPE GUILHERME
ROY H
RUSHING FALL
SHARP AZTECA
SOLOMINI
STORMY VICTORIA
TIGER MOTH
TOMMY MACHO
TRANGRESS
UNIQUE BELLA
UNTAMED DOMAIN
VALE DORI
VINO ROSSO
WORLD APPROVAL
X Y JET