Short Story Challenge

My first design EVER on my computer. I can hardly believe it. Don't even ask me to repeat it, I just did it hit or miss. (With a hint from my daughter to use the 'paint' thingy.) Sometimes I amaze even myself. Okay, so it took me the better part of the day. For an old technophobe like me, it's a miracle. Ha! If you reduce it, it should fit somewhere on your sidebar or wherever. Link it back to this post and we should be all set.

Okay, so those of you (five so far, but who knows what the future holds?) who are joining the Short Story Challenge should be able to copy this badge to broadcast the fact to all and sundry. So far I don't think we need a Mr. Linky but if we should at some point need to utilize it, I'll figure out how to do it down the line.

Here's the basic Challenge:

Write a short story of 1500 words or less that solves or explains the Mystery of the Giovanni Boldini Painting discovered recently, after 70 Years in a dusty un-lived-in apartment in Paris. (Use any genre you like.) Make up your own title. Read the outline of the actual story here then fire up your imagination and write what you think might have happened. Change the names of the people involved, of course, we don't want any law suits.

Intrigue in Paris. It should be a lot of fun to write.

The deadline is February 14th. What happens then? We'll post the stories on our blogs, link them to each other, read them, talk about them and marvel at our ingenuity. We'll vote on the Best All-Around Story, Best Title and Best Solution. Not sure about any prizes yet, maybe just a Prize Badge for your blog. The satisfaction of a job well done. Plus, we'll all have another story to add to our writing portfolios. Input on this (or any part of the Challenge is welcomed.)

Well, Sue H over over at her blog, I Refuse to Go Quietly has come up with a winning idea for a prize. I'm going to design and illustrate an Award for the short story contest myself, something which the winner can keep on his or her blog for as long as they like. I'll do the artwork in the 'real' world, scan it and then we'll be good to go. I will, of course, exempt my own

story from the competition, though I will contribute one - I gotta' have some fun too, after all.

Sue's idea of a yearly challenge is also a good one, I think. This is the FIRST Challenge I've created so there might be bumps along the way, but in the end I think it's pretty self-explanatory. Any questions or suggestions, of course, feel free to email me.

If you enjoy writing AND a good puzzle, please join us. There's plenty of time to get creative between now and Feb. 14th. So far, there are five of us going forward, a few more wouldn't be amiss.