DEADLINE EXTENDED due to me screwing up how the competition was set up again (that stupid form is confusing) and lack of participation (hopefully caused by my screwup and not by people being lazy :P). Anyway, you have an extra week. You have until the end of the day on July 27.

Maddox and Mechanus, please resubmit your entries, as only the first couple of sentences got submitted.

I'm trying some new ideas out for this competition, we'll see if it works, if not, we'll revert back to the old way (but hopefully more often).

Part of the reason these new announcements take awhile is I keep trying to think of a good theme for the contest, so we're going to take a page out of the Photo/Flash Fandango and I'm going to let the winner of the 'Best Overall' decide the theme for the next contest (as well as announce the competition). It will probably result in more of these as well. I'm going to aim for 1 a month (maybe slightly less), 3 weeks for people to write, 1 week for judging.

I'm also going to start offering a cash prize as well. The winner of "Best Overall" will also get a $20 gift certificate from Amazon.com, theoretically to buy books with, but really you put it towards whatever :P. This is out of my own pocket, by the way, at least for now. Judging is still the same (send your votes via PM only, my vote breaks any ties). The winner will have to provide me either an email address or a physical address for me to send the gift certficate to.

I'm not sure what to do about participation awards yet. I suppose I could make a generic participation award, or maybe I should do away with participation awards altogether, or maybe I should keep doing it the way it's always been done. What are your preferences?

So yeah, the next contest. This time I'm going to start enforcing the theme. If you don't utilize the theme stated, your entry doesn't count, despite who might have voted for you.

The theme: Everyday Object used in an Unconventional Way. I want you to write a story that utilizes an everyday object as part of the story somehow, like a broom, or a toothbrush, or a ceiling fan, whatever unassuming object people use but ignore on a regular basis, but it can't be used the way you would expect that normal object to behave, and it can't be just some throwaway line, like "He woke up and brushed his teeth in the morning." No, I'm thinking more like you could make the jar of apricot jam the MacGuffin, or a metaphor for the whole story, or make it a living main character somehow, or make the main character trip over it and loose the guy he was chasing, whatever. But try to be as creative as you can with it. The story that uses it the most effectively and creatively will be a lot more likely to get my vote (and hopefully others).

Deadline: July 20. And there can't be any extensions to this one, as I fly out to Seattle the following day for the week, and I'd like to get the voting thread up, so Snake, keep that in mind, buddy :P.

Best of luck to everyone!

(P.S. before anyone says, 'Why Amazon?', why not actual moneyz? Well, I need to do something that will mail it automatically for me, as I found out the hard way I'm terrible about going to the Post Office to actually physically mail shit myself).

Quote from: SageClock;1350442The theme: Everyday Object used in an Unconventional Way. I want you to write a story that utilizes an everyday object as part of the story somehow, like a broom, or a toothbrush, or a ceiling fan, whatever unassuming object people use but ignore on a regular basis, but it can't be used the way you would expect that normal object to behave

What about objects for masturbation? Like... I fucked my sister's hair brushes and I came chocolate rainbows, or something like that... What i'm trying to say is: what if I write an erotic story and if you get off on that I win?
 
Would be the best contest ever, mang.

Heh, feel free to enter that if you feel like it. Not promising anything, vote-wise, though.

okay so lemme get this straight, use an everyday object so that it progresses your story in an unconventional way.
right?

I've already won!

Quote from: OpwaardeerKlok;1350522okay so lemme get this straight, use an everyday object so that it progresses your story in an unconventional way.
right?

Yeah, basically. you can also use the object in an unconventional way as well. for example, in the movie 'Shoot 'em Up', the main bad guy killed people by stabbing a carrot into their eye, and through the back of their throat, something you wouldn't ever expect somebody to do with a carrot.

Quote from: SageClock;1350529Yeah, basically. you can also use the object in an unconventional way as well. for example, in the movie 'Shoot 'em Up', the main bad guy killed people by stabbing a carrot into their eye, and through the back of their throat, something you wouldn't ever expect somebody to do with a carrot.

Okay.

You'd think I'd be able to read properly before attempting to write.

Quote from: Gomez Addams;1350523I've already won!

That's a spirit breaker

Hm I want Trace Memory and probably some extra details. I might join this, it sounds fun

Can staff enter?

Quote from: LeekClock;1350672Can staff enter?

No because you will win.

Staff can enter, sure.

I'm ineligible to win if I choose to enter myself, though.

Made this for the fun of it, I simply like making awards. Would be cool if someone made the background transparent, I am not in bounds of using flash now.

Quote from: SageClock;1350675Staff can enter, sure.

I'm ineligible to win if I choose to enter myself, though.

Self steem counts, Sage.

Hey bitches I just submitted something

for the generic pixel awards, I'm thinking of a simple medal, so that we can easily change the colour of the ribbon each competition.

Quote from: OpwaardeerKlok;1350713for the generic pixel awards, I'm thinking of a simple medal, so that we can easily change the colour of the ribbon each competition.

now that's an idea!

Quote from: PepperClock;1350726now that's an idea!

You mean as for Everyday-Object-Writing 2008, 2009, 2010... etc, or as for EVERY competition?

Quote from: TequilaClock;1350731You mean as for Everyday-Object-Writing 2008, 2009, 2010... etc, or as for EVERY competition?

well I originally meant every competition, but that'd be an assload of pixel awards...

Quote from: OpwaardeerKlok;1350735well I originally meant every competition, but that'd be an assload of pixel awards...

and it would be boring.

Quote from: TequilaClock;1350737and it would be boring.

maybe we could give points per competition, per five points a pixel award
you could choose from different colours of ribbons, once you get enought points to spend.