We received our length and topic paragraph at noon Central Time today. Length is not to exceed 850 words. Entries are due by noon Sunday. The theme is publicly posted, so I can share it. "Blue ice stretched to the horizon, fading into the blinding rays of another waning winter sun. She shivered violently as the shifting mass groaned under her feet. She instinctively glanced down, looking for cracks under the transparent sheen. Suddenly, she tensed and dropped to her knees. Desperately clawing at the ice, she screamed... "
The deal is... we don't have to use this exactly. We don't even have to use it very specifically. But, the essence of the scene must be in the story so that the judges can be certain the story was written for this contest.
Writers Weekly likes unpredictable tales with surprise endings. They have a whole page full of trite plots that they see over and over again. Writers are urged to skip these, as stories using them will go nowhere.
I spent about an hour contemplating a plot. One thought jumped out at me, but I had to figure a way to turn it into a story. Once I had the scenario, the first draft was easy.
I liked it. Then I read it over a few more times and decided that I didn't like it. Then I decided it was trite, after all. I mean... all stories can be reduced to one of a handful of plots. Fussed about that for a few hours. Finally changed one line, and now I'm feeling better again.
Time to sleep on it. Hopefully, I'll still be satisfied in the morning and will submit it!
