500 Word Challenge (for EVERYONE!)

Submitted by deleted_20091014 on Sun, 03/29/2009 - 17:53

THE INAUGURAL PROSE THAT BLOWS 500

I propose a challenge to all writers and would-be-writers.

Write an inflation story of 500 words or less and submit it to this site.

I hope that this will encourage many who have never written a story before to take part as surely anyone can bash out 500 words, if you hit a rhythm you can do it in a few minutes and I suggest the deadline as the end of June, which gives you a good 3 months to work on it.

CONTENT
So, to rules... why are there always rules? Well there are only 3.

1) The story must involve some form of expansion. The hows, whys and wherefores are entirely up to you it just has to go along with the whole reason why we're on this site in the first place.

2) The story must have a start, a middle and an end... in other words, it must be a story... no 'exerpts'

3) 500 words limit. You don't have to use them all, but go over at your peril. Your story won't be disqualified, it'll just have a big sign on it saying you are a tool and went over the limit even though you had a wordcount and 3 months to make it right.

There is no rule on explicit material. You are free to be as explicit as you like (unless Luther objects to me posting links to explicit material in which case there will be a rule.)

SUBMISSION

There is a limit of one story per author. If I allow people to submit as many as they like then I can easily see a few indivuduals making the vast majority of submissions... and we don't want that. Also does anyone really want to judge over a hundred stories?

Please do not post stories in this thread, quite apart from how confusing it would be if people had to sift through pages and pages of discussion looking for stories and how long the thread would get; Luther has a story archive which he moderates for a reason and I wouldn't want to encourage people to circumvent his authority by posting stories elsewhere.

If you submit your story to the story archive on this site it would be useful if you could prefix the title with '500 WORDS - '.

Luther has to moderate every story submitted to this site himself in his spare time, so there is usually a considerable delay between an author submitting a story and it appearing in the archive. Any story which is not available somewhere on the internet by deadline day will not be put forward for voting, so don't expect a story submitted to this site to be available in time for voting. In order to ensure your story can be read and voted for, and protect Luther's sanity, you should submit it to a third party site as well. Deviant Art, Rapidshare, Writing.com... anywhere's OK as long as it can be linked to.

Submission will take place during the last week of June... the 24th to the 30th.

Stories made available on the internet before the Wednesday the 24th of June will not be eligible

Stories not available on the internet after Tuesday the 30th of June will not be eligible

The reason why there is an earliest date for submission is that we want all stories so be submitted in a short space of time, so that they can all be considered equally and early birds don't get an advantage.

In order to submit a story, you must make me aware of it's existence and location. The best way to do this is to PM me on this site. I can't take responsibility for hunting down messages sent to me via obscure means (e.g. I have an account on FIR but rarely check so might not notice that someone has posted a submission in a forum on that site).

JUDGING

As soon as I can after the deadline I will post a thread on this site containing links to all the submitted stories. I haven't decided how long judging will take

Judging will take place democratically on this site (if this is logistically possible), and there will not be an award for overall winner... instead there will be a number of awards giving everyone a fighting chance of winning something.

Some awards will be automatic (shortest story is an obvious one) and there will be no voting for that award.

Some awards will be via nomination only, e.g. best metaphor. So I don't have to trawl through all the stories and pick out every single metaphor. After an as yet undecided nomination period, voting will begin.

For the majority of categories all stories will be automatically nominated.

Here are some awards I have thought up, feel free to add other ideas if you like.

- Shortest story (that still meets rule 2)
- Most original method of expansion
- Best metaphor or similie for expansion
- Worst use of deus ex machina
- Character you'd like to f**k
- Best introduction
- Best conclusion
- Sexiest story
- Most deviant setting
- The 'were you on drugs?' award
- Story that most makes you think 'that could actually happen'
- Largest expansion in volume per word
- Most expandees
- Most epic plot crammed into the limited space
- Story that most reads like a cheap porno
- Stephen King award for most disturbing story
- Most blissful expansion
- Best use of tension
- Best sound effects
- Most believable expandee reaction
- Story that best makes you feel as though you are there
- Most gratuitous 'crowbarring-in' of Al Gore
- Mills and Boon award for most cringeworthy erotic writing
- PJ and Duncan award for 'moral of the story'
- Most florid writing style

WINNING
I will make little jpeg 'badges' and upload them to my photobucket account in much the same way as my Writer/Artist icons work. The winners will then be able to link to the image on this site, in their signatures, on other sites, wherever really.

