Little Bitsy Story Contest

In a blatant ripoff of agent Rachelle Gardner's "A Teensy Weensy Story Challenge" from June 2008, I'm announcing the (first?) Little Bitsy Story Contest. Like Gardner's challenge, the idea is to write a 100-word story based on a visual writing prompt -- a photo. This photo:



The rules, such as they are, are similar, though not identical, to Gardner's. You enter by posting your 100-words-or-less story in the comments. Does it have to be about romance? No, any genre is fine -- just keep it clean. No profanity, obscenity, no explicit sex, kinky or otherwise. One entry per person. Rules may be revised on the whim of the contest sponsor (that's me).

No prizes, except for the satisfaction of knowing your story was selected as the best by your peers. And the winning entry will be showcased as a blog post.

Deadline for posting stories to the blog comments is midnight, January 31, 2010. Deadline for voting is Saturday, February 6, 2010. The winning entry will be posted to the blog the week of February 7th.

To see the inspiration for this contest, visit Rachelle Gardner's blog:
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2008/06/announcing.html

And read the winning entry here:
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2008/06/congratulations-to-winner.html

So look over the photo, let it get your creative juices flowing and post your entry! Questions? Post them in the comments and I'll answer them here.

Good luck -- and have fun!

17 comments:

Valerie Mann said...

How exactly do I post my entry? I already know what I want to write...but can I possibly do it in 100 words? Me? The wordiest author? Thanks Connie, this looks fun!

Connie Chastain said...

Val, just post your story here in the comments. The photo offers all sorts of scenarios, doesn't it?

Alison said...

She loves me. . .She loves me not. . . She loves me. . .
As I write this I can’t believe how fickle she can be.
She expects me to cater to her every need. Only the top end will do for her. She turns her nose up at anything else.
And the pampering! I can’t sit down for five minutes to enjoy my favorite show but she’s demanding my attention.
But oh, when she loves me, there’s nothing better in the whole world. . . why here she comes now, ready for a brushing and the best bowl of kitty cuisine money can buy. PURRRRR.


Submitted by
Alison McEvoy Murray
Brandon,Manitoba
Canada

Connie Chastain said...

Alison. Delightful! Thanks for participating.

Rowan Elizabeth said...

Cool idea! I'll play.:)

---

She watches him from across the library, the man in the GQ suit. His pen hovers mid-word and his gaze wanders from the doughy librarian to the Asian with too many books to find the floor.

The man in the suit is perfect, polished and slick as a living flash photo. He is everything the world has told him he should be. But she feels the rough brush of his hands in the dark, smells the freedom and adventure when he tangles in her windblown hair.

He is hot wind and rain-soaked pavement. He is hunger. He is her fire.

Connie Chastain said...

Rowan. One word: WOW!

Rowan Elizabeth said...

Thank you, Connie.:) We need to promote this thing more places and get things rolling before the deadline! I'd love to see what other little gems people can come up with.

Did you want to limit this essentially to the romance writers community, or would you mind if I promote it through the fanfic writers world as well? Many of my fanfic writing friends write original fic as well, so I'm pretty sure I could bring in a few more participants if you wanted.:)

Connie Chastain said...

Rowan, I'd love for you to promote it wherever! And if need be, I can extend the deadline. I haven't been able to keep up with it as I'd like to thanks to coming under siege, repeatedly, by invasive malware (fake "virus scanners" that take over a computer completely. I've lost both time and data -- grrrrr!! So, yep, I think I'll extend the deadline. Thanks, Rowan.

Bob said...

He sees her by the water cooler and can't resist the temptation. Fingers twitching, he reaches for the pen and starts sketching. A line here, a curve there. His eyes barely touch the paper as he captures her beauty.

He's almost done when she notices. He scrambles to hide the drawing but she's already there, tugging it out from under his files.

Her eyes roam the page, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She reaches for his pen, and scribbles something in the corner.

Call Me. 555-4747

It's official, he thinks. I have the best boss ever.

Anna said...

This is a neat little contest-thanks for hosting it :)
--------------
With all the technology surrounding us these days, I'm glad to be holed up in my little corner of the library.
I've gathered some interesting books I will never be able to read, because time dictates that I must be at my office, on my computer, typing, printing, photocopying, making Powerpoint presentations --
No. Today, I'm going to sit in this dusty corner and enjoy the quite; just my thoughts and my pen and paper.

Shannon said...

The vice president had told him to create a "game plan" to sell the stockholders on the new direction the company was taking. Mark knew what he was - a shill for the suits. It was time to learn how to talk out of both sides of his mouth, he figured. No one really believed those motivational posters right? Supposedly inspirational pictures with pithy sayings to keep the grunts from complaining too loudly. His promotion put him on the inside and so he had to wear the mask. His boss, of course, called it being a team player.

Anonymous said...

Surrounded by the files they had worked so hard on, James could not keep her out of his head. He was so sorry for the things he had done.

Pulling out a blank piece of paper, he sat down and tried to find the right words. Something that would make her understand why.

Thinking back to the original meeting, he could see her so clearly. Her charming smile had been the first thing he noticed. It was so open and honest. James had known right then that he would hate himself once this was all over. And she would too.

Connie Chastain said...

Fantastic! These are great entries. So what do y'all think? Should the deadline be extended another couple of weeks?

Rowan Elizabeth said...

Connie - maybe just give it another week? I'm not sure if any of my other friends are still planning to hop in, but at least I brought a few more talented folks to the party.*g*

Anna said...

Ms. Connie,
if you are planning on extending the deadline, I could post a link on the daily writer community at Livejournal and see if anyone wants to jump in ;)
Cheers~

Ai said...

Dear Mom,

Boarding school sucks. I'm up to my ears in homework. I'm not kidding, Mom. I'm sitting here in the library between two giant stacks of books. I'm actually supposed to be doing an opposite-hand creative writing assignment but I don't have enough room on this desk to use my left hand. Besides, I don't see the point since whatever I turn in will be illegible.

Please let me come back home. You and Tom are married now so I promise not to try to sabotage your relationship any more.

Love,

Your son by blood, not marriage, Jake

Connie Chastain said...

lastingdreams, yes, please post a link. The more stories, the more fun! Thanks.

Post a Comment

Thanks for your comment!