Thu, 06/25/2009 - 22:41

#102

doubleintegral

I had a different strategy with my story that provided some positive results. Instead of writing my story and then hacking it down under the word limit, instead I intentionally wrote very economically from the outset. The general rule I used was that I was allowed 50 10-word sentences, so as I wrote each sentence, if it was roughly longer than 10 words I would try to compensate with a shorter one.

My first pass with a legitimately readable story yielded 450ish words, which allowed me to go back in and flesh things out just a little more in certain places. That proved to be much easier, I think, than cramming a 650-word story into 500 words, and I didn't have to give up certain details just to be pithy.

Stories I have written

Fri, 06/26/2009 - 04:09

#103

Kurg

That was my strategy from the beginning, believe me. However, once I knew where I was going, I decided it was best to try and get the essence of the story down, then lengthen or shorten it as needed. As one of my friends - also a writer - pointed out to me, it is often best to simply get things down on paper (so to speak) first, so that the thoughts are all there, then go back and edit.

I tried to keep things as short as possible, but for me, inflation stories have almost always been about the details - the descriptions of the process itself. They help to establish the mood of the piece. Hence, they often tend to be the central focus of my writing. Trying to go against that is a bit like trying to write backwards with my left hand while hanging upside-down in a dark room. I made a conscious effort to rely on a few carefully chosen words, rather than volume, but even then, I found it ran over the limit.

As it stands now, I've managed to whittle it down to about 554. I'm still looking for ways to lower it without sacrificing quality, but I'm slowly running out of options. Even in a story this short, characterization and the expression of the emotions involved are very important, in my mind, and conveying that can add to the word count no matter what you do.

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

Fri, 06/26/2009 - 15:27

#104

Inflate123

Glad I wasn't overstepping, Carnatic. I just wanted to do what I could to help it along.

If you can't use that web word count tool (which was working when I posted it, I swear -- hopefully it will be fixed by the submission deadline), use what you have. Carn noted that stories exceeding 500 would not be ineligible, just mocked. :)

But I would encourage you to trim if you think it's over. If MS Word is showing 502 or 503, get it to 497 to be safe.

Double, that's a good tactic. Aim for a low word count, then let yourself have the luxury of punching things up.

Kurg, keep at it -- it's a skill worth developing, but it is a skill and not something that comes naturally to most people. The more you self-edit, the more you find those efficiencies in your writing. It might be hard now but it won't be as hard next time, and so on.

Twitter | DeviantArt

Sat, 06/27/2009 - 03:39

#105

Inflate123

The editor in me kicked in -- I see something in one of the stories that could serve as an example for how to write more efficiently. It might be of use to anybody having trouble with word count. But is it appropriate to critique a story while the contest is still going on? Or should I save it for later?

I am happy to use my day job to improve people's pervy stories but do not want to mess with people's existing entries. (Though when I posted the guidelines as a test, I found I could delete and repost it, which I suppose any author could do with their story before the deadline.)

Twitter | DeviantArt

Sat, 06/27/2009 - 04:06

#106

Kurg

Oh, one thing I forgot to ask earlier: do words like 'a' and 'I' count towards the final word count, or are they excluded? Just wondering, since I don't know how some word-counters calculate words.

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

Sat, 06/27/2009 - 04:38

#107

Inflate123

The old journalism rule is five characters from those smaller words equals one word. So "I" "an" and "to" would be one word.

What word processor are you writing in? Use its word count tool to be sure.

Twitter | DeviantArt

Sat, 06/27/2009 - 04:46

#108

Kurg

I'm using Microsoft Word. I've been using it's word-counter steadily throughout the editing process. I just wanted to make sure. I'm at 513 words now, and I'm running out of things to cut without mangling things even more than they already are. XD

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

Sat, 06/27/2009 - 16:22

#109

deleted_20091014

to make it as accessible as possible it's a simple word count... all words count.

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 01:37

#110

dragon_6860

Inflate123, I'd wait till submission time is over, that'll prevent people from resubmitting with changes. I figure after the deadline, that's when we'll all discuss, vote and talk about the stories. I've some comments as well, but I shall hold on to em :) Great turnout so far though!

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 01:53

#111

KorgFal

Houston we have a problem. When I tried the link for the word count tool, I got a message saying "Unable to connect to the database server." Any suggestions at this point?

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 02:00

#112

dragon_6860

Hmm...Are you useing MS Word? if so, there's a word count tool. It has some issues, like it'll count things like "Bla...bla...BLA!?" as one word and not three.

http://wordcounter.net/ that one works, so try that one out :)

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 02:40

#113

Kurg

Um, I think there's something wrong with the word counter you linked there dragon_6860. According to the one on my computer, as well as several others I online I used to double-check, the word count for my story is only 497 words, yet the one you linked says it's 514 words long. Even taking into account the 'errors' you mentioned in the Microsoft Word word-counter, my story should NOT be that long.

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 02:51

#114

dragon_6860

Blast! Hmm...You'd think that this part woudn't be the difficult part :-D. Let me see...

http://wordcounter.net/ that one seems to work ok. Give that one a go, see how that one works.

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 03:00

#115

Kurg

Uh, dragon_6860? That's the same one you just linked earlier. As I said, it's showing my story as 514 words long, when the one on my computer, and two others online, show it as being 497. I've checked and double-checked, and I can't account for this discrepancy.

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 03:03

#116

dragon_6860

DAmn my Crtl-C! One sec....

http://www.wordcalc.com/ There ya go

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 03:11

#117

Kurg

Ah, thanks.

Hmm... this is very strange. That one is listing the word count as 514 too, which honestly doesn't make any sense. Even taking into account the issues you mentioned with how some word calculators tally-up words, there's no way my story should be that far over the limit.

This is rather distressing to say the least, considering that I submitted my story last night, being under the impression that it was well within the prescribed word limit.

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 03:18

#118

dragon_6860

Hmm...maybe MS word doesn't count numbers or something...Ah well, it's just the first run, I'm sure we'll have teething problems. We'll get em ironed out :)

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 03:23

#119

InvizKing

I found the flaw in that wordcounter.net tool. It counts words with an apostrophe as two words.

For example, "Michael's dog was brown." It would count that as five words instead of four. Or "I'm a robot." It would show as four words instead of three. Microsoft Word's word counter treats them as one word.

It also treats hyphenated words as one word. I can see hyphenated words being considered two words, but words with an apostrophe definitely shouldn't. Contractions are considered one word.

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 03:32

#120

dragon_6860

Damn. Hehe, why can't we find a simple word-counter? You'd think that'd be no problem.

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 04:10

#121

Inflate123

dragon_6860 wrote:

Inflate123, I'd wait till submission time is over, that'll prevent people from resubmitting with changes. I figure after the deadline, that's when we'll all discuss, vote and talk about the stories. I've some comments as well, but I shall hold on to em :) Great turnout so far though!

That's what I was thinking too...eventually. I didn't know what was worse -- giving people feedback before, when it unbalances things, or giving people feedback after, when they might take it personally/insultingly when it's not intended that way.

I'll save my notes. :)

Twitter | DeviantArt

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 06:32

#122

Inflate123

Today is it, folks -- last day for entries. If you've been polishing and polishing and polishing...it's shiny enough now, so post it!

http://prosethatblows500.strutta.com/

Looks like we're up to 11, which is a great turnout...but I suspect there are still a few more out there.

Twitter | DeviantArt

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 07:14

#123

dragon_6860

Hehe, no doubt, about a hour before the deadline, we'll get 5 or 6 more submitted :-D

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 08:00

#124

gHassy

sorry I didn't take part; I've been getting involved in some very big projects, plus college is starting.

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 22:58

#125

deleted_20091014

unfortunately I'll not be submitting a story either... real life intervened.

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 04:02

#126

Inflate123

Sorry to hear that -- I know you said work got messy Carn, but I was really looking forward to seeing which would be yours. This is your baby! And gHassy, after all the questions about getting credit for your work, I'm really surprised to hear you turned in no work at all!

For extra fun, I would love to have everybody who wrote a story come forward after the deadline, so we can try to match story to writer. :)

Twitter | DeviantArt

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 04:59

#127

dragon_6860

HEhee, well, that's after the votein :-D But yah, that would be fun. I've got some idea about which one you wrote, but other than that, I'm pretty clueless...

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 06:48

#128

Inflate123

I suspect I know which one Luther wrote, and I know one other author for sure because they asked for an assist (but not an edit -- their writing is their own). But other than that...I'm baffled. Which is good!

Twitter | DeviantArt

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 07:06

#129

spiderhaunt

Whee! Got mine in before the deadline. Good luck figuring out which is mine, seeing as how I have almost no pre-recorded written voice in the commnuity. Cheers, 'twas fun.

Happy Expanding!!!

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 07:41

#130

Inflate123

And that's the whistle. Thirteen stories is a good haul, and I'm thrilled to see so many people participate.

Carn, how do you want to proceed? Did you come up with a final list of categories?

Twitter | DeviantArt

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 12:41

#131

doubleintegral

I haven't read all the entries yet (limited to browsing on my iPod Touch, and stories on Strutta won't scroll for me), but I think I know which is yours, I123. I'm also fairly sure which one is mine...

Stories I have written

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 14:11

#132

dragon_6860

Hmm...how is the voting going to work? hehe, I don't see any way to vote...

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 15:36

#133

Inflate123

The site is not set up for voting; the site was really just there for easily displaying the stories anonymously. The only thing I can do with the site now is delete my submission guidelines, which I just did.

Carn's initial post discussed a democratic judging system and an automatic nomination, but no mechanics.

We have a list of the categories. Carn offered around 20 for various interesting achievements -- nobody took the Al Gore bait, but is there anything people want to add or combine?

Once that's settled we could all just write a text ballot with our picks. We could do that publicly or privately. Perhaps someone who didn't enter could be the person who tallies the votes if it's secret.

Twitter | DeviantArt

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 15:45

#134

dragon_6860

Ahh, kk, We can have Carnaitc do that I suppose, we can send him a note here with the vote. Hopefully that'll get enough votes in...maybe on DA would be better? more possibility for votes...

Thought about it a bit more and I think that if we all posted a somewhat uniform post on our DA journals, we may get more votes. It may be harder for the person doing the tallying though...what do you think?

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 16:23

#135

Pakona

I was able to submit a story.

I might be offline for the next few days or so. Hope that isn't a problem for you guys.

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 17:27

#136

harrisonford08

I got one in too. Looking forward to seeing how the voting goes.

I should mention that I was rather drunk and wrote mine in one sitting. All things considered, I think it turned out pretty well.

http://harrisonford08.deviantart.com/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ijartist/

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 19:56

#137

InvizKing

I'm sure that my story sticks out like a bulging briefcase.

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 21:55

#138

dragon_6860

Kk, How's this for the possible award catagories? I think that having 20 or more would be a bit silly, as there's only 13 total stories, so I thought up a few that might work well. Tell me what you think!

Best Story
Best Charater
Best Expansion Description
Sexiest Story
Best Method of Expansion

That's all I could think up off the top of my head, so if you've any more that might work, post em :) I think tomorrow we should send out votes to the designated tallier, then we can get into discussions and try to guess who wrote what. Still need to figure out how we should do that...any ideas?

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 23:16

#139

doubleintegral

InvizKing wrote:

I'm sure that my story sticks out like a bulging briefcase.

How in the world did you cram an inflated woman into a briefcase?

Stories I have written

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 02:06

#140

InvizKing

doubleintegral wrote:

InvizKing wrote:

I'm sure that my story sticks out like a bulging briefcase.

How in the world did you cram an inflated woman into a briefcase?

It was a difficult process. Lots of levers and pulleys were utilized.

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 03:39

#141

Inflate123

I figured she didn't start out that way. Isn't that a benefit of being inflatable?

I like the basic categories (increases the value and reduces the amount of badges Carn has to make!) but I also think it would be to note a few of Carn's funny ones. Maybe we just throw those out for discussion.

So authors so far are

InvizKing
Dragon6860
HarrisonFord
Pakona
Inflate123
Spiderhaunt
Doubleintegral

who are the other six?

Twitter | DeviantArt

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 03:55

#142

LutherVKane

Inflate123 wrote:

who are the other six?

I'm one of them.

As for award categories, a few that I like from Carnatic's list:

- Shortest story
- Character you'd like to fuck
- Story that most makes you think 'that could actually happen'
- Most epic plot crammed into the limited space
- Stephen King award for most disturbing story
- Best use of tension
- Most believable expandee reaction

Twitter | DeviantArt

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 04:01

#143

Cyndi_Irresistible

I wrote one. :)

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 04:12

#144

Kurg

Inflate123 wrote:

who are the other six?

I'm another.

Anyone who knows me well enough to know my tendencies will probably be able to ID my story pretty easily. Likewise, I have a hunch regarding the authors of a few of the submissions.

I do have one question though - will we be allowed to re-post these stories elsewhere once the contest is done (that is, once all the judging is complete and everyone has stepped forward to claim their stories)? Just curious.

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 06:58

#145

deathhoksida3000

I'm one

themanwithamagicmind.deviantart.com

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 14:23

#146

Inflate123

Kurg wrote:

I do have one question though - will we be allowed to re-post these stories elsewhere once the contest is done (that is, once all the judging is complete and everyone has stepped forward to claim their stories)? Just curious.

You may not have read the full thread, but we talked about this, and yes, you bet. Once the judging is over, the writers will be able to claim their work and post it wherever they would normally post it, with their name on it. It's still your story!

Twitter | DeviantArt

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 14:33

#147

Inflate123

InvizKing
Dragon6860
HarrisonFord
Pakona
Inflate123
Spiderhaunt
Doubleintegral
Cyndi Irresistible
DeathHoksida/ManWithTheMagicMind
Kurg
LutherVKane
...and two more.

The mind reels...NotSoSuperSaiyan? AlecDeluxe? GassyShadow? Seritaph? Airtankgirl? SvenS?

Hmm...I guess I will have to start thinking about who wrote what because I honestly didn't until now. Just one story made me think of one person because of the themes and writing style, and I might be wrong about that hunch anyway. I wonder if everyone's style will be as transparent as they think.

Twitter | DeviantArt

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 15:36

#148

dragon_6860

Hmmm...ok, how bout this, lets use these catagories

- Best Story

- Best Character

- Best Expansion Description

- Sexiest Story

- Best Method of Expansion

- Character you'd like to fuck

- Most epic plot crammed into the limited space

- Stephen King award for most disturbing story

- Best use of tension

- Most believable expandee reaction

Do those awards sound good? if so, we can start submitting our ballots :)

Also, maybe we could name a few people who we could also invite to the judging, just so we have more votes. we could send out a basic "form" and then they'd send it back in.

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 17:26

#149

harrisonford08

dragon_6860 wrote:

Hmmm...ok, how bout this, lets use these catagories
- Best Story

- Best Character

- Best Expansion Description

- Sexiest Story

- Best Method of Expansion

- Character you'd like to fuck

- Most epic plot crammed into the limited space

- Stephen King award for most disturbing story

- Best use of tension

- Most believable expandee reaction

Do those awards sound good? if so, we can start submitting our ballots :)

Also, maybe we could name a few people who we could also invite to the judging, just so we have more votes. we could send out a basic "form" and then they'd send it back in.

Sounds good to me as far as categories go. I'm not sure about the logistic of voting however.

http://harrisonford08.deviantart.com/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ijartist/

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 18:25

#150

dragon_6860

Nor am I. I figured we could make up a voteing form or something, and e-mail it to someone, maybe Carnatic or someone else who has some free time. They'd tally the votes, and announce em. Then, we can announce who wrote what, and discuss em :)

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 18:46

#151

Inflate123

I like those categories -- some fun, some "serious" -- a good mix.

I would hope that the voting would be not just the people who took part! Yes, let's open it up as a simple write-in -- there are 13 stories, so for each of those, write the title of the one that you think deserves that award the most. That's simple enough. We can then post to our DA pages etc and maybe set up a Gmail account just for people to send their ballots.

Twitter | DeviantArt

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